Tone Deaf Trillionaire Launches Tesla Roadster Into US Market

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As the saying goes, timing is everything. If Tesla CEO and on-again, off-again trillionaire Elon Musk intended to gin up publicity for the company’s long-awaited re-launch of the iconic Tesla Roadster, now is the perfect time. Or not, as the case may be. The affordability crisis is front and center in the 2026 election cycle, and a $200,000 electric sports car is perhaps not the best foot forward for a political influencer who has been pouring dollar after dollar into dozens of races across the country, aiming to prop up Republican candidates for office in the runup to Election Day 2026.

The Time Is Ripe For A $200,000 Electric Sports Car…In Saudi Arabia

The saying also goes that any hit is a good hit in the public relations field, but that depends on who is reading what room. For example, last week Saudi Arabia saw fit to unveil the first two “EXOBOT” electric cars to roll off the assembly line at the brand new factory of state-backed Ceer Motors, the nation’s first in-house automaker. The launch was a signal of confidence in the future of the Kingdom, even as the fallout from US President Donald Trump’s war in Iran continues to ripple across the region.

Ceer has yet to disclose prices for the new sedan and SUV, though the sales pitch hints that a fat wallet is in order. “The mission is clear: to design, build, and offer aspirational battery electric vehicles to the vibrant communities of Saudi Arabia and the GCC,” the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF said in a press statement.

Readers, what do you think? How much will a Ceer set you back? About $30,000 USD is generally considered an affordable price point for an electric car in the US nowadays. At $60,000 the higher end of the affordability scale kicks in. Double that, and you’re knocking at the door of aspirational mode.

It’s A Great Time To Launch A $200,000 Electric Car In The US

The Ceer launch is all well and good for Saudi Arabia, where the nation’s leaders don’t face the chore of turning out their voters every four years. Here in the US it’s a different story, and the story is wealth and corruption. After a 10-year run of beguiling the US electorate, Trump has lost his magic touch, largely but not exclusively due to the fallout from his war of choice against Iran. Fuel prices are shooting up alongside farm bankruptcies, and that’s just the tip of a long and ugly iceberg of economic woes burdened by an electorate burdened with the rising cost of, well, everything.

Into this picture steps Elon Musk and his soon-to-be unveiled $200,000 Tesla Roadster. Electric mobility fans can also claim a founders title if they shell out $250,000, but let’s say $200,00 for the sake of simplicity.

The original Roadster sold for a base price of around $100,000 when Tesla Motors launched it in 2006, which qualified it as an aspirational purchase in its day. Accounting for inflation, that would come to about $166,000 today.

Evidently Tesla is determined up the ante on aspirational with the new Roadster. Aside from shelling out a total of $200,000 somewhere down the line, prospective buyers need to lay down $5,000 off their credit card just to hold a place for the following 10 days, within which period they are required to pony up an additional fee of $45,000 by wire transfer. “Reservations are not final until the wire transfer payment is received,” Tesla advises.

Now, who has that kind of cash lying around?

Where In The World Is Elon Musk?

The big reveal is reportedly scheduled for October 1, which is just around the corner. The big question is whether or not Musk will show up in person. Lately, he’s been a no-show. He skipped out on the all-important Cybercab driverless robotaxi event in Austin, Texas on September 3, and he was equally not visible when Tesla celebrated the official opening of its Semi Class 8 electric truck factory in Nevada last week.

Personally, I’m betting that Musk will show up for this one, if only to show up the folks at Ceer. Musk also has his reputation on the line. He first teased the return of the Roadster nine years ago, back in 2017 with production slated for 2020. After years of delay the hype has reached fever pitch.

In April Musk hinted that the launch event will be one of the most “exciting product unveils ever.”

“Success is not guaranteed, but excitement is,” he also said during a recent video appearance on the “All In” podcast hosted by Jason Calacanis, leading some to speculate that Musk intends to cast himself as Howard Stark in the infamous hovercar scene from the 2011 move Captain America: The First Avenger, with the new Roadster recreating the hovering of Stark’s 1942 Cadillac.

Somewhat on brand, in the movie Stark promises that the airborne car will be available “in a few short years,” only to see it hit the ground in a cascade of sparks and smoke.

The Affordable Electric Cars Of The Future Are Already Here

Aspirational sports cars aside, the up front cost of an electric vehicle continues to drop, largely due to cost-cutting on the battery side. Ford is among the US automakers also banking that a new approach to assembly line operations will reduce costs.

Trump’s war of choice in Iran has also tipped the TCO (total cost of ownership) calculation further onto the EV side, largely on account of the increased price of fuel. The high cost of motor oil is also factoring in to a lesser degree.

A new analysis of data from the UK’s “MOT” vehicle safety test program adds even more support to the TCO case for electric vehicles. The analysis, commissioned by the trade organization British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, affirms that EVs are less prone to mechanical breakdown than their gas-powered counterparts, with the reliability gap increasing as the mileage adds up.

That’s good news for the many US households that don’t have access to mass transit or other alternative means of transportation. Cars are a fact of life that can make or break a person’s ability to make a living, get an education, visit their doctor, or simply go out for a night at the movies.

Speaking of movies, after the dust settles from the big Tesla Roadster reveal on October 1, audiences in New York and Los Angeles can get a sneak peek at the new documentary “Musk,” unspooling initially on October 9 with wide release following on October 16. Check out the trailer here.

Trivia fans may recognize the name of “Musk” director Alex Gibney, an Emmy- and Oscar-winning filmmaker widely known for his documentaries exploring the Enron and Theranos scandals. Gibney also attached his name to Chris Paine’s 2006 documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” which tracked the sad fate of General Motors’s 1990’s-era EV-1. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then…

Image: The long-awaited unveiling of the new $200,000 Tesla Roadster electric sports car is set for October 1, just in time to stoke the fires of the affordability crisis in the runup to Election Day 2026 (screenshot courtesy of Tesla).