Tesla shows thruster Roadster after nine-year delay

Tesla unveiled its long-delayed next-generation Roadster at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, on Thursday. The white sports car flipped mid-air and hovered using cold-gas thrusters during the demonstration.

The debut comes nearly a decade after Musk first promised deliveries in 2020, with the company now targeting 2028 production. The demonstration showcased engineering collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX but left major questions about street legality, safety certification and whether the vehicle's most dramatic aerial features will ever be available to buyers.

During the demonstration, the vehicle raced up a curved ramp, clung to it upside down, vaulted off, flipped in mid-air and hovered slowly before landing. The sports car also used its thrusters to jump across multiple Tesla models, including a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y and Model 3, while traveling at speed.

Tesla's demonstration showed the two-seater reaching 60 miles per hour in under a second. The vehicle features 10 nozzles and ultra high-pressure air tanks that enable propulsion in the air and quick acceleration on the ground. Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, explained that the Roadster uses 10 thrusters connected to 600 litres of compressed air to lift and spin the car in mid-air, with the air tank rechargeable.

The prototype minimizes weight by incorporating a steer-by-wire system, steering yoke and various technologies developed by SpaceX, such as thrusters, carbon overlay pressure vessels, diffusers and powerful fans.

Tesla will offer the Roadster in three trims: Performance (road ready, two seats, active aerodynamics and a multi-mode suction system), Thrust (race ready, two seats, rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters enabling sub-one-second 0-to-60 mph acceleration) and Rocket (air ready, one seat, 10 cold-gas thrusters positioned around the car). Each trim provides 300 miles of range and reaches speeds above 230 miles per hour.

Tesla's website on Thursday showed the company is taking reservations for the car, with a $50,000 deposit for Performance and $250,000 for Thrust. The Rocket trim requires an invitation. The company did not disclose pricing at the event.

The vehicle had no driver during the demonstration, said Musk, adding this precaution was to make sure we don't kill anyone. According to Musk, the next-generation Roadster will enter production in 2028.

Musk said the Roadster would be an actual car for roads, though he expressed uncertainty about its legal status in all jurisdictions. The car company added that flying the Roadster is not permitted on public roads.

One feature Tesla excluded from the forthcoming Roadster is the company's "FSD" or automated driving system. Musk said the new Roadster will represent the last vehicle Tesla produces intended to be controlled by a human driver.

Musk first promoted the refreshed Roadster concept at a November 2017 event and later via tweets the following June. Beginning in 2017, Tesla began accepting $50,000 deposits for the revamped Roadster but has since missed every targeted delivery date.

Last October, Musk was promoting a Roadster demo that he hoped would occur before 2025 ended. That demonstration did not happen either.

1. November 2017Roadster concept revealed Musk promotes refreshed Roadster, company begins taking $50,000 deposits.
2. 2020First missed target Musk had promised deliveries in 2020; deadline passes without production.
3. October 2025Demo promised again Musk hypes Roadster demo expected before end of 2025; does not occur.
4. 15 October 2026Unveiling at last Tesla demonstrates Roadster at SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas.
5. 2028Production target Musk says next-generation Roadster will enter production.

The vehicle is also expected to provide more than 300 miles (480 kilometres) of range per charge. This is roughly half the range Musk said Tesla would offer in 2017, when the company unveiled a prototype of the second-generation Roadster and said deliveries would begin in 2020. At its original announcement, the company set a base price of $200,000.

Sam Altman, OpenAI co-founder and long-time Roadster enthusiast, expressed mixed feelings about the delay. "I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays," Altman said. "But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait."

Lawrence O'Connor, founder and chief executive of Other World Computing in Austin, Texas, reserved a Founder's Edition when the new Roadster was first announced in November 2017. He had given the company what he called an interest-free loan of $250,000. After the event, O'Connor said what he saw was off the charts.

Tesla fan and investor Sawyer Merritt attended the demonstration and praised the event, said Merritt. That was the most insane product demo I've ever seen, he added. I just saw this in person, and I'm still asking how this wasn't AI.

The demonstration included short aerial manoeuvres, but Tesla did not showcase a practical flight range or operational routine. The acrobatic flips and hovers performed only tricks, offering limited perspective on whether the vehicle could function as a practical transportation device.

Musk positioned the Roadster as a true halo car for Tesla, saying at one point that he is not sure it moves the needle massively from a revenue standpoint. The Roadster is not likely to have any material financial impact on the company.

Fresh speculation of a corporate megamerger between Tesla and SpaceX has intensified following the mid-air unveiling of the rocket-assisted next-generation Roadster, a physical display of tightening ties that coincides with an aggressive new prediction from Wall Street. Driven by increasing operational overlap, a research note from Barclays analyst Dan Levy predicted a formal all-stock merger proposal could be announced ahead of Tesla’s annual general meeting by December 6, 2026, aiming to streamline joint semiconductor and artificial intelligence initiatives. This financial timeline aligns with recent public comments from SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell, who noted on CNBC that consolidating the two tech giants under one corporate umbrella "might make Elon's life a little easier, actually," turning a long-standing market theory into a mainstream expectation as the lines between Musk's enterprises continue to blur.

The original Roadster was designed and engineered by a team led by founding chief executive Martin Eberhard and used a Lotus Elise chassis. First delivered in 2008, it sold for roughly $100,000 in small volumes through 2012.

On Wednesday after the bell, Tesla will report third-quarter results, which may include guidance on the Roadster's market positioning.