The new Roadster can accelerate 0-97 kph in under one second, reach 370+ kph top speed, and perform aerial maneuvers using built-in thrusters developed with SpaceX. Production delayed over a decade from original 2020 promise; range of 480km falls short of 2017 claims, though Tesla positions it as a luxury halo vehicle.
Tesla unveils thruster-powered Roadster with 2028 production target
An engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers
Mark
Why reveal a car that won't be in production for two more years, especially when Tesla's quarterly earnings matter so much more to investors right now?
Mimi
Because it's a halo car—it tells a story about what Tesla can do. The company doesn't have a flagship luxury vehicle right now, and this one does something no production car has ever done. That matters symbolically even if it doesn't move the financial needle.
Luke
But Musk himself said in 2023 it wouldn't move the needle financially. So are we watching a marketing event or an actual product announcement? The deposits suggest real intent, but the timeline is so far out.
Mark
The range is 480 kilometers. Musk promised 960 kilometers back in 2017. That's half. How do you square that?
Mimi
The thrusters add weight and complexity. You're trading range for capability—for the ability to do aerial maneuvers. It's a different car than what was promised eight years ago.
Luke
True, but that's also a massive miss on a core specification. And we don't know the actual price yet. The $200,000 figure is from 2013. The deposits range from $50,000 to $250,000, but that doesn't tell us what you're actually paying.
Mark
Some people think this is really about merging Tesla and SpaceX. Is that credible?
Mimi
Musk has talked about the overlap between the companies. The thruster technology comes from SpaceX. It's not crazy to see this as a proof of concept for what a merged entity could do.
Luke
It's speculation, though. Musk hasn't announced any merger plans. What we know is he's using SpaceX engineers and technology for a Tesla product. That's real. The merger talk is investors reading tea leaves.
The Pulse
- Roadster accelerates 0-97 kph in under one second, reaches 370+ kph top speed
- Production delayed from 2020 promise to 2028 target—over a decade slip
- Range of 480 km falls short of 960 km promised in 2017
- Developed with SpaceX; demonstrated at SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas
- Deposits range from $50,000 (Performance) to $250,000 (Thrust) with invite-only Rocket variant
The new Roadster can accelerate 0-97 kph in under one second, reach 370+ kph top speed, and perform aerial maneuvers using built-in thrusters developed with SpaceX. Production delayed over a decade from original 2020 promise; range of 480km falls short of 2017 claims, though Tesla positions it as a luxury halo vehicle.
Tesla revealed a redesigned Roadster with SpaceX rocket thrusters capable of flipping and landing mid-air, with production planned for 2028, over a decade after initial announcement.
Tesla rolled out a white two-seater Roadster on Thursday at a SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas, equipped with rocket-style thrusters and capable of maneuvers no production car has attempted before. The vehicle drove upside down on a ramp using a suction system, rotated mid-air, and landed on its own thrusters. During the demonstration it jumped over a truck and other vehicles, twisting through the air in the process. The company announced it would begin production in 2028—more than a decade after first unveiling a next-generation Roadster prototype and promising deliveries would start in 2020.
The Roadster represents a collaboration between Elon Musk's two companies. Tesla's vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy stated the car accelerates from zero to 97 kilometers per hour in less than one second and reaches a top speed exceeding 370 kph. Musk, standing before an enthusiastic crowd of investors and fans at the SpaceX site, suggested the vehicle approaches half the speed of sound. The car can travel over 480 kilometers on a single charge—substantially less than the 960-kilometer range Musk promised when Tesla first showed the second-generation prototype in 2017.
Tesla's reservation page after the event listed three versions. A "Performance" model requires a $50,000 deposit. A "Thrust" variant with acceleration thrusters demands a $250,000 deposit. A third "Rocket" version, described as invite-only and a single-seat model with a full flight system, appears to sit at the top of the lineup. The company did not announce pricing during the event, though it quoted a $200,000 base price nearly a decade ago.
Some observers interpreted the spectacle as Musk signaling a potential merger between Tesla and SpaceX. Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, called it "an engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers" and suggested the event exemplified why Musk might want to bring the two companies together. Musk himself has downplayed the Roadster's financial importance to Tesla, describing it in 2023 as a "small potato situation" that would not "move the needle in a major way financially."
Yet the car carries symbolic weight within Tesla's portfolio. Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar, noted last month that Tesla currently lacks a halo vehicle—a high-performance luxury car designed to showcase an automaker's engineering prowess. The Roadster will fill that role. Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor and fan, posted on social media that the demonstration was "the most insane product demo I've ever seen" and expressed disbelief it was not computer-generated imagery.
The timing of the reveal comes as Tesla shifts its strategic focus sharply toward autonomous driving technology and robotics. This year the company halted production of its Model S and X vehicles to make room for manufacturing Optimus humanoid robots. It also launched the Cybercab, a two-seater robotaxi without a steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors. Tesla's sales of its existing electric vehicle lineup have declined over the past two years, though high fuel prices supported deliveries in the third quarter.
Tesla shares rose 5 percent in premarket trading on Friday following the announcement. However, analysts cautioned that the Roadster spectacle will likely matter less to investors than the company's third-quarter financial results, due October 21. Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for Asia-Pacific at trading platform eToro, stated that margin and cash flow figures would carry far more weight with investors than anything displayed at the reveal.
The original Roadster, released in 2008 and discontinued in 2012, was Tesla's first electric vehicle and used a Lotus Elise chassis. It fundamentally shifted global perceptions of what an EV could achieve. The company has since built its reputation on the Model Y and Model X SUVs and the Model S and Model 3 sedans. The second-generation Roadster, delayed repeatedly over more than a decade, now arrives as Tesla navigates a transition away from traditional vehicle manufacturing toward autonomous systems and robotics.
Notable Quotes
This is the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and SpaceX engineers working closely together to make something that you haven't seen in any movie— Elon Musk at the reveal event
The margin and cash flow numbers will carry far more weight with investors than anything they saw at the reveal— Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for Asia-Pacific at eToro
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