TLDR
- Tesla (TSLA) stock is up about 5% since yesterday after the Roadster unveiling, while SpaceX (SPCX) is down about 2%.
- The Roadster flipped upside down, jumped over other Teslas and landed using cold-gas thrusters.
- Tesla says the car hit 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds during a test at the event.
- Production starts in 2028, with a $5,000 deposit and a $45,000 wire due within 10 days.
- Gene Munster called the event “an engineering flex with no commercial value.”
Tesla (TSLA) stock is up about 5% since yesterday following the Roadster unveiling. SpaceX (SPCX) moved the other way, trading down about 2% on Friday.
Tesla held the event Thursday night at SpaceX’s Rocket Development and Testing facility in Waco, Texas. It came two weeks after the original Oct. 1 date, which Tesla blamed on weather.
The setup was a tall, curved ramp built like an upside-down half roller coaster. The Roadster drove partway up and stuck to the surface with a vacuum fan system.
Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, said the fan system can “pull up to 2 Gs.” He said Tesla then “borrowed some technology from SpaceX to do the rest.”
The Stunts and the Specs
The car left the ramp upside down, flipped in the air and used thrusters to straighten out. It landed on the tarmac as the crowd cheered.
“Well, it worked,” CEO Elon Musk said. He also joked that the car is “not necessarily a safety optimised car.”
In a second stunt, the Roadster jumped over a row of Teslas, including a semi. Musk called it a “kickflip.”
Tesla also ran a straight-line test. The car reached 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds.
Tesla lists a top speed of 230 mph for the Rocket version. Musk said the production car could target Mach 0.5, or about 383 mph.
Tesla offers three versions. Performance is road-ready with two seats and a 0-60 time under 1.6 seconds.
Thrust is race-ready with two seats and rear cold-gas thrusters, rated under 0.9 seconds. Rocket has one seat and extra thrusters, with a time under 0.59 seconds.
Range is above 300 miles on all three. Tesla lists Rocket as invite only, and it has not said how that version would be allowed on public roads.
Price, Timing and Analyst Reaction
Tesla has not given a price, though it is expected to top $250,000. Reservations need a $5,000 deposit.
A $45,000 wire transfer is due within 10 days of the deposit. Musk said production starts in 2028.
Tesla announced the car in 2017 and first planned deliveries for 2020. Early reservation holders have waited years.
Gene Munster of Deepwater Management called the event “an engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers.” He added that “Elon can’t wait to bring Tesla and SpaceX together.”
Tesla stock is up about 5% since yesterday, while SpaceX is down about 2%.
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