Tesla Unveils Redesigned Roadster With Suction System That Lets It Drive Upside Down

Overview

• Tesla unveiled the redesigned Roadster on Thursday and demonstrated a suction system, driven by a fan in the car’s base, that the company says can produce up to 2 G of downforce to hold the car to vertical surfaces and allow inverted driving.
• Company engineers and executives credited specific SpaceX technologies for parts of the design and Tesla claimed extreme straight‑line performance, including 0–100 km/h in under one second.
• Reservations remain open with the original US$50,000 deposit and the 2017 list price of US$200,000 has not been updated, and Tesla did not provide new delivery or pricing details at the reveal.
• Tesla and CEO Elon Musk described the Roadster as a small, prestige project that will not materially shift company results, and Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein expects roughly 2,000 Roadsters sold per year.
• The Roadster launch follows Tesla’s strategic shift toward robotics and self‑driving products, and the car’s real‑world impact will depend on production plans, regulatory review of novel adhesion systems, and when Tesla sets a final price and delivery schedule.