The new Tesla Roadster will be so cool that people might not believe early videos are not AI-generated, according to CEO Elon Musk. He's hyping up the new vehicle ahead of its Oct. 1 launch.
Monday, Musk appeared on the All-In Podcast with SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. The conversation was wide-ranging, touching on many topics including Starlink, Starship, AI, SpaceX and Tesla's Terafab chip-making facility, and collaborations between the two companies.
Tesla's new Roadster also came up. The original Roadster was Tesla's first electric vehicle, launched in 2008, which used a Lotus chassis. Elon Musk's Roadster was launched into space in 2018. Now, the car is an estimated 54 million miles from Earth in a heliocentric orbit.
Tesla teased the updated Roadster in 2017, almost a decade ago. Investors have been waiting a long time. A wait that long invites speculation. Investors and car enthusiasts expect industry-leading, rocket-infused performance.
The car is expected, in some way, to incorporate aerospace technology. It's another SpaceX collaboration. Exactly what is coming isn't certain.
"Excitement guaranteed," said Musk.
"I'm sworn to secrecy, but Elon showed it to me," said co-host Jason Calacanis. "My mind went boom...What's he going to show on 10/1...is going to blow people's minds."
It sounds as if the event will be worth watching.
What is does for Tesla stock is another question. Coming into Tuesday trading, shares were down 20% this year and 12% over the past 12 months.
And despite the new optimism, shares were down 0.2% in premarket trading Tuesday at $358.33, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
Investors haven't been focused on new cars lately. They've been focused on artificial intelligence. Tesla launched an AI-trained robo-taxi service in June 2025, but growth has been slow. Tesla is also working on AI-trained humanoid robots, but investors haven't seen updated versions.
Perhaps Tesla's humanoid, Optimus, will make an appearance on Oct. 1. That might do more for the stock than the Roadster.