Elon Musk announced during Tesla’s most recent earnings call that the automaker is putting two of its models out to pasture.
The Model S and Model Y are set to be discontinued sometime in the second quarter of this year to make space for an Optimus production line, which Musk said could one day churn out one million of the humanoid robots each year.
The S and X aren’t being directly replaced, but Tesla does have two new cars on the way that will fill their parking spaces in the company lot.
The two-seat autonomous Cybercab is scheduled to enter early production in April and Musk projects it will one day outsell all of Tesla’s other models combined, without offering a firm timeline for when that will happen. Several prototypes have been spotted on the road near Tesla’s Austin, Texas, headquarters getting real world testing.
April is also when the production version of Tesla’s long-gestating second generation Roadster sports car will make an appearance. The car was first revealed as a concept in 2017 with plans to put it into production by 2020, but it’s been delayed numerous times since then. Last November, Musk said the unveiling would take place on April 1, and said the date was no joke.
“I have some deniability because, like, I could say I was just kidding. But we are actually tentatively aiming for April first for what I think will be the most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product,” Musk said. With just over two months to go, that date isn’t looking entirely firm.
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“I really think long-term, the only vehicles that we’ll make will be autonomous vehicles with the exception of the next generation Roadster which we’re hoping to debut in April,” Musk said during the call. Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja reiterated the point by adding, “hopefully”
The Roadster was originally pegged to have a $200,000 starting price, while the first 1,000 fully optioned Founders Series cars were offered for $250,000 and required the full amount as a deposit. Tesla has removed estimated pricing from the Roadster’s website, but is still accepting $50,000 deposits to get in line for one of the standard cars. Even if the unveiling goes as planned, Musk said it will be 12-18 months before production begins.
There’s not a lot special about the basic design of the Roadster that should be holding it up, as it is slated to use a tri-motor drivetrain like the Model S Plaid’s, but the devil is in the details.
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Tesla is working on a SpaceX cold gas thruster pack option that is intended to boost its acceleration, improve its handling and allow it to “fly” for short distances. Technical details have not been released, but Musk said the reveal event will feature “the most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product.”
American Cars And Racing has also uncovered a Roadster-adjacent patent application for an “Adaptive Vehicle Aerodynamics for Downforce” system, which has underbody skirts and fans at the back of the vehicle that create a low pressure area under the car to help keep it planted to the road. Musk hasn’t mentioned this technology, but the Roadster is the most likely model it on which it would be used. Hopefully, we’ll know soon enough.
