Tesla Roadster SpaceX: The Rocket-Powered EV Finally Arrives
After nearly a decade of delays, Tesla has finally unveiled its new Roadster, and the Tesla Roadster SpaceX collaboration is every bit as wild as the rumors suggested. The event took place at SpaceX’s Rocket Test and Development Center in McGregor, Texas, where Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy, and CEO Elon Musk walked a live audience through roughly 20 minutes of scrappy information and Hollywood-style demonstrations.
The claimed production version, slated to go on sale in 2028, marks a dramatic design shift. Gone are the curves and clean lines of the previously promised Roadster. In their place is a more angular, Cybertruck-style look that Tesla says takes inspiration from SR-71 aircraft and rocket ships. You could argue it resembles Tesla’s take on an electric Lamborghini, but the trio repeatedly stressed that the upcoming Roadster is very much a joint effort between the EV company and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, hence the myriad rocket references throughout the design.
A Collaboration Built on Rocket Science
“The results are the collaboration of the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company,” Musk boasted before demonstrating what the vehicle is capable of.
The new Roadster features numerous SpaceX-developed cold-gas thrusters that can deliver brutal acceleration. Tesla claims 0-60 mph in under 0.59 seconds and a top speed of over 230mph on top-tier versions. The thrusters can also make the car “fly” for short periods.
Thrusters at the rear provide up to 80 kN of thrust for straight-line speed, while individual units around and underneath the car deliver upward lift, as well as the ability to control the vehicle’s movements in the air. Making these work in Earth’s atmosphere rather than the vacuum of space is the engineering headache teams at SpaceX and Tesla have been wrestling with for years.
The “Kick-Flip” Demonstration
During a live demonstration, which was “autonomous” and didn’t use a real driver for safety reasons, the new Tesla Roadster jumped over the company’s entire fleet of vehicles. It performed a barrel roll midair before landing in a plume of thick gas and driving away.
Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy said Tesla calls this move “the kick-flip” and that “Tony Hawk would be proud.”
Musk revealed that the system uses an advanced ultra-high-pressure air tank. “So, the car can recharge its air tank, it’s not like you need special propellant or anything like that,” he added.
This Tesla Really Sucks
Another key technology in the upcoming Tesla Roadster SpaceX project is a suction system that uses fans mounted underneath the car to generate huge amounts of downforce. Similar to the McMurtry Spéirling, which has broken numerous circuit records thanks to its seemingly unending levels of grip, Tesla’s system pulls enough air from under the car to hold it upside down.
The technology is banned by Formula 1, for obvious reasons. Tesla demonstrated its capabilities by having the Roadster drive up a vertical piece of road, then allowing the fan system to hold it on an overhang. Only Tesla went one further. The Roadster leapt off this perilous overhang, flipped itself upright using the cold-gas thruster technology, and carefully landed on the stage beneath it, like one of SpaceX’s rockets touching down after a trip into outer orbit.
According to the company, the fan system also employs patented side skirts and actuators from its humanoid robot Optimus to autonomously adjust the setup to suit a number of road surfaces. This is not simply limited to super-smooth race tracks.
“Better than any James Bond car,” Elon Musk said, explaining that the fan technology would allow customers to corner “like you’re breaking physics.”
“Acceleration, cornering, it’s going to crush every track record that has ever existed,” Musk revealed.
Specs, Prices, and Production Timeline
The event proved an impressive demonstration of the technology. Despite Elon’s warnings that success was “not guaranteed,” it confirmed a number of rumors that have been circulating for months. Yes, the upcoming Tesla Roadster will use cold-gas thrusters for straight-line performance and brief periods of flight. Yes, it will use a “multi-mode suction system” for insane levels of downforce. And yes, you will be able to buy one, albeit as a left-hand-drive vehicle only.
Musk promised that it will enter production in 2028 and that the company will continue to take reservations. Customers will have to hand over $5,000 today and another $45,000 within 10 days, or the reservation will be canceled.
There’s no concrete price for the final product, although the company did release more information on X following the event about the various versions that will go on sale.
| Version | Key Feature | Claimed 0-60 mph |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Multi-mode suction system, no gas thrusters | Under 1.6 seconds |
| Thrust | Rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters (limited release) | Under 0.9 seconds |
| Rocket | Full cold-gas thruster array, reportedly invite-only | Not disclosed |
The Performance variant is likely to be the only road-legal option. The Thrust model is highly likely to be for track use only. There are no details on where the Rocket model’s systems could safely and legally be used.
All versions feature hidden headlights, “super light” wheels, an adjustable rear wing, aerospace-inspired paint, and tinted glass windows designed to mimic the copper coating that gives spacesuit visors their golden sheen. However, the original estimate of a 600-mile all-electric range seems to have been adjusted considerably. Tesla is hinting that 300 miles will be a more realistic figure for the new Roadster.
What This Means for EV Enthusiasts
The Tesla Roadster SpaceX project represents one of the most unusual automotive collaborations in recent memory. Combining rocket propulsion technology with a street-legal electric vehicle platform raises obvious questions about safety, regulation, and real-world usability. Tesla has not fully answered these questions.
For now, the company is accepting reservations and promising a 2028 production date. Whether the flying, flipping, track-record-crushing Roadster actually reaches customers as demonstrated remains to be seen. As Musk himself cautioned, success is “not guaranteed.”
What’s your first impression of Tesla’s new rocket-thruster Roadster? Is it seriously impressive, impressive tech that isn’t a real car, classic Tesla hype, or not what you wanted from the originally promised 600-mile Roadster?
