The new Tesla Roadster was revealed on October 15, 2026. It drove upside down on a ramp. It hopped over a row of Teslas.
And the reviewers are already sure of one thing. It will never launch.
Not “it might be late.” Never. Some say it will never even get approval.
I get it. I really do. Tesla has become the boy who cried wolf.
Short answer: Tesla has a long record of late promises. The Roadster was promised for 2020 and now targets 2028, and robotaxis promised for 2020 arrived in 2025. But some wolves did show up: Tesla says its robotaxis now give rides with no safety monitor inside in six US metros, the Semi in volume production, and Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which does most of my driving. Late is not the same as never.
What happens at the end of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?
Quick refresher, because most of us remember only the first half.
A shepherd boy cries “Wolf!” a few times for fun. The villagers run out to help, and he laughs at them. Then, in Aesop’s version, “the Wolf, however, did truly come at last.” The boy screams for help. Nobody comes. The wolf takes the whole flock.
Here’s the part I want to say out loud. The villagers weren’t wrong. They had every reason not to believe him.
But the wolf still came.
Which Tesla promises came late?
I’m not going to list all of them. That would be a different blog. Here are a few, with dates I could check.
- The Roadster. Shown in November 2017, promised for 2020. Now Elon Musk says “We enter production in 2028.” I wrote about that reveal in The Roadster Flew. My Cybertruck Did Not.
- The coast-to-coast drive. In October 2016, Musk said a Tesla would drive itself from LA to New York “without the need for a single touch” by the end of 2017. It didn’t happen.
- A million robotaxis. In April 2019, Musk said that “next year for sure, we’ll have over a million robotaxis on the road.” The first ones arrived in June 2025, in Austin, about ten cars with a Tesla employee in the passenger seat.
- The Cybertruck. Unveiled in November 2019, with production promised for late 2021. First deliveries came on November 30, 2023.
- The Semi. Shown in 2017, production promised for 2019. It entered volume production in September 2026, which Electrek called “7 years behind schedule.”
| Promise | Promised for | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Roadster | 2020 | Shown again Oct 2026, production target 2028 |
| Coast-to-coast self-driving trip | End of 2017 | Never happened |
| Robotaxis | 2020 | Started June 2025 in Austin with a safety monitor |
| Cybertruck | Late 2021 | First deliveries Nov 30, 2023 |
| Semi | 2019 | Volume production began 2026 |
| Unsupervised FSD in owners’ cars | Many past dates | Now targeted around Q2 2027 |
So yes. If you’re a villager, you’ve heard “Wolf!” a lot.
What actually showed up?
Now the second half of the fable.
Robotaxis. According to Tesla’s own safety report, its robotaxis now drive with no safety monitor in the car in six metros: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa. Tesla says they have driven more than 3 million miles that way. It’s not perfect. The zones are small, and in the Bay Area there’s still a safety driver in every car. But it’s a real car with no one in the driver’s seat, picking up real people.
Not every car, though. The Verge says some still have a safety monitor, and Tesla’s count includes trips where a remote operator helped.
The Semi. Seven years late, but Tesla’s Q3 2026 report says volume production has begun.
The robot. Even Optimus has started what Musk calls “early production” in California. He also says there’s still a lot of work left. I believe that part.
The Cybertruck. I don’t have to look this one up. I own one, a 2024.
FSD. These days I barely drive. I use FSD every day, and it does most of it. It still has clumsy moments. And to be clear, it’s still supervised. Tesla’s own report says it requires active driver supervision and “does not make the vehicle autonomous.” Tesla now says unsupervised driving in owners’ cars is coming around Q2 2027, and only inside Robotaxi zones at first. So that wolf is still on its way.
What is Musk time?
People call it Musk time. It’s almost always late. That part is true.
But here’s how I see it. Musk tries to keep everything. He sets a deadline, and then he pushes himself and his employees toward it. When it doesn’t work out, the time slips. It can’t be helped.
That’s not the same as making it up. A promise that slips is still a promise someone is chasing.
The boy in the fable was lying for fun. Tesla, the way I see it, keeps aiming too early.
Is Apple still innovating?
This part is just my opinion.
Without Steve Jobs, Apple is no longer the icon of innovation. Maybe it’s the icon of finish now. The build quality. The way everything fits.
In April 2026, Apple’s board authorized up to $100 billion in share buybacks. The way I see it, Apple can only do share buybacks now. No innovation. That’s how it feels to me.
Not financial advice. Just a driver’s opinion.
And lately I keep hearing complaints about problems with the iPhone Duo hinge.
If even the finish gets worse, what’s left to brag about? I’m worried. Honestly.
I used to be stubborn about it. I believed Apple could do everything. And I can see that era ending.
To be fair, Apple has had late promises too. Its more personal Siri was delayed in 2025 because it was taking “longer than we thought,” and finally arrived in September 2026 as an opt-in beta. Nobody is perfect at calendars.
So, am I waiting for the Roadster?
People can say it will never launch. People can say it will never get approval. They’ve earned the right to doubt. They’ve heard “Wolf!” plenty of times.
As for me, I’m not waiting with my neck stretched out.
I’m just looking forward to it.
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