Overview
- Tesla showed the prototype at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, driving upside down, performing brief airborne flips and saying it hit 0.81 seconds from 0 to 60 mph.
- The car combines an underbody multi‑mode fan that Tesla says can generate up to about 2 g of suction with cold‑gas thrusters fed by high‑pressure air tanks and 10 nozzle exits to push the vehicle into short, low‑altitude maneuvers.
- Tesla listed three configurations — Performance, Thrust and an invite‑only Rocket — and reopened reservations with reported deposits (about $50,000 for Performance and $250,000 for Thrust) while saying the Rocket is not approved for public road use.
- The company set a production target of 2028 for Giga Texas but has a long history of Roadster delays, and the demonstration figures remain company‑reported with no independent performance tests or completed NHTSA/FAA regulatory clearances.
- Key milestones to watch are independent verification of the claimed sub‑one‑second acceleration, federal and regional safety approvals for any airborne features, final pricing and which thruster capabilities will be allowed for consumer use.