Tesla's new Roadster climbs a wall, flips and flies on SpaceX air

Tesla finally showed the second-generation Roadster on 15 Oct at SpaceX's McGregor, Texas test site. It's a car that is half rocket. In the demos it drove up a curved ramp until it was almost upside down and stayed on by sucking itself to the surface with underbody fans. It also jumped a row of parked Teslas, including a Semi and a Cybercab, and flipped in mid-air. Lift came from compressed-air thrusters built with SpaceX: ten nozzles fed by about 250 kg of air at around 380 bar, which Tesla says gives more than 80 kN of thrust.

The numbers are wild. A live run did 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds, and Musk claims a top speed of over 230 mph. The catch: every demo was autonomous, with a Starman mannequin in the seat. Musk said that was so "we don't kill anyone." Tesla says the production car will be driven by a person.

There are three versions: Performance (two seats, active aero, fan suction), Thrust (adds acceleration thrusters, $250K reservation), and Rocket (full flight system, one seat, invite-only). Tesla hasn't given a price, battery size or range. Production starts in 2028, eight years after the original 2020 promise. Musk also admits it is "not necessarily legal in all jurisdictions."

Why it matters: the self-driving stunt and the SpaceX hardware make a great show, but there is still no price, no range figure, and a long record of missed Roadster dates.