Tesla seeks $50,000 Roadster deposits after rocket-assisted demo

Tesla used an Oct. 15 presentation at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas, facility to show a Roadster 2 prototype and seek $50,000 standard-version reservations, Rolling Stone reported on Oct. 16.

The showcase matters because Tesla is attaching premium scarcity to a car it says is set for 2028 production: Rolling Stone said a rear-thruster reservation costs $250,000, five times the standard deposit.

Elon Musk framed the Roadster 2 as a performance spectacle rather than a conventional production preview. Rolling Stone, citing Car and Driver, said Musk described targets including 0 to 60 mph in less than one second, speeds above 230 mph and a goal of 383 mph, described as half the speed of sound.

“It can basically fly like a rocket,” Musk said at the presentation, according to Rolling Stone. “It can do, like, crazy gymnastics. Whatever you want.”

He also said: “This is not necessarily a safety-optimized car, but it takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10.”

Rolling Stone said one demonstration used a fan system beneath the prototype to keep it attached to a large half-arch ramp, where it briefly traveled upside down before leaving the ramp, rolling in the air and using thrusters to control its descent. The article said the stunts were carried out remotely, without anyone inside the vehicle.

A second demonstration showed SpaceX-supplied thrusters lifting a Roadster 2 from a driving position and sending it over a line of cars, Rolling Stone reported. The vehicle then used thrusters during descent before driving away.

The reservation structure separates the showpiece from models customers can order. Rolling Stone said Tesla is preparing three Roadster 2 versions: a standard road-ready edition, a model with rear thrusters and a “flying” version that will be available by invitation only rather than through ordinary reservations.

The main unresolved question is whether the most theatrical version can move beyond demonstration. Musk acknowledged at the event that the flying version may not be “necessarily legal in all jurisdictions,” according to Rolling Stone.

Rolling Stone also cited Wired reporting in which a former Federal Aviation Administration official said any flying vehicle above 250 pounds would require agency approval and that operators would probably need a recreational aviation license. The supplied report did not include an FAA statement on the Roadster 2.

The presentation carries reputational context for Tesla. Rolling Stone pointed to earlier scrutiny of company demonstrations, including allegations reported by Mashable that Tesla’s Optimus robots were remotely assisted in 2024 and Bloomberg reporting that Musk directed a 2016 Autopilot video that overstated self-driving capability.

Rolling Stone said the unveiling came one week after Alex Gibney’s four-hour documentary Musk reached theaters. The article did not report whether Tesla had submitted the Roadster 2 or any flying variant for aviation review.

2028 checkpoints

In 2028, the first checkable test is whether Tesla begins Roadster 2 production on the timetable described in Rolling Stone’s report, and whether production includes the standard version, the rear-thruster version or both.

Before any flying version reaches customers in connection with the 2028 production plan, a separate test is whether Tesla or regulators disclose FAA approval for a vehicle above 250 pounds, as described by the former FAA official cited by Wired.

The other observable is whether Tesla defines the invite-only process for the flying version before or during 2028 production, since Rolling Stone reported that version cannot be reserved through the standard $50,000 or $250,000 reservation channels.