Tesla unveils SpaceX-powered Roadster with flying, upside-down stunts; production promised for 2028

The location accounts differed. TechCrunch said the event was outside Waco, Texas. The Verge placed it in Waco. Engadget said it was held at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, Texas. All three reported the same core stunts.

During the demonstration, the Roadster drove up a C-shaped or inverted ramp and stopped perpendicular to the ground, hanging upside down. It repeated the maneuver, then jumped off the top, rolled over and used its thrusters to hover to the pavement, according to Engadget. TechCrunch reported the car used high-powered fans and thrusters to climb the inverted ramp, spin and ease down. The Verge reported that the car drove upside down, briefly flew and hit 60 mph in under a second. TechCrunch said Tesla showed a 0-60 mph time of one second.

The car also used its thrusters to lift itself over a line of Tesla vehicles while in motion: a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y and Model 3, according to TechCrunch. Near the end, Engadget reported, the Roadster did another flip from a stationary position, turned over in the air and hovered back down. In one Engadget account, the driver's seat contained an Optimus robot, but it was only for show and the stunts were programmed into the vehicle.

Musk called the Roadster 'the best of the last of the human-driven cars,' according to TechCrunch. 'This will be the actual car that's on the roads,' Musk said at the event, according to TechCrunch. He also said the car would 'puff itself up' and perform 'these maneuvers whenever you'd like.' Tesla engineering vice president Lars Moravy said at the event that the Roadster uses 10 nozzles connected to 600 liters of compressed air to lift and spin the car in mid-air, and that the air tank can be recharged, TechCrunch reported. Musk added that Tesla may try to jump the Snake River Canyon, the gap Evel Knievel attempted in a steam-powered rocket, according to TechCrunch.

Engadget reported that the Roadster has a suction system at the bottom that lets it stick upside down to the ramp. Tesla's website said a multi-mode fan and ground-sealing system pulls air out from beneath the vehicle to act as a downforce generator, providing suction that can hold the vehicle upside down even when stationary, according to that report. The thrusters use technology borrowed from SpaceX, with all-electric actuators that enable precise thrust and 'micro adjustments within a fraction of a second,' Engadget reported.

Musk has framed the Roadster as a halo car and a joint Tesla-SpaceX engineering project rather than a major financial driver. TechCrunch reported that he said he is 'not sure it moves the needle massively from a revenue standpoint.' The Verge noted that he has called it a 'small potato situation' that will not 'move the needle in a major way financially.' Musk has also said safety is not the main goal for the car. 'If you buy a Ferrari, safety is not the number one goal. I say, if safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster,' he said on a podcast earlier this year, according to TechCrunch. Tesla would 'aspire not to kill anyone in this car,' he said.

The reservation terms drew attention. TechCrunch reported that Musk did not name a price at the event. Engadget reported that a base Roadster can be reserved for $5,000, with another $45,000 due within 10 days. One Engadget report said the version with suction and acceleration thrusters costs $250,000 to reserve, while another said the 'Thrust' package adds $245,000 within 10 days of reservation. The full-flight 'Rocket' version is invite-only, Engadget reported.

The Roadster was first revealed as a surprise at the end of Tesla's 2017 Semi event, almost nine years to the day before this week's demonstration. Tesla promised delivery in a few years and took $50,000 deposits, or $250,000 for 1,000 'Founders Series' cars, according to TechCrunch and The Verge. Musk first discussed adding thrusters in 2018, writing on Twitter that a 'SpaceX option package' would include about 10 small rocket thrusters around the car. The project was delayed in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 as Tesla focused on the Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck, TechCrunch reported. More recently, Musk delayed the reveal to April 1, 2026, then to Oct. 1, before severe weather pushed it again, according to TechCrunch.

The car's arrival comes in a different electric performance market. The Verge reported that Rimac, Porsche and Chinese automakers such as BYD have advanced electric supercars during the Roadster's long development, and that the Roadster is no longer shocking the world as an impossible prototype. The Verge also said some analysts theorize that re-releasing the Roadster is an attempt to set the stage for a rumored Tesla-SpaceX merger.