The long-delayed electric sports car demonstrated brief flight, upside-down driving and sub-one-second acceleration during a dramatic Texas event.
MCGREGOR, TX — Tesla showed a redesigned Roadster that briefly flew, turned in midair and landed with help from SpaceX-derived thrusters Thursday, giving CEO Elon Musk a dramatic demonstration of a sports car that has been delayed for years.
The two-seat electric Roadster combines a suction system beneath the vehicle with high-pressure air thrusters designed with technology from Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX. During the presentation at a SpaceX testing facility near Waco, the prototype drove upside down on a curved ramp, left the structure, rotated in the air and returned to the ground. Tesla also demonstrated the car jumping over a line of other vehicles. Musk said production is expected to begin in 2028.
The demonstration marked a major update for a vehicle Tesla first presented in 2017. At the time, the company said the second-generation Roadster would reach customers in 2020. That deadline and several later targets passed without production. Thursday’s event showed a substantially revised vehicle and moved its expected production date another two years into the future.
Tesla vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy said the Roadster can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than one second. The company says the car can exceed 230 mph and travel more than 300 miles on a charge. Tesla also demonstrated acceleration runs during the event, including one that it said reached 60 mph in about 0.8 second. Those figures remain company claims tied to the prototype and demonstration.
The most unusual part of the Roadster is its combination of fans and compressed-air propulsion. Tesla said a fan-based suction system underneath the vehicle can pull the car toward the road surface, increasing grip and allowing the prototype to remain attached to an inverted section of track. High-pressure air thrusters then provide additional force for acceleration and aerial maneuvers. Musk said the system uses air stored at very high pressure rather than conventional rocket fuel.
Tesla is offering three Roadster configurations. Its reservation page lists a Performance model intended for road use, a Thrust version equipped with acceleration thrusters and an invitation-only Rocket version described as having a full flight system. Reuters reported that Tesla was seeking a $50,000 deposit for the Performance version and a $250,000 deposit for the Thrust version after the event. Tesla did not announce final purchase prices Thursday.
Questions also remain about where the more extreme versions could legally operate. Musk acknowledged during the presentation that the vehicle might not be legal in every jurisdiction. Tesla has not detailed what regulatory approvals would be required for a production car using its full flight system, and a controlled demonstration does not establish that the same maneuvers would be permitted on public roads.
The Roadster serves a different purpose from Tesla’s higher-volume vehicles. Musk has previously said the sports car is unlikely to have a major financial effect on the company. Analysts instead describe it as a halo vehicle meant to display Tesla’s engineering capabilities. The reveal comes as Tesla places greater emphasis on artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and robotics while preparing to report third-quarter financial results on Oct. 21.
The name also carries historical importance for Tesla. The original Roadster, introduced in 2008, was the company’s first production vehicle and helped establish Tesla as an electric-car manufacturer before the arrival of its higher-volume Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y. The second-generation Roadster was supposed to revive that performance-focused role but became one of Tesla’s longest-running delayed products.
For now, the airborne prototype remains a demonstration rather than a customer vehicle. Tesla says Roadster production will start in 2028, leaving the company roughly two years to turn the technology shown in Texas into a production car and address the engineering, safety and regulatory questions surrounding its most ambitious features.
Author note: Last updated October 16, 2026.