Tesla shows off a Roadster that flies with SpaceX thrusters: the reservation costs 50,000 dollars, the price wasn't announced, and Musk says safety isn't the priority

Almost nine years after its first unveiling, Tesla has finally shown the new Roadster. At an event near Waco, Texas, the car, fitted with powerful fans and thrusters, climbed an inverted ramp, flipped over and landed softly on the asphalt. Then, on the move, it flew over a Cybercab, a Cybertruck, the Semi truck, a Model Y and a Model 3.

Elon Musk called it "the best of the last cars that humans drive". Deliveries are promised for 2028. No price. A reservation for the Performance version costs 50,000 dollars (around 43,000 euros), for the Thrust 250,000 dollars (around 215,000 euros), while the Rocket is "invitation only". In other words, you pay upfront to wait for a product whose price you don't know.

All three versions promise a range of 300 miles (around 480 kilometres) and a top speed above 230 miles per hour (over 370 km/h). The Thrust has rear cold-gas thrusters and goes from zero to 60 miles (97 km) per hour in under a second. The Rocket has a single seat and ten thrusters spread around the body. Engineering vice president Lars Moravy explained that the thrusters are connected to 600 litres of compressed air, and the tank can be refilled.

This is where the worrying part begins. Tesla itself wrote that "every usable void" in the vehicle is filled with carbon-fibre-wrapped pressure vessels - the same type that was at the root of several SpaceX rocket explosions. And Musk previously said that "safety is not the main goal". "If safety is your number one priority, don't buy the Roadster," he said on a podcast this year, adding that Tesla would try not to kill anyone with this car.

Buyers have been waiting a long time. The Roadster was first shown in 2017, with 50,000-dollar deposits, and some paid 250,000 for one of 1,000 cars in the Founders Series. Musk delayed it in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, then announced it for 1 April 2026 - a date which, as he said at the time, leaves him room to claim he was joking if it slipped again. It slipped. The 1 October attempt was stopped by a storm.

Not everyone is impressed. YouTuber Marques Brownlee, one of the customers who have been publicly complaining about the delays for years, wrote: "They literally went on stage and said this redesigned 4,000-plus-pound car can do flips, drive at half the speed of sound and will ship in 2028. This is a joke, right?"

Musk himself said he isn't sure the Roadster will significantly move Tesla's revenue. The car is an advert for the brand, not a business. The question is how many times the same promise can be sold - and how many more customers will pay a deposit just to wait.