Tesla Roadster Demo: It Jumps, It Flips, and You Still Cannot Buy One

Tesla showed off the new Roadster at SpaceX’s test site in McGregor, Texas, and it can literally jump. Over other cars. And land on its own wheels. Thanks to the thruster package Elon has been teasing since 2018. Tesla claims 0 to 60 in 0.81 seconds, a 230 mph top speed, and a 2028 production date.

How do the Roadster thrusters work?

Start with the thrusters, because they are the reason any of this works. Compressed air. A rechargeable tank. Built into the rear diffuser. No propellant, nothing burning, nothing to refill at a station. The tank replenishes on the go, and the same system can boost forward acceleration. That is a very smart solution and I will give them full credit for it.

What did the Roadster actually do in the demo?

The claimed 0.81 second run to 60 happened live on stage. Then the car drove up a ramp and went fully inverted, held against the surface by a fan based active aero system that Tesla says is good for more than 2 lateral g. The thrusters flipped it back onto its wheels. Then it jumped the Tesla lineup, Semi included, with no ramp, and landed.

Now imagine that on the interstate. Imagine somebody in the fast lane realizing they are about to miss their exit and just going for it. Frogger, at 70 miles an hour, over four lanes of traffic.

And I am not the one being dramatic here. Elon said this on stage, word for word: “this is not necessarily a safety optimized car.”

Is the Roadster design any good?

The deployable rear wing is cool. That one I like. The design though, inside and out, leaves a lot to be desired. I cannot put my finger on why, but it looks cheap. For a halo car, that is a problem.

Is this the best driver’s car?

We can retire that talk. Just say it. You wanted to build the fastest thing possible and this is what came out. Devastating in a straight line. I would bet the Spéirling still beats it around a circuit, even with Tesla borrowing its fan trick. And it will have no feel whatsoever.

The MoneyShift Take

You still cannot buy one. They first showed this car in 2017. They say 2028 now. Trust us, bro.

Until then, the electric performance you can actually purchase looks like the Mustang Mach-E, costs as little as the Bolt RS, and the next vaporware-or-flagship question is the Genesis GV90. All three exist in showrooms or will before the Roadster does.

I’m MoneyShift. If it has wheels and a story, it ends up here. Follow along for all things car news.