Tesla (TSLA) Roadster Clears Five Cars in Rocket-Thruster Flight Demo at SpaceX's Texas Test Site
Key Takeaways
- •Tesla demonstrated its next-generation Roadster firing rocket thrusters at SpaceX's McGregor, Texas test facility on Thursday, October 15, where the car climbed a circular track, hung inverted, and jumped over five cars.
- •The Roadster was first unveiled in November 2017, and Elon Musk, who leads both Tesla and SpaceX, has repeatedly said the flagship sports car would offer a thruster-equipped 'SpaceX package'.
- •McGregor hosts SpaceX's primary rocket development and test facility, where engines for the Falcon and Starship programs are tested, tying the Roadster's thruster system to SpaceX aerospace engineering.
- •Tesla has not yet begun customer deliveries of the Roadster, and detailed technical specifications for the thruster system have not been made public.
- •The demonstration reflects Tesla's strategy of relying on viral product moments rather than traditional advertising, with the Roadster serving as its halo vehicle years after its debut.
Tesla (TSLA) flew its Roadster on rocket thrusters at the SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, on Thursday, October 15, turning a sports car launch into an aviation demonstration.
During the demonstration, the electric sports car climbed halfway up a rollercoaster-style circular track, hung inverted, and used its thrusters to launch itself over five cars.
A Roadster With Rocket Technology
The next-generation Roadster was first unveiled in November 2017, when Tesla positioned it as its quickest and most capable model to date. Since then, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk — who also leads SpaceX — has repeatedly said the flagship sports car would offer a "SpaceX package" fitted with thrusters, a feature he has suggested could push performance beyond the limits of a conventional drivetrain. The McGregor demonstration gave the public a look at the thruster concept in action.
The stunt also fits Tesla's broader playbook: the company, which spends little on traditional advertising, has long relied on viral product moments to reach buyers, and the Roadster has served as its halo vehicle years after its debut. Tesla has yet to begin customer deliveries of the model, and detailed technical specifications for the thruster system have not been made public.
Why McGregor, Texas
McGregor, located in central Texas, is home to SpaceX's primary rocket development and test facility, where engines for the company's Falcon and Starship programs are tested. Staging the Roadster demo at the rocket site tied the car's thruster system directly to the aerospace engineering of SpaceX, which Musk founded in 2002 and continues to lead alongside Tesla.
What to watch next is whether Tesla follows the demonstration with technical details for the thruster system — which remain undisclosed — and when the long-delayed Roadster will reach customers.
This article was first published on COINOTAG: https://en.coinotag.com/tesla-roadster-rocket-thruster-jump-demo-texas
