Tesla · Roadster hub · updated 16 Oct 2026

ROADSTERTesla Roadster: every angle, every clip, every fact

0–60 mph<0.59sRocket claim tesla.com

Tesla showed the next-generation Roadster on 16 October 2026. It hung upside down on a ramp, flipped, flew over five Teslas and landed on thrusters. Here is everything we can verify, with a source on every line. For the night itself, read our reveal story.

0.81s0–60 mph on stage Tesla
<0.59sRocket 0–60 claim Tesla
300+ miRange Tesla
2028Production start CNBC

Liftoff

It flies.

Footage: Tesla (X)

01 · Gallery

22 angles

Stills taken from Tesla’s official YouTube replay and Tesla’s own videos and photos on X. Swipe or use the arrows; tap a photo for full screen.

Side profile on stage. Image: Tesla (stream 9:45)

Rear three-quarter view of the Roadster in a dark studio, rear wing and red light bar visible — Rear three-quarter. Image: Tesla (X)

Studio side view of the Roadster in Road Mode, wings flush — Road Mode, side. Image: Tesla (X)

Rear view of the Roadster in Low Drag Mode with its wings partly raised — Low Drag Mode, rear. Image: Tesla (X)

Close-up of the Roadster rear wing raised in High Downforce Mode — High Downforce Mode wing. Image: Tesla (X)

Close-up of the Roadster wheel and side bodywork in High Downforce Mode — Wheel and side bodywork. Image: Tesla (X)

Front of the Roadster at night on a dry lakebed with both doors raised — Doors up, front. Image: Tesla (X)

Rear of the Roadster on stage in front of the audience — Rear, on stage. Image: Tesla (stream 13:15)

Roadster cockpit with white seats, yoke and screens — Cockpit. Image: Tesla (stream 14:15)

The Roadster on stage with Tesla presenters beside it — On stage with the Tesla team. Image: Tesla (stream 14:45)

Close-up of the Roadster rear with a row of cold-gas thruster nozzles under the light bar and an RDSTR plate — Rear thruster nozzles. Image: Tesla (X)

Carbon-fibre pressure vessels packed inside the Roadster body — COPV tanks inside the car. Image: Tesla (X)

Overhead view of a thruster test firing a long white plume of gas — Thruster test firing. Image: Tesla (X)

The Roadster lined up on a lit timing strip at night, shown in the stream — Launch run on the timing strip. Image: Tesla (stream 16:15)

The Roadster at the foot of the curved ramp before the upside-down run — At the foot of the ramp. Image: Tesla (X)

The Roadster stopped upside down at the top of the curved ramp — Upside down on the ramp. Image: Tesla (X)

The Roadster flipping in mid-air after leaving the ramp, in a cloud of thruster gas — Mid-air flip off the ramp. Image: Tesla (X)

The Roadster landing on its thrusters near the ramp at night — Landing on thrusters. Image: Tesla (X)

The Roadster airborne above a line of Teslas including a Semi — Flying over the line of Teslas. Image: Tesla (X)

Overhead view of the Roadster rotating in the air above the parked Teslas — The “kickflip”, from above. Image: Tesla (X)

The Roadster landing beside a Tesla Semi in a cloud of thruster gas — Touchdown after the kickflip. Image: Tesla (X)

Front three-quarter view of the white Roadster at dusk, with its full-width light bar lit — Front three-quarter at dusk. Image: Tesla (X)

1 / 22

“Turns out the future does have flying cars”
Elon Musk @elonmusk · Image: Tesla (X)

02 · Video

The clips

Embedded straight from @Tesla and @elonmusk on X, plus Tesla’s YouTube replay, cued to the key moments. Nothing is re-hosted. Videos load only when you tap play or scroll to them.

Real life, baby
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

Upside down on the ramp, the flip and the thruster landing (46s, 4K).

Do a kickflip!
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

The flight over Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi and Cybercab.

0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

The timed acceleration run from the stage.

Roadster transforms in Track Mode
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

Road, Low Drag and High Downforce modes.

Roadster — The last best driver's car
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

Tesla’s launch film: chassis, thrusters, cabin.

Turns out the future does have flying cars
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) View the post on X

Elon Musk’s 15-second clip.

My OG Roadster is still orbiting Mars and Earth
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) View the post on X

Musk on his original Roadster, still in orbit.

Out of this world
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

Tesla, after the event.

Configurations
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

The three trims, as posted by Tesla.

Roadster’s thruster system generates 4–5x the force the tires can
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

Why thrusters: tyre grip.

Every usable void in the car is packed with COPVs
— Tesla (@Tesla) View the post on X

The pressure vessels.

Interior video

Here's an in-depth look at the new @Tesla Roadster's UI. Love the retro-futuristic design aesthetic.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) View the post on X

Video: Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) on X

03 · Configurations

Trims and specs

Tesla lists three configurations Tesla on X tesla.com.

Performance<1.6s0–60 mph

Tesla’s tag: Road ready
Seats: 2
Key hardware: Active aero, multi-mode suction
0–60 mph: <1.6s
Range: More than 300 miles
Top speed: Not stated
Reservation: $5,000 + $45,000 within 10 days
Road use: Road car

Compare all three side by side

	Performance	Thrust	Rocket
Tesla’s tag	Road ready	Race ready	Air ready
Seats	2	2	1
Key hardware	Active aero, multi-mode suction	Suction plus rear cold-gas thrusters	Thrusters around the car: forward, up and rotation. “So...yes, it can fly.”
0–60 mph	<1.6s	<0.9s	<0.59s
Range	More than 300 miles
Top speed	Not stated	Not stated	More than 230 mph
Reservation	$5,000 + $45,000 within 10 days	$250,000	Invite only
Road use	Road car	—	“Not approved for public road use”, not in all regions

Sources: specs and road-use notes tesla.com/roadster and @Tesla; reservations Tesla reservation page, Engadget, TechCrunch. Tesla quotes the top speed for the Rocket only.

On stage, Tesla ran a timed 0–60 mph of 0.81 seconds Tesla on X The Verge.

04 · Engineering

How it works

Cold-gas thrusters

Tesla says the thruster system “generates 4–5x the force the tires can”, so acceleration no longer depends on tyre grip Tesla. Lars Moravy said on stage the car uses 10 thrusters fed by 600 litres of compressed air, and the tanks can be recharged TechCrunch. Electric actuators make micro adjustments within a fraction of a second to keep it stable tesla.com.

COPVs everywhere

“Every usable void in the car is packed with Carbon Fiber Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs).” More gas on board means more flight Tesla. SpaceX has used thrusters to position spacecraft for decades, and Tesla says making them work in a car took all-new hardware and controls Tesla.

Suction fans

A multi-mode fan and ground-sealing system makes enough suction to hold the car upside down, even when it is stationary, giving “massive downforce at zero speed” tesla.com.

Optimus-driven wings

In Track Mode the aero deploys. Tesla calls it “the best passive downforce package of any road car (approaching F1 levels!)”, with the wings moved by the Optimus actuator system Tesla.

SR-71 and F-35 design

Tesla says the shape is inspired by the SR-71 and F-35 Tesla. It has hidden headlights, a full-width taillight, Ano White paint based on rocket coatings, gold-tinted glass, an Ultrawhite cabin with grey microsuede, a steer-by-wire yoke and a fixed manual seat. Magnesium, titanium and carbon fibre are used throughout tesla.com.

Musk on stage

“Better than any James Bond car,” and “this will be the actual car that’s on the roads” TechCrunch. Afterwards on X: “Turns out the future does have flying cars” @elonmusk.

“Generates 4–5x the force the tires can”
Tesla Tesla · Image: Tesla (X)

05 · Money

Price, reservations, production

Price: not announced. Musk gave no price on stage TechCrunch CNBC.
Performance: $5,000 refundable up front plus $45,000 within 10 days, so $50,000 in total Tesla Engadget.
Thrust: $250,000 reservation Engadget TechCrunch.
Rocket: invite only Engadget.
Production: starts in 2028, Musk said TechCrunch CNBC.

06 · Nine years

2017 promise to 2026 reveal

Nov 2017
A surprise unveil at the end of the Semi event. Promised: 0–60 in 1.9s, over 250 mph, 620 miles of range, from $200,000, deliveries in 2020. Deposits were $50,000, or $250,000 for one of 1,000 Founders Series cars The Verge.
Jun 2018
Musk adds the SpaceX thruster package The Verge.
2020–2024
Delayed in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 TechCrunch.
1 Oct 2026
The planned reveal moves because of weather TechCrunch.
16 Oct 2026
The reveal at McGregor, Texas: three trims, the flip and the flight Engadget The Verge.
2028
Production start, per Musk CNBC.

Promise vs reality

2017 promise2026 reveal

0–60 mph1.9s<1.6s / <0.9s / <0.59s (0.81s run on stage)

Range620 miles300+ miles

Top speedOver 250 mphOver 230 mph (Rocket)

PriceFrom $200,000Not announced

Deliveries2020Production 2028

2017 figures: The Verge. 2026 figures: tesla.com, CNBC. The missed deadline is on our Promise tracker.

07 · The night

The event

When: 01:55 Irish time on Friday 16 October (8:55pm ET / 5:55pm PT on Thursday 15 October).
Where: outdoors at SpaceX’s test site in McGregor, near Waco, Texas Engadget.
Length: under 30 minutes The Verge.
The stunts: up a C-shaped ramp to hang upside down, then a second run off the top with a flip and a thruster landing, with an Optimus robot in the driver’s seat for show. The stunts were programmed, so no human was driving Engadget. Then a flight over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Semi, Model Y and Model 3 TechCrunch.
Replay: Tesla on YouTube and Tesla’s X broadcast.

Read our full reveal story →