Tesla's Flying Roadster Packs 80 kN Thrusters, But It's Not Road Legal

How Tesla's Roadster thrusters actually work

There is no rocket fuel and no flame. The Roadster flies on air, and a lot of it.

The thrusters are cold-gas jets fed by carbon fiber overwrapped pressure vessels, or COPVs. These tanks hold highly compressed air, and when it is released through a thruster, the car moves in the opposite direction. The 'cold' label simply separates them from hot rockets that burn fuel. SpaceX has used similar hardware for years to land Falcon 9 boosters.

Tesla says every usable void in the Roadster is packed with COPVs. The Rocket variant carries a maximum of 600 liters: a 200-liter tank at the rear for the rear thrusters, and a 400-liter tank that replaces the passenger seat. Electric motors open and close the thrusters, making micro-adjustments in a fraction of a second, which is what keeps the car level during a flip.

What Tesla has not said is how long the air lasts. Based on the demo, it looks like enough for a jump, some mid-air corrections and a landing, not a commute. Musk said the car can refill its tanks on its own, but not how long that takes.

Is standing near a flying Roadster dangerous?

Yes, and the numbers make it obvious why Tesla kept the crowd far away.

Tesla says the four rear thrusters alone produce over 80 kilonewtons of force. TechRadar compared that to being hit by a 9-ton weight if you happened to be behind the car at a starting line. That is more than enough to break bones and damage organs, and it would likely write off whatever car was behind it at a green light.

There is a second problem: the gas exits at supersonic speeds. Any debris picked up from the road would be accelerated to bullet-like velocities. And if the car lands on you, the thrusters make the landing comfortable for the driver, not for anyone underneath.

The driver's side is not settled either. Keeping a person secure during rolls would take something closer to a rollercoaster harness than a car seat. At the demo, nobody was in the car at all; it ran autonomously.

Will the flying Roadster ever be road legal?

Almost certainly not in its current form, and Tesla's own website says so.

The Rocket version, with one seat and 10 thrusters, is marked 'not approved for public road use' on Tesla's site. The two-seat Thrust version is a 'limited release' and track ready. The only model described as road ready is the Performance version, which has no thrusters at all and is planned for production in 2028.

Musk himself called the car 'not necessarily a safety optimized car' and answered the road-legal question with 'it depends on the street.' That is not a regulatory strategy. For now, the flying Roadster is a stunt car, and the next demo is planned for Idaho.

Availability and pricing

Tesla has not announced prices for any Roadster version, and the Rocket model is invite-only. The Performance version, the only one described as road ready, is planned for production in 2028, with reservations open now. Whether it reaches US, UK or EU customers on that timeline depends on homologation, and Tesla has not given a date for that.

The Roadster's thrusters are real, loud and genuinely impressive. They are also a clear signal that Tesla is building a stunt car and a road car under the same name. The version you could park in your driveway in 2028 is the one without the rockets.