Tesla just revealed its redesigned second-generation Roadster with SpaceX thrusters, a vehicle he has called “the best of the last of the human-driven cars.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed off the car at an event outside Waco, Texas, with a demonstration that saw the car use a mixture of high-powered fans and thrusters to drive up an inverted ramp, spin around, and ease itself to a landing on the pavement below. The car also used the thrusters to lift itself up over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y, and Model 3 while in motion. Musk said Tesla will finally build the long-delayed vehicle in 2028, but didn’t name a price.
That air tank can be re-charged, he said. Musk also said at the event that Tesla may try to jump the Snake River Canyon — a famous gap that Evel Knievel tried to jump in a steam-powered rocket. Musk has positioned it as a true halo car for Tesla, saying at one point that he’s “not sure it moves the needle massively from a revenue standpoint.” But he has previously said the that “safety is not the main goal” with the new Roadster.
I say, if safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster,” he said on a podcast earlier this year. Tesla would “aspire not to kill anyone in this car,” he said. You know when I suggested this to the team, I thought, ‘Am I crazy?’” Musk had previously claimed that the car “will be very different from what was shown previously” and promised the demo would be the “most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product.” An earlier version of the reveal event had reportedly was going to include the car being driven upside down on a magnetized ramp before hovering, which Musk had allegedly scrapped.
The design changes were notable. The car, shown in stark white, now has a more angular design reminiscent of a Lamborghini, or the famous Lotus Esprit used by the Bond character in The Spy Who Loved Me — a car Musk owns, which was on display at the event. In another post, Tesla said the design was inspired by the SR-71 and F-35 fighter planes.
Tesla held the event almost nine years to the day after the company first revealed the second-gen Roadster, a modernized take on its first-ever car. Included as a surprise at the end of the Tesla Semi reveal in 2017, the company promised the revamped Roadster would be delivered in just a few years. Tesla allowed customers to place $50,000 deposits to reserve the car.
Some even paid $250,000 to reserve one of 1,000 “Founders Series” versions. Musk first talked about adding thrusters to the car in 2018. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly …” But the Roadster project took a back seat.
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