Tesla unveiled its long-anticipated Roadster on Thursday during a dramatic event in which the vehicle used compressed-air thrusters to fly off a ramp and perform a midair maneuver.
The vehicle was seen flying, performing a midair flip and accelerating from zero to 60 mph in under a second.
“Turns out the future does have flying cars,” Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas.
Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy added, “Flying cars are real.” The jaw-dropping showcase featured the new Roadster accelerating up a massive curved ramp and using a fan-based suction system to remain attached until it was completely upside down before using integrated cold-gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX to launch off the ramp, flip in midair and land safely back on the ground.
In another demonstration, the Roadster launched over a lineup of cars and a semi-truck, performing a midair flip before landing safely on the other side.
Musk said certain versions of the Roadster can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than one second and reach a top speed of more than 230 mph. During the event, Tesla demonstrated a Roadster accelerating to 60 mph in under a second.
“Every car on the road today is limited by one thing: tire grip Roadster’s thruster system generates 4–5x the force the tires can. More force on the same mass means significantly better acceleration – physics does the rest,” Tesla said on X.
Nearly a decade after the Roadster’s initial 2017 concept debut, the vehicle left audiences in awe with the gravity-defying demonstration that deployed SpaceX’s rocket technology.
“Today, Roadster presents a new moment in history – the best of the last human-driven cars,” Tesla wrote on X. Tesla executives announced at Thursday’s event that production would begin in 2028.
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