Tesla Unveils Cyber Roadster With Cold-Gas Thrusters — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Tesla unveiled an updated next-generation Roadster after nine years of delays, adding SpaceX-derived cold-gas thrusters designed to let the car jump and flip, along with a new "cyber" design language borrowed from the Cybertruck, Cybercab, and Optimus.
- Tesla revealed three Roadster trims only via a post-stream X thread: Performance (0–60 mph in under 1.6s), Thrust (under 0.9s, adds rear cold-gas thrusters, limited release), and Rocket (under 0.59s, perimeter thrusters, 230+ mph top speed, invite-only, not approved for public road use).
- Tesla reopened Roadster reservations at $5,000 due today plus $45,000 within 10 days — the same $50,000 figure asked in 2017 — but offered no price for any trim and only Elon Musk's quoted "2028, actually" as a production timeline.
- Tesla's 2017 Roadster spec sheet promised 620 miles of range, 250+ mph top speed, and seating for four in a 2+2 layout; the new car is quoted at "over 300 miles," 230+ mph on the Rocket trim only, and two seats maximum.
- Tesla says the thruster system uses carbon-fiber overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) packed into "every usable void" in the car and generates four to five times the force the tires can handle, while a fan-based suction system is claimed to hold the car upside down even when stationary.
- Electrek notes that the headline-grabbing stunts appear on invite-only or limited trims that are not road-legal, will likely void warranties, and "Tesla will sell more than a handful of those for marketing reasons only" — while customers who paid $50,000–$250,000 deposits on the original 2017 specs remain unfulfilled.
Why it matters: Customers who paid up to $250,000 in deposits in 2017 for a Roadster promising 620 miles of range and four seats are now offered a car with over 300 miles and two seats — with no purchase price and a vague "2028, actually" timeline, meaning nearly a decade of waiting has yielded roughly half the originally promised product.
Ask SkimNews
