A WorldPubMedia AI & Tech Briefing SPECIAL with Malcolm Jones: our first-ever sportscar story.
Tesla revealed its new Roadster Thursday night at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, Texas, with a kickflip over a row of Teslas, an inverted curved ramp, and a barrel roll. We cover what was actually shown, which numbers are Tesla's claims versus verified tests, how fan suction and SpaceX-built cold-gas thrusters work, what regulators say, and how the rivals and the stock reacted.
In this special:
• What we saw: short, powered hops and controlled falls, not sustained flight
• 0–60 mph in 0.81 s on Tesla's own timer (not independently verified)
• Tesla claims three versions (Performance, Thrust, invite-only one-seat Rocket) and 230+ mph
• Nine years of delays: shown in 2017, still no price, production "2028"; delivery not guaranteed
• How it works: fans plus sealing skirts, cold-gas thrusters, 80+ kN (Tesla claim), Newton's third law
• Our own rough math: tires top out near 1 g; the 0.81 s run needs 3+ g; thrust lasts seconds, not minutes
• Safety and oversight: FAA says it is not an aircraft; DOT says there's no clear answer on oversight
• Rivals: Rimac Nevera R's verified 1.66 s; Porsche Mission S; Rivian, Lucid and TSLA moves; earnings Oct 21
Key sources:
CNBC, Roadster reveal (Oct 15, 2026): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/15/tesla-roadster-reveal-what-to-know-about-the-delayed-ev.html
Snopes fact-check (Oct 16, 2026): https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tesla-flying-roadster-car-real/
Car and Driver, thrusters and fan system explained (Oct 17, 2026): https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a74165059/tesla-roadster-thrusters-fan-system-explained/
Electrek, unveil (Oct 15, 2026): https://electrek.co/2026/10/15/tesla-unveils-cyberfied-new-roadster-kickflip/
Electrek, technical look (Oct 15, 2026): https://electrek.co/2026/10/15/an-updated-technical-look-at-teslas-kick-flipping-0-60-in-1s-next-gen-roadster/
WIRED, the FAA statement (Oct 15, 2026): https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-flying-car-faa/
CBS News, DOT oversight (Oct 16, 2026): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tesla-roadster-dot-flying-car/
Fortune, 2028 production and price (Oct 17, 2026): https://fortune.com/2026/10/17/tesla-flying-roadster-spacex-thrusters-2028-production-price/
Business Insider, reservation fine print (Oct 2026): https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-tesla-flying-roadster-read-fine-print-road-legal-delivery-2026-10
Tesla on X, 0.81 s result (Oct 16, 2026): https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110963770763649487
Elon Musk on X (Oct 15, 2026): https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2110913107094606330
EVXL, Rimac Nevera R vs Roadster (Oct 16, 2026): https://evxl.co/2026/10/16/tesla-roadster-slowest-trim-vs-rimac-nevera-r/
Porsche Newsroom, Mission S (Oct 15, 2026): https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2026/products/porsche-mission-s-vision-model-43528.html
24/7 Wall St, Rivian and Lucid (Oct 16, 2026): https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/10/16/tesla-rises-4-on-thruster-powered-roadster-reveal-rivian-edges-higher-lucid-holds-steady/
Yahoo Finance, TSLA history: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TSLA/history/
Autoweek, Alef and XPeng context (Sep 16, 2026): https://www.autoweek.com/news/a73761980/flying-cars-finally-almost-here-really/
Physics figures (1 g tire limit, 3+ g, "seconds, not minutes") are WorldPubMedia's own back-of-envelope analysis. Roadster photos: Tesla (official images). Diagrams are WorldPubMedia illustrations, not Tesla footage.
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