Crosswire — October 17, 2026

Crosswire · Oct 17, 2026 · 13m

DAILY BRIEFING

TECH

Tesla Finally Unveils the Roadster, and It's Mostly a Stunt Show

What changed: After nine years of delays, Tesla showed the second-generation Roadster. The event ran under 30 minutes and was built around spectacle rather than product details.

The demo:

Vertical ramp: The car drove up a vertical ramp using a SpaceX-supplied underbody suction module, claimed to produce up to 2 g of downforce.

Flight: It then detached, rotated midair, and landed using compressed-gas thrusters.

"Kickflip": It also jumped over other Teslas without a ramp, doing a 360° barrel roll.

How it works…