Tesla's new Roadster turns in air with SpaceX thrusters, won't land until 2028

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla unveiled a redesigned Roadster powered with rocket-style thrusters on Thursday and said it would start production in 2028, more than a decade after it first showed a next-generation version of its electric sports car. The white two-seater vehicle, developed in collaboration with CEO Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX, drove upside down on a ramp using a suction system, turned in the air and landed using built-in thrusters. Later in the event it used the thrusters to jump over a truck and other vehicles, twisting in the air during the maneuver. Some watchers saw the collaboration as Musk drumming up interest in a merger of the two big companies he controls, an idea he has explored by discussing their overlap. The reveal gives Tesla a showpiece car after years of missed Roadster deadlines, but it comes as the company shifts its focus to self-driving technology and robotics, and days before third-quarter results that analysts say matter more to investors. "It was an engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers," Gene Munster, ma