Tesla could unveil a redesigned version of its long-delayed Roadster as early as this month, nearly a decade after the electric-vehicle maker first revealed plans for a successor to its original sports car, The Information reported on Friday.

The event could feature a demonstration of a limited-edition Roadster equipped with cold-gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX. According to the report, the demonstration is expected to take place at SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas.

Tesla unveiled the next-generation Roadster in 2017 and initially promised deliveries in 2020. The programme has since faced repeated delays as the company’s ambitions for the car have evolved.

The redesigned Roadster could be remotely operated during the demonstration because of the noise and forces generated by its thrusters.

The standard Roadster and SpaceX-branded edition are expected to share similar styling, although the thruster-equipped version is reportedly not intended to be street legal. Its price could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, or potentially millions.

Tesla originally took $50,000 deposits for the standard Roadster and $250,000 for the limited Founders Series.

The project has reportedly evolved from a conventional high-performance electric car into an all-new carbon-fibre hypercar, after Tesla abandoned an earlier approach based on Model S Plaid components.

If the unveiling goes ahead, it could finally provide a glimpse of the radically reworked Roadster — and show whether Tesla’s decade-long wait has produced something genuinely revolutionary.