Tesla Finally Dropped the Roadster, and It Cleared a Semi With 10 SpaceX Thrusters

Most of us had mentally filed the next-gen Roadster in the drawer labeled “things Elon said once.” Tesla originally teased the car all the way back in 2017, promising it would be released in 2020. Of course, nearly a decade slipped by with little more than the occasional “coming soon” messaging. But, last night, at SpaceX’s rocket test facility in McGregor, Texas, the wait ended in the most on-brand way imaginable. We got to see the second-generation Tesla Roadster literally leaving the ground.

The unmanned prototype (piloted by a spacesuited mannequin in a nod to the Starman still orbiting the sun in the original Roadster), opened the show by driving up a curved ramp that went vertical, and then fully inverted. An underbody fan system generating up to 2G of suction kept it pinned to the overhang (completely upside down).

Then it let go. Cold-gas thrusters barrel-rolled the car in midair and set it down softly. And for an encore, it leapt a line of six vehicles, Semi included. Oh, and it ripped off a live 0-60 run in a claimed 0.81 seconds.

What’s even more impressive is that the 10 thrusters don’t burn anything at all. They’re fed by roughly 600 liters (around 550 pounds) of compressed, ordinary air stored in carbon-wrapped pressure vessels packed into whatever cavities the chassis had left. No fuel, no fire, and, perhaps best of all, the car can theoretically refill its own tanks as it drives.

Unfortunately, that full-power thrust only lasts a few seconds (but hey, it’s a start). And that 0.81-second sprint ran on Tesla’s own timer. For context, the verified production-car record belongs to the Rimac Nevera R at 1.66 seconds, so Tesla is claiming to have nearly halved the fastest run ever independently recorded. We’ll have to wait unto the third party straps in to fully vet that number.

Reservations are open for the road-ready Performance trim (0-60 in a claimed sub-1.6 seconds) and the race-ready Thrust, which adds rear thrusters for a sub-0.9-second sprint. The flying, single-seat Rocket with the full 10-thruster setup is invite only.

Tesla claims over 230 mph, 300-plus miles of range, an over-1-megawatt powertrain, and production slated for 2028. But what flipped and flew in McGregor was just a prototype, and Musk himself admitted “this is not necessarily a safety-optimized car.” After nine years of waiting, we’d pencil in that 2028 date lightly.

Reservations are live now at $50,000 for the Performance and $250,000 for the Thrust, though those are deposits, as Tesla has yet to announce final pricing. The Rocket is invite only,. Head over to Tesla’s website to stake your claim.

2028 Tesla Roadster

Nine years after its first tease, Tesla finally unveiled its SpaceX-thruster-equipped Roadster by flying it over a Semi, with production targeted for 2028.

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