All roasts
tesla.com, roasted on 4 Nov 2026.

Medium

The car in the headline is a tiny white smudge flying through smoke.

What we saw: Tesla's company homepage, currently featuring the Roadster

Three things we noticed

  1. 'ROADSTER' is the only word on the first screen, so a stranger learns a name and nothing it does.

    Roadster headline
  2. The Roadster is a small white shape mid-air in smoke, upstaged by a parked truck below it.

    main photo
  3. 'Reserve Now', 'Learn More', 'Schedule a Drive Today': three buttons, and not one price.

    three buttons

The one fix

Add one line under 'ROADSTER' that says what it is and what reserving costs, such as "The quickest Tesla ever: [0-60 time], from [price], reserve for [deposit]."

The full roast

The 5-second test

I think it's Tesla showing off a new car called Roadster, for people who want the newest Tesla, and I'd click 'Reserve Now'. I couldn't tell you which car in the picture is the Roadster, what it costs, or what reserving involves.
What I think you sell
Electric cars, with a new sports car called Roadster up front
Who I think it's for
Tesla fans and people shopping for an electric car

Headline and value

5/10

One word, in gold, doing the job of a whole sales pitch.

The big headline is just 'ROADSTER' in a shiny logo font, with no line underneath. A stranger learns a name but not that it's a sports car, why it's special, or when it arrives. The picture should explain it, but the Roadster is the small white shape flying through smoke above a row of cars that aren't for sale on this slide. A company homepage has to say what the company makes, and this first screen leaves the brand name to carry that.

Quick win: Add one plain line under 'ROADSTER', such as "Tesla's new electric sports car. Reserve yours today."

Call to action

6/10

'Reserve Now' is easy to spot. What it costs is not.

The blue 'Reserve Now' clearly leads and 'Learn More' sits politely beside it, which is the right order. Nothing nearby says whether reserving takes a deposit, how much, or whether you can get it back, and that is a lot to ask before someone clicks. At the bottom, a sticky 'Schedule a Drive Today' button asks for something else entirely, a test drive for a car that, on this slide, you can only reserve.

Quick win: Put one short line of small print under the two buttons: "Reserve for [deposit]. Fully refundable." Only claim refundable if it is.

Look and layout

7/10

A great stage show where the star is the smallest thing on stage.

The black background, red light streak and gold wordmark look expensive, and the eye lands on 'ROADSTER' and the blue button first, which is right. Then it slides down to the lineup of cars and the truck, which take up far more room than the Roadster itself, a white blur in the smoke. The left and right arrows and the three dots say this is a slideshow, so the one message visitors do see may change before they've read it.

Quick win: Swap the picture for a clear, close side view of the Roadster on its own, so the product named in gold is the product people see.

Trust and proof

6/10

The logo is the only proof on show.

The first screen has no facts at all: no price, no speed, no range, no delivery date. The famous name earns the click, but a stranger meeting this car for the first time gets nothing to believe except the smoke. 'Full Self-Driving' starts peeking in at the bottom, but we can't see what that section says.

Quick win: Add one number next to the headline that is already public and true, such as the price or a speed figure, so the first screen has a fact to stand on.

Copy

5/10

Three words of copy, and two of them are button labels.

Apart from 'ROADSTER', the only words a visitor reads are 'Reserve Now', 'Learn More' and 'Schedule a Drive Today'. Short is fine, but there isn't a single sentence saying what this is. 'Learn More' is the label you'd put on any button anywhere; 'See the Roadster' would at least name the car.

Quick win: Change 'Learn More' to 'See the Roadster' and add the one-line description under the headline.

Top fixes, in order

  1. Say what the Roadster is and what reserving costs

    Why: The big headline is a single gold word, 'ROADSTER', and the only thing to do is 'Reserve Now'. Strangers are asked to commit before they've been told it's a sports car or what a reservation costs.

    How: Add one line under the wordmark: "The new Tesla Roadster. Reserve yours for [deposit]." Use the real deposit figure. If there's a public price or a speed figure, add it as a second short line.

  2. Make the Roadster the clear star of the picture

    Why: The car being sold is the small white shape mid-air in the smoke, while the lineup of other cars and the truck fills the bottom of the frame. People can't want what they can't make out.

    How: Lead with a large, sharp shot of the Roadster alone, filling the middle of the screen. Keep the lineup photo for a later slide or further down the page.

  3. Stop the two main buttons pulling in different directions

    Why: 'Reserve Now' at the top and the sticky 'Schedule a Drive Today' at the bottom ask for two different things, and the second doesn't fit a car you can only reserve.

    How: While the Roadster slide is showing, either hide the sticky button or relabel it to say which cars it covers, e.g. 'Test-Drive a Model You Can Buy Today'.

  4. Show what else Tesla sells, right at the top

    Why: The top bar shows the logo and nothing else, so a visitor who came for an everyday car has to wait for the slideshow or scroll to find it.

    How: Put the model names in the top bar as plain links, so anyone can jump to the car they came for in one click.

  5. Give the first slide time to be read

    Why: The arrows and three dots show this is a slideshow, so the Roadster message may slide away before a newcomer has worked out what it is.

    How: Let the first slide stay put until the visitor taps an arrow, or slow it right down. Make sure each slide has its own one-line description so whichever one people land on makes sense.

Rewrites to steal

Headlines

The new Tesla Roadster. Reserve yours today.

plain and literal

Tesla's electric sports car is here to reserve

offer first

Every Tesla made room for this one

lineup as backdrop

Subheadlines

Reserve for [deposit] and get in line for the newest Tesla.

cost up front

An electric sports car from Tesla. Reserve now, or test-drive a model you can buy today.

two clear paths

Not ready to wait? Book a drive in a Tesla that's already on the road.

answers the doubter

Button text

Reserve a Roadster

names the product

See the Roadster

low commitment

Book a Test Drive

for today's buyers