Tesla's new Roadster can flip itself over mid-air, but Tesla still hasn't said what it costs or what powers it.
Tesla unveiled the car late Thursday in McGregor, Texas. In one demo, it was driven upside down on a ramp, then used thrusters to flip itself and land gently. Those thrusters are ten air nozzles fed by a tank of compressed air, a system Tesla says is borrowed from SpaceX, so no special fuel is needed. In a live demo, the car hit 0-60 mph in an apparent 0.81 seconds, against 1.66 for the Rimac Nevera R, the quickest production car. The $5,000, $45,000 and $245,000 figures are reservation payments toward final prices Tesla hasn't announced: the Performance variant takes $5,000 now plus $45,000 within 10 days, the Thrust variant $5,000 plus $245,000, and the flying Rocket variant is invite-only.
Stunts are easy to stage. Specs are harder to fake. Tesla's VP of Vehicle Engineering gave a 230 mph top speed, while Musk said Mach 0.5, roughly 370 mph, and nobody explained the gap. Battery size, powertrain, flight range and road legality are all unanswered, yet buyers are asked to commit $50,000 or $250,000 within 10 days. Production is promised for 2028, 11 years after the November 2017 announcement.
Musk says the production car will be even quicker. It would not be shocking if deliveries slipped to 2029 or later.