At a SpaceX facility in Texas, Tesla unveiled a second-generation Roadster that briefly took flight, marking a moment where the boundary between automobile and aircraft quietly dissolved. A decade of promises, delays, and revisions culminated in a machine that accelerates faster than a dragster, corners with forces borrowed from a banned Formula 1 design, and — in one theatrical leap — left the ground entirely. The car is scheduled for 2028 production, priced across three tiers from $50,000 to an undisclosed sum, and arrives at a curious cultural crossroads: Tesla's last car designed to be dri
Tesla unveils flying Roadster with 0.8sec acceleration, production set for 2028
The last car Tesla makes that requires a human hand on the wheel.
Mark
So Tesla actually got this thing off the ground? Like, it genuinely flew?
Mimi
Yes. At the SpaceX facility in Texas, they demonstrated it jumping over parked cars and landing. It used compressed-air thrusters to do it.
Luke
But we should be clear: this was a controlled demonstration at a test facility, not a production car someone can buy today. The production version isn't until 2028.
Mark
Right. And the acceleration—0.81 seconds—that's real?
Mimi
That's what they demonstrated and recorded. It's faster than what Musk promised in 2017, when he said 1.9 seconds.
Luke
One demonstration run. We don't have independent verification yet, and we won't until the car is actually in production and tested by outside sources.
Mark
What about the flying part? Is that actually going to be street-legal?
Mimi
Musk himself said he's not sure it will be legal everywhere. The fan system can generate 2 Gs of downforce—enough to flip the car upside down.
Luke
That's the honest answer from him, which is good. But "not sure it's legal" is a pretty big caveat for a feature that's central to the marketing.
Mark
How much is this going to cost?
Mimi
The base Performance model is $50,000 total reservation. The Thrust is $250,000. The Rocket—the one that flew—hasn't been priced.
Luke
Those are reservation prices, not final prices. And they're only available in the US right now, left-hand drive only. Australia isn't confirmed.
Mark
So when can people actually buy one?
Mimi
2028 is the production target. That's nine years from now.
Luke
And that's a target. Tesla has a history of missing production timelines on new vehicles.
Il Polso
- A production car flew in public for the first time, launching off a ramp at a SpaceX test site and landing under controlled thruster power — a stunt that was also a proof of concept.
- The 0.81-second 0-100km/h acceleration shattered Tesla's own 2017 promise of 1.9 seconds, placing the Roadster beyond the reach of dragsters and into territory that strains legal and physical comprehension.
- Three variants — Performance, Thrust, and the invitation-only Rocket — create a tiered hierarchy of capability, with reservation deposits ranging from $5,000 to $250,000, and the full flying package carrying no published price at all.
- The legal status of a street-registered flying car remains unresolved across most jurisdictions, and Musk himself admitted uncertainty about where the thruster system can lawfully operate.
- Australian buyers face additional ambiguity: the car is listed as left-hand drive only, no local launch is confirmed, and 2028 production remains more than a decade after the original concept was first shown.
At a SpaceX facility in Texas, Tesla unveiled a second-generation Roadster that briefly took flight, marking a moment where the boundary between automobile and aircraft quietly dissolved. A decade of promises, delays, and revisions culminated in a machine that accelerates faster than a dragster, corners with forces borrowed from a banned Formula 1 design, and — in one theatrical leap — left the ground entirely. The car is scheduled for 2028 production, priced across three tiers from $50,000 to an undisclosed sum, and arrives at a curious cultural crossroads: Tesla's last car designed to be driven by human hands, unveiled just as the company bets its future on machines that drive themselves.
Tesla unveiled its second-generation Roadster at the SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas, and the car did something no production vehicle has managed before: it left the ground. Using compressed-air thrusters fed by ultra-high-pressure tanks generating more than 80 kilonewtons of thrust, the Roadster launched off a ramp, cleared a row of parked Teslas, and landed under controlled power. It was spectacle, but it was also the conclusion of a project that has been promised and postponed for nearly a decade.
The performance figures alone would have commanded attention. A demonstration run recorded a 0-60mph time of 0.81 seconds — well beyond the 1.9-second figure Tesla had advertised in 2017, and faster than most purpose-built dragsters. Elon Musk suggested the production version would sustain that sub-one-second benchmark, and mused about eventually approaching Mach 0.5, roughly 383mph. For cornering, Tesla engineered a fan system capable of generating 2 Gs of downforce — technology adapted from a 1978 Brabham Formula 1 car that was withdrawn after winning its debut race. A retractable rear wing adjusts automatically to aerodynamic conditions.
The Roadster will be offered in three configurations. The Performance variant includes the fan downforce system. The Thrust adds the compressed-air thrusters. The Rocket — the version that flew at the demonstration — bundles the full package and is available by invitation only. Reservation deposits begin at $5,000 for the Performance, with a total commitment of $50,000 due within ten days; the Thrust requires $250,000 in full. Pricing for the Rocket has not been disclosed. These figures represent a notable increase from the $200,000 base price announced in 2017.
Inside, seats are molded directly into the chassis for weight reduction, and both steering and braking operate through electronic wire systems rather than mechanical linkages. Musk acknowledged openly that the flying capability may not be legal in every jurisdiction, framing it as an open question rather than a solved one. Production is set for 2028, with left-hand drive only — Australian availability remains unconfirmed. Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen described the Roadster as both the world's first flying car and the last great driver's car — a pointed distinction, given that Musk has positioned full autonomy as the company's defining horizon. The Roadster, by his own account, will be the final Tesla that requires a human hand on the wheel.
Tesla rolled out its second-generation Roadster at the SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas, and the car did something no production vehicle has done before: it flew. The demonstration, livestreamed to a global audience, showed the Roadster launching itself off a Hot Wheels-style ramp, clearing a line of parked Teslas, and landing under controlled power. It was theater, certainly, but it was also the capstone on a machine that has been promised, revised, and delayed for nearly a decade.
The acceleration numbers alone would have been enough to make headlines. Tesla's demonstration run clocked a 0-60mph time of 0.81 seconds—faster than the 1.9-second acceleration the company had promised when it first unveiled the Roadster concept in 2017. Elon Musk, speaking as both Tesla's CEO and SpaceX's founder, said the production version will crack that sub-one-second barrier. For context, that's quicker than most dragsters and faster than anything a person can legally drive on a public road. The original 2017 spec sheet had promised a top speed above 400km/h and a range near 1000km. The new target is 230mph, though Musk mused aloud about reaching Mach 0.5—roughly 383mph—which would put the car halfway to the speed of sound.
But the flying capability is what sets this apart from every other supercar ever built. The Roadster uses compressed-air thrusters fed by ultra-high-pressure tanks to generate more than 80 kilonewtons of thrust. For cornering grip, Tesla engineered a fan system that sucks the car to the ground with up to 2 Gs of downforce—technology borrowed from a 1978 Formula 1 car that Jack Brabham withdrew after winning its only race. Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, explained that the fan system can pull enough force to flip the car upside down. A large rear wing extends and retracts based on aerodynamic demand. Musk acknowledged the obvious question: who needs to drive upside down? His answer was that the extreme downforce translates to cornering ability that "looks like you're breaking physics," and that the combination of acceleration and grip will "crush every track record that has ever existed."
The car will come in three variants. The Performance model includes the fan system. The Thrust adds the compressed-air thrusters. The Rocket—the one that flew at the demonstration—includes the full flying package and is invitation-only. Reservation deposits start at $5,000 for the Performance, with a total commitment of $50,000 due within ten days. The Thrust requires $250,000 total. Pricing for the Rocket has not been disclosed. These numbers represent a significant jump from the 2017 announcement, when Tesla had priced the base Roadster at $200,000 and the Founders Series at $250,000.
Inside, the Roadster's seats are molded directly into the chassis to save weight. The car uses steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems, meaning driver inputs are transmitted electronically rather than through mechanical linkages. Musk was candid about one wrinkle: he's not certain the flying capability will be legal everywhere. "This will be an actual car that's on the roads," he said. "You know, I'm not sure it's necessarily legal in all jurisdictions, but like, there will be such a car that someone can own."
Production is scheduled for 2028—more than a decade after the concept was first shown. Tesla's Australian website now lists the Roadster as available in left-hand drive only, and no local launch has been confirmed. The company is currently accepting reservations in the United States. Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen framed the moment in terms of automotive history: "Today marks the day that we build the first world's best flying car and the last best driver's car." That last phrase carries weight. Musk has long positioned autonomous driving as Tesla's future, but he said explicitly that the Roadster will be manually driven—the last car Tesla makes that requires a human hand on the wheel.
Citazioni salienti
This will be an actual car that's on the roads. You know, I'm not sure it's necessarily legal in all jurisdictions, but like, there will be such a car that someone can own, so it's going to be pretty wild.— Elon Musk, Tesla CEO
Today marks the day that we build the first world's best flying car and the last best driver's car.— Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla designer
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su 7NEWS Australia ↗
Transportation