Tesla broadcast the event out of a SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, just outside Waco, beginning at 7:55 p.m. local time and 8:55 p.m. ET. Elon Musk promised, "You're going to see some crazy stuff tonight," adding, "You're going to see the results of what happens when you have a collaboration with the world's best car company and the world's best rocket company." On stage with him were design lead Franz von Holzhausen and Lars Moravy, who heads vehicle engineering.
A white two-seater sprinted up a curved ramp, stuck to it while inverted, launched off the crest, rotated midair, then hovered briefly before settling back to the ground.
Tesla positioned the new Roadster as a premium, low-volume car that taps SpaceX technologies to enable hovering. By Tesla's timing gear, the prototype ran 0 to 60 mph in less than a second, with Moravy doing the demo for the crowd. Musk said the car will target 2028 for production. He also cautioned, "This is not necessarily a safety-optimized car," and left it unclear if it will be legal for public roads.
Specs were scarce, but Tesla said the prototype is built to shed weight and uses steer by wire and a steering yoke. The setup uses SpaceX-derived components - from thrusters to pressure vessels with a carbon overlay, plus diffusers - and pairs them with high-output fans to pull off the stunts. One thing it omits is Tesla's FSD automated driving system. Musk said this Roadster will be the last Tesla designed to be driven by a human.
Tesla's first Roadster, led by founding CEO Martin Eberhard and based on a Lotus Elise chassis, began deliveries in 2008 and sold in small numbers through 2012 at around $100,000. Musk first touted the refreshed Roadster in a November 2017 event, then followed up the next June on Twitter, writing, "SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car," to boost acceleration and braking and potentially "even allow a Tesla to fly."
The company began accepting $50,000 down payments for the revamped Roadster in 2017, and every subsequent delivery timeline has slipped. As late as last October, Musk was talking up a demonstration he expected to take place before the end of 2025. That did not happen. In recent weeks, Tesla reopened reservations and is again accepting $50,000 deposits from would-be buyers in the U.S., Canada and China.
Lawrence O'Connor, founder and CEO of Other World Computing in Austin, said he put down $250,000 for a Founder's Edition in November 2017, calling it an "interest-free loan." He planned to attend the showcase and was "excited to see what has been 9 years in the making." Afterward, he called what he saw "off the charts."
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Sam Altman, a former friend of Musk and an OpenAI co-founder, prodded him on X last year about the extreme delay, posting screenshots of his reservation and refund paperwork. "I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays," he wrote.
"But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait." He received his refund. Earlier this year, the pair found themselves litigating a separate case related to OpenAI's governance and ownership.
The unveiling added fuel to long-running talk of a Tesla and SpaceX tie-up. Musk's companies have transacted with one another for years, including shared personnel, and that collaboration increased in 2026. Speculation has swelled since the aerospace and defense company listed in June. In a CNBC interview prior to the IPO, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said a merger "might make Elon's life a little easier." Barclays analyst Dan Levy wrote this week that such a deal could land by the close of 2026.
SpaceX is valued at about $2 trillion. Tesla's market cap is $1.4 trillion. They rank among roughly a dozen U.S. companies with valuations of at least $1 trillion.
Tesla did not share a price or specs for other performance variants. It remains uncertain whether the car will be street legal. The Roadster is expected to be a flashy, low-volume effort that is unlikely to move Tesla's financials in a meaningful way. Tesla reports third quarter results after the bell on Wednesday.
The bottom line: Tesla put a headline-grabbing prototype on the board and restarted paid reservations, but left big questions on cost, configuration and regulation. Treat it as optionality, not a model that changes next year's revenue mix.
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