Tesla warns weather could delay Roadster demo, and the forecast is ugly

This one is about Tesla's Roadster, not home energy upgrades, but here's the plain version. Tesla has told people invited to its October 1 Roadster event in Texas that bad weather could force a delay. The demo has to happen outdoors because it involves a hover test using cold-gas thrusters built with SpaceX, at a rocket test site near Waco. The car is expected to run with no driver, and spectators are kept far back because the thrusters are loud enough to damage hearing. The forecast for October 1 shows an 82% chance of rain with thunderstorms and wind gusts up to 32 mph, conditions that don't work for the demo. Rain chances stay high on Friday too, easing some by Saturday.

This adds another possible delay to a Roadster launch that has already slipped repeatedly since it was first shown in 2017, with production once promised for 2020. People who put down deposits, $50,000 for the standard car and $250,000 for the Founders Series, still don't have a car nearly nine years later.

None of this affects home energy programs or rebates. It's simply an update on why Tesla's Roadster reveal event might get pushed back again, this time because of weather rather than any change to the car itself.