Tesla is taking another swing at the Roadster, nine years after its first attempt to revive the electric sports car—and this time the show car is supposed to perform airborne tricks using compressed nitrogen. Apparently, “fast electric car” needed a more theatrical footnote.
At a presentation in California, CEO Elon Musk pitched a new Roadster with four oversized rear outlets that fire nitrogen at a claimed 100,000 psi. The concept reaches for stunt technology with roughly half a century of precedent: compressed gas can lift or spin a vehicle for a dramatic effect. What it can’t do, at least from the information presented, is answer the less cinematic question of whether this system can legally be used on public roads. That remains unclear.
The car’s angular, wedge-shaped styling evokes Giorgetto Giugiaro’s original Lotus Esprit, along with the Lamborghini Gallardo. Musk is known to own a James Bond prop car, so the Esprit resemblance may not be accidental. And the giant exhaust-like outlets aren’t a sign Tesla is turning to gasoline; they’re for the nitrogen jets. The company’s devotion to spectacle, however, remains fully combustible.
Tesla says the new Roadster will use rear-wheel drive, an unusual choice for an electric vehicle pitched around extreme performance. Its battery pack is built around the company’s 4680 cells, which Tesla has struggled to scale in-house. The company says it has developed special battery chemistry for the Roadster. Ars Technica notes customer complaints about cell performance; the idea that those complaints prompted the new chemistry is an inference, not a confirmed explanation from Tesla.
Then come the numbers. Musk claims a planned top speed of 383 mph and a 0-to-60-mph time of 0.8 seconds. Those are extraordinary targets, not independently demonstrated Roadster performance. That distinction matters, particularly because the car is still vaporware: Tesla has announced ambitious figures before, while other electric vehicles have moved from promise to production.
One current example is the McMurtry Spéirling, a compact, Batmobile-shaped electric car. It can generate up to 3.5 lateral Gs, compared with Tesla’s best claimed figure of 2 Gs. The Spéirling can also drive upside down. It is an awkward comparison for Tesla, though perhaps not for the laws of gravity, which have never been especially receptive to marketing.
Tesla’s Roadster pitch is now a mixture of familiar promises and a new stunt-ready twist. The nitrogen system could make for a memorable demonstration; whether the production car can deliver the speed, acceleration and practical road use being discussed is another matter. Nine years into the revival, the Roadster still has more impressive claims than customers. The show may be airborne. The evidence has yet to leave the ground.
Sources: Glitch Please! and Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/10/tesla-turns-to-50-year-old-stunt-technology-as-it-tries-to-roadster-again/ — Reporting and details on Tesla’s Roadster presentation, claimed specifications, battery technology, and McMurtry Spéirling comparison.
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