News › Tesla Roadster

Ruypas · News · 16 October 2026

The new Tesla Roadster flies: what Tesla showed and what it means for EV buyers today

On 15 October 2026 (Texas time) Tesla presented the second-generation Roadster at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, near Waco, Texas, in a livestream of under half an hour. Nine years after the 2017 prototype, the car drove up a ramp until it was upside down, did a roll in the air using thrusters and landed. Here is the official video and our summary.

What was announced (according to Tesla)

• A fan-based suction system that Tesla says generates up to 2 g of grip: with it the prototype climbed a vertical ramp and drove upside down.
• Cold-gas thrusters fed by ultra-high-pressure compressed air (two tanks of about 600 litres combined and 10 nozzles, per the presentation); the car can refill the air itself.
• 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds on one demo run, according to Tesla; Musk said the production car should beat it.
• Three versions per Tesla's website: Performance (2 seats, road-going, 0-60 mph under 1.6 s and a target range over 300 miles), Thrust (rear thrusters, under 0.9 s, limited release) and Rocket (1 seat, thrusters all around, over 230 mph, under 0.59 s, invite-only and not approved for public roads).
• Production planned for 2028, according to Elon Musk. No price was announced.

Ruypas's view

It is a spectacular technology showcase, but not a car you can buy today: there is no price, production is announced for 2028 (and the Roadster is already years late) and the most extreme version will not be street legal. For most drivers it is an engineering demo, not a purchase option.

What it does show is where electric cars are heading: more efficiency, more active aerodynamics and more software. But you do not need to wait until 2028 for a fast, comfortable EV that is cheap to run: a 2023 Tesla Model 3 already offers plenty of range for daily use and fast charging on the Supercharger network.

If you are considering an EV now, what really matters is battery health (SOH), history, equipment and the final cost including taxes and paperwork. That is exactly what we check in our import service from the Netherlands and Germany, and what we explain in our consulting (including home charging with solar panels).

Right now we have two 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD (60 kWh LFP battery) on their way from the Netherlands, price on request.

Sources

• Tesla · YouTube: “Roadster Event” (replay, 15/10/2026)
• Tesla · X: Roadster event livestream
• The Verge: The Tesla Roadster flew, drove upside down, and hit 60mph in under a second
• Car and Driver: Revealed! New Tesla Roadster Takes Flight with SpaceX Thrusters
• Engadget: Tesla Roadster reveal live blog
• AP News: Tesla’s Roadster gets thrusters and a suction system, but it's not for public roads yet

The figures are claims made by Tesla and Elon Musk at the presentation and on Tesla's website; they have not been independently verified. Ruypas is not affiliated with Tesla, Inc.