Tesla's Next-Generation Roadster Unveiled With SpaceX Thrusters

Nine years after the first concept rolled out of a Tesla Semi trailer, the next-generation Roadster is finally here. Tesla unveiled the redesigned two-seat sports car on Wednesday night at SpaceX's rocket test facility in McGregor, Texas, near Waco, in a livestreamed event that had been postponed from October 1 because of weather.

A car that "flies"

During the demonstration, the Roadster climbed a steep inverted ramp using its suction system, rotated in midair, and leaped over a lineup of Tesla vehicles — including a Semi, a Cybercab and a Cybertruck — using cold-gas thrusters developed with SpaceX. The demo car ran without a driver on board.

"Flying cars are real," Tesla VP of vehicle engineering Lars Moravy said after one of the stunts. Musk called the Roadster "the best of the last of the human-driven cars" and admitted it is "not necessarily a safety-optimized car" — the goal, he said, is to take the fun meter to 11 out of 10.

Three configurations

Tesla's site lists three versions:

• Performance — road-ready, two seats, active aerodynamics and a multi-mode suction system for downforce.
• Thrust — race-ready, adding rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters. During the demo, a 0-60 mph run was claimed at just 0.81 seconds.
• Rocket — invite-only, single seat, ten perimeter thrusters for lift and rotation; not approved for public roads.

On the Thrust, the trunk holds a 200-liter nitrogen tank at roughly 10,000 psi. One fill is good for about five seconds of thrust, and refilling currently takes two to six hours.

The numbers

Tesla did not run a spec sheet on stage, but its engineering and design chiefs — Lars Moravy and Franz von Holzhausen — detailed the platform afterwards:

• Over 1,073 hp in the base version and over 1,341 hp (1,000 kW) in the stronger ones. All are rear-wheel drive, with dual rear motors and torque vectoring.
• An 800-1,000-volt battery with nickel-based cells, DC charging over 500 kW at V4 Superchargers, and 15-85 percent in about 10 minutes.
• Around 310-320 miles of range — about half of the 620-mile figure promised in 2017.
• An initial top speed of 214 mph, with a 330 mph target.
• Under 3,700 lb, an aluminum-and-carbon-fiber chassis, steer-by-wire yoke, carbon-ceramic brakes, and butterfly doors with removable roof panels.

Pricing and production

No final price was announced at the event. Reservations reopened with a $50,000 deposit for the Performance and $250,000 for the Thrust; the Rocket is invitation-only. Musk said production begins in 2028 at Gigafactory Texas — "Actually. For real," he added.

Official video

Watch the full Roadster reveal stream (Tesla's channel) on YouTube