The car that was supposed to arrive by 2020 is reportedly about to leave the ground. According to The Information, citing unnamed sources, Tesla is targeting an unveiling of its redesigned next-generation Roadster as early as this month. The twist: the debut reportedly involves a SpaceX-assisted “flying” demonstration at a rocket test site in McGregor, Texas. No confirmed Tesla event exists, and no public date has been announced. Treat this as what it is — a credible report, not a calendar invite.
The Roadster’s history is a masterclass in prolonged anticipation. The 2017 prototype landed like a thunderclap. Then came years of silence, internal pivots, and design restarts. At various points, Tesla reportedly considered building it on a repurposed Model S Plaid platform, and drew design inspiration from the Lamborghini Countach and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. What emerged, according to current reporting, is a carbon-fiber tub construction with two seats and butterfly doors.
What the Reports Say
Cold-gas thrusters, extreme noise, and a car operated entirely by remote control.
- SpaceX developed the thruster package, internally coded “A71,” using cold-gas technology — compressed gas expelled rapidly, the same physics that maneuver spacecraft, not jet engines.
- No driver will be inside. Spectators will reportedly be kept hundreds of yards back due to thruster noise and potential hearing damage, according to Electrek’s summary of The Information’s reporting.
- The thruster-equipped variant is expected to be non-street-legal and limited edition, priced anywhere from hundreds of thousands to potentially millions of dollars, per Carscoops.
- The standard production Roadster — the one you could theoretically drive — has no confirmed delivery date, with 2027 or later considered the realistic window.
“Hovering” is doing considerable work as a descriptor here. This is a brief lift-off during a controlled stunt, not sustained flight. But as cross-pollination between Musk’s two companies goes, it’s genuinely impressive engineering — even if the spectacle is engineered as much for headlines as for horsepower.
A Stunt With a Price Tag Nobody’s Confirmed
This isn’t a car you commute in — it’s closer to commissioning a custom sculpture that occasionally levitates.
The thruster variant’s expected price — deep into six or seven figures — puts it firmly in the category of objects that exist to prove something rather than transport anyone. Teslarati and Electrek, amplifying The Information’s reporting, frame it as a showcase of cross-company capability: a halo product designed to remind the market that Tesla’s engineering ambition hasn’t calcified.
That framing matters. Tesla’s product pipeline has faced sustained skepticism. A driverless car hovering over a rocket test site — watched from hundreds of yards away, operated remotely, loud enough to risk hearing damage — is the kind of moment that stops the internet mid-scroll. No press release achieves that.
The Roadster will reportedly hover. It will cost more than most homes. You won’t be buying one, and it won’t be merging onto any highway. But as proof that Tesla can still generate the earned media that keeps a brand mythologized? This one will fly just fine.
