Tesla has unveiled its new Roadster sports car, which can thrust itself in the air, among other engineering bells and whistles. But drivers shouldn't expect to take it for a spin anytime soon.
Elon Musk's electric car company rolled out its second-generation Roadster at an event, showing off a set of cold gas thrusters and a “multi-mode” suction system that can fling the car in the air for short spurts and spin the vehicle mid-flight.
“Turns out the future does have flying cars,” Musk, Tesla's CEO, wrote on his social media platform X shortly after.
That future could be a ways off, however, given the regulatory hurdles for flying vehicles and the tangle of state rules that still need to be met.
“I'm not sure every state is going to allow a driver in the middle of traffic to suddenly elevate himself and fly," said David Vladeck, a Georgetown Law professor and former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is going to be a long process to let anything like that on the road.”
This week's launch arrived after years of delays and anticipation around the new Roadster — and Tesla shares climbed in morning trading on Friday before falling amid a sell-off in companies tied to artificial intelligence.
Tesla accepted website reservations for its Roadster "rocket" car on Friday morning. However, fine print noted no delivery date or guarantee.
“This was a demonstration of a one-off car using a technology that has been around for many years and will not be coming to public roads in 2028," said Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina. “Tesla pretty uniquely has been able to sell itself on a future that is an order of magnitude greater than reality.”
Musk has repeatedly said that the future of driving will be autonomous — and Austin-based Tesla has focused much of its business on building out self-driving features for its vehicles and, more recently, launching its own (still limited) robotaxi business.
Tesla's first Roadster was launched back in 2008. And in 2018, Musk went as far as placing one on a rocket — with a mannequin dubbed “Starman” in the driver's seat — and launching it into space.
Again, the second-generation Roadster isn't immediately hitting the market. And whether the ambitious new vehicle boosts the company's bottom line remains to be seen.
In second-quarter earnings reported over the summer, Tesla's profits fell as the company spent more on research and development for its robotaxi and robotics businesses — which cut into money made from an otherwise sharp increase in vehicle sales. Net income totalled $1.11 billion for the period, while revenue climbed to $28.24 billion. - AP
