The long version

The ownership pattern here is a reservation number, not a car — thousands of buyers have spent most of a decade holding a refundable deposit against a promise of thrust, with the actual driving experience still entirely hypothetical. That's a different category of buyer than the first Roadster ever had: nobody in 2008 waited the better part of a decade for a car that existed only as a keynote slide. If it ever ships, the announced performance package alone guarantees a garage-queen contingent before the first delivery, the same way any headline number attracts buyers who want the claim more than the commute.