Tesla's new Roadster flew in a Texas demo, but buyers still have no price or delivery date

Nine years ago, some Tesla fans paid US$50,000 to hold a place in line for a Roadster promised for 2020. On Thursday night in Texas, they saw the car again, and it was not quite the one they reserved. The new Tesla Roadster was revealed in three versions, and in a remote-controlled demo, one of them left a tall ramp, spun in the air and landed.

The harder questions sit behind the show: what the car costs, when anyone gets one, and where it can legally go. Is the Tesla Roadster real? It is real enough to reserve, but not yet real enough to buy.

Three new Tesla Roadster versions, from road car to ‘it can fly’

Tesla’s Roadster page lists three versions. Performance is the two-seat road car, sold by reservation. Thrust is a limited two-seater for the track, with gas jets at the back that Tesla says take it from 0 to 60 mph in under 1 second. Rocket is invite-only, seats one and has jets all around for lift and turning. Tesla’s page says it can fly, then adds: “Not approved for public road use.”

The jets, called cold-gas thrusters, push the car by releasing stored high-pressure gas. Fans pull air from under the car to create suction that Tesla says can even hold it upside down.

The cold-gas thrusters at the back of the Roadster. Image: Tesla

At the reveal, at SpaceX’s test site near Waco, the demo timer showed 0 to 60 mph in 0.81 seconds, Road & Track and MotorTrend report. Nobody measured that run independently, so treat the Tesla Roadster 0-60 figure as Tesla’s own claim. On stage, Tesla claimed a top speed of over 230 mph, and Musk said production would start in 2028.

Nobody was aboard the flying Roadster, and the road rules are unclear

In the main stunt, the car clung upside down to a tall ramp, then left it and landed. Edmunds reports it was remote-controlled, with nobody inside, and that it bounced on landing. For now, the Tesla Roadster flying car is a demonstration, not something a person has flown.

Is it street legal? Musk said he was “not necessarily sure it’s legal in all jurisdictions”, but that someone will be able to own such a car, InsideEVs reports. Asked again by an audience member later, he replied: “Depends on your street.” Tesla says the Rocket is not available in all regions.

History raises a second question. Tesla first showed a new Roadster in November 2017, promising 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 620 miles of range and four seats, with the car expected in 2020. Reservations cost US$50,000, and Founders Series cars needed US$250,000 up front, CNBC reported then. Every target date since has been missed. Tesla has not said what happens to those early buyers, and it has not confirmed a range for the new car.

What a Roadster deposit buys you, and what it does not

There is no Tesla Roadster price yet, for any version, only deposits. For Performance, Tesla asks US$5,000 today and US$45,000 within 10 days, or US$50,000 in total, which its terms say is refundable until you configure the car. Edmunds and others report a Thrust reservation totals US$250,000. Rocket has no published amount.

Read Tesla’s reservation agreement before you pay. It says a reservation holds only your rough place in line, and any price is an estimate. Tesla says it cannot guarantee when, or if, the car will be delivered, and your money earns no interest.

As for the Tesla Roadster release date, the only answer is Musk’s: production in 2028, with no delivery date. CNBC reports deposits are open in the US, Canada and China; elsewhere, check your local Tesla page.

Real engineering ambition, but a promise Tesla still has to keep

The good deserves credit. On what Tesla showed, this looks like serious engineering. Its under-1-second claim for Thrust beats the 1.9 seconds promised in 2017, though Thrust adds gas jets the 2017 car never had. Tesla is also open that the flying version is not approved for public roads, and the deposit is refundable.

The gaps are just as real: no price, no confirmed range, no independent test, nobody aboard the flying car, and a 2020 promise that slipped by years. CNBC adds that the Roadster is unlikely to make a big difference to Tesla’s finances.

On balance, the new Roadster shows what Tesla can do on a test site, but not yet what it will deliver to a driveway. As with any big tech reveal, the sensible path is to enjoy the engineering and wait for real prices before paying.

Three things to watch: official prices, the first independent tests, and a clear answer for buyers who have waited since 2017. For them, a delivery date matters more than any stunt.