The prototype of the Tesla Roadster, pictured above, was taken in 2024 and is owned by Tesla.
In 2017, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, confidently announced the arrival of a brand new second-generation Tesla Roadster for the 2020 model year. The sleek four-seater, which appeared surprisingly conventional for the eccentric electric automaker, was marketed as a sports car for the lineup and promised exceptional performance. Musk claimed during a press conference that the vehicle could go from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds, complete a quarter mile in 8.8 seconds, and achieve a top speed of over 250 mph. If these numbers are accurate, the upcoming Tesla Roadster will be one of the most high-performance cars on the market.
After a span of seven years, the Tesla Roadster of the second generation is still just an assurance. However, Elon Musk has once again brought the car into the limelight with even more remarkable assertions about its capabilities before its expected release in 2025. Just a month ago, he declared that the Roadster would be able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than one second, which is almost twice as fast as his initial claim. Recent reports from Automotive News and Jalopnik state that the sports car will incorporate technology from SpaceX, another company owned by Musk, and may even have the ability to fly using rockets.
The addition of rockets to the Tesla Roadster would provide significant thrust. From an engineering perspective, this is a logical choice as it reduces the strain on the motors and decreases the required grip. According to rumors, Musk plans to utilize ten cold gas rocket thrusters that will release compressed air. While using inert nitrogen or compressed atmospheric air is less damaging than smaller versions of fuel-burning rockets (which can reach exhaust temperatures of 5800ยฐ F.), the air is still ejected from the vehicle’s rear nozzles at speeds exceeding 1,500 mph! The feasibility of offering a vehicle assisted by rockets on public roads with other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians is simply absurd.
There has not been a single car manufacturer who has successfully introduced a flying car that is feasible for the general public. This is due to various factors such as the necessity for lift-producing wings or rotor blades in a flying vehicle, the question of whether Tesla will provide flying instruction, and the potential obstacles related to obtaining an FAA license for the Tesla Roadster as an aircraft. Furthermore, even if these challenges were to be overcome, there is still the issue of whether the public would feel at ease with inexperienced individuals operating 5,000-pound cars in the air above them, which is highly unlikely.
According to industry experts, the Tesla Roadster, a highly anticipated sports car from Elon Musk and Tesla, is becoming less mainstream as time goes by. While the company has made waves with their recent Cybertruck release, the two-seater Roadster is expected to be extremely expensive, have low production numbers, and may not even meet street legal requirements. Many view this as a well-orchestrated publicity stunt by Musk.