Tesla has unveiled a next-generation Roadster incorporating 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.

The unveiling drew attention, though actual purchases for many prospective buyers could remain some time away. The automaker indicated that vehicles destined for ordinary buyers are not anticipated to roll off production lines before 2028.

Oversight bodies retain the authority to block any vehicle concept designed to leave the road surface entirely. Legal expert Vladeck noted that regulatory approval for road-going vehicles capable of vertical flight would involve a drawn-out process, with individual states required to weigh in on whether drivers could operate such craft in active traffic. The Roadster demonstration itself was held at SpaceX's rocket testing and development facility in Texas.

According to Tesla leadership, certain propulsion components drawn from SpaceX's aerospace work contributed to lifting the Roadster off the ground. In a post on X made shortly after the event, Musk wrote that "the future does have flying cars" — a claim Tesla itself qualified by characterising the vehicle's airborne capability as limited to brief jumps and flips.

Performance specifications for the electric sports car were among the details Tesla put forward. According to the automaker, the Roadster accelerates from a standstill to 60 mph — equivalent to 96.6 km/h — in less than one second.

No pricing details were shared by Tesla at the event, and no delivery timeline was put forward by the company. As of Friday morning, Roadster reservations were available through Tesla's website. Terms attached to the reservation made clear that no promise was attached to when an order would actually arrive, and further noted that fulfilment of the order was not guaranteed. In a later statement, Musk placed the start of consumer-level production at no earlier than 2028, adding to delays that had already stretched across multiple years.

Announcement of the new Roadster prompted movement in Tesla's stock during early Friday trading. Gains recorded at the open gave way to a modest pullback as the session wore on. Shares in companies tied to artificial intelligence were caught up in a broader market retreat.

Questions about what the event actually demonstrated were raised by a handful of researchers. Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, pointed out that the vehicle on show was a purpose-built prototype drawing on technology that has been around for years, and that no equivalent system appears on course to reach public roads before 2028. Smith argued that Tesla markets a vision extending well beyond what the company currently delivers.

Self-driving technology is a direction Musk has consistently championed as one the broader auto industry will eventually follow. Autonomous-driving technology has become a central area of development within Tesla's vehicle programme. A robotaxi venture the company launched remains narrowly available to riders. The automaker noted that the Roadster's engineering keeps a human driver at the controls, even as autonomous technology remains a point of emphasis.

In a statement about the vehicle, Tesla positioned it as among the final models intended for drivers who operate the car themselves. Musk stated that Thursday's demonstration ran on autonomous systems as a safety measure, explaining that the goal was to prevent harm during the event. Musk added that the new Roadster would stand as Tesla's sole model oriented toward driver engagement, and noted separately that while safety optimisation had not shaped the car's development, its capacity for driving pleasure stretched far past anything a conventional benchmark might capture. The model traces its lineage to the original Roadster, which reached buyers in 2008.

Musk loaded a Tesla Roadster aboard a SpaceX rocket and sent it into orbit during a 2018 launch. A dummy named Starman, positioned behind the wheel for the duration of the flight, served as the payload's stand-in occupant.

Production of the new Roadster remains well short of the point where dealerships would take delivery. How Tesla's bottom line might be affected remains an open matter. Second-quarter financial results released during the summer showed a drop in earnings at Tesla. Elevated investment in research and development put pressure on the firm's financial performance, according to its own disclosures. Outlays directed at robotaxi development and robotics programmes moved higher. Profit after tax came to USD 1.11 billion across the reporting period. Total revenue for the period reached USD 28.24 billion, a result tied to growth in the number of vehicles sold.