🚨 JUST IN: Tesla's new Roadster just did something no production car has ever done, driven entirely autonomously.
At a reveal held at SpaceX's rocket test site in McGregor, Texas, the long-delayed next-gen Roadster drove up a curved ramp, went past vertical, and hung upside down using a suction system generating over 2Gs of grip, all without a driver inside.
Elon Musk called the demo "technically autonomous," built in specifically so no one would get hurt during the stunts. The car then launched itself into a mid-air corkscrew flip using SpaceX-derived cold-gas thrusters delivering 80 kilonewtons of thrust, and later jumped clean over the company's own Semi truck.
Musk confirmed the Roadster will end up being the only manually driven car Tesla makes, featuring a steer-by-wire yoke and brake-by-wire controls, with a direct warning that it's "not necessarily a safety-optimized car." Reservations opened the same night, with 2017 depositors automatically rolled over into the new version.
Production is targeted for 2028, Musk has previously cautioned it won't move the needle much for Tesla's overall financials, but as a piece of engineering theater, this one's hard to top.
#Tesla #ElonMusk #Roadster #SpaceX #EV
At a reveal held at SpaceX's rocket test site in McGregor, Texas, the long-delayed next-gen Roadster drove up a curved ramp, went past vertical, and hung upside down using a suction system generating over 2Gs of grip, all without a driver inside.
Elon Musk called the demo "technically autonomous," built in specifically so no one would get hurt during the stunts. The car then launched itself into a mid-air corkscrew flip using SpaceX-derived cold-gas thrusters delivering 80 kilonewtons of thrust, and later jumped clean over the company's own Semi truck.
Musk confirmed the Roadster will end up being the only manually driven car Tesla makes, featuring a steer-by-wire yoke and brake-by-wire controls, with a direct warning that it's "not necessarily a safety-optimized car." Reservations opened the same night, with 2017 depositors automatically rolled over into the new version.
Production is targeted for 2028, Musk has previously cautioned it won't move the needle much for Tesla's overall financials, but as a piece of engineering theater, this one's hard to top.
#Tesla #ElonMusk #Roadster #SpaceX #EV