Tesla Unveils Flying Roadster at SpaceX Facility in Texas
“We need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI,” Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told a livestreamed crowd at a SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas, on October 15, 2026. Tesla debuted its long-anticipated next-generation Roadster, featuring cold-gas thrusters derived from SpaceX technology that allowed the electric sports car to briefly take flight during a live demonstration.
During the launch event, the manually driven Roadster climbed a massive curved ramp, utilized a fan-based suction system underneath the chassis to hold fast while completely upside down, and then launched off the end of the structure, performing a midair flip before landing safely on its wheels. Musk declared to attendees that “flying cars are real.”
Engineering Feats and Thruster Systems
Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, explained that the underside fan suction system can pull up to 2 Gs to keep the vehicle secured upside down. Moravy added that the engineering team borrowed technology from SpaceX to equip the car with altitude control thrusters and main rear thrusters, allowing it to move dynamically in the air.
“Every car on the road today is limited by one thing: tire grip. Roadster’s thruster system generates 4–5x the force the tires can,” Tesla stated on X. During a secondary display at the event, the Roadster launched over a lineup of vehicles and a semi-truck while executing a midair flip.
Tesla stated that select variants of the Roadster can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than one second and achieve a top speed exceeding 230 miles per hour. The vehicle features a battery range of more than 300 miles.
Production Timeline and Reservation Pricing
Tesla executives announced during the Texas event that production for the new Roadster is scheduled to begin in 2028. The vehicle was initially showcased as a prototype concept in November 2017, when the company said that deliveries would begin in 2020.
The company’s reservation page lists three distinct variants: Performance, Thrust, and Rocket. The Performance tier requires a $50,000 reservation payment, while the Thrust version requires a $250,000 reservation deposit. The top-tier Rocket variant is an invite-only single-seat model equipped with a full flight system.
Early deposit holders have faced a prolonged wait since putting down funds when the vehicle first appeared in concept form in late 2017. Prominent reservation holders, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, publicly canceled their reservations in recent years after years of delays while Tesla concentrated on autonomy and robotics.