Tesla Flips The Roadster Upside Down In Crazy Flying Demo

At a SpaceX test site in Texas, the Tesla Roadster used suction and cold-gas thrusters for a tethered flip that still leaves major claims unproven.

Tesla Roadster Flying Demo

Photo by: Tesla

Brian Potter

By: Brian Potter

Oct 16, at 4:08am ET

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Tesla rolled out the next-generation Roadster already hanging upside down. A fan system under the car pinned it to an inverted ramp with a suction rig, then released it to flip through the air and land on its own compressed-gas thrusters.

The demonstration happened Wednesday night at a SpaceX test site near Waco, Texas, after a canceled October 1 attempt and nearly a decade of delays. It revived reservations, with deposits structured in stages and a stated 2028 production target.

What The Waco Demonstration Showed

Tesla used a suction rig to drive the Roadster upside down along a ramp. The car then detached, rotated in the air and set itself down using built-in thrusters. Vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy said the fan underneath can generate up to 2 g of downforce, and Tesla used that same multi-mode system for the inverted track run.

Elon Musk had hedged before the stunt even started, telling the crowd success was not guaranteed: "it will probably work," he said. Once it did, he leaned into the showmanship, claiming the next-generation Roadster "can basically fly like a rocket" and perform rolls and other aerobatics on command.

The event also followed years of missed dates. Tesla first previewed this second-generation Roadster back in 2017 for an original 2020 launch. That timeline slipped repeatedly, and even the confirmed reveal date got pushed by weather in early October.

Gallery: 2028 Tesla Roadster

Tesla Roadster performs autonomous flying stunts

Source: Tesla

Acceleration Claims, Thrusters And What Is Unverified

Tesla says the top-tier Rocket version will hit 60 mph in less than 0.59 seconds and top out above 230 mph. Moravy separately told the crowd the car could run under one second to 60 mph, with recorded runs as low as 0.81 seconds.

The gap between 0.59 and 0.81 seconds has not been explained publicly. The Rocket trim reportedly uses ten engines total, paired with perimeter-mounted cold-gas thrusters. Tesla has not detailed how that hardware interacts with street-legal driving or what it weighs.

Tesla Roadster Reservation Page Screenshot

Tesla Roadster Reservation Page Screenshot

Photo by: Tesla

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Reservation terms came with their own wrinkles. Tesla's live reservation page describes a $50,000 deposit structured as a $5,000 card charge and a $45,000 wire transfer due within 10 days. Separate reporting describes a $250,000 Founders or Thrust deposit split into a $5,000 card charge and a $245,000 wire transfer due within 10 days.

Production is now targeted for 2028, a date Musk announced on stage even as he acknowledged the project's history of missed timelines. Until Tesla delivers a customer car, the acceleration figures, the flight thruster system and the final specification sheet remain company claims from a single staged event in Waco.