View source for Flight and the SpaceX package

The idea that the new [[Tesla Roadster (second generation)|Tesla Roadster]] could '''fly''' comes from its rocket-style '''cold-gas thrusters''', first promised as the "SpaceX package". This page covers what was promised, what the 2026 demonstration showed, and how the thruster versions work.

== The 2018 promise ==
In June 2018 Elon Musk described a "SpaceX option package" for the Roadster. It was to use about ten cold-gas thrusters fed by composite pressure tanks, similar to those on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, holding air at about 10,000 psi, with the tanks taking the place of the back seats. The aim was faster acceleration, braking and cornering. In a September 2018 interview Musk said the thrusters "could make it fly."<ref name="wiki">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Roadster_(second_generation) "Tesla Roadster (second generation)"], ''Wikipedia'', read October 16, 2026 (summarizing Electrek, Top Gear, TechCrunch and other reports).</ref>

== What the 2026 demonstration showed ==
At the October 15, 2026 unveiling, the car:<ref name="euronews">Nathan Rennolds, [https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/16/well-it-worked-elon-musk-unveils-new-tesla-roadster-that-can-fly "'Well, it worked': Elon Musk unveils new Tesla Roadster that can fly"], ''Euronews'', October 16, 2026.</ref>
* drove up a curved ramp and held itself '''upside down''', using a fan that sucks the car onto the surface
* launched off the end, '''flipped''' in the air and landed
* '''jumped over a row of Tesla cars''' in a second run
Musk said the car has altitude-control thrusters and main thrusters at the back, so it can "fly like a rocket", and remarked "Well, it worked" after the stunt.<ref name="euronews" />

== Does it really fly? ==
Not in the way an airplane or helicopter does. What was shown were short, thruster-assisted jumps and a ramp stunt, not sustained flight. Before the event, Electrek reported that the demonstration had been scaled back from "flying" to a short hover, and that the demonstration car was remote-operated and not street-legal.<ref name="electrek">Fred Lambert, [https://electrek.co/2026/10/13/tesla-roadster-event-thursday-nine-years-delays/ "Tesla sets Roadster event for Thursday after nearly 9 years of delays"], ''Electrek'', October 13, 2026.</ref> Musk himself called it "not necessarily a safety-optimized car."<ref name="euronews" />

== How the thruster versions work ==
According to details reported by Top Gear:<ref name="wiki" />
{| class="wikitable"
! Version !! Thrusters !! Gas supply !! Notes
|-
| Performance || None || — || No thrusters
|-
| Thrust || Four nozzles at the rear || 200-liter nitrogen tank at about 10,000 psi || One fill gives about five seconds of thrust; refilling takes two to six hours
|-
| Rocket || Six more thrusters at the front and sides (ten in all) || Extra 400-liter tank in place of the passenger seat (600 liters total) || Invitation only; reported as for off-road use
|}

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Tesla Roadster]]