October 18, 2026 09:00 AM PST
(PenniesToSave.com) – Elon Musk spent nearly a decade promising a new Tesla Roadster, and on Thursday night he finally put a working one in front of a crowd, complete with thrusters that lifted the car off the ground. At a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, near Waco, Tesla showed the car racing up a curved ramp, flipping in midair, and landing safely on the pavement below [2]. Musk said Tesla will begin building the car in 2028, though he did not name a price [1].
What Tesla did name is the cost of getting in line. The company’s reservation page lists a $50,000 payment to reserve the base Performance trim and $250,000 for the Thrust trim, while a third Rocket trim is invite only [1]. The Associated Press reports that the fine print offers no guarantee of when the car will be delivered, or whether it will be delivered at all [6]. The engineering on display was bold and genuinely impressive. For households watching their own budgets, the bigger question is how much faith a promise like this deserves when real money is on the table.
Quick Links
- What Did Tesla Actually Show Off in Texas?
- How Can a Car Lift Itself Off the Ground?
- What Does the New Roadster Look Like?
- What Does It Cost to Get in Line?
- Why Has This Car Taken Nearly a Decade to Arrive?
- Will Flying Cars Ever Be Legal on Public Roads?
What Did Tesla Actually Show Off in Texas?
The event took place at SpaceX’s rocket testing and development center in Texas, and Tesla executives said they borrowed some of SpaceX’s technology to get the Roadster airborne [6]. Musk opened by promising the audience some wild moments and said a live crowd was needed to prove the car was real and not a product of AI [4].
The headline demonstration had the Roadster accelerating up a massive curved ramp, using a fan-based suction system to stay attached until it was completely upside down, then firing cold-gas thrusters to launch off the ramp and land back on the ground [2]. In a second stunt, the car used its thrusters to lift itself over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y, and Model 3 while in motion, according to TechCrunch [1]. Fox Business described the midair move as a flip, while TechCrunch and the BBC described the car spinning in the air [1][2][4].
Tesla also showed the car accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in about one second [1]. Musk said certain versions can do it in under a second and reach a top speed above 230 miles per hour [2]. TechCrunch reports that all three trims will offer 300 miles of range [1]. Musk noted that the demonstration itself was technically autonomous, as a precaution against injuring anyone [6].
Wall Street’s reaction was mixed. Tesla shares climbed in Friday morning trading before falling during a broader sell-off in companies tied to artificial intelligence [6]. That kind of round trip is a useful reminder that a dazzling product launch rarely settles a stock’s direction on its own, which is why the fundamentals in a beginner’s guide to investing in stocks matter more than any single headline.
How Can a Car Lift Itself Off the Ground?
The secret is not a jet engine but compressed air. Tesla Engineering Vice President Lars Moravy said the Roadster uses 10 thrusters connected to 600 liters of compressed air to lift and spin the car, and that the air tank can be recharged [1]. Tesla wrote on X that every usable void in the car is packed with carbon fiber overwrapped pressure vessels, known as COPVs [1]. TechCrunch points out that this type of vessel has been at the root of multiple SpaceX rocket explosions, a detail worth keeping in mind for a car meant to share the road [1].
Tesla frames the thrusters as an answer to a basic limit of physics. The company said on X that every car on the road is constrained by tire grip, and it claimed the Roadster’s thruster system generates four to five times the force the tires can provide [2]. More force on the same mass, Tesla argued, means significantly better acceleration [2].
Those features scale across three trims. The Performance trim is billed as road ready, seats two, and includes active aerodynamics and a multi-mode suction system for driving on and off the track [1]. The Thrust trim, described as race ready, also seats two and adds rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters for sub-one-second acceleration [1]. The single-seat Rocket trim is called air ready and carries 10 cold-gas thrusters positioned around the car [1], which Fox Business describes as a full flight system [2].
The idea itself is not new. Musk first floated a SpaceX option package with roughly 10 small rocket thrusters for the Roadster on Twitter in 2018 [1]. At the event, he credited the result to Tesla and SpaceX engineers working closely together and said he wondered whether he was crazy when he first suggested it to the team [1]. Whatever one thinks of the timeline, two American companies pooling their talent to attempt something this unusual reflects the kind of private-sector risk-taking that has long set the country apart.
What Does the New Roadster Look Like?
The redesign is a sharp break from the 2017 prototype. The car Tesla showed in stark white has a more angular body that TechCrunch compared to a Lamborghini or the Lotus Esprit from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, a car Musk owns and had on display at the event [1]. Tesla said the design drew inspiration from the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft and the F-35 fighter jet [1].
Car and Driver’s photo gallery shows a wedge-shaped exterior and notes that, despite its name, the Roadster is very much a coupe [5]. Butterfly-opening doors provide access to the cabin, and a front light bar pairs with a set of pop-down headlights [5]. At the rear, an active wing sits flush to hide the charge port door on the left-rear fender, and a center high-mounted stop lamp rests just above the rear light bar [5].
Tesla described the look as part of an evolution in its design language, running from its S3XY lineup to the Cybertruck, Cybercab, and Optimus robot [1]. Musk has positioned the Roadster as a true halo car, the kind of showpiece that lifts a brand’s image more than its balance sheet, and he has said the car may not add much to Tesla’s revenue [1].
For ordinary buyers, that distinction matters. A halo car is built to inspire rather than to serve as practical transportation, and the details shared so far focus far more on spectacle than on everyday livability. Cargo space, ride comfort, and maintenance costs for a car packed with pressure vessels have not been part of the conversation yet.
What Does It Cost to Get in Line?
Tesla has not announced a price for the new Roadster [1][6]. When the company first revealed the second-generation car nearly a decade ago, it quoted a base price of $200,000, according to Fox Business [2]. Whether that figure still holds after years of redesign and the addition of SpaceX hardware is anyone’s guess.
What buyers can see is the reservation cost. Tesla’s website lists $50,000 to reserve the Performance trim and $250,000 for the Thrust trim, while the Rocket trim is available by invitation only [1][2]. The Associated Press reports that the fine print on Tesla’s site says there is no guarantee of when the car will be delivered, or whether it will be delivered at all [6]. The coverage does not spell out refund terms, which is the first thing any prospective buyer should ask about.
History offers some perspective. In 2017, Tesla let customers place $50,000 deposits on the car, and some paid $250,000 to reserve one of 1,000 Founders Series editions [1]. Those early buyers have now waited roughly nine years, and production is still at least two years away. Money sitting in a reservation is money that is not earning interest, paying down debt, or cushioning a family against a layoff or a surprise repair bill.
None of that makes a deposit the wrong choice for everyone. In a free market, people who can afford a six-figure bet on a dream car are entitled to make it, and many will consider the wait part of the fun. The prudent approach is to treat any large deposit as money at risk rather than money spent, and to make sure a solid safety net comes first. That cushion builds more reliably when you automate your savings so it grows before discretionary spending gets a vote.
Why Has This Car Taken Nearly a Decade to Arrive?
The new Roadster was unveiled as a surprise at the end of the Tesla Semi reveal in 2017 [1], and at the time Tesla said deliveries would begin in 2020 [2]. Instead, the project took a back seat as Tesla fought through what Musk called production hell with the Model 3 sedan in 2018 [1]. The company then turned to the Model Y SUV, which became the best-selling vehicle in the world, and the Cybertruck, which TechCrunch describes as a commercial flop by Tesla’s own standards [1].
Along the way, Musk delayed the Roadster in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024 [1]. Late last year, he said on Joe Rogan’s podcast that he wanted to reveal it by the end of 2025 [1]. A week later, at the shareholder meeting where he was awarded a $1 trillion pay package, he pushed the date to April 1, 2026, joking that an April Fools’ Day event would give him some deniability [1]. That date slipped as well, and an attempt to hold the event on October 1 was scrapped because of severe weather [1].
The delays frustrated high-profile customers, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee and OpenAI head Sam Altman [1]. After the reveal, Brownlee questioned on social media whether a car weighing more than 4,000 pounds could really do flips, reach 380 miles per hour, and ship in 2028 [1]. His speed figure is notably higher than the more than 230 miles per hour Tesla has cited [1][2].
In fairness, those detours were not wasted. The New York Post editorial board credits Musk with turning electric cars from a sideshow into a broad commercial reality [3]. The first Roadster launched in 2008, and in 2018 Musk sent one into space aboard a rocket with a mannequin nicknamed Starman in the driver’s seat [6]. Ambition still costs money, though. In second-quarter results reported over the summer, Tesla’s profits fell as it spent more on research for its robotaxi and robotics businesses, with net income of $1.11 billion on revenue of $28.24 billion [6].
Will Flying Cars Ever Be Legal on Public Roads?
Even if Tesla builds the car on schedule, flying it on public roads is another matter. David Vladeck, a Georgetown Law professor and former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, told the Associated Press he doubts every state will allow a driver to suddenly lift off in the middle of traffic, and he expects a long process before anything like it reaches the road [6]. With rules that vary from state to state, owners could end up with a feature they can use only on a track or private property.
Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor and former vice chair of a Department of Transportation advisory group on innovation, was blunter. He called the event a demonstration of a one-off car built on technology that has existed for years, and he argued that Tesla has been uniquely able to sell itself on a future far larger than reality [6].
“Will not be coming to public roads in 2028.”
Bryant Walker Smith, University of South Carolina law professor [6]
The BBC’s technology editor, Zoe Kleinman, likewise laid out several reasons a flying car is unlikely to appear on everyday roads anytime soon [4].
Musk has been unusually candid about the trade-offs. On a podcast earlier this year, he compared the Roadster to a Ferrari, where safety is not the top priority, and said Tesla would aspire not to kill anyone in the car [1].
“If safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster.”
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO [1]
At the event, he described the Roadster as not necessarily optimized for safety but said it pushes the fun meter to 11 out of 10, and he said it will be the only manually driven car Tesla makes [6]. He even floated the idea of jumping the Snake River Canyon, the site of Evel Knievel’s famous rocket attempt [1]. There is something refreshing about a CEO telling buyers plainly what a product is and is not. Personal responsibility cuts both ways, however. Drivers who choose risk for themselves still share the road with families who did not.
Final Thoughts
Supporters see the Roadster as proof that American ingenuity is alive and well. The New York Post editorial board argued that Musk has repeatedly delivered on the future, pointing to electric cars, reusable rockets, and Starlink, and said physical wonders like a flying car make progress feel real in a way no chatbot can [3]. Plenty of people share that enthusiasm, and there is real value in a culture that still builds bold things instead of only talking about them.
Skeptics see a familiar pattern of big promises and slipping dates, and the record gives them material. The car was supposed to arrive in 2020 [2], deposit holders from 2017 are still waiting [1], and the current fine print offers no delivery guarantee [6]. Experts also expect regulators to take their time before anything resembling a flying car is allowed in traffic [6].
Both views can hold at once. A household can admire the engineering and still guard its own money carefully. For most families, the practical lesson has little to do with flying cars and everything to do with large commitments made in a moment of excitement. Big purchases and deposits work best when they fit inside a plan, and knowing how to create a budget that accounts for them is the surest way to enjoy the future without betting the present on it.
Works Cited
[1] O’Kane, Sean. “Tesla Reveals SpaceX-Powered Roadster That Flies and Falls with Style.” TechCrunch, 15 Oct. 2026, techcrunch.com/2026/10/15/tesla-reveals-spacex-powered-roadster-that-flies-and-falls-with-style/.
[2] Mion, Landon. “Tesla’s New Roadster Makes a Flying Debut, Hitting 60 MPH in Under a Second.” Fox Business, 15 Oct. 2026, www.foxbusiness.com/technology/teslas-new-roadster-makes-flying-debut-hitting-60-mph-under-second.
[3] “Elon’s Flying Car Does It Again: Making the Future Cool and Bright.” New York Post, 16 Oct. 2026, nypost.com/2026/10/16/opinion/elons-flying-car-does-it-again-making-the-future-cool-and-bright/.
[4] Kleinman, Zoe, presenter. “Watch: Did Tesla Really Just Unveil a Flying Car?” BBC News, 16 Oct. 2026, www.bbc.com/news/videos/ckly4mj1g3n9o.
[5] Stafford, Eric. “View Exterior Photos of the New Tesla Roadster.” Car and Driver, 15 Oct. 2026, www.caranddriver.com/photos/a74152579/tesla-roadster-revealed-exterior-gallery/.
[6] “Tesla’s New Roadster Car Can Thrust Itself in the Air. But Don’t Expect to Drive It Anytime Soon.” AP News, 16 Oct. 2026, apnews.com/article/tesla-musk-roadster-rocket-7d5f19665435b7408025bfb7a2f2f0b7.