Welcome to the Tesla Space newsletter, our 145^th issue.

This week is a Roadster special, hence the late send. Tesla unveiled the new Roadster, and we’ve put everything we know so far into one deep dive, from the launch tricks to the details Tesla didn’t show on stage.

The rest of this week’s Tesla news moves to next week’s issue, still lots of ground to cover! Ready?

— Jaan

Let’s take a look at what created all this buzz late last night. Ready for a full recap?

If you’d rather experience all this yourself, highly recommended, then here is the full livestream of the Roadster product launch:

For a shorter version, here are the distinctive “tricks” from the Roadster we saw at the launch.

The Roadster sprinted from 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds, or 0.67 seconds with rollout subtracted. I think this also constitutes the shortest YouTube video ever done… even the player from this video by Tesla shows 0:00/0:00 😂

Then there’s “The Kickflip” for the flight:

Inside the car you had Tesla Optimus, which pulled a 👍 while in the air.

Then we’ve got The Ramp

And also, before going for that ramp run, it actually held on and reversed back down:

Yes, we’ve seen something remotely like this before, when I shared the McMurtry Spéirling with you. Truly next level there. I like how Tesla shows it on their website:

And the best joke I found about this: Tesla just doubled its Boring Company tunnel throughput capacity with one product launch.

Roadster is coming in three versions:

Performance (road-ready): two-seater, active aero and a multi-mode suction system, 0-60 mph in under 1.6 seconds

Thrust (race-ready): two-seater, suction plus a bank of cold-gas thrusters at the rear, 0-60 mph in under 0.9 seconds

Rocket (air-ready): single-seater built to fly, cold-gas thrusters around the perimeter for forward, upward and rotational movement, 0-60 mph in under 0.59 seconds. This is an invite-only one, so most of us muggles can’t really purchase it anyway.

The flying Roadster also tops out at over 230 mph (~370 km/h), while every version offers more than 300 miles (~483 km) of range. Reservations are now open on Tesla's website. There’s a dedicated tesla.com/roadster page you can check out.

Tesla noted that the original 2008 Roadster had one job: to prove that an electric car could be "fast, sexy & worth wanting," while the new Roadster represents "the best of the last human-driven cars."

The Roadster's cold-gas thrusters are what set it apart from every other car on the road.

Tesla noted that conventional vehicles are ultimately limited by how much grip their tires can deliver, while the Roadster's thruster system produces four to five times that force. This means that the same mass gets pushed significantly harder, which is how the Roadster gets to its sub-second 0-60 times.

Tesla also credited SpaceX, which has relied on thrusters to maneuver spacecraft for decades. Adapting the technology for a car that operates in open air instead of a vacuum required all-new hardware and controls.

To maximize flight time, Tesla filled every usable space in the Roadster with Carbon Fiber Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) that store compressed gas, while all-electric actuators fine-tune the thrusters within a fraction of a second to keep the car stable in the air.

Here's Tesla's post on the Roadster's thrusters and COPVs:

The Roadster's grip doesn't stop at its thrusters.

A multi-mode fan and ground sealing system draws air from underneath the car, creating enough suction for the Roadster to hold itself upside down while standing still. Powered fans and active wings work alongside it to boost traction and cornering speeds, delivering massive downforce even when the car isn't moving.

The Roadster also transforms in Track Mode, which Tesla says gives it the best passive downforce package of any road car, approaching F1 levels. Interestingly enough, the Roadster's wing is moved by the same actuator system Tesla developed for its Optimus humanoid robot.

Tesla showed the Roadster's Track Mode changes in this video

Tesla said its design language has come a long way since the Roadster was first shown, with the Cybertruck, Cybercab and Optimus all shaping the company's latest look. The new Roadster takes its cues from two iconic military jets, the SR-71 and the F-35.

Inside, the Roadster keeps the focus squarely on the driver. Manual controls, a fixed seat and lightweight materials such as magnesium, titanium and carbon fiber help keep weight down, which Tesla says lets the Roadster react to driver inputs almost instantly.

Here's Tesla's design video for the Roadster:

The Roadster's unveiling caps a wait of nearly nine years. Tesla first revealed the next-gen Roadster as the "one more thing" at the Semi unveiling in late 2017, promising a 1.9-second 0-60 mph time and a 2020 delivery target that came and went as the program sat on the back burner. T

Tesla nodded to the Roadster's history in space after the event as well, noting on X that "Roadster and a rocket have shared a ride before."

Tesla: “The new high-voltage battery and drive unit technology used to drive Roadster enables our most powerful and compact rear-wheel drive unit yet. Together, they deliver 1 MW of pure power-that's one third more power than Model S Plaid-with half the mass. The result is paradigm-shifting acceleration with amazing cornering and precise stopping power.”

We gathered this and more details that were not covered during the supercar's unveiling from the YT videos in an article here: (link).

The event itself focused on flight and suction demos rather than specifications, leaving the battery capacity, motor layout and price unannounced.

Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt and Out of Spec Reviews' Kyle Conner got a closer look at the Roadster at the event, sharing photos, videos and notes from Tesla's displays and a cutaway of the car.

Here's a breakdown of what they found.

The rear drive unit packs two motors into a single housing, each with its own inverter mounted on top, and interestingly enough, it uses four mounting points instead of the usual three.

An extra high-voltage connection on the battery also hints at a possible front motor, though Tesla has not confirmed one.

Here are some photos courtesy of Kyle Conner (link):

The battery is split into four bricks, with snake-style cooling loops running between the cells. The cells resemble Tesla's 4680 format, though Conner believes they are likely a high-discharge variant built for power, and he estimated the pack at around 100 kWh based on the Roadster's 300-plus miles (~483 km) of range.

Tesla staff also noted that all three Roadster configurations are intended to share the same battery. Sawyer Merritt shared a video of the components:

The Roadster's cabin is built around a carbon structure with wide sills and a fixed seat, so the steering wheel moves toward the driver instead.

Like the Cybertruck, the Roadster is steer-by-wire, and its wheel carries a DRS button, turn signal buttons and a Boost button. Other details include a new side-mounted camera, a wireless phone charger and Pirelli Trofeo RS tires on one of the display cars.

Here's a short clip of Sawyer's look at the Roadster's interior:

The Roadster's software looks unlike anything Tesla has shipped before. Drivers can pick from Comfort, Balance, Sport and Custom modes, with Custom allowing individual settings for acceleration, ride and handling, the front and rear wings, suspension height, the hood vent and the barge boards.

The UI's theme is also retro-futuristic, with a dark mode that features red text and a light mode that features a similar look as the 2017 prototype's infotainment system.

Here's Sawyer's video of the Roadster's UI:

Track Mode goes even further, with readouts for battery and motor temperatures, aero balance and brake balance, as well as the option to turn off stability and traction control. The screen also displays a "booster ready" status with thrust at 5,500 psi (~379 bar).

Tesla also hid a little easter egg in the Roadster. Shifting into reverse brings up a cartoon of the meme hedgehog Tesla has used on its order pages on the vehicle's backup camera screen:

Tesla has started notifying reservation holders that their Roadster reservations have been automatically converted to the Performance trim, with the option to upgrade to another trim.

With this in mind, it appears that most customers would be getting the Performance version, since the Thrust variant is listed as “Limited” and the Rocket is strictly “Invite Only.”

Tesla considers the new Roadster a completely different model from the one shown in 2017, even though reservations carried over. Moravy also said the Roadster is on track for production in 2028, and Elon said on stage highlighting “actually” in 2028.

Tesla also shared a couple of developmental videos showing the Roadster as it was being tested, including one blowing up:

Top Gear and Hagerty both got their own look at the Roadster, and their videos add a long list of specs Tesla didn't share on stage. (Top Gear video link, Hagerty video link)

Here's what they added:

That's it for our Roadster special today.

As always, our goal is to become the most value-packed and concise Tesla-related newsletter out there. How did we do today?

See you early next week for more on the whole muskonomy!

— Jaan, Ted, Sean, and the rest of the Tesla Space team