Tesla's flying Roadster: after 9 years, the second-generation Roadster with SpaceX thrusters is finally here

On the night of October 15, at SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas, Tesla performed the demonstration that seemed impossible nearly a decade ago. The second-generation Roadster — that concept Elon Musk presented as a surprise addition during the Semi truck launch in November 2017 — has left the drawing boards and digital renders to actually fly, using cold-gas thrusters developed by SpaceX.

The demonstration: from ground to sky

What happened that night was less a product presentation and more an aerospace engineering spectacle. The prototype, fully autonomous and remotely controlled, accelerated along a curved ramp until it reached a vertical wall, stuck to the inverted surface thanks to a multi-mode suction system, completed a full rotation in the air and landed softly before jumping over a row of Tesla vehicles — Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi and Cybercab — while maintaining speed.

Musk, on stage, called the moment "what happens when the world's best car company collaborates with the world's best rocket company." For Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, the technology behind the Roadster is what separates science fiction from applied engineering: "We have a suction system that generates up to 2g of force, twice gravity. Then we brought SpaceX technology to do the rest."

The technology: how a car "flies"

The second-generation Roadster operates with three layers of propulsion that, combined, allow maneuvers no land vehicle can perform.

Active aerodynamics: the car switches between high-downforce and low-drag modes, with an adjustable rear wing that changes its pitch automatically according to speed and the G-force required. In ground modes, the system works like an inverted airfoil that presses the car against the road.

Multi-mode suction system: located underneath the vehicle, this system removes air from beneath the car, creating a pressure difference that glues the bodywork to the track. According to Tesla, it is sufficient to keep the vehicle inverted even when stationary — which was demonstrated on the curved ramp where the Roadster traversed the path upside down.

Cold-gas thrusters: the 10 nozzle thrusters, distributed around the car, use carbon overwrapped pressure vessels with about 600 liters of ultra-compressed air (approximately 250 kg). The vehicle recharges the tanks during operation. The thrusters generate over 80 kN of rear thrust and are controlled by electric actuators that perform micro-adjustments in a fraction of a second — the control system is essentially the same principle SpaceX uses to position spacecraft before launch.

The combination of these three systems allows the Roadster not just to "fly" like a land drone, but also to perform maneuvers such as rolls and mid-air rotations before landing back on its four wheels.

Specifications

| Parameter | Value | |-----------|-------| | Top speed | Over 230 mph (370 km/h) | | 0–60 mph | 0.81 seconds (Thrust version) | | Range | 300+ miles | | Motor | 1,340 hp combined | | Seats | 2 (Performance/Thrust) or 1 (Rocket) | | Price | Not announced (reservations: $50,000 Performance, $250,000 Thrust) | | Production | 2028 |

Tesla offers three trim levels. The Performance is the "road ready" model, with active aerodynamics and suction system but no thrusters. The Thrust adds rear thrusters and sub-one-second 0–60 mph acceleration. The Rocket, by invitation only, is a single-seater with 10 perimeter thrusters and a complete flight system.

The history: nine years of delays

The second-generation Roadster was announced as a surprise on November 14, 2017, during the Semi truck launch event. At the time, the promise was 2020 deliveries, with a base price of $200,000 for the standard version and $250,000 for the 1,000 "Founders Series" units. Tesla had already received $50 million in deposits and $250 million in reservations for the special version.

The project, however, lost priority as Tesla scaled production of the Model 3 and Model Y — the vehicles that actually sustained the business. In 2018, Musk tweeted that the "SpaceX option package" would include about 10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around the car. "These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly..."

The production date changed: 2020, then 2022, 2023, 2025. In November 2025, during the shareholders' meeting, Musk announced that the production version would be revealed on April 1, 2026 — April Fools' Day — "because it gives me some plausible deniability," as he himself said. The real event, finally, took place on October 15, 2026.

The context: why the Roadster matters for Tesla today

In 2026, Tesla stopped selling the Model S and Model X to make room for production of Optimus humanoid robots and the autonomous Cybercab. The Roadster is, at this stage of the company, the last vehicle designed for human driving — what Musk called "the best of the last of the human-driven cars."

For Morningstar, the Roadster is the "halo car" Tesla didn't have: a high-performance vehicle that showcases the company's best engineering and creates brand resonance that robots and robotaxis cannot generate. Analyst Seth Goldstein wrote in a September note that "Tesla currently doesn't have a halo car, or a luxury high-performance vehicle designed to showcase the automaker's best engineering and technology. The Roadster will be Tesla's new halo car."

Musk, on stage, was candid: "It's not necessarily a safety-optimised car." And he acknowledged it may not be legal in all jurisdictions. The Roadster Rocket, in particular, is not approved for public road use — it is essentially a racing car that can fly. But the Performance and Thrust will be, technically, street-legal cars that customers can own.

After 9 years, 9 delays, and a demonstration that required the fusion of aerospace and automotive engineering, has Tesla finally delivered on its promise — or merely postponed the next delivery to 2028, with the same charisma that has always defined the company? The answer may well come when the first production units roll off the line, three years from now. Until then, the flying Roadster stands as the most ambitious, improbable, and iconic product of a company that has always known how to turn dreams into applied engineering.

Sources: TechCrunch, CarandDriver, Straits Times

✓ Independent sources cross-checked and verified before publishing