Overview
- Tesla demonstrated a prototype at a SpaceX test site in Texas that used SpaceX‑developed cold‑gas thrusters and an underbody fan suction system to perform brief airborne and attitude‑control maneuvers on Thursday night.
- The company announced multiple Roadster variants called Performance, Thrust and Rocket, opened reservations with large deposits and set a target for series production beginning in 2028.
- Technical outlines published by Tesla state up to roughly 10 cold‑gas nozzles, more than 80 kilonewtons of rear thrust, high‑pressure carbon storage that could total about 250 kg of compressed gas, and very short thruster impulse durations that consume hundreds of kilograms of air for seconds of boost.
- Those propulsion and support systems require substantial packaging and weight trade‑offs that reduce battery space and lower range to roughly 480–515 km, and they create safety and approval hurdles that make the Rocket variant unlikely to be street‑legal in many jurisdictions.
- Many headline performance targets, including sub‑1‑second sprints and a future 531 km/h top speed, remain company goals that need independent testing and regulatory sign‑off, while high deposits and invitation‑only sales position the Roadster as a luxury, low‑volume halo product rather than a mass‑market model.