Tesla unveils the next-gen Roadster with SpaceX-derived cold-gas thrusters

Tesla first showed a second-generation Roadster prototype in November 2017 and promised deliveries in 2020. After at least six production slips and seven unveil dates (Electrek’s count), and an Oct 1 event in Texas cancelled for weather, Tesla livestreamed the reveal on the evening of Oct 15, 2026 (scheduled 7:55 pm Central). Musk had promised the “most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product” (TechCrunch). Electrek and Reuters tie the presentation to SpaceX: the thrusters, pressure vessels and fans are presented as SpaceX technology.

The car. Tesla’s design language “from S3XY to Cybertruck, Cybercab & Optimus”, inspired by the SR-71 and F-35: hidden headlights, a full-length taillight, “Ano White” paint with rocket-coating properties, gold-tinted glass like a spacesuit visor, a steer-by-wire yoke, a fixed seat and manual controls to save weight, and magnesium, titanium and carbon fibre (Tesla, Electrek). A “multi-mode suction system” of fans pulls air from under the car hard enough to hold it upside down; in Track Mode active wings, driven by actuators from the Optimus programme, add downforce (Electrek). Three trims: Performance (“road ready”), Thrust (rear cold-gas thrusters, “race ready”) and Rocket (single seat, 10 cold-gas thrusters for vertical and rotational movement, “air ready”, invite only, not approved for public roads). Musk said production starts in 2028 and called the car, in TechCrunch’s paraphrase, “the best of the last of the human-driven cars”. Musk said he might try to jump the Snake River Canyon (TechCrunch).

The stunts.

1. Ramp demo (replay 6:03–10:55). The car drives up a curved ramp that bends past vertical, sits upside down at the top on its suction system, leaves the ramp inverted, rights itself as gas jets fire, and lands in a large cloud of gas before driving away. Tesla’s on-screen HUD showed G-force and altitude (about 66–67 ft at the top). After the landing Musk says “Well, it worked,” and later the Peter Thiel line about flying cars and “140 characters” (“Well, not anymore”).
2. Kickflip (replay 10:56–12:43). On flat ground beside a parked line-up (Semi, Cybertruck, Cybercab, Model Y, Model 3), a car lifts off on downward jets, makes a full roll over the Semi and lands in gas. Tesla’s YouTube description calls it “the 2nd live demo during the Roadster event”; Tesla’s 44-second edit was posted on X as “Do a kickflip!”.

Electrek reports that nobody was in the stunt cars, that different cars were used for the demos, and that spectators were kept far away. In August, The Information (via Electrek) reported that the demo car would be “operated remotely with nobody in it” and that an earlier, more ambitious plan (magnetized roller-coaster ramp, upside-down driving, hover) had been scaled back: “We started off thinking we were almost making an aircraft and ended up with something closer to hovering.” After the event, Tarmac Life reported that Tesla said the car was run autonomously “to make sure we don’t kill anyone” and that a Starman dummy sat in the seat. Whether the cars were remotely piloted, ran pre-programmed/automated control, or both is not clear from the sources. Tesla says the thrusters’ all-electric actuators make “micro adjustments within a fraction of a second to stabilize the vehicle in flight”; no source we found says AI models (Grok or others) controlled the flight.

Was it real? No outlet we read reports evidence of cables, cranes or CGI, and none has independently verified that the flights were unassisted. Reuters and TechCrunch describe the stunts as shown, without questioning them. Electrek (Jameson Dow) says it treats the demo “as if it was real, not faked”, calls fan cars and thruster stunts plausible, doubts the 4,700 kg downforce figure shown on Tesla’s display (“some liberties were taken”), and speculates that the demo car may not have had a normal battery pack. New Atlas says the “flying” means “big jumps, barrel rolls, and quick moments of hovering”, not sustained flight, and that it “can’t be sure if there was a human driver”. AutoNotion (opinion) argues the stunts were shown as video segments and were “clearly scripted”, not real-time; Tesla’s own description calls the kickflip a live demo, and an attendee’s YouTube video is titled “I Went To The Tesla Roadster Unveil! Insane Stunts…” (Out of Spec Reviews, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oFL2ObpM08; not reviewed in detail). Marques Brownlee asked “This is a prank, right?” (quoted by TechCrunch). AutoNotion also reports Musk saying “We need an audience to prove it’s not AI”; we have not found that line in another source.

Two AI video models and Claude also examined the clips (see the video files): they found that the car stays in the air longer than free fall would allow, consistent with the claimed thrust, but footage at night cannot rule out hidden support. These are model observations, not facts.

Tesla is increasingly valued as an AI and robotics company (Reuters notes it stopped selling Model S and X this year to free production for Optimus robots and launched the Cybercab), and Musk presented the Roadster as a last human-driven car. The reveal is here mainly because its stunt clips spread far beyond car media, look unreal, and are the kind of footage that later models will be asked about: the car is a real announced product, the stunts were staged with driverless cars, and the flying Rocket trim is invite-only and not road-legal.