The new Tesla Roadster won’t get the complete Full Self-Driving (FSD) experience. During MotorTrend’s walkthrough of the Roadster, the host pointed out the car’s typical camera suite, which includes a front bumper (nose?) lens, and asked Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen whether it would support FSD (via @CARN0N).
“This will do a limited version of FSD,” von Holzhausen replied. He didn’t say exactly how it would be limited or what features Tesla would skip out on.
Why FSD Will Be Limited on the Roadster
Asked why, von Holzhausen pointed to “the extreme windshield and idea of just being a performance driving car.” The hardware isn’t the issue. As he put it, “the camera and hardware is there.”
The Roadster’s design is a big part of the problem. Its steeply raked windshield, low wedge shape and transforming aero make it unlike anything else in Tesla’s lineup. Add suction fans, an active rear wing and cold-gas thrusters, and you have a car that is, for lack of a better word, ridiculous, with complications FSD wasn’t trained for.
Volume is the other issue. Early estimates from analysts suggest Tesla will build only about 2,000 Roadsters per year once production starts in 2028. That’s well below even the Cybertruck, which is already Tesla’s lowest-volume consumer vehicle. Training FSD for an entirely new vehicle that will sell in such small numbers isn’t practical.
A Driver’s Car First
The Roadster isn’t without autonomy. Every stunt at Tesla’s Roadster unveil, including driving upside down, hovering in the air, and the kickflip over Tesla’s commercial lineup, was performed autonomously. Musk said that was “to make sure we don’t kill anyone,” though Tesla didn’t say what software handled it, and it likely wasn’t FSD.
That was the most insane product demo I’ve ever seen. Well done Tesla! pic.twitter.com/BuKMIMNDZl
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) October 16, 2026
Musk has since come right out and said owners will be able to ask the Roadster to perform the tricks shown at the event on its own, adding that “it will be sentient.”
However, Tesla is positioning the Roadster as “the last great driver’s car” first. It uses a steer-by-wire yoke with by-wire brakes and throttle, and Musk has said it will eventually be the only manually driven vehicle Tesla makes. All of that suggests that while the new Roadster may end up being able to drive itself, it goes against Tesla’s entire ethos, in that it is actually intended to be driven by a human.
If you missed the event (welcome back from your stay under a rock, I guess), you can watch the full Roadster reveal on demand. With production still a couple of years away, we’ll likely learn exactly which FSD features make the cut closer to launch.
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