Tesla officially demonstrated the long-awaited second-generation Roadster during a showcase at SpaceX’s facility in Texas on October 15, 2026. The performance featured the vehicle accelerating up a custom curved ramp, driving fully upside down, and brief airborne maneuvers including a mid-air flip before completing a controlled landing.
The Science: How the Roadster Flies
The “flying” capability of the Roadster is made possible through aerospace-derived technology developed in collaboration with SpaceX:
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Cold-Gas Thruster System: Unlike traditional rocket engines that rely on combustion, the Roadster uses 10 cold-gas thrusters placed around the vehicle. These release high-pressure gas directly from onboard composite pressure vessels to generate force.
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Compressed Air Capacity: Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, stated that the thrusters are connected to 600 liters of compressed air. The total flight time and maneuver capability are directly governed by the volume of compressed gas stored onboard.
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Controlling Mid-Air Motion: During flight, thrusters firing in coordinated vectors supply over 80 kN of thrust to lift, spin, and stabilize the chassis during flips and landings.
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Suction System for Inverted Driving: Before taking flight, ground effect fans generate downward suction against the curved ramp, allowing the car to maintain surface adhesion while driving completely inverted.
Pricing and Variants
Reservations have opened for the vehicle, which Tesla projects will begin production in 2028:
| Variant | Tagline / Description | Reservation / Pricing |
| Performance | “Road ready” electric supercar | $50,000 USD reservation (~₹47.5 Lakh) |
| Thrust | “Race ready” with enhanced thrusters | $250,000 USD reservation (~₹2.37 Crore) |
| Rocket | “Air ready” flagship model | Invite-Only (Cannot be reserved directly) |
