Elon Musk himself unveiled a Tesla car capable of flying—a feature that had long been confined to science fiction and cartoons.
The unveiling took place at Wako, a test facility in Texas owned by SpaceX—Musk’s other publicly traded company—where the Tesla CEO demonstrated the new Roadster, a two-seater sports car that not only accelerates from 0 to 96 km/h in record time—less than a second (0.81)—but can also hover.
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At the presentation, nine years after its first appearance, the car used lift to climb a steep ramp. As it exited the ramp, it flipped in the air and used air jets to land.
Then, the Roadster “flew” over a row of existing Tesla models parked side by side and used the jets at the rear of the car to accelerate to 96 km/h.
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Driverless Demonstration
The car had no actual driver during the demonstration, a precaution taken “to make sure we don’t kill anyone,” Elon Musk told the crowd.
“Success isn’t guaranteed,” he said. “I mean that. It’ll probably work, but if it doesn’t, we’re at a safe distance.”
“It can essentially fly like a rocket. It can do spins and crazy stunts,” Musk said, describing the Roadster as “the ultimate car for drivers.”
Tesla’s New Technology for Flying Vehicles
The car uses 10 nozzles and what Musk described as “extremely high-pressure air tanks” to move, both in the air and to accelerate quickly on the ground.
During the vertical ascent up the ramp, the vehicle remained firmly planted on the surface thanks to the enormous downforce generated by a “suction” system at the bottom of the fuselage, supplied by SpaceX.
At the top, it turned with the help of cold-gas thrusters and descended smoothly to the ground, with fans creating negative pressure that pulls the car toward the road.
Tesla’s CEO described this technology as “the result of what happens when you partner with the best car company in the world and the best rocket company in the world.”
As he said, the car will go into production in 2028, although Tesla’s timelines are often delayed.
Although the Roadster’s unveiling was deemed a success, it remains to be seen whether the car will actually be able to live up to its promise and give owners the ability to fly rather than just jump, while also being able to drive very fast on the roads.
The future Roadster will be available in three versions
The new Roadster will be released in three different versions, with the two higher-end models incorporating cold-gas thruster technology developed in collaboration with SpaceX:
- Performance (Base model): It features active aerodynamics and a special suction fan system in the floor. This system creates enough negative pressure to allow the car to drive even upside down on a roof. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in less than 1.9 seconds.
- Thrust: A limited-production version that combines the suction system with thrusters at the rear, bringing the 0-60 mph time down to 0.81 seconds.
- Rocket: The top-of-the-line, “invite-only” version with 10 thrusters. At the official unveiling, the car performed jumps and short flights. Tesla announced a 0-60 mph time of under 0.59 seconds.
The official final price for each version has not been finalized, but is expected to start at at least $200,000 to $250,000.
Source: iefimerida.gr
