Tesla unveils next‑gen Roadster that flips, flies and hits 0‑60 in under a second

Tesla showed its next-generation Roadster on Thursday evening, October 15, 2026, at SpaceX's rocket test site in McGregor, Texas, near Waco. In an event of less than 30 minutes, the car drove up a ramp, clung to it upside down on a fan-based suction system, then vaulted off, flipped and landed using cold-gas thrusters. Wired described the flight as a few dozen feet, with no one inside the car.

Demonstrated and claimed figures differ. Tesla's timer showed 0-60 mph in under a second, with a run of 0.81 seconds reported. The 0.59-second time and 230 mph top speed belong to the top Rocket trim and were stated as specifications, not shown, and Motor1 noted the gap between 0.59 and 0.81 seconds is unexplained. Motor1 also called the flip a tethered, staged setup and said Tesla has not shown the car taking off or hovering untethered, while other outlets described a barrel roll over a line of Tesla vehicles.

Musk said production would begin in 2028, though Teslarati cited 2027 or 2028. No price was announced, and Tesla has reopened $50,000 reservations. Tesla says the car is not approved for public road use, and aviation experts told Wired that anything leaving the ground would draw FAA oversight. CNBC said the Roadster is unlikely to have a material financial impact.

The sales backdrop is mixed. Tesla delivered 1,636,129 vehicles in 2025, down from about 1.79 million in 2024, a second straight annual decline. In 2026, third-quarter deliveries of 486,532 were 2.1% below the record year-earlier quarter but beat Tesla's compiled consensus of 461,974, and the year-to-date total is up 8.8%. Shares of TSLA rose about 4.6% to $379 in Friday premarket trading from a $362.44 last price, after being down 19.4% year to date. Investors may watch the October 21 earnings report, pricing and any update to the 2028 timeline.