EVwire brief: Tesla appears to have hidden a Back to the Future reference in its new Roadster teaser, with the words “WHERE WE’RE GOING…” tucked into the image. That's an especially curious message for a car whose most outrageous promised feature is a SpaceX-inspired cold-gas thruster system.
The hidden text becomes visible when the teaser's brightness and contrast are increased. It reads “WHERE WE’RE GOING…”, seemingly pointing to the famous Back to the Future line about the film’s time-traveling DeLorean no longer needing roads because it could fly.
It’s not exactly a subtle reference.
Tesla announced the unveiling this weekend with an image saying “Go for launch” and a prominent “10.01” date. The company's Roadster webpage also now carries a countdown to October 1, finally putting a firm date on the next-generation halo car nearly nine years after its original unveiling.
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October 1, 2026 is the official date of the new Roadster’s launch. Almost nine years in the making.
Clicking on the new Roadster’s website shows this countdown timer to October 1.
Invitations sent to Roadster reservation holders list Waco, Texas, as the location for the October 1 event. The invitation asks recipients to RSVP by September 16 and says IDs will be checked at the event. Elon Musk subsequently responded to the announcement with a short message of his own: "Excitement guaranteed."
Waco is also an interesting choice given the Roadster's long-running SpaceX connection. SpaceX operates its rocket development and testing facilities at McGregor, Texas, just outside Waco, although Tesla has not said that the two are connected for this event. That connection, however, is getting difficult to ignore.
Tesla has spent years developing the idea of a Roadster equipped with SpaceX-inspired cold-gas thrusters. Earlier reports indicated that Tesla was considering a limited-edition version equipped with the system, with a demonstration potentially taking place at SpaceX's McGregor test facility.
Members of the SpaceX observation community have also recently been watching one of the large "mystery tents" at McGregor. Footage from April has shown activity inside one of the structures, which was accompanied by a loud sound like cold gas thrusters being engaged. Some have speculated that it could be related to Roadster testing.
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Context:
The new Roadster has been nine years in the making. Tesla originally revealed it in 2017 alongside a promised 1.9-second 0-60 time and a 2020 delivery target that came and went without a car. Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy confirmed in May that the car would finally be built in Texas, years after Elon Musk had floated building it alongside the Model S and Model X at the Fremont factory.
The SpaceX connection has been part of the Roadster story for years, with Elon Musk stating that an optional cold-gas thruster package could potentially push the car's 0-60 mph time below one second. Reuters reported in August, citing The Information, that Tesla was indeed preparing two versions of the car: a standard Roadster, and a limited, SpaceX-built variant with cold-gas thrusters that will not be street legal.
Source: Tesla, Sawyer Merritt, and TheSpaceEngineer on X
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