Tesla’s Roadster is open for UAE booking. Guess the price?

Dubai: Tesla has opened reservations for its next-generation Roadster in the UAE, with deposits starting at Dh210,000. Booking can be made  with a mere Dh20,000 deposit that is fully refundable but buyers will have to give the remaining Dh190,000 within the next 10 days. The EV maker however, has not confirmed any delivery date.

The car appears under the Vehicles section of Tesla’s UAE website, where buyers can tap Reserve Now. Elon Musk unveiled the model last week at a demonstration in Texas.

Buyers can choose between two versions. The Performance variant which the website describes as road ready. It is a two-seater with active aerodynamics and a multi-mode suction system that improves grip and handling. 

The Thrust variant is billed as race ready. It adds acceleration thrusters that Tesla says push the car from 0 to 100kmph in under one second. Here again the upfront payment is Dh20,000, followed by Dh1 million due within 10 days. Tesla says it will limit reservations to one per customer and will cancel duplicate orders.

A third version, the Rocket, is the one that flies. Tesla calls it air ready. The single-seater carries cold-gas thrusters around the body, which lift it, move it forward and rotate it sideways in the air. The thrusters make tiny adjustments in fractions of a second to keep the car stable. Tesla’s website ends its description with “So yes, it can fly.”

The Rocket is marked Invite Only, and Tesla lists no reservation amount. UAE buyers cannot book the flying version online at any price. The company says plainly that the Rocket is not approved for public roads. It adds that the configuration is not available in every region and that availability depends on local laws and regulations. 

The Roadster Reservation Agreement notes that Tesla is still working on options, features and hardware, so it cannot confirm a purchase price. The final figure depends on how customers configure their cars. If a purchase goes ahead, the full reservation payment comes off the final price.

Delivery remains the open question. The agreement says Tesla “cannot guarantee when your vehicle will actually be delivered.” It also specifies that no delivery date is offered, implied or guaranteed, and that Tesla accepts no liability for delays. Musk has said production of the redesigned Roadster starts in 2028. Tesla has not announced when deliveries begin.

The Roadster has drawn attention since Tesla first revealed the second-generation model in 2017. Nine years on, UAE buyers can lock in a place in the queue.