Tesla Reveals SpaceX-Powered 'Flying' Roadster (carscoops.com) 223
Tesla has unveiled a dramatically redesigned Roadster concept capable of performing midair flips, controlled landings, and a claimed 0-60 mph sprint in just 0.81 seconds. CarScoops reports: Tonight, Tesla debuted the new Roadster by driving it up a vertical ramp that then went horizontal. Then, it repeated the feat but drove off of the ramp and used thrusters to flip itself over and make a controlled landing on the ground. After that, it did a barrel roll over the rest of the Tesla lineup and again landed without issue on the ground. Then, it did 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds according to Tesla. All of that sounds amazing, and indeed, watching it happen was pretty spectacular, but boy do we have a lot to unpack.
It's been nearly a decade since Tesla first showed us the Roadster. The company unveiled what it's simply calling the Roadster. Not Roadster 2.0, not CyberRoadster, just Roadster, as if it's a direct successor to the original Tesla. In terms of design, it's quite a bit different from the car we saw in 2017. Rather than be a somewhat curvaceous sports car, it's considerably more angular. If a Cybertruck and a Lamborghini Reventon had a runt of a baby, this would be that car. Still, at this stage, we're still just touching on what we saw and what it looks like. Let's get into the details. Developed in collaboration with SpaceX, the Roadster uses 10 cold-gas thrusters powered by two 600-liter compressed-air tanks to accelerate and maneuver in mid-air. Underbody suction fans reportedly generate up to 2Gs of downforce even while stationary, while an active rear spoiler adjusts aerodynamics in real time.
Other features include steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, and throttle-by-wire technology. Tesla plans three variants: Performance, which requires a $50,000 deposit; Thrust, a $250,000 model capable of sub-one-second acceleration; and Rocket, an invite-only, single-seat version capable of flying.
Production isn't expected until 2028, and Tesla has yet to disclose key specifications, including range, horsepower, battery capacity, and motor configuration.
A recording of the event can be viewed on X.
It's been nearly a decade since Tesla first showed us the Roadster. The company unveiled what it's simply calling the Roadster. Not Roadster 2.0, not CyberRoadster, just Roadster, as if it's a direct successor to the original Tesla. In terms of design, it's quite a bit different from the car we saw in 2017. Rather than be a somewhat curvaceous sports car, it's considerably more angular. If a Cybertruck and a Lamborghini Reventon had a runt of a baby, this would be that car. Still, at this stage, we're still just touching on what we saw and what it looks like. Let's get into the details. Developed in collaboration with SpaceX, the Roadster uses 10 cold-gas thrusters powered by two 600-liter compressed-air tanks to accelerate and maneuver in mid-air. Underbody suction fans reportedly generate up to 2Gs of downforce even while stationary, while an active rear spoiler adjusts aerodynamics in real time.
Other features include steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, and throttle-by-wire technology. Tesla plans three variants: Performance, which requires a $50,000 deposit; Thrust, a $250,000 model capable of sub-one-second acceleration; and Rocket, an invite-only, single-seat version capable of flying.
Production isn't expected until 2028, and Tesla has yet to disclose key specifications, including range, horsepower, battery capacity, and motor configuration.
A recording of the event can be viewed on X.
Impressive (Score:5, Funny)
This is certainly the most capable vehicle ever conceived for shark jumping.
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It literately is jumping the shark.
This is such a joke. This is not "flying", this is placing compressed air thrusters on a vehicle that is not road legal. Ask someone who has a compressed air radio controlled airplane how long those fly. (about 90 seconds.)
Fucking Awesome (Score:5, Interesting)
It literately is jumping the shark.
This is such a joke. This is not "flying"
The stated top speed for the production car is mach 0.5, any road vehicle that can move that fast would probably need it. Someone is going to give this a go on a German Auto Bahn or outback Australia where there are no speed limits.
Frankly, it's not just a joke, it's completely ridiculous, totally impractical, utterly pointless so it has all of the ingredients for a totally awesome supercar.
As I long time petrol head and lover of racing and cars I think this will be one of the coolest things on four wheels.
Re:Fucking Awesome (Score:5, Insightful)
As methods for by suicide-by-wealth go, it's classier than drugs, and more accessible than a carbon-fiber submarine. I predict we'll see some pretty spectacular Youtube videos of people making themselves (and their car) two-dimensional.
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The carbon fiber is a protective overwrap, much like anti-spalling wrap on ballistic armor.
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The special versions with the 0.5 second 0-60 aren't road legal in the US, and definitely aren't in Europe. No Autobahn for you.
No word on price but Xiaomi and BYD have longer range and very, very fast EV supercars that are insanely affordable. The Xiaomi one sells for about 50k EUR in China, and is coming to Europe (doubtless at a higher price) next year. Hilariously they used the same naming convention as their phones, with the top spec being the "Ultra".
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No word about the real-world range of the Roadster 2.
I find it interesting that Musk can create a show-pony car that does cool tricks that nobody would ever allow on a road-legal car but he fails to address the elephant in the room: "How far will it go on a charge?"
Why did he ignore this crucial aspect of any EV?
Easy, because he originally claimed 1000Km and it is much easier to get a lightweight show-car to do jumping tricks than it is to deliver a real-world essential such as decent range.
The Roadster we
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So, use this as the basis for a reboot of Knight Rider.
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Someone is going to give this a go on a German Auto Bahn
That is a little bit misinterpretation. A huge deal of the auto bahn has speed limits.
I think the parts without are perhaps 10% or 15%.
Anyway, even the parts without speed limit have "a suggested" speed of 130km/h. If you are involved in an accident, above that speed, you are considered partial at fault, regardless if the mistake was on the other party.
On top of that, the stretches that are useable for mach 0.5 are many, but short. They are the emergen
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"The stated top speed for the production car is mach 0.5, any road vehicle that can move that fast would probably need it. Someone is going to give this a go on a German Auto Bahn or outback Australia where there are no speed limits."
No, nobody is going to do that, it will fail the TÜV.
Cars have be be checked and found road-worthy n Germany, this is NOT.
Re:Until that very small insignificant looking bum (Score:5, Interesting)
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I put a deposit on the Roadster 2 a long while back, no word on queue or timeline, no communication at all. .
Wait until you realize you're giving away interest free loans.
I'm more interested in the Snake River Canyon jump (Score:2)
This is certainly the most capable vehicle ever conceived for shark jumping.
I'm more interested in the Snake River Canyon jump.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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search.brave.com/ask thinks it's doable. it's a 1600’ jump supposedly. and 30 degree ramp with 200mph launch is about right energy wise (I didn't check the math).
So can use electric for the main energy and then could save the air for attitude control and fine tuning the landing which are the scary and dangerous parts.
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It's not the launch or even the jump that will be the problem... it's landing a 2+ ton car that is descending from several hundred feet above its apex and this has significant vertical speed. Even the gas-thrusters may have their work cut out for them :-)
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10-15 seconds available of a couple Gs of thrust should have no problems. Even if total thrust is only 2G (and remember, they have the bottom fans too) - just 1G beyond gravity - I calculate it should only take about 4 seconds of counterthrust to stop from terminal velocity (if the car's flight is kept with the bottom oriented toward the airflow, that is).
If the car had a radar that could let it accurately estimate time to collision, it should be able to arrest pretty much any fall safely.
Re:Impressive (Score:5, Funny)
This is certainly the most capable vehicle ever conceived for shark jumping.
And Musk says it will have Full Flying Mode in about a year. :-)
Re:Impressive (Score:4, Informative)
And Musk also said "Manned colonies on Mars by 2024" and "Hyperloop" and "Fast transit tunnels beneath cities" and "Solar roof tiles" and a whole lot of other stuff to which the laws of physics and his engineers said "nope".
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The funny thing is that jumping the shark is meant to be "bad" for Happy Days it was a turning point in the series where it boosted ratings. It was actually the opposite. And Henry Winkler, the Fonz, also was a competitive water skier and and water skiing instructor, so he filmed the scene himself, no stunt double.... :)
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Re: Impressive (Score:2)
Musk is a brand, which like any brand needs periodic marketing to maintain mindshare and relevancy. The value of his companies' shares hinges on fanbois' belief in the brand ~ e.g., the perception that Musk is building a sci-fi future. Musk knows he must do stunts like this periodically to stoke the faithful.
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Who needs appeasement?
People still waiting for their roadster.
This car really sucks! (Score:4, Funny)
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It appears from the summary that it really blows.
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Range anxiety (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh it has supermarket range ... (Score:2, Informative)
It has 2x600 litre cold gas containers for the thrusters. That gas will be consumed in about 20 seconds, so you're not exactly going to fly to the supermarket.
I suspect otherwise, with a properly angled ramp and up to 20 seconds of burn, I bet many supermarkets are in range in a somewhat populated area.
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Overdesigned.
You can easily go airborne in an ICE car too. Poland had this tech in 2020.
https://x.com/MarioNawfal/stat... [x.com]
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Don't even need a ramp to fly either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Last non-autonomous model? (Score:2)
If I recall right, it was stated, this would be the last non-autonomous model of car Tesla makes. Wonder what that means.
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If I recall right, it was stated, this would be the last non-autonomous model of car Tesla makes. Wonder what that means.
It means Elon wants to make an autonomous flying car.
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Re:Last non-autonomous model? (Score:4, Insightful)
That's OK, they've never actually offered FSD, because they don't have it. They have something which is not full self driving which they sell fraudulently as if it provided that.
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Also you are still responsible for taking control of your own car which isn't FULL and the cybertaxi will only do limited routes so it's not FULL either.
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Do you really think this is how it works?
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https://www.reuters.com/techno... [reuters.com]
https://www.wired.com/story/go... [wired.com]
Hard Drivins Airborne ! (Score:2)
Hard Drivins Airborne !
Incredible but doubtful about priorities. (Score:2)
The extreme downforce fan will likely be road legal, will be interesting to see how well it will corner vs the traditional supercars.
Now I hate to be the party pooper, but I question if this is the car that Tesla needs now. S and X are out of pr
Re: Incredible but doubtful about priorities. (Score:5, Insightful)
It makes more sense as investor bait then something that would actually be allowed on the streets. Distract people from the underlying issues of the company and woo them with tech demos.
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It seems we've forgotten Musk is a loathsome human being. Now might be a good time to remind people of this fact
There's a lot of people who haven't had hard times here who enjoy his shitlordliness.
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"Someone just performed a technological miracle, but they're rich and I've 'had hard times', so it's all bullshit."
I've had some pretty hard times, but that doesn't mean I swim in a sea of bitter resentment every day. I've been poor, I've been homeless, I've been hopeless, that car did something frikkin amazing and I'm impressed.
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Wow. Take the opportunity for self-reflection.
AHAHahAHHAHaHAHaHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAH
I can't even right now with you maggot
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The launch was a circus that PT Barnum would have been proud of.
A handful of specially built show-pony-cars that are ultra-light, only "flew" once (because they probably didn't have a big enough battery onboard to recharge those gas cylinders) and were the ultimate in Musk-level deceptions.
I'm going to do a full technical breakdown of all the reasons why what we saw was 100 percent marketing and why we will *never* see a Roadster 2 with the claimed specifications ever hit the market -- the laws of physics m
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How do you refill the tanks, how loud is it for bystanders, and what happens if you stand too closely behind?
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They really humiliated all the traditional supercar brands out there.
Uh, what?
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> The extreme downforce fan will likely be road legal
Perhaps, but basically useless at road legal speeds
If you have the money, it's hard to beat a Veyron/Chiron as a drivable supercar that you can throw around corners at high speed without a lot of skill.
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How does the extreme downforce fan handle ingestion of rocks and pieces of asphalt that are found on typical road surfaces?
K.I.T.T, turbo boost! (Score:2)
Musk still needs to work on the whole bulletproof car thing, but it seems like he has the rest of K.I.T.T. actually working.
- Self-driving car? Check.
- Talks to you? Probably?
- Turbo boost? Check.
If you were a kid in the 1980s, you now have the Knight Rider theme song running through your head. You're welcome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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LOL, yep, thanks :-)
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Something Something Metaphor (Score:5, Insightful)
Honestly this stunt really sums up Tesla today. Spending time and money on investor bait while the core business is flailing around confused and headless especially in light of the disappointing sales of the CT, which no doubt ate up a ton of money and RnD for the company.
But hey, jumping cars amirite.
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A well thought out strategy it seems to me: More and more they cannot compete with cheaper Chinese electric cars of equal or better quality for the common consumer, in part because of salaries. So they have to go for some higher price regime, and consequently deliver something attractive for that price. The luxury car segment is already taken, so they went for something with a cool-factor - that the Tesla cars had from the beginning, and they chose a direction that only works with their synergies with Space
Re:Something Something Metaphor (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sure we'll find out soon enough how fake this particular demo turns out to be. One thing is for sure: there won't be a real car like this sold by Tesla in 2028. But there may well be some angry Tesla shareholders in that year.
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Your conclusion is a well-written response. TFA went in the same direction, and threw a jab in at the boring company along the way. Leon has built himself a reputation for promising things he won't deliver.
Re:Something Something Metaphor (Score:4, Informative)
Inability to compete with Chinese EVs (Teslas cost 2-3x more at every price point) has nothing to do with salaries.
A Tesla model 3 only has 10-15 hours of human labor in it, IOW $1000 - $1500 at $100/hr. This does not even begin to explain the price difference.
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You're blinded by your political bias and social justice. I'm sure that money would be much better spent sent to Somalia via Minnesota.
I can't wait- (Score:3)
what is this world coming to? (Score:5, Funny)
You can't even drive your family off a cliff anymore.
This is a Halo Car with a Halo Trim (Score:3)
> Tesla's website says there will be three trims: Performance, Thrust, and Rocket. The Performance requires a $50,000 deposit. The Thrust, the one needed to hit the supposed sub-1-second 0-60 time, costs $250,000. The Rocket â" the one that can fly â" is a single-seat version of the car and is "Invite Only".
The Roadster is a "Halo Car" for the Tesla Brand and the Rocket Trim level is a Halo Trim of the Halo Car.
The purpose of the Rocket and the lower two trims of the Roadster are meant cast the entire brand as aspirational - that's what a Halo Car does, and nearly all the Automakers have brought out a Halo Car at various times, models like the Dodge Viper, The Ford GT, the Lexus LFA, the Ferrari F40 and so on. Expensive, Rare, often with major downsides, but they make people dream of owning one, and wind up on posters on bedroom walls.
There are all sorts of issues, regulatory and otherwise, with the Rocket Trim that get in the way of letting them out on regular roads (or even near them), and I am not sure that version ever will be. But it's not the first - right now brands like Ferrari and McClaren have special models which are not street legal, and considered "for track use only". And that's ok, because there are a number of people who are fine with that and do manage to get those cars out on the track.
I suspect there will be similar restrictions and limited areas where the Rocket version can be "driven" err.. "Flown", but there are going to be people who can not only afford it but want the unique thrill and novel experience it will provide. The Thrust Trim will likely be restricted to track use due to the rocket boost, leaving the Performance version the one you might actually encounter on the highway or more likely see parked in front some expensive restaurant. And when people see it, some will point and say "look, there's the car that can fly!"
Re: This is a Halo Car with a Halo Trim (Score:2)
Reminded me of the Cadillac Halo from last year. Which is a personal flying car. It has to actually fly because it does not have wheels.
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The styling seems totally misconceived. If you want an expensive car to park in central London, then it better look expensive, and a $50K deposit car presumably isn't going to retain for the multi-million price tag also needed to impress.
This car is borrowing styling from the Cybertruck, which was designed to appeal to a totally different audience.
Story-book physics (Score:2)
The falling ability would be sort-of useful for Speed Racer. But the Tesla braked to a stop about 3 metres above the ground, then floated down.
Re: Story-book physics (Score:2)
They still put RWS in some high end cars. Porsche uses it for example. It came out of all of the low end cars because it's more problematic than useful.
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For that matter, the 1990s, where rear-wheel (15 degrees) steering was popular for 5 minutes,
It's pretty popular still for vehicles that need a small turning radius. Lots of dustbin lorries in London have it.
Production in 2028! (Score:3)
That's like 10 years away in Tesla years.
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Right - this is the Teslabot "man dancing in a spandex bodysuit" stage of demo, except all we get is a video not even a real-life fake.
6 years after spandex-man it seems Teslabot still can't actually do anything autonomously.
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and that's on top of the original next gen Roadster unveil that was nine years ago
At least the window didn't break (Score:2)
I Can't (Score:2)
This is a a fantastic demonstrator. This is Hot Wheels in real life.
Nothing about this is practical for a production car.
No, it will never be a production vehicle. It might see some life in a Bond film, or some such.
It doesn't look bad at all. Better than most of the new Tesla models.
I can't shit on this. It's too cool, even if it never goes a step further.
Where did they test this ? (Score:2)
So where did they test it ?
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It's not real.
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Put your money down and report in 2028 when it’s delivered.
YouTube link here (Score:2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Xitter will no longer allow me to login unless i have the app installed even if i'm trying from my PC browser and i'm not doing that.
Musk accent has changed (Score:2)
"karrrrr" instead of "kah", for example.
I think he's spending too much time with Trump and it's time he stopped that.
Interest free $50,000 dollar loans. (Score:4, Insightful)
Max survivable 0-60mph time (Score:2)
That is actually a long way off 0-60mph in under 1s.
Assuming 45G, it is 0.06s.
Amazing (Score:5, Interesting)
I saw the video before anyone else on the internet told me what it was going to do. Total surprise.
I was totally amazed.
I am quite curious about the active downforce fan system because those have appeared in real race cars and real road cars - although not to the extent seen in the Tesla demo.
You always hear that an F1 car creates enough downforce (at speed) to drive upside down on a ceiling. Last night we saw a car actually drive up a wall and then drive upside down. Not theory - real car, real result.
Of course its completely ridiculous to have thrusters on the car. That's ok. It's ok to make ridiculous things. I was more shocked by the reveal last night than by the chopstick rocket catch. (I knew that was coming.. i had no idea what they were planning with the Roadster)
It's ok to do something for no other reason than "it would be cool".
I am disappointed that so many people here are shitting on it because its Elon. When someone - anyone - demos a car with fucking thrusters that jumps/flies/whatever, it is cool, and you're allowed to like it.
You're allowed to be amazed by things. You're allowed to experience happiness in life.
This is nerd stuff. This is science and engineering turning "magic" into real things.
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This is basically just a trillionaire having fun - nothing wrong with that. but might have been better received if he disassociated it from Tesla and just presented it as a hobby project.
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I'd be much more impressed with an affordable car that is on par with China's pricing and quality.
Shame on not rich (Score:2)
I'd love to have millions laying around so I could buy pointless toys.
First? Nope (Score:4, Interesting)
Boeing introduced one a few years ago, with the idea of flying taxies.
And this? I want to see the licensing requirements for having rocket propellants in a personally-owned vehicle. A bang would be a *lot* larger than any firework you can legally buy.
for real ? (Score:3)
I guess I am the only one that seems to think that was heavily edited and mostly animated. I am not saying that it didn't happen but it didn't look like what we are seeing.
So is this what "jumping the shark" looks like? (Score:3)
Suckers (Score:3)
The people who think it's cool and put money to reserve one but won't ever get it will deserve it.
Got this from reddit:
As the reservation agreement available online at https://www.tesla.com/coinorde... [tesla.com]:
"You understand that Roadster is still under development at the time you entered into this Agreement and so we cannot guarantee when your vehicle will actually be delivered or if it will be delivered ... The estimated Purchase Price of the vehicle, if provided, is only an estimate. We are still working on what options, features and hardware the vehicle will have and so cannot confirm the exact price just yet."
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Have you seen the bots absolutely pumping comments onto the YouTube videos though? The whole thing is a shit pit.
Re:WTF is OP talking about? (Score:5, Insightful)
It is real, I just watch the launch event video, it is incredible.
So was that Optimus robot demo [mashable.com] from several years ago.
Re:WTF is OP talking about? (Score:4, Insightful)
Also the 2016 Tesla Full Self Driving "demo" [reuters.com].
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The Optimus robot demo from a few months ago was fake too. At the end the remote operator took their VR helmet off, and the robot copied their actions.
https://interestingengineering... [interestin...eering.com]
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Still waiting on my $39,000 cyber truck that is bulletproof and floats.
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Flying fish. Flying squirrel. Flying fsck...
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Launching car into space was silly marketing stunt. Performing that jump during the reveal, once, would be one too. Announcing that those gas thrusters are going to be part of mass-produced car strait up hurts my brain. They really should have keept Musk away from designing cars after cybertrunk.
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Those are gemini's words.
Were you trying to make your post or opinion sound legitimate? Because I'm sorry you've achieved the exact opposite.
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Even if it exactly works as advertised, if you thought a rock kicked up by a tire was bad, just wait....
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A small (roughly backpack sized) SCUBA compressor takes around 60 minutes [mantusmarine.com] to fill a large scuba tank to just 3000 PSI...