In a demonstration held at the SpaceX rocket testing complex in McGregor, Texas, Tesla unveiled its new generation Roadster, an electric vehicle capable of lifting off the ground and performing aerial maneuvers thanks to thrusters developed in collaboration with the aerospace company.
The vehicle, which accumulated almost nine years of delays, accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in under a second. During the test, the Roadster ascended up a curved ramp, became inverted, was propelled into the air, performed a flip, and landed safely; Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, commented that “it worked”.
Propulsion and Performance
The system uses compressed air at high pressure instead of conventional fuel, and was developed with Tesla and SpaceX engineers. The company announced three versions: Performance, Thrust, and Rocket.
- Performance (two seats): acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in under 1.6 seconds and suction under the body for better grip.
- Thrust (two seats): rear thrusters that reduce acceleration to under 0.9 seconds.
- Rocket (one seat): can take off, maneuver in the air, and reach 100 km/h in under 0.59 seconds.
The Roadster can exceed 370 km/h and offers a range of over 480 kilometers. Musk noted that it will be the only Tesla car designed for long-term manual driving, while the company focuses on automation and robotics.
Security and Production Concerns
The entrepreneur admitted that the sports car is not optimized for safety, raising doubts about its homologation for public roads. Tesla plans to start production in 2028, although it has not revealed prices. The first generation was presented in 2017 with a proposed launch in 2020 at a price of $200,000; the project has suffered several delays while the company prioritized other models and autonomous driving programs.
Credits: deultimominuto.com
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