Source: Fortune.com
Summary
Tesla demonstrated a redesigned Roadster with SpaceX thrusters during a livestreamed event in Texas. The car performed aerial maneuvers, including flipping and leaping over other vehicles. The Roadster, originally promised for 2020, will now start production in 2028. It comes in three versions, with the Rocket model featuring thrusters for brief flight. Tesla claims a top speed of over 230 mph, but the vehicle is not approved for public road use. The car is not expected to be a major revenue source, but it serves as a showcase for Tesla’s technological ambitions.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story.
Tesla’s Roadster, delayed eight years, now features thrusters and flight. Production starts in 2028, not 2020. The Rocket version flies, but not for public use. Tesla’s CEO calls it the “cherry on the icing.” The car is a halo product, not a moneymaker. The future of driving remains unclear.
Elon Musk’s vision of flying cars is closer, but not yet practical.
Author: Evan Null
Three versions, one that flies
The Roadster that took the stage Thursday is a radically redesigned car, built around the SpaceX thruster package Musk first floated in 2018. It comes in three versions: Performance, a “road ready” two-seater with active aerodynamics and a fan-driven suction system; Thrust, a two-seater that adds rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters for sub-one-second acceleration to 60 mph; and Rocket, an invitation-only single-seater with 10 thrusters arranged around the car that can briefly take flight.
Tesla engineering vice president Lars Moravy said the thrusters run on about 600 liters of rechargeable compressed air. Tesla claims a top speed of more than 230 mph.
The redesign also comes with compromises. The original four-seat sports car now seats no more than two, and Tesla now promises a range of more than 300 miles—less than half the 620 miles it touted in 2017.
The airborne spectacle was a prototype demonstration, not a test of a production-ready vehicle. It showed only brief aerial maneuvers, not sustained flight, and Tesla hasn’t said how long or how far the Roadster can actually stay airborne.
Tesla states on its website that the Rocket version is “not approved for public road use.” It’s also unclear which regulator, if any, would oversee its flying features.
A halo car, not a moneymaker
Securing a spot in line won’t come cheap. Tesla is asking for a $50,000 reservation payment for the Performance model and a whopping $250,000 for Thrust. The flying Rocket version is available by invitation only, with no publicly disclosed reservation fee. Tesla has yet to announce final prices for any of the three versions, and it has hasn’t said what will happen to customers who put down deposits on the 2017 version.
Despite the hefty reservation payments, the Roadster is unlikely to become a major revenue source for Tesla. Unlike its mass-market vehicles, the niche sports car won’t sell in large volumes. At Tesla’s 2023 annual shareholder meeting, Musk said the Roadster was “definitely not gonna be a huge contributor to revenue.”
Its value may lie elsewhere. TechCrunch described the Roadster as a “halo car” for Tesla—a vehicle meant to showcase the company’s technological ambitions rather than a volume seller. The reveal also came days before Tesla reports third-quarter results, which analysts say matter far more to investors.
Wall Street agrees: The Roadster “will not move the volume or revenue needle,” Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives wrote in a research note, according to CBS News.
The Roadster is not a safety-optimized car, Musk said during the reveal.
The last car you drive yourself
The Roadster also occupies a curious place in Tesla’s future. As the company shifts its focus toward autonomous driving and humanoid robots, Musk has said the Roadster will eventually be the only manually driven car Tesla makes. Yet Thursday’s demonstration had no one behind the wheel—just a mannequin in a SpaceX spacesuit, a nod to the “Starman” dummy that rode Musk’s original Roadster into space in 2018.
Musk said the car operated autonomously for safety reasons. For a company increasingly focused on taking humans out of the driver’s seat, the Roadster reminds us that driving can still be part of the attraction.
The Roadster’s future is uncertain, but its role as a symbol of innovation is clear. It’s not just a car—it’s a statement.
Tesla’s focus on autonomy and robotics may not be the only path forward. The Roadster shows that manual driving still has a place.
Elon Musk’s vision of the future includes flying cars, but the path to getting there is still unclear.
