TESLA UNVEILS REDESIGNED ROADSTER WITH SPACEX THRUSTERS

Tesla unveiled a redesigned second-generation Roadster at an event outside Waco, Texas, on Thursday night. The electric sports car used fans and SpaceX thrusters to drive on an inverted ramp and turn in mid-air during a demonstration. It also used the thrusters to lift itself over other moving Tesla vehicles. Tesla presented the Roadster as a version intended for production, following several delays to the car.

Tesla engineering vice-president Lars Moravy said an underbody system can generate up to 2G of suction, allowing the Roadster to cling to a surface. The demonstration showed the car driving up a wall, briefly travelling upside down and performing a barrel roll after leaving the ramp. Tesla used 10 cold-gas thrusters beneath and around the car to control its movement in the air and cushion its landing. The vehicles it cleared included a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y and Model 3.

The new Roadster has an angular design, unlike the curved concept Tesla unveiled in 2017. At that time, Tesla targeted a 0-to-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, a range of 620 miles and production in 2020. Tesla missed that production deadline and delayed the Roadster several times. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has called the redesigned car “the best of the last of the human-driven cars.”