Tesla reveals SpaceX-powered Roadster that flies and falls with style

Tesla conscionable revealed its redesigned second-generation Roadster with SpaceX thrusters, a conveyance helium has called “the champion of the past of the human-driven cars.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed disconnected the car astatine an lawsuit extracurricular Waco, Texas, with a objection that saw the car usage a substance of high-powered fans and thrusters to thrust up an inverted ramp, rotation around, and easiness itself to a landing connected the pavement below. The car besides utilized the thrusters to assistance itself up implicit a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y, and Model 3 portion successful motion.

“This volition beryllium the existent car that’s connected the roads,” Musk said of the car, which Tesla showed going 0-60 miles per hr successful 1 second. “It virtually is conscionable going to puff itself up, and uh, and beryllium capable to bash this, these maneuvers whenever you’d like.”

Musk has positioned it arsenic a existent halo car for Tesla, saying astatine 1 constituent that he’s “not definite it moves the needle massively from a gross standpoint.” But helium has antecedently said the that “safety is not the main goal” with the caller Roadster.

“If you bargain a Ferrari, information is not the fig 1 goal. I say, if information is your fig 1 goal, bash not bargain the Roadster,” helium said connected a podcast earlier this year. Tesla would “aspire not to termination anyone successful this car,” helium said.

“This is the culmination of unthinkable enactment by Tesla and SpaceX Engineers moving intimately unneurotic to marque thing you haven’t seen successful immoderate movie, amended than immoderate James Bond car,” Musk said astatine the event. “I’ve ne'er seen thing similar this. You cognize erstwhile I suggested this to the team, I thought, ‘Am I crazy?’”

Musk had antecedently claimed that the car “will beryllium precise antithetic from what was shown previously” and promised the demo would beryllium the “most exciting, whether it works oregon not, demo ever of immoderate product.” An earlier mentation of the uncover lawsuit reportedly was going to see the car being driven upside down connected a magnetized ramp earlier hovering, which Musk allegedly scrapped.

Tesla held the lawsuit astir 9 years to the time aft the institution archetypal revealed the second-gen Roadster, a modernized instrumentality connected its first-ever car. Included arsenic a astonishment astatine the extremity of the Tesla Semi uncover successful 2017, the institution promised the revamped Roadster would beryllium delivered successful conscionable a fewer years. Tesla allowed customers to spot $50,000 deposits to reserve the car. Some adjacent paid $250,000 to reserve 1 of 1,000 “Founders Series” versions.

Musk archetypal talked astir adding thrusters to the car successful 2018. “SpaceX enactment bundle for caller Tesla Roadster volition see ~10 tiny rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly astir car,” helium wrote connected Twitter that year. “These rocket engines dramatically amended acceleration, apical speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they volition adjacent let a Tesla to alert …”

But the Roadster task took a backmost seat. Later that year, Tesla suffered done what Musk yet dubbed “production hell” with the Model 3 sedan. The institution past moved onto different projects similar the Model Y SUV, which became the best-selling conveyance successful the world, and the Cybertruck, which was a commercialized flop by Tesla’s ain standards. Along the way, Musk delayed the caller Roadster successful 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024.

As Tesla got much region from the motorboat of those caller vehicles, Musk started talking astir the second-gen Roadster again. Late past year, helium said connected Joe Rogan’s podcast that helium wanted to uncover it by the extremity of 2025. One week later, astatine the shareholder gathering wherever helium was awarded a $1 trillion wage package, helium delayed it to April 1, 2026. Musk an April Fools’ Day lawsuit would springiness him “some deniability” if Tesla delayed the lawsuit again.

“Like, I could accidental I was conscionable kidding,” helium said astatine the time. Tesla coiled up pushing the uncover again. It attempted to clasp the lawsuit connected October 1, but terrible upwind forced yet different delay.

These repeated delays caused a fig of high-profile customers to talk retired implicit the years.m