Elon Musk is known for blowing hot air, but he's finally delivering on his bold claims of a new Tesla Roadster. It was rumored to be able to fly – and at its launch event, it demonstrated that it could at least leap into the air.
You'll want to get to the video footage, so let's speed through some facts. The Roadster is an electric car with a whole new design, active aerodynamics, a powerful underbody fan system that generates a huge amount of suction downforce, and cold-gas thrusters built using SpaceX's rocket science know-how.
When equipped with acceleration thrusters, that enables the car to launch from 0–60 mph (96.5 km/h) in a gut-punching 0.81 seconds. You can also expect it to stick to the road through corners for extremely precise handling. And the thrusters can get it into the air, or back down to earth safely. Here, watch it climb an extremely tall curved ramp and stay at the top:
And catch it doing a kickflip over a bunch of other Teslas:
To be clear, the "flying" refers to leaping into the air for big jumps, barrel rolls, and quick moments of hovering to avoid crashing down to the ground – not sustained flight over long distances. I also can't be sure if there was a human driver behind the wheel or if the vehicle was controlled remotely during the demonstration.
Only one of the three Roadster variants – the single-seat Rocket – will be capable of full aerial stunts. It'll get a multi-mode fan and ground sealing system for suction, along with said thrusters around its perimeter to get into the air. This variant is available only via an invite and won't be road-legal, so you'll be doing kickflips on private tracks all by your lonesome – if it's ever built.
Tesla claims its fan system manages 2 g’s of suction, while the thrusters make over 80 kilonewtons of force to propel the car through the air and land without a scratch.
According to Musk & Co, the prototype Roadster can already hit a top speed of 230 mph (370 km/h), but the team is targeting 383 mph (616 km/h).
Performance is the base version of the Roadster, with active aerodynamics and the aforementioned suction system for track-level speed and agility. Thrust, meanwhile, gets thrusters only in the rear to pull off that sub-1-second 0–60 acceleration sprint.
The Roadster gets a motorized rear spoiler that extends up and out past the rear end, and adjusts its angle automatically to provide necessary downforce. It's aided by an active suspension system that lowers the car.
This prototype looks nothing like the concept that was unveiled in 2017. To my eyes, the styling is a blend of the Cybertruck design language and vibes from the 1995 Ford GT90 (albeit with triangular lighting elements in the front instead of the rear).
Tesla describes the Roadster as having an aerospace-inspired appearance, with white paint similar to what's used on spacecraft for UV and cryogenic protection, titanium accents across the exterior, and tinted glass windows that mimic copper-coated spacesuit visors.
The Roadster's doors open upwards to reveal a spartan cabin. The sparse interior is decked out in microsuede, with a center infotainment screen, fixed-position seats, a steer-by-wire yoke, and not a whole lot else – likely to keep weight down.
Musk promises the Roadster will "actually" go into production in 2028. For those keeping count, that's eight years after it was originally slated to begin manufacturing.
It isn't yet clear exactly what this will cost. Reserving a Performance variant requires a US$5,000 deposit right away, and an additional $45,000 within 10 days. For the Thrust, you'll need to put down $5,000 and then $245,000.
It's unclear whether simply adding these two figures for each variant gets you the total cost, or there'll be a subsequent payment closer to delivery. The vast difference in their prices is also a bit confounding. For reference, the 2017 Roadster had a $200,000 price tag all those years ago.
In any case, credit where it's due: Tesla did indeed show off a new car on the day it said it would – and the Roadster did indeed stay in the air under its own power. It's not a flying car, but rather a high performance EV with a bigger gimmick than that of the jumping Yangwang U9. Honestly, I'll be even more impressed if the company can actually deliver these before 2030.
Source: Tesla
