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Tech News
Days after demonstrating a Tesla Roadster fitted with SpaceX cold-gas thrusters, Elon Musk announced on SpaceX's third-quarter earnings call that the boards of Tesla and SpaceX are forming special committees to explore merging the two companies. Musk cited 'synergies' between the firms as the rationale.
Tesla reported $28.0 billion in revenue and $1.7 billion in net income for the quarter ending September 2026, roughly flat revenue and a 4 percent profit drop versus the same period in 2025. Deliveries fell 2.1 percent year-over-year, a decline Tesla had anticipated following the September 2025 expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. The results came days after Tesla showcased a flying, flipping prototype of its next-generation Roadster in Waco, Texas.
Tesla's Roadster 2 prototype reportedly uses suction-based downforce to press the car onto the road, increasing tire grip for faster acceleration, braking, and cornering. The car's claimed 0-60 mph time of under one second is attributed not to tire friction alone, which physically caps performance, but to a rocket-like thrust system using compressed air shot out the back, similar in principle to a balloon-powered toy car.
Tesla showcased its Roadster performing a jump and an upside-down landing using cold-gas thrusters and compressed air, part of CEO Elon Musk's pitch that the car can effectively 'fly.' Observers have since questioned whether the demo vehicles were stripped-down props lacking full batteries or the suction-fan system Tesla described, and whether two different cars were used for the two stunts.
Tesla showcased its next-generation Roadster performing a stunt where it hung upside down on a C-shaped ramp before flipping upright and landing safely. The company says this was achieved through a multi-mode fan and ground sealing system paired with a retractable rear wing, which together create downforce by pulling air from beneath the car. Tesla's approach is not unprecedented, as McMurtry Automotive's Spéirling already uses a similar two-fan suction system called Downforce-on-Demand, and other vehicles have used fan-based downforce before either car.
Following Tesla's unveiling of a Roadster with cold-gas thrusters that let it briefly fly, some Tesla enthusiasts have created AI-generated videos imagining scenarios where this capability would be useful, such as leaping over a collapsing bridge or jumping toll booths. One widely shared clip depicts the car vaulting a gap in a bridge mid-collapse.
At its October 15 event, Tesla showcased the redesigned Roadster with a stunt involving cold-gas thrusters and a suction ramp, and Elon Musk said production would begin in 2028. The company is charging $250,000 to reserve the top 'Thrust' trim, which includes the thruster system. This marks the latest in a series of announcements for a car first unveiled in 2017 with an original 2020 release target.
Tesla's October 15 reveal of the updated Roadster showcased thruster-assisted jumps, flips and stabilization maneuvers powered by two high-pressure air tanks and ten nozzles. The company says the tanks can self-refill, but the full thruster system is limited to the top 'Rocket' trim, and Tesla states the thrusters are not approved for public road use. Similar thruster-based stabilization concepts have existed since the early 2000s in missile defense systems like Lockheed Martin's Multiple Kill Vehicle, developed under a 2004 Missile Defense Agency contract.
At a SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, Tesla staged a driverless demonstration of its long-delayed Roadster 2, launching the car into a jump, flip and landing cushioned by onboard thrusters. Vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy told Hagerty the car uses rear-wheel drive, two motors producing over a megawatt of power and 1,400 Nm of torque, more than Tesla's three-motor Plaid models.
Tesla unveiled an updated, production-intent second-generation Roadster at a Texas event, demonstrating it driving up a ramp and holding vertically on a wall via underbody suction fans, then flipping upside down and performing a barrel roll using SpaceX-derived cold gas thrusters. Engineering VP Lars Moravy said the suction system can generate up to 2Gs, and the car also hopped over a row of parked Tesla vehicles during the demo.
Tesla unveiled a new version of its long-delayed Roadster at a late-night event, featuring wedge-shaped styling and rear-mounted nozzles that fire 100,000 psi compressed nitrogen jets, reportedly to perform aerial stunts. The car uses rear-wheel drive and Tesla's own 4680 battery cells with what the company calls a special chemistry, and Elon Musk claimed a planned top speed of 383 mph and a 0-60 mph time of 0.8 seconds.
Tesla unveiled a prototype of its long-delayed next-generation Roadster at a livestreamed event in Waco, Texas, nearly ten years after first taking deposits for the car. The two-seat vehicle demonstrated stunts including clinging upside down to a ramp, flipping mid-air and hovering. CEO Elon Musk said production would begin in 2028, gave no price, and said it would be the company's last model designed for a human driver, lacking its automated driving system.