Tesla Roadster in Korea: ₩5.6M + ₩65M Reservation Page, Timeline and What Locals Are Saying
Tesla Korea opened Roadster reservations on 16 Oct 2026: the won amounts, what the page does not promise, a 2017-to-2026 Korean timeline, and community reactions we could verify.
Korea in one breath (16 Oct 2026): Tesla Korea opened a Roadster reservation page on the morning of 16 Oct. The listed order payment is ₩5.6 million now plus ₩65 million within 10 days for Performance. The page itself says the reservation does not confirm final price, delivery date or every feature.
The Roadster reveal happened at 7:55 p.m. Central time on 15 Oct, which is about 09:55 on 16 Oct in Seoul. Here is what that meant for Korean buyers and readers, hour by hour, and what Korean communities were saying.
Timeline: how the news reached Korea
- 2017 (Nov): Tesla shows the first prototype and starts taking deposits globally. Korean outlets say reservations in Korea became possible then; the Korean deposit was later shown as ₩55.6 million (TheFact, Newdaily).
- 2022: Carguy.kr reports the Korean Tesla site opening a Roadster reservation page: ₩5.6 million by card, then ₩50 million within 10 days.
- 8 Jan 2023: A Clien user posts that they cancelled, saying an ₩55 million deposit sitting idle was worse than earning bank interest. Refund was by phone and paid to their account about a week later (Clien post).
- 13-15 Sep 2026: Korean communities discuss the 1 Oct event invitation. Posts on Damoang and Clien mix excitement with doubt ("Does this really come out?").
- 22 Sep 2026: GPKorea reports reservations reopened with a $50,000 structure, converting to roughly ₩68 million.
- Late Sep-early Oct: The 1 Oct event is postponed two weeks. Newdaily cites weather concerns.
- 15 Oct (US evening) / 16 Oct (Korea morning): Event held and livestreamed.
- 16 Oct morning (KST): Tesla Korea opens its Roadster page with three trims. Newsworks published at 13:16 KST.
The Korean reservation page: what it says
We read Tesla Korea's reservation page directly on 16 Oct.
| Item | What the page shows |
|---|---|
| Performance | 2 seats, "by reservation", active aero and multi-mode suction |
| Thrust | 2 seats, "limited", adds acceleration thrusters |
| Rocket | "Invite only", flight feature described as a development goal |
| Order payment today | ₩5,600,000 (refundable, see the reservation agreement) |
| Due within 10 days | ₩65,000,000 |
| Fine print | Not a confirmation of price, delivery, configuration or all features |
Two things stand out for a Korean reader. First, the Rocket entry says its flight feature, its specs and whether it can be used in Korea depend on laws and permits. Second, Newsworks reports that the Thrust trim's 10-day payment is ₩350 million; we did not see that figure on the page text we could read, so treat it as the outlet's report.
What is NOT confirmed for Korea
- No Korean price. Tesla says final price and delivery come later.
- No import or certification news. We found no source on Korean safety certification or whether any trim could be registered here. Tesla's own wording on Rocket suggests it may not be usable.
- No delivery date. The global statement is "2028", from Musk on stage.
- Old deposit holders: Korean press say the old terms returned full refunds but paid no interest on the held money (Newdaily). We did not find an announcement today about how 2017-era Korean reservations convert to the new trims.
Korean media tone
Pre-event articles leaned sceptical: Etnews used the phrase "false hope" and noted overseas outlets calling the car vapourware, citing roughly $250 million in estimated global deposits. ZDNet Korea noted Sam Altman asked for a refund after waiting 7.5 years, while another customer kept his $250,000 Founders deposit. Post-event, Newsworks was more positive in tone, quoting Musk asking the audience to confirm the video was not AI, but still noted the thruster trims' road legality is unclear.
Community reaction: what we could and could not verify
We found community posts from before the event, not from after it, in the sources we could read:
- A Clien commenter planning to cancel in 2023 said they could not tell when it would ship.
- On Damoang (13 Sep 2026), commenters guessed prices from ₩400 million to over ₩1 billion, joked about the spoiler, and one said they could not attend because the invite was for US citizens. These are guesses, not data.
- On Clien (15 Sep), one user hoped for a "weight revolution", another said, "Maybe it will not come out at all."
We did not find a post-event Korean community thread we could cite, so we make no claim about how those communities reacted after the demo. Newdaily and TheFact both said online car communities mixed anticipation ("so long waiting, looking forward") with distrust.
Practical advice for Korean readers
- Read the reservation agreement before paying; the Korean page says refund terms are in the contract.
- Treat ₩70.6 million total as a deposit for a Performance place in line, not a price.
- Keep your bank wire record. Past holders reported refunds by phone.
- Tesla's only stated production target is 2028 (Musk, on stage), and nothing says Korea would be served first.
Sources: Tesla Korea Roadster reservation page (read 16 Oct 2026); Newsworks (16 Oct), Newdaily (14 Oct), TheFact, ZDNet Korea (16 Oct), Etnews (15 Sep), GPKorea (22 Sep), Carguy.kr; Clien and Damoang public posts; Reuters. Currency conversions are as reported by those outlets.
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