Tesla's "flying" Roadster just took a hit from Porsche. Speaking at a conference in Berlin, CEO Michael Leiters said Porsche wants "to completely steer clear from any kind of effects and shows," Electrek reported, citing Bloomberg.
Both automakers revealed their next halo cars on the same day, Oct. 15. Tesla made a Roadster flip in mid-air. Porsche showed the Mission S, and Leiters said the two cars are not even chasing the same customers.
Thrusters versus a mid-engine concept
Tesla unveiled the next-generation Roadster last month, almost nine years after the 2017 prototype. The main event was a car using compressed-air thrusters to launch off a ramp, rotate in the air, and come back down on its wheels. There are three versions, Electrek reported. The Performance trim uses suction fans and claims 0-60 mph in under 1.6 seconds. The Thrust trim adds rear cold-gas thrusters for a claimed sub-0.9-second run. The single-seat Rocket trim gets thrusters all around the car and is not approved for public roads. Tesla gave no price and no production date, just Musk's "2028, actually."
Porsche went the other way. Under the skin, the Mission S can take either a hybrid or a straight combustion powertrain. It is a mid-engine car that sits above the 911 in the lineup, and well above it in price. Leiters said customer response has been "overwhelming" and that Porsche would rather show off real technical innovation than put on a show. If it reaches production, Ferrari is the obvious target, and Porsche has not played in that segment since the 918 Spyder, Electrek reported. Porsche is counting on a pricier, more exclusive lineup to rebuild its profits.
Not everyone in the supercar world agrees with Leiters. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna rated Tesla's Roadster launch "10 out of 10" last month, Electrek reported.
What the thrusters can, and cannot, do
Electrek noted that cold-gas thrusters work like a giant can of compressed air, and that the math is demanding. The Rocket trim carries 400 liters of air at 10,000 psi, roughly 200 kilograms of gas. At the roughly 80 kilonewtons its rear thrusters produce, even a very efficient nozzle empties that tank in a few seconds. Refilling it takes six to seven hours, the site reported.
Leiters is drawing a brand line: Porsche wants to be seen as a builder of exclusive, technically serious cars, not a participant in flying-car theater. Tesla is selling a spectacle, a claimed 2028 timeline, and three trims that have not been priced. The two reveals happened on the same day. The customers, at least in Porsche's telling, are not the same people.