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Tesla unveils Cyberfied new Roadster that can kickflip
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- DeepHorus
Tesla has unveiled a new-generation Roadster, adding “cyberfication” styling and cold-gas thrusters that let it jump and flip through the air. The livestream featured dramatic stunts but few hard details, with specifications posted later on X. Crucially, Tesla still announced no price or production date for any version. The event capped nine years of delays: the next-gen Roadster was first shown as a prototype in November 2017 with production promised for 2020. That date slipped repeatedly, and this year Musk floated April, August, and finally October 1. The event also seemed designed to link Tesla and SpaceX ahead of a possible merger, echoing Tesla’s Solar Tile unveiling before the SolarCity acquisition.
The design changed drastically from the S3XY era. The car takes cues from the SR-71 and F-35, with hidden headlights, a full-length taillight, flush-mounted aero, rocket-derived “Ano White” paint, and tinted windows mimicking a spacesuit’s gold visor. Inside are a steer-by-wire yoke, a center touchscreen, two smaller displays, fixed seats, and lightweight magnesium, titanium, and carbon fiber.
Tesla outlined three configurations after the stream. Performance is road-ready, seats two, and hits 0–60 mph in under 1.6 seconds. Thrust adds rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters and claims under 0.9 seconds. Rocket seats one, adds perimeter thrusters, targets under 0.59 seconds and a top speed above 230 mph, and is invite-only. Tesla quotes over 300 miles of range, and says Thrust and Rocket are “augments” to the Performance car; Rocket is not approved for public road use.
The thrusters rely on SpaceX know-how. Operating in atmosphere rather than vacuum required new hardware and controls, and every usable void is packed with carbon-fiber overwrapped pressure vessels storing compressed gas. Tesla says they generate four to five times the force tires can handle, bypassing traction limits. A suction system pulls air from under the car to hold it upside down even when stationary; Track Mode lowers it and deploys Optimus-derived active wings for downforce approaching F1 levels.
What’s missing is pricing and timing. Tesla reopened reservations: $5,000 today, refundable, plus $45,000 within 10 days or cancellation—the same $50,000 asked in 2017. Yet no version has a price, and Musk’s only production quote was “2028, actually.” Tesla also cut 2017 promises: range is over 300 miles, not 620; top speed over 230 mph, not 250-plus; and seating two at most, not four.
Reactions were mixed. Enthusiasts cheered the absurd acceleration and stunts, while analysts questioned whether the Roadster is a real product or marketing spectacle. Rivals such as Rimac and Lucid may dismiss the thrusters as a gimmick, but the claims reset expectations for EV performance. For now, reservation holders face a familiar wait, with production not expected until 2028 at the earliest, leaving Tesla’s pattern of audacious reveals followed by years of execution risk intact.
