Elon Musk says the production Tesla Roadster could go faster still. "You've got to crack halfway to the speed of sound, I think," he said at Thursday night's reveal in McGregor, Texas. "Mach 0.5. Maybe a little higher." He also insisted, "This will be an actual car that's on the roads," quotes reported by The Verge. Not everyone is convinced it can be sold that way.

Musk's biggest lines of the night

  • On the thrusters: "So it can basically fly like a rocket. And it could do rolls. It could do, like, crazy gymnastics. Whatever you want, really. Now, I should say that this is not necessarily a safety-optimized car. But it takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10." (The Verge)
  • On the partnership: "You're going to see the results of what happens when you have a collaboration with the world's best car company and the world's best rocket company." (CNBC)
  • On speed: The Verge reported Musk saying the production car should beat the 0.81-second 0-60 run shown live, while acknowledging occupants can only take so much acceleration (the specs).
  • On the track: "It's going to crush every track record that has ever existed." (Car and Driver)
  • On X afterward: "Turns out the future does have flying cars."

Vehicle engineering VP Lars Moravy called the car's flip over Tesla's lineup, which included the Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi and Cybercab, "a kick flip," The Verge said.

New hardware details

The Verge reported that the Roadster carries two ultra-high-pressure air tanks with a combined volume of 600 liters, holding approximately 250 kilograms of air, and fires them through 10 nozzles. It needs no chemical propellant and can recharge its own tank. A SpaceX-supplied fan suction system under the car generates up to two Gs of suction. Steering, brakes and throttle are steer-by-wire, with a yoke, and there is a retractable rear wing. More on the build is in our design breakdown.

The pushback: can it ever be street legal?

Reuters wrote that "the use and legality of such features on public roads were not immediately clear," and noted that Musk and other executives gave no target price. Tesla quoted a $200,000 base price back in 2017.

The Verge's Andrew J. Hawkins called the event, which ran under 30 minutes, "more like a stunt show than a product reveal." He said it "seems extremely unlikely" this version will reach the average buyer, because it would have to meet Federal Aviation Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules. His verdict: "Again, who cares? Car flew."

Tesla's own site lists the top Rocket configuration as invite-only and not approved for public road use. Performance needs a $50,000 deposit and Thrust needs $250,000 (deposit details).

What it means for Tesla

CNBC said the Roadster "isn't likely to have any material financial impact on the company." GuruFocus, citing Reuters, said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein expects roughly 2,000 Roadsters a year. Tesla shares closed Thursday at $362.44, down $4.72 (1.29%), before the stream began. After-hours trading ended at 8 PM ET, nearly an hour before the 8:55 PM ET reveal, and TSLA's last after-hours trade was $362.32, down $0.12 (0.03%), according to StockMarketWatch. That means the market's first real reaction to the Roadster comes in Friday's pre-market session. The next real test for the stock is Tesla's third-quarter report after the bell on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Production is set for 2028, and the price is still not disclosed (what's still unanswered).