Tesla unveiled a redesigned Roadster developed in collaboration with SpaceX, featuring rocket-style thrusters that enable airborne maneuvers, driving upside down, and jumping over vehicles. The event took place on 2026-10-15 at SpaceX's rocket testing facility in McGregor, Texas. CEO Elon Musk announced that production is scheduled to begin in 2028.
Some analysts view the engineering marvel as a symbolic halo car and an effort to stir interest in a potential merger between Tesla and SpaceX, while others note it holds little immediate commercial significance compared to Tesla's focus on self-driving technology and upcoming financial results.
The base price was previously quoted around $200,000, with reservation deposits set at $50,000 for the Performance version.
Elon Musk stated the car will feature manual driving while noting it is not optimized for safety, raising questions about public road homologation.
Tesla announced three versions—Performance, Thrust, and Rocket. The Rocket variant accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in under 0.59 seconds. The Performance version accelerates 0-100 km/h in 1.6 seconds, the Thrust version in 0.9 seconds, and another demonstration showed a 0-100 km/h time of 0.81 seconds using two high-pressure carbon tanks.
Elon Musk stated the car will feature manual driving while noting it is not optimized for safety, raising questions about public road homologation.
The Roadster uses compressed-air thrusters developed with SpaceX technology, allowing it to lift off the ground and perform aerial maneuvers.