Tesla unveiled its next-generation Roadster on Thursday during a demo at a SpaceX test site in Texas. The demo showed the Roadster using underbody fans to drive upside down on a curved ramp and firing thrusters to flip through the air and land on its wheels. Next, it used thrusters to jump over a row of vehicles, including a semi-truck. Tesla says the car goes 0-60 in 0.81 seconds, versus about 1.7 seconds for today’s fastest cars.
The upcoming Roadster, which Tesla says will start production in 2028, has a top-tier version that is built to fly, although not yet approved for public roads. Reactions to the demonstration around the tech world were highly enthusiastic. Google CEO Sundar Pichai commented that “The FSD version of this will be something.” Even Sam Altman, a prominent Elon critic and rival, tweeted, “Wow, the new Roadster looks quite amazing, good job [Elon].”
Beyond the spectacle of unveiling a flying car, the demo also signaled growing integration between SpaceX and Tesla. SpaceX developed the thrusters, pressure tanks, and fans that made the Roadster’s stunts possible, while the active wings use actuators Tesla built for its Optimus humanoid robot. In August, SpaceX picked a Texas site for Terafab, a chip plant whose output will supply Tesla’s Optimus robots and Cybercab robotaxis. All of this points towards an eventual merger, and just this week, Barclays said a Tesla-SpaceX merger could happen before Tesla’s annual meeting later this year.
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