Tesla Roadster with SpaceX thrusters is rumored to be unveiled in August

Rumors and some leaked information from The Information suggest that Tesla is gearing up for the launch event of the next-gen Roadster electric sports car.

There has been no official word on this matter, even days after this report went viral. According to Reuters, Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on this either.

Today is 17th August; we are less than a couple of weeks away from the end of the month. In my opinion, if this grand unveiling were so near, Tesla would have at least released a teaser, followed by invites to investors, the media, and influencers.

Tesla Roadster has a special place in the company’s history. It was the first car that unlocked the feasibility of electric cars as practical.

Therefore, the US-based EV maker wants to keep the Roadster special in several ways and to make it technologically more advanced than any other sports car on the market today. I see a very slim chance of the Roadster launch event this month.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk said that the Roadster will be unveiled in April. However, for reasons largely unknown, Tesla had to forgo the 2nd unveiling of the Roadster (the first was in 2017, along with the Semi-truck).

At his last Tesla Roadster unveiling, Musk said that the event would be a “banger next-level”. This shows his intention to be loud about the matter, not discreet. He likes to play with the mainstream media all the time; this information leak about the August reveal might just be intentional.

A Flying Tesla Roadster (No)

Headlines have been suggesting a ‘flying’ Tesla Roadster. However, this is not the case in actuality, even though he once said, “The new Tesla Roadster can fly.”

What Musk promised with SpaceX rocket thrusters is an insane 0-60 mph acceleration time of around 1 second. This was in 2020.

In the last 6 years, Tesla and SpaceX have advanced their respective technologies and vehicle engineering. The 0-60 mph time with SpaceX thrusters can even be below 1 second.

While the new Tesla Roadster will be capable of short bursts of power through specially designed SpaceX rocket thruster technology, this doesn’t mean it will become a flying car.

SpaceX thrusters will be mostly used for forward acceleration; at these speeds, the car can feel like it’s flying. Tesla can offer a function that rotates the thrusters downward when the car is in Park (stationary), levitating it for brief moments.

Even this is going to be very interesting to observe and for owners to have. A flying sports car is totally a different thing.

Above: A fan-made render of a flying Tesla Roadster using downward-facing SpaceX thrusters. Credit: @Teslaconomics / X.

Video: Tesla Semi and Next-Gen Roadster unveiling on November 16, 2017.

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Featured image: The Next-gen Tesla Roadster prototype at the 2020 Battery Day event. Cyber ATV and the Cybertruck can be seen in the background. Credit: Steve Jurvetson via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Note: This article was published earlier on Tesla Oracle. Author: Iqtidar Ali.