Tesla shows a flying Roadster that drives upside down and hits 60 mph in 0.81 seconds

Tesla has shown its flying Roadster in public for the first time, staging a live demonstration in Texas in which the two-seat coupe drove up a half-pipe, flipped upside down and launched off the top of the ramp. Compressed-air thrusters held it in the air for a few seconds before it landed.

The car was designed jointly by Tesla and SpaceX, both led by Elon Musk, who called the second-generation Roadster "a collaboration with the world's best car company and the world's best rocket company." He told the crowd before the test that "success is not guaranteed."

How the Roadster flew

The car became airborne three ways. After the ramp jump, it built up speed on flat ground and cleared a row of parked vehicles. It then rose from a standstill. Thrusters in the underside and rear pushed the car up and cushioned each landing.

Those same thrusters can also fire rearward to boost acceleration, and Tesla used them to claim a 0 to 60 miles per hour time of 0.81 seconds. The company said the Roadster would be the "quickest" production vehicle to 60 miles per hour.

The ability to stay inverted on the half-pipe came from a separate fan suction system rather than the thrusters. Tesla says the air tanks on board are rechargeable and can be recompressed without fuel, so the flying capability does not depend on burning anything.

The demonstration itself used a pre-programmed sequence with no driver aboard. Musk said that in the long term the car will be the "only manual" vehicle in Tesla's lineup, referencing the company's plans for driverless vehicles. He also referenced the uncertainty over street legality for the flying capabilities.

Design and cabin details

Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen described an "aerospace aesthetic." The Roadster wears an angular supercar exterior with scissor doors and a deployable spoiler, and it is a coupe with a hard top. The seats are moulded directly to the chassis.

Steering is by wire, which replaces the mechanical link between the steering wheel and the road wheels with electronic controls. It is a detail in keeping with the aerospace engineering behind the thrusters.

Tesla is a familiar name in our rankings. The brand is third among American car brands in the list we keep, behind Ford and Chevrolet, and it earns that place with a single crossover: the Model Y, the best-selling electric vehicle in the United States.

Tesla is also one of the most searched luxury car brands in the world. In our ranking it joins BMW and Mercedes-Benz as the three most searched names, while Chinese newcomer BYD now draws more online interest than Porsche or Audi.

The Roadster project has been a slow burn. Tesla first unveiled a second-generation Roadster in 2017 with deliveries planned for 2020, a date that came and went. The company's last major launch was the Cybertruck, unveiled in 2019.

Tesla now sets production for 2028, without disclosing a price or a production volume. Eleven years separate the 2017 reveal from that target, which is a long wait for a car that was once promised for 2020.

Musk's comments on street legality leave the key question open. Tesla has not said which markets would permit the thrusters, or whether the production car would ship with them active.

The flying Roadster arrives as other makers show concepts, among them Porsche's mid-engined Mission S, BMW's bulletproof Concept 7 Protection, Alpine's A310 Vision and Alfa Romeo's Cuorerosso, which we have each covered in our coverage of style and cars.

What comes next is 2028, the date Tesla cites for production. Until then the Roadster is a demonstration vehicle rather than a product, and the company has offered no price, no volume and no confirmation that the thrusters will be legal on public roads.

Tesla has not disclosed range, weight or the capacity of the air tanks, and it has not said whether the flying capability adds cost or is standard. For now the Roadster lives as a claim and a video.