Tesla Fyling Roadster: Built With SpaceX Rocket Engineers, It Hits 60 mph in 0.81 Seconds
Quick Reads
- Tesla showed the Roadster at SpaceX’s Texas test site, where it drove upside down, flipped over parked Teslas and hovered on compressed-air jets.
- There are three versions: Performance (two seats), Thrust (two seats) and Rocket (one seat).
- The 0.81-second 0-60 mph time was the result shown in the launch demo, while the Rocket’s published claim is under 0.59 seconds.
- The Rocket trim has 10 cold-gas thrusters around the car.
- Tesla and SpaceX developed the thruster system together, with Starship propulsion engineers involved. The Rocket is invite-only, and Tesla marks it as not approved for public roads.
- The car is expected to launch in 2028
Tesla flying Roadster:
Tesla flying Roadster: Tesla launches the Flying Roadster with a demo that looked like a stunt show. At SpaceX’s test site in McGregor, Texas, the car drove up a curved wall until it hung upside down, flipped over a line of parked Tesla vehicles and hovered on jets of compressed air.
Rocket Engineers Meet Car Engineers
The flying Roadster is a joint effort between human engineering teams. The cold-gas thruster system was jointly developed by Tesla and SpaceX, and from 2024 the Tesla team worked closely with engineers from SpaceX’s Starship propulsion team. The system is known internally as “A71.” The idea itself is not new. The thrusters are adapted from cold-gas hardware SpaceX uses on the second stage of its Falcon 9 rocket.
Tesla also drew on supercar talent. It recruited several engineers from Italy, including Stefan Nothdurfter, a former engineering director at Lamborghini.
The lineup has a two-seat Performance, a two-seat Thrust with rear-mounted thrusters (under 0.9 seconds to 60 mph), and a single-seat Rocket (under 0.59 seconds). The 0.81-second figure was the result shown in Tesla’s launch demonstration.
How It Flies
The Roadster uses compressed air rather than rocket fuel to add thrust and lift. The Rocket trim has 10 cold-gas thrusters around the car. Musk said it can “basically fly like a rocket,” and the downforce readout during the upside-down stunt showed 4,700 kg.
The Rocket is invite-only and seats one. Tesla marks it as not approved for public roads. Tesla hasn’t disclosed a price or how long it can stay airborne. Tesla targets more than 300 miles of range and a top speed above 230 mph for the Rocket. The car is expected to launch in 2028. Reservations are open at Tesla.com/Roadster.
