May 14, 2024 3:15 pm EST Mike Mareen/Shutterstock The Model S put Tesla on the map, but the original Roadster was the first EV model that Tesla sold. The 2008 Roadster is considered such an important part of Tesla's history that its first prototype was auctioned starting at a million dollars in 2016. Nevertheless, the Roadster ended production in 2012 after the company used up 2,450 Lotus Elise shells. Advertisement Elon Musk has began teasing the new Tesla Roadster way back in 2011, when he said in an interview with Autocar that a new model would arrive in 2014. However, it wasn't until 2017 that we saw its first prototype in the metal appear as part of the Tesla Semi reveal. And by 2024, ten years after the initial return date Musk announced, the new Roadster hasn't arrived yet. Nevertheless, Musk tweeted an update on the Roadster in February 2024, and he even claimed that shipping for the long-delayed sports EV will begin next year. While we always take Musk's tweets with a grain of salt, we're still excited when the Roadster will start rolling out of Tesla factories and into our driveways. In the meantime, we'll share some features we'd like to see on the 2025 Tesla Roadster. Advertisement Sjoerd Van Der Wal/Getty One pet hate we have in modern cars is the lack of physical buttons. While a sleek, minimalist interior looks good, operating a touch screen is inherently unsafe while driving. Even if asking Tesla to change its design language is a long shot, we're still asking. Advertisement Perhaps the government can take steps to mandate physical, clickable buttons for the most used functions while we drive. This includes the horn, turn signals, hazard lights, and headlight controls. While not crucial to driving, we hope that HVAC controls go back to physical, too. After all, many drivers change the temperature while driving to feel comfortable. Even if the Tesla Roadster has an auto mode for its climate control, the ability to change your settings manually without looking at a screen would likely improve safety. While we're talking about stuff Tesla isn't likely to do, we also wish that Tesla incorporate Android Auto and Apple CarPlay into the infotainment screens of its cars. After all, if you can open your Tesla with your phone, why can't you connect it to the large screen on the dash? The display on Teslas makes it the perfect candidate for running Android Auto and Apple CarPlay features while remaining relatively safe, and it would keep us from fiddling with our smartphones while driving. Advertisement