Tesla says its newly unveiled Roadster 2 vehicle ‘can fly’

Tesla just unveiled its latest vehicle, the Roadster 2, which it says will be available with performance options that will allow it to “fly.”

Details of the new sports car were displayed by Tesla at an event late Thursday, which included demonstrations showing the car appearing to jump over obstacles, and even drive vertically and upside down off a ramp using a suction system to help it stay glued to the road.

The car, which was developed in collaboration with CEO Elon Musk‘s rocket company SpaceX, has a top tier “Rocket” package that Tesla says uses a series of built-in fans and thrusters that allow it to “take flight” for a brief period — “defying gravity.”

It wasn’t made clear if these capabilities are intended for any legal use on public roads in the future.

Under the “Rocket” category, Tesla notes the package is “Not approved for public road use,” and adds that it’s “air ready,” with a “full flight system.”

“Air ready with seating for one. Features a multi-mode suction system paired with cold-gas thrusters positioned around the perimeter of the vehicle that support forward and upward acceleration as well as lateral rotational movement. So yes, it can fly,” Tesla says on its website.

Other lower tier packages include the “Thrust” package, which it says will have limited availability, and “is subject to each region’s legal requirements and applicable laws.”

The base model is known as the “Performance” package, and is described as “road ready.”

Tesla said at the unveiling that the Roadster 2 will start production in 2028, but customers can reserve theirs now online with a deposit, including in Canada.

The estimated sale price was not disclosed, but Musk quoted a price of US$200,000 about a decade ago, when the idea for the Roadster 2 was first being floated.

According to Tesla’s website for Canada, reservations can be placed for the Performance and Thrust packages, although the terms state that a reservation “does not constitute the purchase or order of a vehicle.”

Reservations for the Performance package require a deposit of CA$7,000, followed by an additional $63,000 within 10 days. For the higher tier Thrust package, an initial $7,000 deposit is also required, plus another $343,000 within 10 days.

Tesla says the Rocket package is available by “invite only,” with no options to reserve online.

The Roadster 2 has been delayed for several years, with the original prototype being revealed in 2017. At the time, Tesla said deliveries would begin in 2020.

Tesla has been facing fierce competition from other car companies as electric vehicles and hybrids become more popular, including in Canada.

Statistics Canada revealed this week that August saw sales of fully electric and hybrid electric vehicles rise 55 per cent from a year earlier.

Musk has played down the new Roadster’s importance to Tesla’s finances, describing it in 2023 as a “small potato situation” that would not “move the needle in a major way financially.”

Tesla has been under pressure from investors to maintain profit margins amid the heightened competition, including by driving up demand for more affordable models, as well as brand awareness through what one analyst describes as a “halo car.”

The Roadster 2 may be the one to carry that symbolic weight.

“Tesla does not currently have a halo car, or high-performance luxury vehicle designed to showcase an automaker’s best engineering and technology. The Roadster will be Tesla’s new halo car,” Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said in a note last month.

Goldstein expects Tesla to sell around 2,000 Roadsters a year — a fraction of the 1.6 million vehicles Tesla sold last year.

In the wake of the unveiling event, Tesla’s stock price was up over five per cent before trading opened on Wall Street Friday morning.

The original Roadster, released in 2008 and on sale until 2012, was Tesla’s first-ever EV and used a Lotus Elise chassis. It helped change the world’s view of what an electric vehicle could be. The company has since been known for its Model Y and Model X SUVs and Model S and Model 3 sedans.

The reveal of the second-generation Roadster also comes amid a sharp shift in Tesla’s focus to artificial intelligence-led self-driving tech and robotics, from manufacturing cars for human drivers.

This year, Tesla stopped selling Model S and X vehicles to make space for production of its Optimus humanoid robots. It also launched Cybercab – a two-seater robotaxi that comes without manual controls such as a steering wheel, pedals and mirrors.

– with files from Reuters