Tesla Demonstrates Thruster-Equipped Roadster, Targets 2028 Production
publishers 161articles 209first reported 14 Oct, 01:36 UTCdeveloping since 14 Oct · 14 editionstop 25 #5
Tesla demonstrated a redesigned Roadster on Oct. 15 at SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas, performing brief airborne maneuvers with a prototype of the long-delayed electric sports car.
During the event, the vehicle drove upside down along a curved ramp using a fan-powered suction system, launched from the ramp, rotated 180 degrees in midair and landed on its wheels. It later used compressed-air thrusters developed with SpaceX to jump over a row of Tesla vehicles. The demonstration did not establish sustained flight or show how high or far the Roadster could travel through the air.
Tesla outlined three versions: a road-focused Performance model, a Thrust model with rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters, and an invitation-only, single-seat Rocket version equipped with 10 thrusters. Tesla says the Roadster can exceed 230 mph, while its stated range is now more than 300 miles, down from the 620 miles promised when the second-generation model was announced in 2017.
Production is now targeted for 2028, eight years after Tesla’s original 2020 goal. The company is accepting deposits of up to $250,000, but its reservation agreement says it cannot guarantee when or whether a vehicle will be delivered and that pricing and specifications may change.
The Federal Aviation Administration told CBS News and Politico that the Roadster does not meet its definition of an aircraft. Tesla’s website says the Rocket version is not approved for public-road use.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 4 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 90 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Given to the writer
- 8, 4 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
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- This version written
- 90 h after the record first saw the story
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