Tesla has unveiled a next-generation Roadster featuring cold gas thrusters alongside a suction-based system. According to the manufacturer, those components are capable of raising the vehicle off the ground momentarily and rotating it while airborne.
Interest gathered around the unveiling, though delivery to purchasers could stretch across several years. The automaker indicated that vehicles rolling off its production lines for everyday buyers are not anticipated before 2028.
The Roadster prototype was put through its paces at SpaceX's rocket testing and development facility in Texas. According to Tesla's leadership, certain propulsion components drawn from SpaceX's engineering portfolio contributed to lifting the Roadster off the ground.
Posting to X shortly after the event, Musk declared that flying cars had become reality. Tesla's own description of the vehicle's movement did not characterise it in those terms, with the company describing what happened as a series of brief jumps and flips rather than any form of sustained airborne travel.
Performance specifications for the electric sports car were among the details Tesla put forward. According to the automaker, the Roadster's sprint from a standstill to 60 mph — equivalent to 96.6 km/h — takes less than one second.
No pricing details were shared by Tesla at the event, and no timeline for deliveries was put forward by the company. As of Friday morning, Roadster reservations were being taken through Tesla's website. Buried in the terms and conditions was a notice that delivery dates carried no guarantee and that fulfilment of the order was not guaranteed.
In a later statement, Musk put the start of consumer-facing production no earlier than 2028. The schedule pushes back a rollout that has faced postponements stretching across multiple years.
Oversight bodies retain the authority to restrict any vehicle design intended to leave the ground. Attorneys who track regulatory matters noted that bringing road rules and safety standards into alignment with airborne personal vehicles would involve a drawn-out approval process. Legal scholar David Vladeck observed that individual states are unlikely to permit a driver to lift off into traffic without extensive review, and that any pathway to public roads for such technology would unfold over a considerable stretch of time.
Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, noted that the vehicle involved was a purpose-built prototype relying on technology that had existed for years, and that public road deployment by 2028 remained unlikely. Smith argued that Tesla markets aspirations that stretch well beyond what the company currently delivers.
Tesla's share price registered movement on Friday after details about the Roadster became public. Gains recorded at the open gave way to a pullback as the session wore on. Declines in shares tied to the artificial intelligence sector pulled the overall value down.
Musk has stated on repeated occasions that vehicle operation will eventually be handled entirely by automated systems. Autonomous-driving technology has been a sustained area of product development at Tesla, and a robotaxi venture has taken shape within the company, though its coverage area remains narrow.
The automaker noted that the Roadster's engineering keeps a human driver at the controls, even as autonomous technology remains part of its broader development push. In a statement, Tesla put forward the view that the model represented the final generation of vehicles intended for manual human operation.
In explaining the Thursday demonstration, Musk told the audience that autonomous operation had been built into the event as a precautionary measure to prevent any risk of harm to people present. Musk also indicated that the Roadster would eventually stand as the only Tesla model designed for manual operation, later describing it as a vehicle built around driving pleasure rather than safety optimisation — one he said pushed the fun factor well beyond any conventional scale.
The original Tesla Roadster first reached customers in 2008. A Tesla Roadster was loaded aboard a SpaceX rocket by Musk and sent into orbit during a 2018 launch, with a dummy named Starman positioned behind the wheel for the duration of the flight.
Production of the new Roadster remains well short of the point where dealership sales become possible. How Tesla's bottom line might be affected remains an open matter.
Quarterly figures released by Tesla during the summer months showed a contraction in net income. Elevated investment in research and development put pressure on the firm's overall financial performance, according to its own disclosure. Outlays directed at robotaxi development and robotics programmes moved higher. Profit after all deductions came to USD 1.11 billion across the reporting period. Total revenue for the period reached USD 28.24 billion, a result that came alongside a broader uptick in the number of vehicles sold.
