Should You Reserve a Tesla Roadster? ($50K vs $250K)

Tesla just opened reservations for its new Roadster, and getting in line costs either fifty thousand dollars, or two hundred and fifty thousand.

That's not the price of the car. That's just to save your spot.

So what do you actually get for that money, and is it worth it? Let's break it down.

What the Deposit Is

First, a reservation is a deposit, not the final price. Tesla hasn't announced what the car will actually cost.

For reference, when the Roadster was first revealed in 2017, Tesla said the base price would be around two hundred thousand dollars.

So the deposit is a big chunk of money, paid years before you'd ever get the car.

The $50K Performance

The fifty thousand dollar reservation is for the Performance version, the road car.

It seats two, and Tesla says it gets active aerodynamics, a suction fan for grip, about three hundred miles of range, and a top speed over two hundred and thirty miles per hour.

But here's the catch. It doesn't have the rocket-style thrusters, so it's not the version from the one-second zero to sixty demo.

The $250K Thrust

The two hundred fifty thousand dollar reservation gets you the Thrust version.

That's the one with the cold-gas thrusters, the jumps and flips, and Tesla's claim of zero to sixty in under one second.

And there's a third version called Rocket. It's a single seat, it's invite only, and Tesla hasn't listed a price at all.

The Risk

Now the part nobody likes talking about. History.

Back in 2017, people paid fifty thousand dollar deposits, and two hundred fifty thousand for a special Founders edition, for a car that was promised for 2020.

It's now 2026, and production is planned for 2028. That money has been waiting for years.

And early reports don't clearly say how refunds work for the new reservations. So read Tesla's terms carefully before paying anything.

So, Should You?

So, should you reserve one? I'm a cartoon, not a financial advisor, but here's the honest version.

If you have money you truly won't miss, and you love being first in line, the reservation buys you a spot.

If you'd need that money anytime in the next few years, waiting for real reviews and a real price costs you nothing.

Would you reserve one? Fifty K, two fifty, or keep your money?