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Tesla · Revealed October 15, 2026

Roadster

The last best driver's car.

The new Roadster

A true pilot's car.

Active aerodynamics, a multi-mode suction system & cold-gas thrusters.

The original 2008 Roadster in orbit, Starman at the wheel, Earth behind.
The new Roadster hovering on four cold-gas thruster plumes beside the curved wall.

01 — Legacy

In 2008, Roadster had one job: prove that an electric car could be fast, sexy & worth wanting.

Falcon Heavy · February 6, 2018

Roadster and a rocket have shared a ride before.

From Roadster in a rocket, to rocket in a Roadster.

Today

Roadster presents a new moment in history — the best of the last human-driven cars.

02 — Design

  1. S3XY
  2. Cybertruck
  3. Cybercab
  4. Optimus
  5. Roadster

Inspired by the SR-71 & F-35.

Tesla's design language has evolved since the last reveal: from S3XY to Cybertruck, Cybercab & Optimus.

Roadster head-on at night, canopy raised, its concealed headlights reading as one thin light bar.
Close-up of a thin-spoked wheel with gold accents.
Ano White body panels meeting at sharp, flush seams.
Roadster from directly above on a desert floor, its gold-tinted canopy beside an astronaut.
  1. Roadster head-on at night, canopy raised, its concealed headlights reading as one thin light bar.

    Exterior · 01

    Form

    Concealed headlights, a full-length taillight & flush-mounted surfaces for a minimalist, highly technical form.

  2. Close-up of a thin-spoked wheel with gold accents.

    Exterior · 02

    Wheels

    Super light wheels with thin spokes that reinforce structural strength when earthbound.

  3. Ano White body panels meeting at sharp, flush seams.

    Exterior · 03

    Ano White

    An aerospace-derived finish with UV & cryogenic protection, electrostatic dissipation & corrosion resistance.

  4. Roadster from directly above on a desert floor, its gold-tinted canopy beside an astronaut.

    Exterior · 04

    Gold Glazed

    Tinted glass mimicking the copper coating of spacesuit visors, with subtle titanium accents.

03 — Physics

Every car on the road today is limited by one thing: tire grip.

Force available for acceleration: tire grip 1×, Roadster's thrusters 4–5×.

Roadster's thruster system generates 4–5x the force the tires can. More force on the same mass means significantly better acceleration — physics does the rest.

Cold-gas thrusters

SpaceX has used thrusters to position spacecraft for decades.

Making them work in a vehicle instead of a vacuum took all-new hardware & controls.

A carbon-fibre overwrapped pressure vessel packed into a void behind the cabin.

COPV

Every usable void in the car is packed with Carbon Fiber Overwrapped Pressure Vessels.

More compressed gas on board=more flight time

04 — Launch

0–60 mph in 0.81 seconds.

0.67 seconds with rollout subtracted.

05 — Track Mode

Roadster transforms in Track Mode.

The best passive downforce package of any road car — approaching F1 levels — with wing actuation driven by the Optimus actuator system.

  1. Road
  2. High-Downforce
  3. Low-Drag

06 — Beyond the limits of physics

Suction.

A multi-mode fan & ground-sealing system pulls air from beneath the vehicle. Powered fans & active wings achieve massive downforce at zero speed.

Stationary

Upside down.

Enough suction to hold it upside down while stationary.

In flight

A fraction of a second.

Advanced cold-gas thrusters with all-electric actuators make micro adjustments within a fraction of a second to stabilize the vehicle in flight.

07 — Flight · Rocket configuration

So… yes,
it can fly.

“Do a kickflip!” — @Tesla Film: Roadster lifts on its thrusters, flips over a Tesla Semi and lands in a cloud of gas.

“Turns out the future does have flying cars.”

Elon Musk, on X

Reveal night · Oct 15

Holy
smokes.

Roadster airborne over a Tesla Semi, a twisting trail of thruster gas behind it.
01Over the Semi
Roadster leaving the lip of the curved wall, thrusters firing.
02Off the wall
Roadster seen from above, driving the steep banked wall.
03On the bank
Roadster hovering on thrusters between red stage lights and searchlights.
04Hover
Roadster upside down at the top of its arc above the Semi and the lineup.
05Kickflip
Roadster tipping off the end of the wall, gas jets fanning out.
06Real life, baby

08 — Interior

Ultrawhite.

The two-seat cabin: Ultrawhite seats, a yoke, a slim screen and a red ambient line.
An Ultrawhite seat with the Roadster name glowing red in the headrest.

Grip

Ultrawhite interior with gray microsuede detailing & seat bolsters for added grip.

Mass

Manual controls & a fixed seat position reduce overall vehicle mass.

The yoke and a slim driver display above gray microsuede.
The cockpit from behind the seats, looking out through the windscreen.

Materials

Magnesium, titanium & carbon fiber throughout — lightweight, high-strength materials that cut mass further.

This allows Roadster to respond to driver inputs almost instantly.

09 — Configurations

Pick your physics.

0–60 mph, in real time

  1. Performance <1.6 s
  2. Thrust <0.9 s
  3. Rocket <0.59 s

  1. Road ready · Seats 2

    Performance

    Active aerodynamics & multi-mode suction system for next-level performance on & off the track.

    0–60<1.6sec

  2. Race ready · Seats 2

    Thrust

    Multi-mode suction system paired with rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters that enable 0–60 in under 1 second.

    0–60<0.9sec

  3. Air ready · Seats 1

    Rocket

    Multi-mode suction system plus perimeter-mounted cold-gas thrusters supporting forward & upward acceleration plus lateral rotational movement. So… yes, it can fly.

    0–60<0.59sec

Range
>300mi
Top speed · Rocket
>230mph
Seats
1–2
An astronaut walks across a dry lakebed at dawn toward a white Roadster.

10 — Reserve

Out of this world.

Reserve now on tesla.com, opens in a new tab