October 15th — HomePad and Roadster on the Same Day

Short version: Apple’s HomePad and the Tesla Roadster both have an October 15th launch date. One is a smart display. The other is a car Tesla showed off almost a decade ago. Neither will ship on that day. At least the HomePad will actually exist eventually.

The Setup

October 15th is apparently a busy day in tech fantasy land.

Apple HomePad — the long-rumored smart display that would finally put Apple in the smart home game against Alexa and Google Nest. Rumored for four years. Codenamed multiple things. Delayed more than once. Now supposedly launching October 15th.

Tesla Roadster — the car Elon showed on stage in 2017. The one with the SpaceX thruster package option. The one that would do 0-60 in 1.9 seconds. Still not shipping. Now also supposedly getting an October 15th reveal.

Same day.

The Honest Take

One of these is a smart display that Apple can actually produce because it’s basically an iPad in a speaker dock. The other is a car that requires a production line, crash testing, and a supply chain that doesn’t currently exist.

Apple catches up to Alexa from three years ago. Tesla finally shows off a car it showed off nine years ago.

October 15th is going to be a very funny day on the internet.

The Prediction

HomePad: Exists. Ships. Maybe late, but it ships. Apple has the supply chain and the incentive — the smart home is the last uncolonized room in their ecosystem.

Roadster: Gets announced again. Maybe a new render. Maybe a “production intent” prototype. Maybe a reservation page. A handful of Founders Series cars get delivered to celebrities. The rest of us wait another two years. Minimum.

At least the HomePad will actually exist eventually.

The Bottom Line

October 15th is going to be the most mismatched product launch day in tech history. Apple finally joins the smart display party. Tesla re-announces a car it first showed when the iPhone X was new.

One of these ships on time. The other gets pushed to “next year” again.

I’ll let you guess which is which.