Tesla Unveils Rocket-Powered Roadster for 2028 as Investors Weigh Musk’s AI and Robotics Pivot

Tesla has unveiled a redesigned Roadster electric sports car featuring rocket-style thrusters developed in collaboration with Elon Musk's SpaceX, reviving a long-delayed flagship project as the automaker increasingly shifts its business towards artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and humanoid robots.

The two-seat vehicle was demonstrated at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, on Thursday, where it performed a series of dramatic maneuvers involving built-in thrusters. Tesla said production would begin in 2028, extending a development timeline that has already stretched more than a decade since the company first presented a prototype of the second-generation Roadster.

The unveiling generated excitement among Tesla enthusiasts and helped lift the company's shares by 5% in premarket trading on Friday. However, the demonstration also renewed questions about the commercial significance of a vehicle whose delivery schedule has repeatedly slipped, particularly as investors prepare to assess Tesla's latest financial results.

The Roadster arrives at a time when Tesla is repositioning itself from a manufacturer of electric vehicles for human drivers towards a company increasingly focused on AI-powered mobility and robotics. That transition has raised the importance of demonstrating that its investments in new technologies can generate sustainable revenue and cash flow, rather than relying primarily on ambitious product announcements.

For Musk, the Roadster remains a high-profile engineering showcase. For investors, its significance is less clear.

Rocket Thrusters Turn Roadster Into Engineering Showcase

The unveiling featured a white two-seat vehicle developed through collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX. During the demonstration, the Roadster drove upside down on a ramp using a suction system, turned in the air, and landed with the assistance of built-in thrusters. It later appeared to jump over a truck and other vehicles, twisting in the air during the maneuver.

The event combined dramatic music, smoke, mechanical hissing sounds, and a launch countdown, reinforcing the spectacle surrounding Musk's product presentations.

"This is the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and SpaceX engineers working closely together to make something that you haven't seen in any movie," Musk told the crowd of enthusiasts and investors.

Tesla vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy said the Roadster could accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than one second and reach a top speed exceeding 230 mph, or about 370 kilometers per hour.

"Definitely much faster than that," Musk responded. "I think you've got to crack halfway to the speed of sound."

Tesla also said the vehicle could travel more than 300 miles on a single charge. Although that range would be substantial for a high-performance electric sports car, it is less than half the range Musk promised in 2017 when Tesla first unveiled the second-generation prototype.

The original Roadster, which went on sale in 2008 and remained in production until 2012, was Tesla's first electric vehicle. Built on a Lotus Elise chassis, it helped establish the idea that electric cars could deliver high performance rather than serving primarily as practical, low-speed alternatives to petrol-powered vehicles.

The redesigned model is intended to occupy a similar symbolic position within Tesla's current lineup. Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein described it as a potential flagship vehicle in a note last month.

"Tesla does not currently have a halo car, or high-performance luxury vehicle designed to showcase an automaker's best engineering and technology. The Roadster will be Tesla's new halo car," Goldstein said.

A halo car can strengthen a brand's image by showcasing technologies and performance capabilities that influence perceptions of the wider product range. However, its value is not necessarily measured by sales volume alone.

Pricing and Delivery Questions Remain

Despite the dramatic unveiling, Musk and other executives did not announce specific target prices at Thursday's event. Tesla had previously quoted a base price of $200,000 for the vehicle nearly a decade ago, but the current pricing structure remains uncertain.

Tesla's reservation page following the event listed a Performance version requiring a $50,000 deposit and a Thrust version, featuring "acceleration thrusters," requiring a $250,000 deposit.

A third option, the Rocket variant, was described as "invite only." Tesla characterized it as a single-seat model equipped with a "full flight system."

The deposits indicate that Tesla is continuing to position the Roadster as a premium product, but they do not establish the final purchase price, production volume, or delivery schedule. Nor do they resolve the questions created by the model's history of missed deadlines.

When Tesla first revealed the second-generation Roadster in 2017, it said deliveries would begin in 2020. That timetable was not met, and the latest production target now extends to 2028.

The repeated delays make execution a central issue. Tesla must still demonstrate that the vehicle's more unusual features, particularly its thruster-assisted maneuvers, can be incorporated into a production-ready design that meets relevant safety and regulatory requirements. A spectacular prototype demonstration is not the same as a finished vehicle that can be manufactured at scale and delivered to customers.

The event nevertheless reinforced the Roadster's appeal among Tesla supporters. Investor and Tesla enthusiast Sawyer Merritt wrote on X: "That was the most insane product demo I've ever seen. I just saw this in person, and I'm still asking how this wasn't AI."

Gene Munster, managing partner at Tesla investor Deepwater Asset Management, offered a more commercially focused assessment.

"It was an engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers," Munster said on X.

He also argued that the event illustrated why Musk wants to bring Tesla and SpaceX together.

The Roadster's unveiling comes amid a significant change in Tesla's priorities. The company has increasingly presented itself as an AI and robotics business, with autonomous driving and humanoid robots positioned as important sources of future growth.

Tesla stopped selling its Model S and Model X vehicles this year to make room for production of its Optimus humanoid robots. It has also introduced the Cybercab, a two-seat robotaxi designed without conventional manual controls such as a steering wheel, pedals, and mirrors.

These developments indicate that Tesla is directing more resources towards technologies that could eventually change how transportation and certain forms of work are delivered. However, the commercial prospects of autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots remain dependent on technical performance, regulatory approval, production costs, and customer adoption.

The Roadster occupies a different role in that transition. Rather than representing a high-volume product, it offers Tesla an opportunity to demonstrate engineering capabilities and reinforce the brand's reputation for unconventional electric-vehicle technology.

Musk has previously played down the model's financial importance. In 2023, he described the Roadster as a "small potato situation" that would not "move the needle in a major way financially."

That assessment suggests the vehicle is unlikely to be a major driver of Tesla's near-term financial performance, even if it attracts substantial attention and commands premium prices. Its potential value may lie more in brand positioning and technological demonstration than in the direct revenue contribution Musk has said would be limited.

The collaboration with SpaceX has also prompted speculation that the unveiling could help build interest in a possible combination of the two companies, which Musk controls. He has discussed areas of overlap between their operations, although Thursday's event did not establish that a merger would occur.

Any combination would raise significant questions about valuation, governance, ownership and the relationship between Tesla's automotive operations and SpaceX's aerospace business. The demonstration itself provides no confirmation of a transaction.

Earnings Report Comes with Greater Weight for Investors

Tesla is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 21, placing the Roadster unveiling just days before a financial update that analysts expect to matter more to investors.

The company's ageing vehicle lineup has faced declining sales over the past two years, although elevated petrol prices helped boost deliveries in the third quarter. The latest results will provide investors with a clearer view of whether demand is stabilizing and how the company is managing costs amid its shift towards AI and robotics.

Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for Asia-Pacific at trading platform eToro, said investors would focus more closely on Tesla's underlying financial performance than on the product demonstration.

"The margin and cash flow numbers will carry far more weight with investors than anything they saw at the reveal," Gilbert said.

Tesla can generate substantial attention through ambitious demonstrations, but investors must still determine whether its core automotive business can produce sufficient cash to support investments in new technologies. Profit margins, cash generation and the cost of expanding robotics and autonomous-driving operations will therefore be important measures of whether Tesla's transformation is financially sustainable.

The Roadster has restored a high-profile sports car to Tesla's product narrative after years of delays, offering a reminder of the engineering ambition that helped establish the company's reputation. Yet its 2028 production target leaves substantial time for execution risks to emerge.