Tesla has unveiled a "flying" sports car equipped with SpaceX rocket thrusters at a launch event in Texas. The Tesla Roadster performed stunts including a vertical launch and mid-air barrel roll over parked cars. CEO Elon Musk joked about the vehicle's capabilities, referencing Twitter's character limit.
The Roadster, under development for a decade, will not enter production until 2028 and will be Tesla's only manual car. It can accelerate to 60 mph in under a second and reach top speeds of 230 mph. The vehicle has faced multiple delays since its initial 2020 target date.
Customers including OpenAI's Sam Altman paid $50,000 to reserve one, though Altman recently requested a refund due to the long wait. Musk has heavily promoted the Roadster on social media, calling it a candidate for the greatest product demo. The car will compete with luxury electric supercars like the Ferrari Luce.
Despite the excitement, Musk acknowledged sales would be modest and not significantly impact Tesla's $1.4 trillion valuation. The company is currently focusing on autonomous taxis and humanoid robots while reducing its model lineup.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing