Tesla launches ‘flying’ Roadster sports EV as Elon Musk hails ‘the future’
Tesla’s long-awaited sports car used SpaceX-developed thrusters to fly off a ramp and hit 60 mph in under a second, the company said.
- On Thursday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk demonstrated the new Roadster at SpaceX's McGregor, Texas facility, using high-powered fans and thrusters to drive the electric supercar upside down and perform mid-air barrel rolls.
- Originally unveiled in 2017, the Roadster project suffered nearly nine years of delays while Tesla prioritized mass-market vehicles like the Model Y and Cybertruck, pushing production timelines repeatedly.
- The "Thrust" package adds cold-gas thrusters and suction systems, enabling 0-60 mph acceleration in under 0.9 seconds; customers can reserve a base Roadster for $5,000 upfront, with $45,000 due within 10 days.
- Production is slated for 2028, though Musk acknowledged "success is not guaranteed." Tesla vehicle engineering head Lars Moravy noted thrusters enable "micro adjustments within a fraction of a second," even as Musk warned the vehicle is "not necessarily a safety-optimized car."
- Analysts suggest the event aims to link Tesla and SpaceX operations, though Musk dismissed the project as a "small potato situation" financially; competitors like Rimac and BYD have already released high-performance EVs, leaving Tesla playing catch-up.
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Tesla presented in Texas the new Roadster, developed together with SpaceX and equipped with thrusters powered by a very high pressure air tank. In the demonstration the prototype runs through a vertical wall, performs maneuvers in the air and accelerates from zero to 96 kilometers per hour in less than a second, according to Elon Musk. The production is scheduled for 2028, eight years after the date initially announced; it remains to be clarifie…
Tesla unveils thruster-equipped Roadster, with production set for 2028
Tesla revealed its second-generation Roadster on 15 October at a SpaceX site in McGregor, Texas. The car uses cold-gas thrusters built with SpaceX to jump, flip, and land. Reservations cost $50,000 or $250,000 depending on the version, and Musk says production starts in 2028. Tesla unveiled its second-generation Roadster on Thursday at a SpaceX test […] This story continues at The Next Web
The sports car jumps over cars and makes a flip in the air.
Elon Musk relies on spectacle: When presenting a new Tesla, the entrepreneur amazed the audience. The car could even fly. However, some important details left Musk open.
What sounded like science fiction just a few years ago became reality yesterday. Tesla has unveiled a new generation of its Roadster sports car, which can fly for a few moments with the help of special thrusters.
For years, Elon Musk has been promising his fans a rocket car – the now shown Tesla Roadster can actually take a little off the ground. How many of them are built remains unclear.
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