Nearly nine years after first showing it off, Tesla finally put its second-generation Roadster through its paces on Thursday, October 15, at SpaceX’s rocket test site in McGregor, Texas, near Waco. The white, wedge-shaped car drove upside down on a curved ramp, launched itself into the air with cold-gas thrusters and flipped over a line of other Tesla vehicles, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Turns out the future does have flying cars,” CEO Elon Musk posted afterward. Musk said production will start in 2028, adding “actually,” a nod to years of delays, Electrek reported.
Three versions
Tesla says the Roadster will come in three trims, all with more than 300 miles of range and top speeds above 230 mph, according to TechCrunch:
- Performance (“road ready”): two seats, active aerodynamics and a fan-powered “suction system” that presses the car to the road. Tesla lists 0 to 60 mph in under 1.6 seconds.
- Thrust (“race ready”): two seats plus rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters for 0 to 60 mph in under 0.9 seconds. Limited release.
- Rocket (“air ready”): one seat and 10 thrusters around the car for upward and spinning movement, with 0 to 60 mph in under 0.59 seconds. Invite only, and not approved for public roads.
During the event, the car hit 0 to 60 mph in 0.81 seconds. Musk also said the car could eventually reach half the speed of sound, roughly 380 mph, Yahoo Finance reported. The thruster technology was developed with SpaceX, which Musk also runs.
Price still a mystery
Tesla did not announce prices. Reservations require $50,000 for the Performance version, $5,000 up front and $45,000 within 10 days, and $250,000 for the Thrust version, according to Investor’s Business Daily. Analyst Karl Brauer of iSeeCars.com told the Los Angeles Times the car will likely cost more than $250,000.
The specs also differ from Tesla’s 2017 promises. The original prototype was billed with 620 miles of range and four seats, compared with more than 300 miles and two seats at most now, EV reported. Production was originally planned for 2020, and the reveal itself slipped from October 1 because of bad weather at the test site.
Wall Street reaction
Tesla shares rose in premarket trading Friday but gave up the gains, falling about 2% to near $355, according to the Los Angeles Times. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event “puts the Tesla/SpaceX relationship on the table in a tangible way,” while Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management called it “a ridiculous display of engineering” with “no commercial value,” Teslarati reported.
Analysts note the Roadster is a showpiece rather than a big moneymaker. “This car, like most exotic cars, does not pay the bills,” Brauer said. “From a reputation point of view, Musk does need this one to be a hit,” he added, pointing to the Cybertruck’s weak sales.
OneNews has also covered Tesla’s September sales in Europe.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch, Electrek, Yahoo Finance, Investor’s Business Daily, Teslarati, EV
Featured photo: Tesla Roadster prototype at Tesla headquarters, 2019, by Steve Jurvetson (CC BY 2.0). The production design shown in October 2026 differs.
