Tesla Roadster Unveiled With SpaceX Rocket Thrusters

The tesla roadster spacex collaboration produced a spectacle at a SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas, on Thursday: Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a redesigned Roadster powered by rocket-style thrusters developed with his rocket company. The white two-seater drove upside down on a ramp using a suction system, turned in the air, and landed using its built-in thrusters during a livestreamed demonstration.

A Barrel Roll Over the Ramp

During the demo — livestreamed on Tesla’s X account — the driverless car launched from a steep steel ramp and performed a full barrel roll in mid-air before landing on its wheels. “Flying cars are real,” Musk said, adding that while the vehicle’s “success is not guaranteed… it will probably work.” The car carried 10 nozzles and “ultra-high-pressure air tanks,” and Musk quipped that no driver was aboard “to make sure we don’t kill anyone.”

Cold-Gas Thrusters and a 2028 Date

The Roadster uses cold-gas thrusters operated by electric actuators, paired with a multi-mode suction system that generates enough downforce to hold the vehicle upside down even when stationary. Tesla says the setup enables acceleration from zero to 60 mph in under one second. The limited “Thrust” variant seats two and adds rear-mounted thrusters, but consumers must wait: production won’t begin until 2028, more than a decade after the next-generation Roadster was first shown, and Tesla set no price.

An Engineering Flex

Investors were split. Tesla shares popped in Friday’s premarket before falling about 2.5% amid a broader selloff in AI-linked stocks. “It was an engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers,” wrote Deepwater’s Gene Munster on X. Morningstar’s Seth Goldstein called the car Tesla’s new halo car. Musk has long played down its financial importance, calling it a “small potato situation” in 2023.

Source: Reuters