- Tesla's next-generation Roadster was announced in 2017 and has faced multiple delays.
- Elon Musk recently said Tesla's Roadster takes a back seat to more pressing projects.
- Analysts said a delay wouldn't be surprising.
Tesla continues to work on the luxury car that promises to be its most expensive vehicle to date. Nearly seven years after first unveiling the new Roadster, its release date remains a mystery.
During Tesla's third-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk thanked the "long-suffering deposit holders," many of whom paid $50,000 in 2017 to reserve the much-delayed electric sports car.
Musk said the new Roadster hasn't come out yet because "it's the cherry on the icing on the cake" — and there are "other projects taking precedence before its launch."
That includes projects with a "more serious impact on the growth of the world," Musk said. The company's larger mission is "to accelerate the progress towards a sustainable energy future," he added.
"It is super fun, and we are working on it, but it has to come behind them," he said.
Musk said Tesla is "actually finally making progress" and is "close to finalizing the design on it."
Further delays wouldn't surprise Wall Street
Most of the Wall Street analysts Business Insider talked to weren't surprised by a potential delay.
Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, told Business Insider that Musk's comments on the Roadster weren't "too surprising" and show Tesla is putting effort into areas that "will drive the most growth and have an immediate impact."
"Right now, Tesla is heavily focused on high-impact projects," Leaman said, like ramping up Model Y and Cybertruck production.
While the Roadster is a fan favorite, Leaman said it's also a low-volume luxury car, so it doesn't make sense for Tesla to prioritize it when the company is pushing for "affordability and scalability."
Jacob Bourne, an analyst at Emarketer, a sister company to Business Insider, said that a Roadster delay is "not new for Tesla" or Musk.
"This happens across his businesses," Bourne said. "He talks about great, grand plans that take a long time to materialize or don't necessarily materialize," Bourne said.
Tesla bull Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, told BI he expects the Roadster, Semi, and sub $30,000 vehicle to all be on the road within "12 months."
'The fastest production car ever made, period'
Tesla's promised Roadster is a new version of the company's first-ever vehicle, a limited-production sports car released between 2008 and 2012.
Musk first announced the new Tesla Roadster in November 2017 and said it would be "the fastest production car ever made, period." Tesla said the vehicle would be able to go 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds with a top speed of over 250 miles per hour.
Musk previously said deliveries were expected to begin in 2023.
The four-seater sports car will have a removable glass roof and is expected to cost around $200,000, according to the company. Base Roadster reservations are $50,000, with a $5,000 initial payment followed by a $45,000 wire transfer required within 10 days.
In an interview with Don Lemon in March, Musk said Tesla is collaborating with SpaceX to produce the Roadster. He also said the vehicle would include "rocket technology" and didn't rule out its ability to "fly" short distances, although he didn't answer questions on whether it would include the feature directly.
"The only way to do something that's cooler than the Cybertruck is to combine SpaceX and Tesla technology to create something that's not even really a car," Musk said in the interview.
Musk has made bold statements before about what upcoming vehicles will be capable of — not all of which have panned out. He once said the Cybertruck would be able to float and operate as a boat for short periods of time. It launched with the ability to wade through water up to 30 inches.
On the Wednesday earnings call, Musk said the Roadster is "really going to be something spectacular."
He said his "good friend" Peter Thiel had lamented a lack of flying cars.
"Well, we'll see," Musk said. "More to come."