Nearly a decade after Elon Musk unveiled the next-generation Roadster, Tesla has finally revealed its most outrageous capabilities.
Nearly a decade has passed since Elon Musk first unveiled the second-generation Tesla Roadster. Back then, he promised a 2020 launch, seating for four and a range of up to 620 miles. Instead, the electric supercar became a story of repeated delays, occasional updates and increasingly patient fans.
On the evening of October 15, Tesla finally showed off a car that appeared to leave the ground at SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas.
The demonstration was unlike anything the automotive world had seen. The Roadster accelerated toward a vertical ramp and drove straight up the wall as if gravity barely existed. It paused for a couple of seconds, upside down, before continuing. Then it repeated the stunt, this time launching into the air, flipping over and landing on all four wheels with the help of built-in thrusters.
The finale featured a barrel roll over a row of other Teslas, followed by another smooth landing.
It looked like something out of a science-fiction movie. But the spectacle itself may be less important than what it says about the car—and what Tesla still hasn't explained.
Two systems are responsible for the Roadster’s ability to cling to a wall and perform aerial maneuvers.
The first uses fans to suck air out from beneath the car, generating up to 2 g of downforce before the vehicle even begins moving. That force allows the Roadster to stick to a vertical surface as if it were glued in place.
British automaker McMurtry demonstrated a similar wall-driving trick with its Speirling a year earlier, although that car drove along the wall rather than taking flight.
The second system consists of 10 cold-gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX.
They draw compressed air from two 159-gallon tanks. According to Musk, the system uses ordinary atmospheric air, and the car can replenish its supply while driving.
The thrusters also help deliver extraordinary acceleration. During the demonstration, the Roadster reportedly reached 62 mph in just 0.81 seconds.
That figure is almost beyond comprehension. It also raises some of the biggest questions about Tesla’s claims.
Tesla has opened preorders on its website, but the purchasing arrangements are far from conventional.
The Performance version requires a $50,000 deposit. The Thrust version, which is associated with sub-one-second acceleration, requires $250,000. Then there is the Rocket, a single-seat version featuring a full flight system.
The Rocket cannot simply be ordered by anyone. It is available by invitation from Tesla.
There is another important caveat: the Rocket is “not approved for use on public roads.”
That restriction makes sense for a vehicle designed to perform aerial flips. But it raises an obvious question: What exactly will buyers receive with the Thrust and Performance versions? Will the flight capabilities be available as an option, or will they remain exclusive to a select group?
Tesla has not announced official vehicle prices. A deposit is not the same as a final purchase price. The only widely cited figure is $200,000, a price mentioned back in 2017 that does not establish what the current car will cost.
Strip away the spectacle, and the available information becomes considerably thinner.
Tesla has not disclosed the Roadster’s power output, driving range, battery capacity or drivetrain configuration, although all-wheel drive seems likely. The company also has not identified the production location, annual manufacturing targets or markets where the car will be sold.
The timeline remains uncertain, too. Musk says production will begin in 2028. Nine years ago, the target was 2020. Later, it shifted to 2022. Now, the target is 2028.
Preorders have been open since 2017, leaving some customers who put down money years ago still waiting to learn when they will receive their cars.
Analysts at Morningstar expect annual Roadster sales of around 2,000 units. That is a tiny number compared with the hundreds of thousands of Model Ys Tesla sells.
But the Roadster serves a different purpose. It is a halo car, a statement vehicle intended to demonstrate that Tesla can still surprise the automotive industry.
There is no denying the visual impact of a car that can drive up walls, launch into the air and perform flips. Even if the demonstration took place at a closed test facility under engineering supervision and with remote control, it was an extraordinary display.
The production version may never be approved for flight over public roads. And the demonstration does not answer the more practical questions facing potential buyers.
How will the Roadster perform on ordinary pavement? What will it cost? When will customers actually be able to buy one? And what happens to those who placed deposits nearly a decade ago?
The flying stunts may be the most spectacular thing the Roadster can do. They may also prove to be the least useful.
The real challenge begins when Tesla has to put the car into production, announce a final price and deliver it to customers—albeit customers with $250,000 to spend on a car.
For now, Tesla has presented an idea: bold, dramatic and still a long way from becoming a production reality.