Tesla Roadster Performs Mid-Air ‘Kickflip’ in Daring Demonstration (video)
In a spectacle that felt less like a product reveal and more like a Hollywood stunt show, Tesla unveiled its long-delayed next-generation Roadster on Thursday night, demonstrating a car that can drive upside down, leap over other vehicles, and perform a mid-air "kick flip" using cold-gas thrusters developed with SpaceX.
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| Source: Tesla |
The event, held at a SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas, marked the first public demonstration of the vehicle nearly nine years after Tesla first showed a prototype in 2017.
The roughly 30-minute presentation featured dramatic music, smoke, and a launch-style countdown, culminating in the Roadster driving up a multi-story curved ramp, flipping upside down, and landing safely using its thrusters.
"A Kick Flip"
The centerpiece of the demonstration was what Tesla Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy called "a kick flip".
Watch it here:
Tesla Roadster just did a kick flip in mid air! https://t.co/jscY65RXF8
— AllBlogThings (@allblogthings) October 16, 2026
After the ramp stunt, the Roadster accelerated toward a row of parked Teslas, including a Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi, and Cybercab, before firing into the air and twisting over them before landing.
"We call that a kickflip," Musk declared to the cheering crowd. "Flying cars are real". He later posted on X:
"Turns out the future does have flying cars".
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| Source: Tesla |
Musk provided technical details about the propulsion system during the presentation, explaining that the Roadster is equipped with both altitude-control thrusters and main rear thrusters. "So it can basically fly like a rocket," Musk said. "And it could do rolls. It could do, like, crazy gymnastics. Whatever you want, really".
Moravy elaborated on the underlying technology:
"We use a fan suction system on the underside of the vehicle that can pull up to 2 Gs in order to make the car go upside down. Then we borrowed some technology from SpaceX to do the rest".
Musk also acknowledged the vehicle's limitations with characteristic candor. "I should say that this is not necessarily a safety-optimized car," he said. "But it takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10". Later, the company admitted the Rocket variant would not be road legal.
Regarding the collaboration with SpaceX, Musk emphasized the cross-pollination of engineering talent.
"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," he said.
How does the Roadster flip in mid-air?
Tesla released additional technical specifications following the event. The Roadster utilizes two ultra-high-pressure air tanks with a combined volume of 600 liters, containing approximately 250 kilograms of compressed air, and employs 10 nozzles to execute its maneuvers.
Amazingly, the system can recharge its own tank without requiring specialized chemical propellants.
The vehicle features a fan-based suction system capable of generating up to two Gs of downforce, allowing it to cling to vertical surfaces.
The thrusters, developed in collaboration with SpaceX, required new hardware and controls to function in atmosphere rather than a vacuum.
Three Variants, No Price
Tesla's updated Roadster page lists three configurations:
- A Performance model (road-ready, 0–60 mph in under 1.6 seconds).
- A Thrust variant (adding rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters, 0–60 mph in under 0.9 seconds).
- A Rocket edition (single-seat, with perimeter thrusters for upward and rotational movement, 0–60 mph in under 0.59 seconds, top speed over 230 mph).
The Rocket version is invite-only and not approved for public road use.
Tesla is accepting reservations with deposits up to $50,000 for the Performance version and $250,000 for the Thrust version.
Tesla Rocket variant is described as "invite only". Musk and other executives did not announce pricing, though Tesla nearly a decade ago quoted a base price of $200,000.
Musk confirmed that mass production of the Roadster is scheduled to begin in 2028. The timeline represents yet another 2-year delay for a vehicle originally promised for 2020.
The event drew mixed reactions from industry observers.
"It was an engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers," said Gene Munster, managing partner at Tesla investor Deepwater Asset Management. "The Roadster event is the latest example of why Elon can't wait to bring Tesla and SpaceX together".
Musk himself has previously downplayed the Roadster's financial significance, describing it in 2023 as a "small potato situation" that would not "move the needle in a major way financially".
Safety and Regulatory Questions
The demonstration was conducted autonomously, without a driver on board for safety reasons, though Tesla stated that the commercial Roadster will be sold as a human-driven car. Musk predicted that in the long term, the Roadster would be "the only manually driven vehicle Tesla makes".
The legality of thrusters on public roads remains unclear.
Tesla's states that the Rocket variant is not approved for public road use, and the company treats Thrust and Rocket as "augments" on top of the Performance car. Musk himself admitted uncertainty about whether a Roadster with such features would be street-legal on all roads.
The event also served as a live proof-of-concept, with Musk telling the audience:
"We needed an audience to prove that this demonstration wasn't AI or SI".
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