Tesla Unveils ‘Flying’ Roadster with SpaceX Thrusters

Summary
This video presents Tesla’s live unveiling event for the next-generation Roadster, hosted by Elon Musk alongside Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy. The presentation demonstrates the vehicle’s SpaceX-derived cold-gas thruster package and active underbody suction system, featuring aerial maneuvers, high-speed launches, and a physical walkthrough of the production-intent prototype.

What is shown

• [00:00 - 00:58] The Roadster drives up an over-vertical curved wall/ramp, using suction and thrusters to stay inverted, then leaps through the air and executes a thruster-assisted landing onto the test track.
• [01:09 - 01:25] Replays of the aerial ramp stunt from multiple angles, showing cold-gas thruster firings orienting and cushioning the vehicle.
• [03:20 - 03:34] “Starman” mannequin seated inside the vehicle as butterfly-style doors open.
• [04:42 - 05:25] Demonstration of the Roadster performing an aerial jump and lateral rotation (“kickflip”) over parked Tesla fleet vehicles (including a Tesla Semi and passenger cars).
• [06:42 - 07:18] A white production-intent Roadster drives onto the stage and is inspected by the presenters.
• [07:44 - 08:36] Walkaround of the interior and exterior: two-seater layout, chassis-molded lightweight seats, steer-by-wire yoke, and an active transforming rear wing that deploys while the underbody suction fans spool up.
• [09:47 - 10:22] A recorded straight-line launch test displaying digital telemetry, logging a 0–60 mph acceleration run in 0.81 seconds.
• [15:15 - 15:50] A final live high-speed jump and thruster-assisted landing demo on the test pad.

Claims & numbers

• The presenters claim the underbody fan suction system generates up to 2 Gs of downforce, enabling the car to drive upside down and corner at over 2 Gs without relying solely on tire friction.
• Moravy states the vehicle uses two carbon-overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) storing a combined 600 liters (~250 kg) of compressed air, feeding 10 thruster nozzles that produce over 80 kN of thrust exiting at supersonic speeds (creating visible Mach diamonds).
• Musk states the system utilizes an ultra-high-pressure air tank that can recharge itself onboard.
• The 0–60 mph test demonstrates a recorded time of 0.81 seconds, with Musk claiming the production vehicle will target times under 1 second and accelerate harder than demonstrated.
• Moravy states top speed can exceed 230 mph, while Musk claims it will crack half the speed of sound (Mach 0.5+).
• Musk states the vehicle is scheduled to enter production in 2028.

Notable quotes

• [01:47] Lars Moravy: “To do that, we have a fan suction system on the bottom of the car that can pull up to 2 Gs in order to make the car go upside down, and then we borrowed some technology from SpaceX to do the rest.”
• [09:38] Elon Musk: “Well, you’ve got to break 1 second. Obviously.”
• [14:48] Elon Musk: “We enter production in 2028. Actually.”

Assessment
This is official footage of a live Tesla product launch and staged technology demonstration. The physical vehicle prototype, steer-by-wire cockpit, and active aerodynamic elements are demonstrated live on stage, while the extreme aerial jump stunts and the 0.81-second 0–60 mph run are presented via prepared demonstration video segments shown to the live audience.

Described by gemini-3.8-flash on 2026-10-16 from the video’s audio and frames.