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Tesla's new Roadster will be its last manual car, a luxury for the wealthy

businessinsider.com — October 16, 2026 at 05:01 PM UTC

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the new Roadster on Thursday, stating it will be the company's only manually driven car in the long term, positioning it as a luxury product for wealthy enthusiasts. The Roadster's debut featured autonomous stunts, including driving upside down and flying, but owners will eventually be able to drive it manually. Tesla has not announced a final price, though a $50,000 reservation deposit is required, with pricing estimates dating back to 2017 suggesting $250,000 for Founder Series models. Tesla is simultaneously advancing self-driving technology for affordable vehicles, such as the Cybercab, which lacks a steering wheel and is targeted under $30,000. Musk has compared manual driving to obsolete elevator operation, though driving remains a popular hobby and sport.

With a significance score of 3.4, this news ranks in the top 8.2% of today's 29613 analyzed articles.

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[5.0]

Tesla Roadster 2 unveiled as flying car with rocket thrusters in Texas (theguardian.com)

1d 21h

[4.8]

Tesla Roadster flies with mid-air flips and rocket landing in Texas demo (oglobo.globo.com)

1d 16h

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[4.8]

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1d 8h

[4.7]

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13h

[4.3]

Tesla Roadster uses rocket thrusters to fly and stick to walls (g1.globo.com)

1d 21h

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[4.3]

Tesla Roadster flying car unveiled at SpaceX event in US (ansa.it)

1d 4h

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[4.1]

Tesla unveils flying Roadster with air jets, aiming for 2028 (ctvnews.ca)

1d 22h

[4.0]

Tesla Roadster unveiled: Musk's rocket-powered sports car flies and hits 100 km/h in 0.81 seconds (spiegel.de)

1d 22h

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[4.0]

Tesla Shows Off Flying Roadster, But Production Waits Until 2028 (deccanchronicle.com)

18h

[3.9]

Tesla Roadster: Price, Availability, and Flying Capabilities Revealed (infobae.com)

1d 19h

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[3.9]

Tesla unveils flying Roadster prototype (nbcnews.com)

1d 11h

[3.8]

Tesla’s Roadster: How its thrusters enable flight and inverted driving (firstpost.com)

1d 22h

[3.8]

Tesla Roadster: Three Versions, Cold Gas Thrusters, and 0-100 km/h in Under One Second (oglobo.globo.com)

22h

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[3.7]

Tesla and SpaceX unveil flying car with rocket tech, drawing skepticism online (buzzfeed.com)

1d 18h

[3.7]

SpaceX thrusters make Tesla Roadster 'fly' in Texas demo; car still in orbit (space.com)

1d 16h

[3.7]

Lockheed Martin's thruster tech predates Tesla's flying Roadster (engadget.com)

1d 13h

[3.6]

Tesla unveils next-generation Roadster with flying capability (nbcnews.com)

1d 13h

[3.6]

Tesla unveils Roadster 2 with optional flight capability (globalnews.ca)

1d 19h

[3.6]

Tesla Roadster flying car demo in Texas, production set for 2028 (latimes.com)

24h

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[3.6]

Sam Altman calls Elon Musk's flying Tesla Roadster 'quite amazing' (moneycontrol.com)

1d 17h

[3.6]

Tesla unveils rocket-powered Roadster that can actually fly (response.jp)

1d 13h

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[3.6]

Tesla opens Roadster reservations with fine print warning on delivery (independent.co.uk)

1d 13h

[3.5]

Fan-based downforce predates the Tesla Roadster in cars like the Chaparral 2J and Brabham BT46 (engadget.com)

13h

[3.5]

Tesla takes $250,000 deposits for Roadster with SpaceX thrusters, but FAA says it's not an aircraft (fortune.com)

24h

[3.5]

Tesla Roadster leaps through the air in Texas tech showcase (aljazeera.net)

1d 14h

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[3.4]

Tesla Roadster flies in Texas with SpaceX thrusters (lehighvalleylive.com)

13h

[3.4]

Tesla Roadster flies with SpaceX thrusters at Texas unveiling (oregonlive.com)

13h

[3.4]

Tesla's new Roadster will be its last manual car, a luxury for the wealthy (businessinsider.com)

1d 18h

[3.4]

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1d 21h

[3.4]

Tesla Roadster's unique tech makes it a strong halo car (morningstar.com)

1d 20h

[3.4]

Tesla unveils Roadster with flying capability, but production waits until 2028 (usnews.com)

1d 20h

[3.3]

Alef marks 1,000th flight with flying car video over Tesla Roadster (interestingengineering.com)

1d 23h

[3.3]

Tesla's flying Roadster wows crowds but analysts see limited sales impact (euronews.com)

1d 17h

[3.3]

Tesla unveils 'flying' Roadster with thrusters at SpaceX event in Texas (france24.com)

1d 19h

[3.3]

Tesla Roadster to hit 100 km/h in under a second, fly with SpaceX thrusters by 2028 (cnnbrasil.com.br)

1d 20h

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[3.2]

Tesla unveils flying Roadster with SpaceX thrusters, 2028 production planned (en.protothema.gr)

1d 22h

[3.2]

Tesla Roadster flies in Texas as Musk unveils production plans (cleveland.com)

13h

[3.2]

Tesla Roadster's flight tech: Fans, compressed air, and SpaceX rockets (infobae.com)

10h

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[3.2]

Tesla Roadster's rocket thrusters and suction system explained: How it flies and why it may not be road-legal (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

21h

[3.2]

Tesla Roadster returns with four versions, including a flying Rocket model (topgear.com)

1d 21h

[3.2]

Tesla unveils Roadster with thrusters, targeting 2028 production (nzherald.co.nz)

1d 14h

[3.2]

Tesla unveils new Roadster with flying features, but experts remain skeptical (blick.ch)

1d 17h

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[3.2]

Tesla's Flying Roadster Fuels SpaceX Merger Speculation on Wall Street (fool.com)

1d 5h

[3.1]

NHTSA warns Tesla Roadster must comply with US safety rules (faz.net)

1d 3h

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[3.1]

Tesla Roadster Stunt Show Raises Questions About Flying Car Feasibility (gamespot.com)

1d 23h

[3.1]

Tesla shares drop 3% after Roadster unveiling with SpaceX thrusters (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

1d 11h

[3.0]

Tesla unveils flying Roadster after 9-year delay, with 2028 production start (motor1.uol.com.br)

1d 14h

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[3.0]

Tesla Roadster unveiled in Waco with rocket thrusters, but flying over traffic remains unavailable (krone.at)

1d 16h

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[3.0]

Tesla Roadster to Break Track Records with SpaceX Thrusters and Ground Fan (motorsport-total.com)

1d 18h

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[2.9]

Tesla's Flying Roadster Resembles Cybertruck, Raising Safety Questions (futurism.com)

1d 20h

[2.9]

Ukrainians meme Tesla's flying Roadster as Dnipro marshrutka and drone weapon (news.telegraf.com.ua)

1d 19h

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[2.9]

Tesla opens Roadster reservations for three variants, production set for 2028 (hindustantimes.com)

1d 23h

[2.8]

Ukrainians mock Musk's flying Tesla with memes about Bohdan minibuses and drones (obozrevatel.com)

1d 9h

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[2.8]

Tesla Roadster's flight tech explained: suction fans and SpaceX thrusters (thehindu.com)

1d 3h

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[2.8]

Tesla Unveils Roadster with SpaceX Thrusters, But Is It Drivable? (cnet.com)

1d 18h

[2.7]

Tesla’s flying Roadster won’t be approved for public roads (independent.co.uk)

1d 22h

[2.7]

Tesla Roadster returns with jet thrusters and 0-60 mph in under 0.59 seconds (3dnews.ru)

1d 23h

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[2.7]

Federal regulators unclear on oversight of Tesla's flying car (cbsnews.com)

1d 16h

[2.6]

Tesla Roadster jumps five cars in Texas unveiling using SpaceX thrusters (qz.com)

1d 23h

[2.6]

Tesla Roadster reservations open in Malaysia with RM21k deposit, RM182k or RM988k due in 10 days (paultan.org)

1d 23h

[2.5]

Tesla unveils 'flying' Roadster with thrusters at SpaceX event in Texas (bangkokpost.com)

1d 21h

[2.5]

Tesla's flying Roadster lacks guaranteed price or delivery date (hindustantimes.com)

1d 5h

[2.5]

Tesla Opens Reservations for Flying Roadster, Production Delayed to 2028 (news18.com)

1d 17h

[2.5]

Tesla Roadster's 14 kg TNT-equivalent nitrogen tanks raise safety concerns (frandroid.com)

1d 15h

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[2.4]

Meta AI chief questions Musk's flying Tesla in viral exchange (firstpost.com)

1d 22h

[2.4]

Alef's Flying Car Soars Over Tesla Roadster in 1,000th Test Flight (gizmodo.com)

1d 17h

[2.4]

Tesla opens Roadster bookings in India; Model Y L gets free Acceleration Boost (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

24h

[2.4]

FAA says Tesla's flying Roadster is not an aircraft (lapresse.ca)

1d 12h

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[2.4]

Tesla's flying Roadster fine print: 3 caveats to know before reserving (businessinsider.com)

1d 22h

[2.3]

US Regulators Push Back on Tesla's Flying Roadster Claims (spiegel.de)

1d 4h

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[2.3]

FAA says Tesla's flying Roadster is not an aircraft (boursorama.com)

1d 12h

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[2.2]

Tesla Roadster debuts with 0.81-second sprint to 97 km/h (korrespondent.net)

1d 3h

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[2.2]

Tesla's new Roadster differs sharply from the 2017 version (businessinsider.com)

1d 1h

[2.1]

Tesla Roadster Redesign Revives Musk's Flying Car Vision in Texas Demo (news18.com)

1d 7h

[2.1]

US regulator: Musk's 'flying' Tesla is not an aircraft (20minutes.fr)

8h

Link Source (French)

[2.0]

Sam Altman praises Elon Musk's flying Tesla Roadster after refund dispute (hindustantimes.com)

1d 7h

[1.9]

Sam Altman praises Tesla flying Roadster despite past refund dispute with Musk (moneycontrol.com)

1d 6h

[1.8]

Tesla's Flying Roadster Raises Regulatory Questions as US Agencies Disagree (timesnownews.com)

1d 9h

[1.8]

Tesla unveils flying Roadster with 2028 production date (ethnos.gr)

1d 23h

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[1.8]

Tesla targets 2028 production for Roadster after years of delays (engadget.com)

1d 8h

[1.5]

Tesla Roadster Fine Print Shows No Delivery Guarantee (ndtv.com)

23h

[1.4]

Tesla Roadster's 2026 Reveal Raises Questions on Production and Features (jalopnik.com)

1d 21h