Tesla Roadster $50K reservers would have about $850K–$900K now if they'd bought Tesla stock, Business Insider says
Business Insider says people who paid $50,000 to reserve Tesla's Roadster in November 2017 would now hold roughly $850,000–$900,000 if they had instead bought Tesla stock. The outlet adds that a $250,000 Founders Series payment from November 2017 would be worth about $4.3 million and that Tesla is scheduled to unveil the Roadster in mid-October 2026.
AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · Full text read from 1 of 2 outletsHow it's made
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Key facts
- People who paid $50,000 to reserve Tesla's Roadster in November 2017 would have between $850,000 and $900,000 now if they had bought Tesla stock instead, at a roughly $360 mid-October 2026 share price (per Business Insider).
- Business Insider states that Tesla is set to unveil the second-generation Roadster on a Thursday night in mid-October 2026 (per Business Insider).
- During an October 2025 earnings call, Elon Musk thanked the vehicle's "long-suffering" deposit holders while saying Tesla had focused heavily on autonomy and robotics (per Business Insider).
- YouTuber Marques Brownlee canceled one of his two Roadster reservations after eight years and said Tesla "has been sitting with my 50 grand for eight years and hasn't done anything with it," according to Business Insider (per Business Insider).
The brief
Business Insider calculates that a $50,000 Roadster reservation paid in November 2017 would have grown to roughly $850,000–$900,000 if the buyer had instead purchased Tesla shares. The outlet bases its comparison on Tesla shares having closed near $21 on November 17, 2017—the first trading day after Elon Musk unveiled the car—and a mid-October 2026 share price it describes as roughly $360. Using those prices, Business Insider says the $50,000 reserved in 2017 would translate into a paper value in the high hundreds of thousands today, before taxes and trading fees. The piece also runs the numbers for Tesla's higher-tier reservation: Business Insider reports a $250,000 Founders Series payment from November 2017 would be worth about $4.3 million at the roughly $360 per-share price it cites. The outlet frames the comparison as a missed financial opportunity for deposit holders who kept reservations rather than converting the cash into Tesla equity when the car was originally unveiled. Business Insider notes a timing context: during an October 2025 earnings call Elon Musk thanked what the outlet quotes as the vehicle's "long-suffering" deposit holders and said Tesla had concentrated on autonomy and robotics. The article cites two public reversals as gestures of impatience from reservation holders: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman canceled his reservation in 2025, and YouTuber Marques Brownlee canceled one of two reservations after eight years, telling Business Insider that "Tesla has been sitting with my 50 grand for eight years and hasn't done anything with it."
The outlet adds that Tesla is scheduled to unveil the second-generation Roadster on a Thursday night in mid-October 2026, placing the numerical comparison against a near-term product event. Business Insider presents the price comparisons as simple opportunity-cost calculations tied to the share-price movement between November 2017 and mid-October 2026. All dollar figures and dates in this account come from Business Insider's reporting, which supplies the $21 closing price on November 17, 2017, the roughly $360 mid-October 2026 share price, the $850,000–$900,000 range for a $50,000 reservation rolled into stock, and the $4.3 million estimate for a $250,000 Founders Series payment. The article quotes Musk's October 2025 wording and names two reservation cancels it says occurred publicly in 2025 and after eight years respectively. Readers relying on Business Insider's calculation should note the outlet presents its totals before taxes and trading fees and ties them to the specific share prices it cites.
Why it matters
- Owners of $50,000 Roadster reservations who kept their cash tied up bear an opportunity cost quantified by Business Insider as roughly $800,000–$850,000 in unrealized gains compared with buying Tesla shares at the dates the outlet uses.
- Founders Series reservers who paid $250,000 in November 2017 face an opportunity cost Business Insider values at about $4.05 million in additional paper gains versus holding Tesla stock at the mid-October 2026 price.
- The figures matter to named reservation holders such as Sam Altman and Marques Brownlee because they illustrate why some public reservation cancellations occurred and why Elon Musk publicly addressed deposit holders on an October 2025 earnings call.
What to watch next
- Whether Tesla unveils the second-generation Roadster on the Thursday night in mid-October 2026 that Business Insider cites.
- Whether additional named reservation holders publicly cancel or comment on their Roadster deposits following the Tesla unveiling referenced by Business Insider.
- Whether Tesla provides updates that affect the timeline or delivery details for Roadster reservations during or after the mid-October 2026 unveiling mentioned in Business Insider.
How it's being covered
Coverage analysisShow details2 source articles · 2 unique outletsCoverage mix: Too few rated· 2 CenterWhere the outlets are based: US/Canada 100%
- Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
How outlets' accounts compare
How we got here
Immediate backdrop: Tesla opened reservations for its second-generation Roadster with $50,000 deposits in November 2017, and the company and some reservation holders discussed those deposits publicly during an October 2025 Tesla earnings call in which CEO Elon Musk thanked "long-suffering" deposit holders while describing Tesla's focus on autonomy and robotics.
Prior to that, several high-profile individuals who reserved Roadsters made public moves: YouTuber Marques Brownlee said in 2025 that he had canceled one of two Roadster reservations after eight years, citing the deposit he placed in 2017.
Original sources
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