Elon Musk showed off a new vehicle prototype Thursday that can briefly launch itself into the air using rocket-inspired thrusters. The Tesla Roadster enters the scene nearly a decade after the electric sports car was first announced.
\n\nThe stunt-filled demonstration offered a glimpse of Tesla’s ambitious plans for the long-delayed vehicle. But the company has yet to announce a price or release date, and Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said production would not begin until 2028 — eight years after the Roadster was originally expected to arrive.
\n\nAt a SpaceX testing facility in Texas, Musk told the live audience they were there to prove what they were about to see “was not AI or SI.”
\n\nThe vehicle, a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX, then slowly drove up a curved ramp shaped like half of a rollercoaster loop before accelerating and launching itself off the ramp, hurdling over five other Tesla vehicles and bringing itself to a soft landing in a cloud of condensation using cold-gas thrusters.
\n\n“Well, it worked!” Musk said after the stunt, adding that “it’s not necessarily a safety-optimized car.”
\n\nTesla says a fan-based suction system creates downforce to hold the vehicle against the road’s surface, while…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business