The big picture: As speculation grows about a possible Tesla-SpaceX merger, the Roadster offers a tantalizing glimpse into how the two companies’ technologies could intersect.
- Tesla’s first Roadster, introduced nearly 20 years ago, helped launch the electric vehicle revolution by proving that electric vehicles could be fast, sexy and fun.
- The new Roadster takes this idea to an almost absurd extreme, using SpaceX rocket technology and powerful exhaust fans to perform gravity-defying stunts.
- And while Tesla can still push the boundaries of automotive engineering, its consumer vehicle lineup is aging, sales have struggled, and Musk is increasingly focusing on robo-taxis, Optimus robots, and artificial intelligence.
Between the lines: The Roadster is an extravagant homage to what Tesla goes beyond: driving pleasure.
- Musk told Thursday’s audience that the two-seater would be “the only manually driven car made by Tesla” in the long term.
- And if you only want to have one, he said, “let’s go to the limits, and way beyond the limits.”
The plot: Thursday’s demonstration probably had little to do with car sales.
- Not all versions of the Roadster will be street legal. When someone shouted this question in the crowd, Musk responded with a light-hearted joke.
- And he even had fun acknowledging the risks of driving a rocket-powered car.
“It is not necessarily a safety-optimized car,” Musk said Thursday. “But… it takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10.”
- “We’re just going to go beyond ‘don’t detach the retina of the human in the car,'” he added.
Reality check: For all its technological wizardry – a suction fan system and compressed air thrusters – the Roadster probably won’t generate much revenue for Tesla. Musk said it.
- Production is not expected until 2028 and Tesla has not announced a final price.
- Meanwhile, Tesla faces more immediate challenges: defending its auto market share and proving that its huge bets on autonomy and robotics can pay off.
The bottom line: The original Roadster heralded Tesla’s arrival as an automobile manufacturer. The new one might be his most extravagant release.
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