Tesla’s next-generation Roadster is being presented as more than an electric sports car, with the company highlighting a design that combines extreme acceleration, rocket-style thrusters and the possibility of brief airborne manoeuvres. A video showing the car travelling upside down along a curved ramp, briefly leaving the surface and landing again has added to the attention surrounding the vehicle. However, the demonstration alone does not establish that the production car will be capable of sustained flight or that such manoeuvres will be possible in real-world driving conditions.
The Roadster builds on Tesla’s original ambition to make electric cars fast and desirable, while introducing technologies that the company says could push the limits of conventional road-car performance. Its proposed configurations, pressure-vessel system, aircraft-inspired styling and minimalist cabin are central to that pitch.
