Mate Rimac Says He Considered Tesla Roadster-Style Thrusters Years Ago

UPDATE 10/15/26, 9:30 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with photos and info from tonight’s reveal event at SpaceX’s testing facility in McGregor, Texas. Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have finally revealed the long-awaited follow-up to the brand’s first production car, the Roadster. It’s been a long time coming—nine years, in fact—since we saw the ambitious concept for the second-generation electric sports car, but during tonight’s event, which was attended by a select group of fans, media, and investors as well as livestreamed on Musk’s social media platform, X, the new Tesla Roadster was unveiled in spectacular fashion, with a prototype driving upside down and actually taking flight. It’s now obvious why the event needed to be held outdoors, as its debut featured an arching Hot Wheels-like structure that a Roadster prototype was able to drive up thanks to a fan system underneath the car that Tesla claims provides enough suction to hold the car to the road even when sitting still upside down.

Company said it would start production in 2028, more than a decade after it first showed a next-generation version of its electric sports car

Published October 15, 2026 11:29 PM EDT article The Tesla Roadster can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under one second and can reach a top speed of over 230 mph, CEO Elon Musk said. (Photo: Tesla) Automaker Tesla demonstrated a redesigned roadster Thursday that can drive upside down on an inverted ramp, turn in midair and land using built-in thrusters. It also used its rockets to fly over a line of parked vehicles.  The backstory: It was a major upgrade to the next-generation version of its electric sports car that Tesla first showed nine years ago with a plan to start production in 2028, Reuters reported.  Tesla demonstrated a redesigned roadster Thursday that can drive upside down on an inverted ramp, turn in mid-air and land using built-in thrusters. (Photo: Tesla) The redesigned vehicle, developed with CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX, would accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than a second, which he says is "the least interesting part," given the collaboration with SpaceX.  "Advanced cold-gas thrusters use all-electric actuators to offer precise thrust, completing micro adjustments within a fraction of a second. This helps stabilize the vehicle in flight," Tesla’s website states.

“David, can you please fix the garage?” my wife Elise asked me on Sunday. “You barely have any time to do house stuff, and today you’re free.” She’s right about the first part — The Autopian really…

Despite what Hollywood movies and some police departments would have you believe, deadly car chases are far from the only way to thwart multi-million-dollar heists. French investigators used DNA evidence and vehicle tracking to recover two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, valued at $4.7 million, that were stolen in a brazen burglary in the South of France in September. Authorities also arrested six people allegedly tied to the heist. One suspected thief led police to his co-conspirators by simply driving to their homes. As if ripped from the silver screen, our scene opens in the picturesque Nice suburb of Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera. The town hosts the Musée Renoir, a small gallery on the famed impressionist's hilltop farmhouse estate. On the morning of September 8, two thieves gained entry by cutting through the museum fence with an electric saw. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the duo then used the saw to slice off the bolts holding four paintings in place. All four works were on loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Chris Bruce has worked in the automotive industry since 2011 and has written thousands of stories about cars, motorsports, and motorcycles in that time. He has written for Autoblog, Autoviva, CarFax, Edmunds, Hagerty, InsideEVs, Motor1, and New Roads. He has also hosted hundreds of podcast episodes. As hobbies, Bruce enjoys building plastic models of robots and cars. He also enjoys video games, particularly the 16-bit variety. His dog keeps him busy. In 2026, Subaru celebrates the 60th anniversary of introducing its first boxer four-cylinder engine in 1966. The unit had modest beginnings, with a 977-cc flat-four making 55 horsepower to power the Subaru 1000. Since then, the flat powertrain layout has become inextricably linked to the brand. All-wheel drive, the brand's other hallmark, arrived in 1972. However, Subaru's boxer engine won't enjoy another major anniversary, at least in one market.