Tesla unveils SpaceX-thruster Roadster, promises 2028 production

Tesla has revealed its redesigned second-generation Roadster, equipped with SpaceX thrusters — a vehicle CEO Elon Musk has called "the best of the last of the human-driven cars."

Demonstration Highlights

Musk showcased the car at an event outside Waco, Texas, where it used a combination of high-powered fans and thrusters to:

• Drive up an inverted ramp
• Spin around in mid-air
• Ease itself to a landing on the pavement below
• Lift itself over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y, and Model 3 while in motion

The demonstration showed the car going from 0 to 60 miles per hour in one second.

"This will be the actual car that's on the roads," Musk said. "It literally is just going to puff itself up, and uh, and be able to do this, these maneuvers whenever you'd like."

Technical Specifications

Engineering VP 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. The air tank can be recharged, he noted.

Musk also said Tesla may attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon — the famous gap Evel Knievel tried to jump in a steam-powered rocket.

Tesla Roadster-starman. Image Credits: Tesla

Production Timeline and Pricing

Musk said Tesla will finally build the long-delayed vehicle in 2028, but did not announce a price.

Safety Positioning

Musk has positioned the Roadster as a true halo car for Tesla, acknowledging at one point that he's "not sure it moves the needle massively from a revenue standpoint." He has previously stated that "safety is not the main goal" with the new Roadster.

"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. Tesla would "aspire not to kill anyone in this car," he added.

"This is the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and SpaceX Engineers working closely together to make something you haven't seen in any movie, better than any James Bond car," Musk said at the event. "I've never seen anything like this. You know when I suggested this to the team, I thought, 'Am I crazy?'"

Design Changes

The car, shown in stark white, now features a more angular design reminiscent of a Lamborghini or the famous Lotus Esprit used by the Bond character in The Spy Who Loved Me — a car Musk owns, which was on display at the event.

Tesla-roadster-event. Image Credits: Tesla

A History of Delays

Tesla held the event almost nine years to the day after the company first revealed the second-gen Roadster — a modernized take on its first-ever car. Included as a surprise at the end of the Tesla Semi reveal in 2017, the company promised the revamped Roadster would be delivered in just a few years. Tesla allowed customers to place $50,000 deposits to reserve the car. Some even paid $250,000 to reserve one of 1,000 "Founders Series" versions.

Musk first discussed adding thrusters to the car in 2018:

"SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly …"

However, the Roadster project took a back seat. Later that year, Tesla endured what Musk eventually dubbed "production hell" with the Model 3 sedan. The company then moved on to other projects like the Model Y SUV, which became the best-selling vehicle in the world, and the Cybertruck, which was a commercial flop by Tesla's own standards. Along the way, Musk delayed the new Roadster in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024.

As Tesla gained more distance from the launch of those new vehicles, Musk began discussing the second-gen Roadster again. Late last year, he said on Joe Rogan's podcast that he wanted to reveal it by the end of 2025. One week later, at the shareholder meeting where he was awarded a $1 trillion pay package, he delayed it to April 1, 2026. Musk said an April Fools' Day event would give him "some deniability" if Tesla delayed the event again.

"Like, I could say I was just kidding," he said at the time. Tesla wound up pushing the reveal again. It attempted to hold the event on October 1, but severe weather forced yet another delay.

Customer Reactions

These repeated delays have caused a number of high-profile customers to speak out over the years, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee and OpenAI head Sam Altman.

"They really just got on stage and said this newly designed 4000+ pound car can do flips and go half the speed of sound (380+mph) and will ship in 2028," Brownlee posted Thursday. "This is a prank, right?"