Tesla Roadster unveiled, demo shows midair kickflip and claimed sub-1s 0-60

techOct 15, 202618297

Tesla unveiled its next-generation Roadster at an event in Waco, Texas, where the car drove up a multi-story ramp, clung to the vertical surface, flipped using cold-gas thrusters, briefly flew and accelerated to 60 mph in under a second. Tesla VP for Engineering Lars Moravy called the maneuver a "kick flip," and Elon Musk said the vehicle "can basically fly like a rocket" while also calling it "the last best driver's car." The Roadster uses a SpaceX-supplied fan suction system under the car that Tesla says can generate up to two Gs of suction, plus attitude-control and main thrusters at the rear. Tesla described two ultra-high-pressure air tanks with a combined volume of 600 liters holding about 250 kilograms of air and 10 nozzles to execute the demonstrated maneuvers; Tesla said the tanks can be recharged without a specialized chemical propellant. The roughly 30-minute reveal leaned toward stunt spectacle rather than product detail: Tesla gave no price, trim levels, or firm release schedule, though Musk said production could begin in 2028. The Verge noted that the Roadster as shown would face strict regulatory hurdles from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration if Tesla tried to put an air-capable version into consumer production.

e.w. niedermeyer

@niedermeyer.online

credit where due: instead of heavy-handed 80s design clichés, Tesla is now ripping of turn-of-the-millennium Lamborghini design... which is technically progress, of a sort

the front of the Tesla "Roadster," allegedly, looking like a radically simplified Murcielago

712h ago

whet moser22

this looks like a lambo made out of posterboard

Orac (spooky, like a ghost or something)6

it's amazing the jump in poly counts between those first console generations

Jen4

hey i used to tear ass in this thing in TD3 when i was a kid

Emperor Snapper3

What the fuck is that

alexlessis3

4th place in the aesthetic competition of the local pinewood derby ass car

Quoting this

Gore Vidal Sassoon56

There will be be 155 million pre orders and they will sell 253 total cars

Brian Schmid2

Ah shit I left my PS5 controller on the chair and accidentally sat on it

Darwin Brandis

@darwinbrandis.com

Everyone be sure to put down your Tesla roadster deposits so Elon can fleece you for interest for a decade.

473h ago

Chris Person

@papapishu.bsky.social

WELL THERE'S YOUR PROBLEM EPISODE 241 TESLA ROADSTER 2 bsky.app/profile/jord...

452h ago

Amber DaSilva

@ambericaoffline.beauty

watching the tesla roadster reveal stream and all of these guys suck so hard

323h ago

Amber DaSilva10

demo 1, downforce fan and in-air attitude adjustment

Ryan Erik King1

thank you for your service

WIRED

@wired.com

The automaker unveiled its next luxury sports car at an event in Texas. It has thrusters on it that can send it airborne.

213h ago

Veterans Against Trump30

The Tesla Class Action Lawsuit, coming to a dealership near you!

Pennybags21

This isn’t true but if it somehow is, someone is going to die because of it

Barb, Red State Blue Neck14

Let's say it's true. What purpose does it serve? There's no infrastructure for this. So, only idiots who have too much money and too little sense or incels who have no sense will buy it.

Al Swearengen11

Rockets on cars are illegal everywhere in the world. Because gov'ts can be really dumb, but none of them are that dumb.

Archer9

Manufacturing expected to start in 2028. Conveniently far away so that no one will remember when 2030 rolls around and they still haven’t delivered a single one.

Керрі Світ🇺🇦🇨🇦🇩🇰🇪🇺7

I remember how a Yugo went airborne off the Mackinac Bridge. Somehow this doesn't seem like a great idea.

Quoting this

🎃 Ryan S. Pumpkins 🎃 (Any Questions?)23

Did no one watch "Coyote vs. Acme" at a-- no, wait, never mind, let's see how this plays out...

Padraig21128

Let's assume this thing winds up on the road. I will put the over/under for "fatal accidents that make the news in the first month" at 4.

🎃 Decorative Gourd Mikell 🎃7

“This is not necessarily a safety-optimized car,” Musk said. ah yes. what we need on the roads is definitely more cars like that.

Hallenbeck775

EXCLUSIVE: Actual test footage of thrusters prior to final installation in vehicle:

roscone3

has Elon Musk ever been associated with a product that isn't blatantly copied from a popular 80's sci fi movie?

Wren

@wren.dog

Top google search results for “Tesla roadster unveiling” are live youtube streams of a AI-generated “live” Musk pitching some crypto shit scam. Amazing.

103h ago

LOWρUFO 🇺🇦🇵🇸🌍

@lowrhoufo.bsky.social

Buying a 2028 Tesla roadster on Facebook marketplace in 2035 after 7 years of road salt

122h ago

Constant Screaming

@ajaxsinger.bsky.social

The first electric car I ever coveted was a 1st generation Tesla Roadster back in the before-Elon-fucked-it-up days. I view this reboot the same way I would view a reboot of Casablanca starring Theo Vonn.

113h ago

The Verge

@theverge.com

The next-gen Roadster has been in development for nearly a decade. But perhaps it was worth the wait. www.theverge.com/transportati...

73h ago

markmcan.bsky.social7

A one-off concept car with cold-gas rockets that would never be allowed on the road and will never be produced, well I'm sold

Welp5

If you want to buy a bridge let me know

sal2

How fast does it lock you in when it bursts into flames that the fire department can't put out?

Allegedly Big Mike 🐸 🐸 🇺🇲1

Free advertising for a Nazi pedo-mobile, you should be ashamed.

vaguely1

No it's not, and will never be delivered. More ketamine crack pipe dreams from a certified idiot.

Quoting this

Aricie | 아리시 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇨🇦5

It looks like the cybertruck and the cybercab had a baby

Hostile Act2

Is this footage real? Because I just saw a car drive upside down and fly, landing softly on all 4 wheels with rocket boosters. 🤯 Can I get confirmation that this wasn’t AI? Fuck Elon 24/7 365, but if this is real holy shit and I tip my hat to Tesla engineers.

Cheryl Lynn Eaton

@cheryllynneaton.bsky.social

Can you even call yourself a billionaire if you don't have a Tesla Roadster? If you don't drive up high in the mountains and test out those thrusters in the beauty of nature?

91h ago

Tommi Ylamurto

@ylamurto.bsky.social

Finally someone put the punk to the cyber. #urbangaze #teslaroadster

915h ago

Russell Kealoha

@russ.imualab.co

Kind of rolled my eyes at the Tesla Roadster demo. Still feels like vaporware like the roadster they last showed. Also, the last version of the roadster was way cooler. I want the battery to last longer vs the car doing flips and twist like I am Speed Racer.

43h ago

Almond

@almondsquirrel.bsky.social

It's very telling how searching for the tesla roadster reveal on youtube just results in an entire page of scam streams where an AI generated Elon voice and video shills crypto scams. Perfect for a scam car that won't exist in any form like they're promising.

43h ago