Tesla has finally shown the production-intent Roadster, and it looks nothing like the soft-edged concept from 2017. Regit hasn’t driven it, and as far as we know no independent tester has either, so this piece is based on the reveal itself and the details Tesla has shared so far.
The headline act is a flying demonstration. During the reveal at a rocket testing facility, the car lifted off the ground, passed over other cars and performed barrel rolls. Nobody was inside it, which tells you this was a stunt rig and not a car you could buy.
Tesla Roadster performance and 0-60mph time
Tesla hasn’t published a power figure or said how many electric motors the Roadster has. What it has claimed is that the cold gas thrusters on the back produce 8,000Nm of thrust on their own, and that this gives a 0-60mph time of 0.9 seconds. If true, that would make it the quickest-accelerating road car ever built.
Musk says more thrusters dotted around the body could cut the time to 0.6 seconds later on. Treat all of that as a manufacturer claim until independent testing says otherwise. Tesla also quotes a top speed above 230mph and a range of more than 300 miles, and again nothing has been verified.
There is also a fan system designed to pull the car onto the road for extra downforce, similar to the one on the McMurtry Speirling. Tesla showed it by driving up a vertical wall and briefly hanging upside down, which is a neat trick but a long way from a wet motorway.
Can the Tesla Roadster really fly?
In the demo, yes. The car carries a 600-litre air tank feeding 10 nozzles around the body, and that is what hopped it over the cars.
From the footage, the underside looks like a prototype, with a bare metal frame and no obvious suspension. That matches what you would expect from a one-off demo vehicle, but it does mean the gap between this car and a roadworthy production model is still wide. Whether anyone would want a hovering sports car on UK roads is a separate question the Highway Code has not been asked yet.
Tesla Roadster design and interior
The styling is sharp and angular, with a low nose and triangular headlights. The front end brings to mind a Lamborghini Aventador, though it looks like the Lambo has been redrawn in a very early video game.
The back is the busy part. Four thruster outlets poke out of a huge diffuser, there is a full-width light bar and a large deployable spoiler. It looks like a concept car that happened to get a number plate.
Inside is familiar Tesla territory, with a big central screen, very few buttons and a steering yoke on a steer-by-wire system like the one in the Cybertruck. Musk also said the Roadster will be the only Tesla intended to be driven by a human in the long run, with the rest of the range heading towards autonomy.
Tesla Roadster price and release date
Deposits have been taken since 2017, when the original figure was almost £40,000. Two versions can now be reserved. The Performance, without thrusters, needs a £45,000 deposit, while the thruster version asks for £245,000 up front.
There is no final price. Series production is expected to start in 2028, so the reveal does not mean cars are about to appear. Given the size of that second deposit, the thruster car could end up costing close to half a million pounds, though that is speculation until Tesla confirms a figure.
Tesla Roadster pros and cons
Pros
- A claimed 0.9 second 0-60mph time would be a world record for a road car
- Striking design that looks nothing like the 2017 concept
- Claimed range of more than 300 miles
- The only Tesla that Musk says will keep a human driver
Cons
- Power, motor count and battery size are all unannounced
- Every performance figure is a manufacturer claim
- The demo car looked like a prototype, with no visible suspension
- No final price and no production until 2028
- The thruster version needs a £245,000 deposit
Our verdict on the new Tesla Roadster
We love the ambition and I don’t believe the timeline. Nine years of delays, a prototype that flew with nobody inside and a spec sheet missing basic numbers add up to a car that is still mostly a promise. The Performance version without thrusters is the one worth taking seriously, because it is closer to something that could be made and sold. If you have a spare £245,000 for the thruster car, that is your call, but I would want to see it driven by someone independent first.