Tesla Roadster 2028: Price in Portugal, Specs, Range and EU Deposit
Published: 25/10/2026
Tesla Roadster 2028: the spec sheet that took nine years
Around 500 km of range. That's half the 1,000 km Tesla promised back in 2017 — and oddly, it's the most honest number to come out of this week. The new Tesla Roadster was finally shown on 15 October 2026 at SpaceX's McGregor test site in Texas, after the reveal had been postponed seven times. Production starts in Texas in 2028, Tesla says.
The event was pure theatre: the car driving upside down on a ramp, then hopping over a Tesla Semi on cold-gas thrusters. The real numbers came a day later, in a nearly hour-long Top Gear video with Lars Moravy (chief engineer) and Franz von Holzhausen (head of design). Below is the Tesla Roadster spec sheet as it stands today, conflicting figures included, plus what it means for anyone living in Portugal — starting with the question of the Tesla Roadster price in Portugal, which, spoiler, doesn't exist yet.
Tesla Roadster 2028 specs: confirmed figures (and conflicting ones)
A caveat first. Tesla hasn't published a full official spec sheet: battery capacity, charging curve, per-trim top speed and price are all still missing. The figures below come from Moravy and von Holzhausen's statements and Tesla's launch post, cross-checked across several outlets.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Seats | 2 (Rocket version: 1) |
| Body | T-top with removable glass panels in the butterfly doors — not a true roadster |
| Chassis | All-new aluminium and carbon fibre; steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, carbon-ceramic discs |
| Drive | Rear-wheel drive, 2 motors, torque vectoring, no differential (8.4:1 planetary per wheel) |
| Power (base version) | over 800 kW (about 1,088 metric hp / 1,073 hp) |
| Torque (base version) | 1,200 Nm |
| Power (top versions) | over 1,000 kW (about 1,360 metric hp / 1,341 hp); some outlets quote around 1,500 hp |
| Torque (top versions) | over 1,400 Nm |
| Weight | about 1,700 kg (lightest version, provisional) |
| Battery | Nickel-based lithium-ion (4680 cells), 800–1,000 V, capacity undisclosed (over 100 kWh per MotorTrend) |
| Peak DC charging | 500 kW (V4 Supercharger) |
| Max battery output | 1,000 kW |
| Charging | 15→85% in 10 min (Moravy, via InsideEVs); other outlets: 10→80% in 10–12 min |
| Range | about 500–515 km in normal driving; Tesla says "over 300 miles" |
| 0-97 km/h (0-60 mph) | Performance: under 1.6 s; Thrust: under 0.9 s; Rocket: under 0.59 s; live demo: 0.81 s |
| Top speed | 344 km/h currently, target 531 km/h; Tesla launch post: over 370 km/h |
| Tyres | 295/30 R20 front, 335/30 R21 rear, Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS |
| Production | Texas, from 2028 |
How much power does the new Tesla Roadster have
It depends on who you ask. The base development version is rated at over 800 kW, about 1,088 metric horsepower, with 1,200 Nm. The more powerful versions pass 1,000 kW — the 1,341 hp (1,360 metric hp) figure in all the headlines — and over 1,400 Nm. MotorTrend and the Detroit News quote roughly 1,500 hp, but the kW figures Moravy gave point to 1,341 hp.
All of it goes to the rear wheels only. There's no all-wheel drive, unlike the three-motor 2017 prototype. Each of the two rear motors drives one wheel through an 8.4:1 planetary gearset, with no differential, and software splits the torque in corners.
Tesla Roadster 0-100 km/h: under a second, with an asterisk
Nobody has quoted a 0-100 km/h time yet. Every figure released is for 0-60 mph, which is 0-97 km/h. At the reveal, Tesla showed a timed run of 0.81 seconds, using the event's own timer and with no independent verification.
Official figures vary by trim: under 1.6 s for the Performance, under 0.9 s for the Thrust and under 0.59 s for the Rocket. Moravy also cited 0.55 s, but that's with "rollout" — the American convention of ignoring the first foot of travel. For reference, the Rimac Nevera, with about 1,900 hp and four motors, is one of the fastest production EVs around and sits above 1.7 s. Without thrusters, the Roadster Performance doesn't claim to beat it.
Battery, range and 10-minute charging
The battery is bespoke to the Roadster: nickel-based lithium-ion cells, an 800 to 1,000 V architecture and the fastest charging Tesla has ever built. The capacity in kWh was left out at Tesla's own request.
Tesla Roadster range: about 500 km, half what was promised
In 2017, the promise was 1,000 km on a charge. Now Moravy talks about 500 to 515 km in normal driving. That's a big drop, but it makes sense for a car designed mainly for the track. Moravy hopes for 25 to 30 minutes of unrestricted track driving per charge.
In practice, 500 km is enough for a Lisbon–Porto run with room to spare. Nobody buys a car like this to commute on the A1 every week, but it's good to know a weekend in the Algarve won't require meticulous charge planning.
500 kW charging: what it means in practice
According to Moravy, the battery goes from 15% to 85% in about 10 minutes on a V4 Supercharger, peaking at 500 kW. Sources disagree here too: Hagerty says 15→80% in 10 minutes (as a target), MotorTrend says 10→80% in 10 to 12 minutes, and Top Gear says under 15 minutes for 15→80%. The ballpark is clear enough: a coffee stop.
If 70% of charge roughly equals 70% of range, that's around 350 km added in that stop — our estimate, not Tesla's. In Portugal, bear in mind that most fast chargers, including those on the public MOBI.E network, deliver well under 500 kW, so the 10-minute figure depends on finding a charger that can keep up. The charging port is hidden behind the rear wing.
Performance, Thrust and Rocket: the trims and the SpaceX thrusters
The Roadster comes in three commercial configurations. (InsideEVs mentions "four versions" in its rundown of Moravy's specs, including the 800 kW base car still in development; Tesla's launch post lists three.)
| Trim | What you get | 0-97 km/h | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | 4 rear suction fans + skirts, up to 2 g cornering, no thrusters | under 1.6 s | Reservations open |
| Thrust | Adds 4 cold-gas (nitrogen) thrusters and a 200 L tank in the trunk | under 0.9 s | "Limited" |
| Rocket | 10 thrusters in total, single seat, extra 400 L tank (600 L total) | under 0.59 s | Invite-only |
The fans, about 20 kW each, pull air from under the car and generate up to 2 g. The thrusters are the most SpaceX part of the story: nitrogen stored at up to 10,000 psi, more than 80 kN of thrust and roughly 5 to 6 seconds of push per fill. The Rocket is the only version Tesla says can actually "fly".
The downside is real. Refilling the tank currently takes 2 to 6 hours (Hagerty says 6 to 7) and Tesla is working on a system to bring that under 30 minutes. On the Thrust, the 200 L tank takes up the entire trunk.
Is the Tesla Roadster road legal in Europe?
Nobody knows yet — and for anyone in Portugal, that's probably the key question. Elon Musk himself admitted the thruster and fan functions "may not be legal in all jurisdictions" and stopped short of calling them road-homologated. InsideEVs expects any road-legal version to drop the thrusters.
There's more to sort out. The Roadster has no side mirrors and uses cameras where the law allows; US cars will get mirrors. On EU homologation (type approval), Tesla hasn't said a word. Without it, there's no Portuguese registration, however real the car is in Texas.
Tesla Roadster price in Portugal: what we know
There is no price. Not for Portugal, not for Europe, not for the US. The reservation agreement says any price mentioned "is only an estimate" and that the final figure will only be confirmed once you configure the car. Any Portuguese price you see quoted online is speculation.
The only concrete reference is old: in 2017, the base car cost $200,000 in the US, roughly €170,000 in France at the time. Those prices were pulled from Tesla's website in late 2021 and today's car is completely different — treat them as history, not as an estimate.
On the tax side, there's one predictable bit of good news. As a fully electric car, the Roadster would be exempt from ISV (Portugal's vehicle registration tax) and IUC (the annual road tax), paying only 23% VAT. At this price level the ISV exemption matters a lot, but the base price remains the big unknown.
Tesla Roadster reservation deposit in Europe: €43,000
Before the reveal, reserving a Roadster in France cost €43,000: €4,000 by card and €39,000 by bank transfer within 10 days. We couldn't confirm the European amount after the reveal, nor find a Portugal-specific figure. For comparison, the deposits reopened in September were:
| Market | Reservation deposit |
|---|---|
| US (Performance) | $50,000 ($5,000 + $45,000 within 10 days) |
| US (Thrust) | $250,000, per MotorTrend, Fox Business and TechCrunch |
| France / Europe (pre-reveal) | €43,000 (€4,000 + €39,000) |
| China (pre-reveal) | RMB 332,000 (about $52,000) |
| Canada (pre-reveal) | CAD 64,000 |
Note the contradiction: InsideEVs reported that all three trims could be reserved for $50,000, while other outlets put the Thrust at $250,000. The Rocket is invite-only.
The US reservation agreement is clear on one point worth taking seriously: Tesla "cannot guarantee when your vehicle will actually be delivered or if it will be delivered". The reservation is refundable and non-transferable, and it isn't a firm order — just an approximate place in the queue.
When will the Tesla Roadster arrive in Portugal
Production is planned in Texas from 2028. Tesla has 4 to 5 development prototypes and plans a larger build early next year. European or Portuguese dates? None. Given that the 2017 promise pointed to 2020 deliveries, it's sensible to expect the first European cars, at best, after the American ones — and only if homologation gets sorted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tesla has not announced a price for Portugal, Europe or the US, and the reservation agreement states that any figure quoted is only an estimate. The only concrete reference dates from 2017: $200,000 in the US, roughly €170,000 in France at the time, which no longer applies to today's car. As a fully electric car, the Roadster would be exempt from ISV (registration tax) and IUC (annual road tax) in Portugal, paying only 23% VAT.
Before the October 2026 reveal, reserving in France cost €43,000: €4,000 by card plus €39,000 by bank transfer within 10 days. There is no confirmed Portugal-specific deposit and no updated post-reveal European figure; in the US, the Performance trim requires $50,000. The deposit is refundable and non-transferable, but Tesla warns it cannot guarantee when, or even if, the car will be delivered.
Production is planned in Texas from 2028, with 4 to 5 development prototypes running and a larger build planned for early next year. Tesla has announced no delivery dates for Europe or Portugal. Given that the 2017 promise pointed to 2020 deliveries, it is safest to expect the first European cars only after the American ones, and only if EU homologation is resolved.
Not yet known: Tesla has said nothing about EU homologation (type approval), and without it the car cannot be registered in Portugal. Elon Musk admitted the cold-gas thrusters and suction fans may not be legal in all jurisdictions, and InsideEVs expects any road-legal version to drop the thrusters. The car also has no side mirrors, relying on cameras only where the law allows.
Tesla engineering chief Lars Moravy quotes about 500 to 515 km in normal driving, half the 1,000 km promised in 2017, or 25 to 30 minutes of flat-out track driving. On a 500 kW V4 Supercharger, the battery goes from 15% to 85% in about 10 minutes, although other outlets report 10 to 12 minutes for 10-80%. Most fast chargers in Portugal deliver far less than 500 kW, so real-world charging times will be longer.
Who should actually put down a deposit
For the first time in nine years, the Roadster has credible engineering numbers from the people actually building it. But for a buyer in Portugal, the three things that decide a purchase are still missing: price, a European delivery date and homologation. If you have €43,000 sitting idle and like the idea of being part of the story, you can reserve knowing the money is refundable. Everyone else is better off waiting for the price announcement and for any concrete signal about the European version — and about how much of the thruster package survives the trip.