Tesla's stock added 4% in Friday pre-market trading, reaching $375 per share, after the automaker unveiled a revamped Roadster featuring thruster technology developed jointly with SpaceX — a development that pushed SpaceX's own shares up by 1%.

At a livestreamed event held at his SpaceX facility on Thursday, Elon Musk presented a vehicle he described as capable of flight, pointing to onboard thrusters as the feature behind that claim. The updated Roadster sports car was displayed by Musk during a dedicated launch event at a SpaceX testing facility in Texas.

Broadcast through Tesla's X account, the vehicle launched off a steep steel ramp, rotated fully in the air, and landed upright on all four wheels. Musk told those watching that flying cars had moved from concept to reality.

The sports car ran without a driver during the demonstration, a precaution taken to avoid putting anyone at risk, with Musk noting that a successful outcome, though likely, was not assured. The vehicle, Musk explained, relies on ten nozzles alongside pressurised air tanks operating at very high pressure levels to lift off the ground and accelerate rapidly.

Musk attributed the outcome to a partnership between Tesla and SpaceX, describing it as a product of two companies working in tandem. Built around a two-seat cabin and a steer-by-wire setup borrowed from the Cybertruck, the vehicle incorporates aerospace visual cues throughout its exterior and interior design.

Footage released by Tesla showed the car reaching 60 miles per hour from a standstill in under one second. The model has faced repeated delays since its public unveiling in 2017. Tesla's original Roadster — the automaker's first vehicle — was sold to buyers from 2008 and was discontinued four years later.

Vested Finance founder and chief executive Viram Shah noted that Tesla had drawn renewed attention following the presentation of the updated Roadster, a vehicle incorporating thruster technology developed by SpaceX that displayed a degree of airborne capability during its unveiling. Shah also highlighted Barclays' view that a merger of Tesla and SpaceX is gaining acceptance among investors as a plausible outcome.

Shah added that the vehicle's debut is unlikely to alter Tesla's near-term financial picture in any material way, though it points to deepening technological common ground between the two companies. A combination, if it were to occur, could bring together Tesla's physical AI operations — including robotaxis and Optimus — with SpaceX's work across AI, infrastructure, and semiconductors, according to that analysis. No deal has been formally confirmed, and what circulates on the matter remains speculation rather than established fact.