Tesla to Unveil New Roadster as Early as This Month, Set to Showcase "Flying" Stunts
Nashnova编辑部
Tesla plans to debut its new Roadster as early as this month at a SpaceX test site, headlined by a limited-edition model with SpaceX cold-gas thrusters performing a mid-air stunt — but the car won't be street-legal, could cost over a million dollars, and offers virtually no earnings impact. The real point is signaling that Musk is still serious about making cars.
What does this "flying" demo actually involve?
The venue is SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas. A limited-edition Roadster fitted with cold-gas thrusters — small jets that use compressed gas for thrust — will perform aerial stunts including a mid-air hover.
Earlier plans were wilder: driving up a magnetic ramp, running inverted, then hovering. Musk scaled back some of those elements after a rehearsal.
The thrusters produce intense noise and vibration, so all spectators will be kept hundreds of meters away. The car will be remotely operated with no driver. This means → the event will look more like a rocket-hardware test than a traditional car launch.
It remains unclear whether Tesla will broadcast the event live or show a recorded version.
Why has this car been delayed for nearly a decade?
Tesla first showed a Roadster prototype and opened reservations in 2017, then scrapped the entire design. The new look has never been publicly revealed.
Musk kept raising the bar: first "the fastest production car on Earth," then "crazier than every James Bond car combined," and ultimately a demand for actual flight capability.
In plain terms = the design team received constantly shifting instructions, each change forcing a restart. That is the root cause of the ten-year delay.
How much does the limited edition cost — and can you buy one?
The limited edition will not be street-legal. Pricing is expected in the hundreds-of-thousands to over one million dollars range — an ultra-niche collectible.
Tesla has internally discussed a model inspired by Ferrari's "XX Programme" — owners buy track-only cars and drive them under official supervision. The thruster-equipped demo car with SpaceX branding could follow the same approach for superfans.
Even the standard Roadster will carry a steep price tag; the original Roadster sold for roughly $100,000.
How much will this help Tesla's bottom line?
Analysts say the new Roadster is unlikely to make a material contribution to Tesla's business.
Tesla stock is down roughly 24% year-to-date while the Nasdaq is up about 15%. This means → the market's concern is not a lack of flashy new cars but the heavy spending on robotics and robotaxis, and weakening profitability.
In plain terms = a million-dollar limited-run car won't rescue the stock. Investors want to see the core business making money.
So what is the real point of this launch?
The new Roadster spans Tesla and SpaceX, two Musk-controlled companies whose collaboration in AI, robotics, and chip manufacturing is deepening. Speculation about an eventual merger keeps growing.
This reflects something bigger: the Roadster is no longer just a car — it is a vehicle for Musk to showcase cross-company technology integration.
Whether the car appears on schedule will serve as a key signal that Tesla is still focused on its core car-making business. With the stock under pressure and the main business questioned, that signal matters more than unit sales.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.