Tesla finally showed its second-generation Roadster on Thursday night, and the car’s big trick was a kickflip. At SpaceX’s test site in McGregor, Texas, an uncrewed Roadster fired cold-gas thrusters, flipped over a line of Tesla’s other vehicles, the Semi included, and came down on the far side, live on X.
The car comes in three versions called Performance, Thrust and Rocket. Elon Musk said production starts in 2028, nearly nine years after Tesla first showed the car and eight after the 2020 date it promised then.
Reservations opened the same night. When I checked Tesla’s reservation page on Friday morning, the Performance car asked for $5,000 now and $45,000 within 10 days. No version of the car has a price.
Tesla’s Roadster Flipped Over Its Lineup on Cold-Gas Thrusters
The kickflip ran on cold-gas thrusters Tesla developed with SpaceX, fed by compressed gas stored in carbon fiber overwrapped pressure vessels. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, said 10 thrusters draw on 600 liters (159 gallons) of compressed air, according to TechCrunch.
Tesla said on X that making thrusters work in atmosphere instead of a vacuum took all-new hardware and controls, and that “every usable void” in the car is packed with those vessels. A separate post claims the thrusters produce 4 to 5 times the force the tires can. The lineup the car cleared held a Model 3, a Model Y, the Semi, a Cybertruck and a Cybercab.
For the second stunt, a Roadster drove up a curved, near-vertical ramp until it hung upside down. Fans held it there, part of what Tesla calls a multi-mode suction system that pulls air from under the car.
Electrek reports that Tesla claimed 0.81 seconds from 0 to 60 mph on a live run, after trouble with the timer. Musk’s own summary of the night, quoted by Fox Business, was “Turns out the future does have flying cars.”
Only the Single-Seat Rocket Version Is Built to Fly
Tesla’s configuration post lists three trims. Performance is road ready and seats two. Thrust adds rear-mounted thrusters for 0 to 60 mph in under 0.9 seconds. Rocket, invite only, seats one and adds thrusters around the body for upward and rotational movement.
The Performance car claims 0 to 60 mph in under 1.6 seconds, and Rocket under 0.59. Tesla quotes more than 300 miles of range and a top speed above 230 mph (370 km/h), the latter for Rocket only. According to Electrek, Tesla’s Roadster page says the Rocket is not approved for public road use and says nothing about road use for Thrust, despite its rear thrusters.
Tesla’s New Roadster Promises Half the Range of the 2017 Car
The 2026 Roadster promises “over 300 miles” of range, against the 620 miles (998 kilometers) Tesla promised in 2017. Neither figure carries a test cycle, and neither has been certified, because no production car exists. The 2017 car also promised four seats and above 250 mph (402 km/h).
The new car seats two at most. Acceleration is the one figure that improved on paper, from 1.9 seconds to under 1.6 for the Performance car.
Tesla’s posts don’t explain the cut in range. Electrek suspects the production car will carry a smaller battery, and it questions whether the kickflip car carried a battery at all, based on a few frames of its underbody.
Roadster Reservations Cost $50,000 Again, and $250,000 for Thrust
The deposit for the base Performance Roadster is $50,000, the same amount Tesla charged regular reservation holders in 2017. Reserving a Thrust costs $250,000, according to Fox Business and TechCrunch. The invite-only Rocket, the one version Tesla says can fly, shows no deposit amount at all.
Only the first $5,000 is marked “fully refundable” on the reservation summary, which says nothing about getting the $45,000 back. It does say refunds for modifications will not be issued.
In 2017, $250,000 bought one of 1,000 Founders Series cars, and EVXL covered those buyers’ wait in 2025. Tesla’s last stated base price was $200,000, set in 2017.
Before Thursday, Teslarati reported that Tesla had promised pricing, specifications and production targets at the event, as EVXL noted on Wednesday. Tesla published the specifications and a production year, but not the pricing.
EVXL’s Take
Tesla is asking new Roadster buyers for the same $50,000 deposit it took in 2017, for a car that now promises half the range and half the seats. Tesla did pull off the demo live after at least five dates since November 2025, and that took more nerve than a prerecorded video would have. But Musk’s delivery date for this car has already moved from 2020 to 2028, and I don’t read 2028 as a firm date. If you’re thinking about wiring Tesla $45,000 within 10 days, I’d wait until it publishes a price and a delivery quarter.
Sources: Tesla on X, TechCrunch, Fox Business, Electrek, Teslarati, Tesla Roadster
EVXL uses automated tools to support research and source retrieval. All reporting and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.
