Tesla’s New Roadster Defies Physics (and Gravity) in Wild Unveiling

Tesla first started taking $50,000 deposits for its next-generation Roadster in November 2017. Now, nearly a decade later, Musk has just unveiled the Tesla Roadster at a livestreamed event at a SpaceX facility in Texas.

The day prior to the event, Musk said, “The new Tesla Roadster is a candidate for the greatest product demo of all time.” A couple of hours later, he suggested the event was going to be so wild even he wasn’t sure things would go smoothly. They did. You’ll hardly believe your eyes.

The Tech

The all-electric Roadster adds two features that seem to allow the car to defy physics.

The first is a powerful fan system that pulls air out from under the car. It provides so much suction the fans can hold the Roadster upside down, even while stationary. On a normal road, the multi-mode fan ground sealing system will provide downforce, allowing it to corner harder than any ordinary car. Tesla says it can handle cornering forces of 2 Gs, meaning you’d feel pushed sideways with twice your body weight in a hard turn.

The second feature is a set of cold gas thrusters. Think of what happens when you let go of a full balloon before tying it. Air rushes out one end, and the balloon flies in the other direction. The Roadster does the same thing on a much bigger scale, with tanks of highly pressurized nitrogen that blast gas out of nozzles.

With the fan system and the cold gas thrusters combined, the Tesla Roadster can do this.

And this.

Performance

According to Tesla engineers, the base version of the Roadster will have more than 1,073 hp and 885 lb-ft of torque, with other versions having over 1,341 hp and over 1,032 lb-ft with a target top speed of 330 mph. All versions will be rear-wheel drive with a range of about 320 miles. Depending on the version, the Roadster will achieve 0-60 in as little as 0.81 seconds. For context, the fastest cars available today take about 2 seconds to reach 60 mph.

Versions and Reservations

As expected, this car isn’t cheap. In fact, actual pricing isn’t disclosed yet. Tesla is accepting reservations for two versions, both requiring hefty deposits.

The Performance model, which includes seating for two and the multi-mode fan suction system requires a fully refundable $5,000 deposit and a second deposit of $45,000 within 10 days.

The two-seater Thrust model adds the cold gas acceleration thrusters in the rear of the car. The Thrust requires the same $5,000 deposit, but $245,000 is due within 10 days.

The one-passenger Rocket model we presumably saw in the demo adds a full flight system to the features of the Performance and Thrust models. According to Tesla, this “air ready” Roadster is invite-only. While the Performance and Thrust are street-legal, the Rocket is not.

On stage, Musk said, “This is not necessarily a safety-optimized car.” We still want one. If you want to reserve yours, go for it. You’ll have to wait until at least 2028. There’s another catch. The Roadster Reservation Agreement says Tesla can’t guarantee when your Roadster will be delivered, and if it ever will be. Still, for a car enthusiast with a pile of cash, the wait appears to be worth it. If you’re not convinced, here’s the full demo.