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Tesla promises surprise reveal Wednesday in Switzerland

Could it be the new production Roadster?

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Tesla has sent out invitations to its most loyal fans and customers to the inaugural Grand Basel show this week in Switzerland, where it promises a surprise at the event dedicated to rare and high-end "automotive masterpieces." The invitation includes a close-cropped image of what appears to be red sheetmetal and a dark-tinted window, leading to speculation that the electric carmaker will debut the production version of its new Roaster.

Elon Musk surprised us once before with the second-generation Roadster, unveiling it last November as an aside during the unveiling of the electric Semi Truck, saying it will do 0-60 mph in just 1.9 seconds and boasting a top speed of more than 250 mph. It's also promised to have a driving range of an incredible 620 miles on a charge. Things have been fairly quiet on the Roadster front of late, but a planned reveal might explain how Jay Leno got to test-drive one recently on his "Jay Leno's Garage" series.

Grand Basel will showcase just 100 cars, but they are promised to be very special cars. Included among them are the 1968 Lamborghini Miura used in the opening sequence of "The Italian Job," a 1956 Porsche 550 1500 RS Spyder and a 1954 Pegaso Z-102 Series II Saoutchik Cabriolet, which was considered the fastest production car in its day. Against this backdrop, it's hard to imagine Tesla unveiling, say, its electric pickup truck or Model Y SUV. After his turbulent year thus far, one suspects Musk will delight in getting back to a simple product reveal event, a ritual he seems to relish and thrive on, even though he usually prefers to do them at standalone, non-show events.

Tesla is giving away two complimentary VIP tickets to the reveal, which takes place tomorrow, so we won't have to wait long to see what Musk has in store for us. The full Grand Basel show opens Thursday.

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