Tesla Unleashes Three Roadster Variants, Including a Rocket Version That Can Fly

Tesla pulled the wraps off its long-awaited next-generation Roadster on Thursday night, and the reveal resembled a propulsion test more than a typical car launch. Staged near SpaceX’s McGregor facility outside Waco, Texas, the demonstration saw the car climb a curved ramp until it was fully inverted, then launch into the air, rotate, and come back down onto the surface. “Well, it worked,” Elon Musk told the crowd. “Flying cars are real.”

The event also featured the Roadster hovering over a moving Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y and Model 3, and a clip of the car hitting 60 mph in roughly one second. Musk insisted the machine shown is “the actual car that’s on the roads” and that it will “literally just puff itself up” to perform such maneuvers on demand. He framed the project as a joint effort between Tesla and SpaceX engineers, calling it “better than any James Bond car.” Franz von Holzhausen and Lars Moravy were both present.

Performance trim — Road-legal two-seater with active aerodynamics and a multi-mode suction system; Tesla quotes 0–60 mph in under 1.6 seconds. Thrust trim — Track-focused two-seater adding rear-mounted cold gas thrusters, dropping the 0–60 sprint to under 0.9 seconds. Rocket trim — A single-seat, air-oriented version with perimeter-mounted thrusters for forward, upward and rotational movement; Tesla claims under 0.59 seconds to 60 mph. Claimed figures — Top speed of more than 230 mph and over 300 miles of range for the Rocket variant, per Tesla. Pricing and timing — No price disclosed yet, but $50,000 reservations have reopened in the updated configurator, with production planned at Giga Texas in 2027 or 2028.

Tesla’s own explanation of the physics is telling: the thruster system produces four to five times the force the tires can generate, so acceleration improves dramatically on the same mass. The car’s multi-mode fan and ground-sealing system pull air from beneath the chassis, creating enough suction to hold it inverted even at a standstill, while active wings, steer-by-wire with a yoke and a lowering Track Mode round out the driving package. Cold gas thrusters rely on all-electric actuators for fine in-flight corrections, and weight savings come from magnesium, titanium and carbon fiber plus a fixed seat position.

Design touches include concealed headlights, a full-length taillight, aerospace-inspired Ano White paint and gold-tinted glass modeled on spacesuit visors. Inside, buyers get an Ultrawhite cabin with gray microsuede and a central touchscreen flanked by two smaller forward displays. Availability is tiered: Performance by reservation, Thrust as a limited release, and Rocket by invitation only.

Tesla cautions the car is not approved for public road use and that Rocket won’t be offered in every region. Musk has been candid that the Roadster is a halo product, admitting he is “not sure it moves the needle massively from a revenue standpoint” and warning safety-first buyers to look elsewhere. Tesla reports third-quarter earnings on October 21.