Tesla has revealed a new Roadster that uses rocket-derived thrusters to hover and maneuver through the air, a bid by the electric-car maker to recapture its reputation for daring innovation.
Chief executive Elon Musk presented the car on Thursday evening at a SpaceX test facility in Texas. In the showpiece demonstration, the Roadster lifted straight up, rolled through the air above a row of parked Teslas and touched down on its wheels on the far side.
Powered by cold-gas thrusters adapted from SpaceX’s reusable rocket technology, the car is said to reach 60mph in under a second and a top speed of 230mph. It will be Tesla’s only manual car.
Musk conceded the vehicle was not designed with safety as a priority and might not be legal everywhere, but insisted a road-going version would be available to buy. Production is not due until 2028.
The project has been in development for roughly a decade. Tesla originally promised deliveries from 2020 but has postponed the launch at least five times. Customers paid $50,000 deposits to join the waiting list, among them OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, who requested a refund a year ago amid a bitter legal dispute with Musk, saying the wait had become too long.
Musk spent weeks promoting the event on X, and had hinted since 2018 that SpaceX thrusters could make the car fly.
The Roadster will face rivals in the ultra-luxury electric segment, including the €550,000 Ferrari Luce and new models from Bentley, Jaguar and Porsche. Musk himself has played down its commercial importance for the $1.4tn company, predicting modest sales that will not transform its finances.
Tesla is narrowing its range as it converts factories in California and Texas to make robots and autonomous taxis.
In January it dropped the premium Model S and X to focus on the gold-coloured Cybercab robotaxi and the Optimus humanoid robot. Most sales still come from the Model 3 and Y, the Cybertruck has sold weakly since 2023, while semi truck production began in Nevada this year.
Third-quarter deliveries fell two percent, hurt by weaker US demand after President Donald Trump scrapped a $7,500 EV tax credit.
Tim Levin, senior editor at InsideEVs, said the Roadster could help restore Tesla’s daring image, given that the Model Y dates to 2020.
