‘Safe landing’ a revamped Tesla Roadster | Explained

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The Tesla Roadster demo, that featured a car briefly ‘flying,’ awed numerous watchers | Photo Credit: AFP PHOTO / TESLA

The story so far: On October 15, 2026, multi-billionaire Elon Musk launched a revamped Tesla Roadster . During the unveiling, the car performed an aerial stunt after driving up a curved ramp. It flew off the edge, flipped mid-air, and hovering over a heap of white fumes, landed safely. The demo thrilled many, but the actual vehicle will not enter production until 2028 and the car must clear numerous regulatory hurdles. Still, Tesla is accepting payments for car reservations — with caveats.

Tesla is pitching the new Roadster as a space-tech vehicle, stressing its similarities to rocket design and sprinkling in space age-style terms to market the design features.

The Roadster “challenges the limits of design, engineering and physics to deliver an expertly crafted extra-terrestrial vehicle,” the Tesla website says.

According to Tesla vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy, the revamped Tesla Roadster can hit 97 km/hr in less than a second, and get to a top speed of more than 370 km/hr.

For vertical or upside-down driving, the car’s multi-mode fan and ground sealing system pull air out from under the vehicle, ensuring it has the suction it needs, per Tesla’s website. Meanwhile, cold-gas thrusters enable car stability during flight.

However, Tesla enthusiasts should note that the so-called ‘flying car’ features apply to the invite-only, one-seater ‘Rocket’ augmented model of the Roadster. The Roadster ‘Rocket’ has a multi-mode suction system and cold-gas thrusters positioned around the car’s perimeter for forward and upward acceleration, and lateral rotational movement. It is not approved for use on public roads yet.

A limited release ‘Thrust’ augmented model that seats two comes with the multi-mode suction system and the cold-gas thrusters in the rear for maximum acceleration under a second.

There is also a ‘Performance’ model that seats two. Tesla noted it has “active aerodynamics” and a multi-mode suction system that maximised downforce for better performance on and off the track.

A single charge can make the Roadster cover more than 480 km. Further details about the car’s specifications are awaited.

As per Tesla’s India website, the ‘Performance’ variant can be reserved for ₹5,01,000 while ₹45,05,000 is due in 10 days. The ‘Thrust’ variant can be reserved for ₹5,01,000 while ₹2,45,24,000 is due in 10 days.

The Tesla Roadster is only available as a Left-Hand Drive vehicle | Photo Credit: Tesla India

Mr. Musk has noted that the car may not be legal in all countries. It is only available as a Left-Hand Drive vehicle, as per Tesla’s India website, which will lead to legal complications in the country.