Tesla Unveils New Roadster With Wildest Stunt Show Ever Staged

Tesla has taken the wraps off its next-generation Roadster once more, and the company chose a live demonstration over a conventional reveal. Rather than a slow pan across a static car, the evening centered on a series of physics-defying stunts designed to show what the machine can do.

The headline act was a suction system. According to Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, a fan setup inspired by McMurty designs can generate as much as 2G of downforce, enough for the car to drive along a sideways half-pipe and, briefly, completely inverted. CEO Elon Musk has hinted at the capability before, and a patent filing last August suggested the idea was in development. This was the first public demonstration of the hardware in motion.

Beyond the fan, Tesla fitted the Roadster with cold-gas thrusters developed with input from SpaceX. Four units sit beneath the car, two more are mounted at the front to help rotate the vehicle upright, and a further set at the rear assists acceleration. In total, the top “Rocket” trim carries ten thrusters. With no driver aboard, the car launched off a ramp, completed a mid-air barrel roll, and landed back on all four wheels. It also cleared Tesla’s entire model range parked side by side, including the 13.5-foot-tall Semi.

Buyers will have three configurations to choose from. The Performance version skips the thrusters entirely, the Thrust edition keeps only the rear-mounted units, and the Rocket flagship gets the full complement. All three retain the fan-based suction system. Tesla has acknowledged that the compressed-air setup may raise questions about street legality, while Musk has framed the car as a track weapon rather than a safety-first machine.

Enthusiasm aside, the timeline remains distant. Tesla says the Roadster will launch in 2028, roughly nine years after it was first promised, and the company has a long record of missing its own deadlines. The Rocket variant will reportedly be offered by invitation only.