Tesla's Roadster reveal, Apple and Meta team up, Nike's India push and more in Morning Squawk - CNBC

Your browser does not support the video element. The Roadster has, at long last, taken off — quite literally. Tesla unveiled its next-generation Roadster at a livestreamed event Thursday night, giving customers who have waited years their first fresh look at the EV maker's new halo car. In a dramatic demonstration, the Roadster traveled up a huge curved ramp until it was upside down. The car then flew off the ramp, flipped, and landed safely on the ground, thanks to thrusters attached to the bottom of the vehicle.

Browse this and many other websites without banner ads, personalized tracking and video ads. During Tesla's jaw-dropping demonstration of a flying supercar on Thursday evening, the next-generation Roadster drove upside down, jumped over a series of cars, and executed a mid-air barrel roll. After years of hype, the company answered one big question on the minds of those who have followed the Roadster saga: Yes, this car will have SpaceX thrusters and be able to fly, at least to some degree.

Elon Musk promised a flying car. And the Tesla Roadster did exactly that. Tesla demonstrated its next-generation Roadster at an event in Waco, Texas, where the electric supercar drove upside down, briefly flew, and accelerated to 60mph in under a second. It was an impressive demonstration of a car that likely will come with some heavy caveats and restrictions if it ever goes into production. The event was less than 30 minutes and felt more like a stunt show than a product reveal. Indeed, there was no mention of price, release date, or other such mundane details. Musk promised the hypercar would go into production in 2028, but after nearly nine years who’s counting. The people were here to see a car fly, and that’s what Tesla gave them.1/5First, the Roadster drove up a very tall, multi-story ramp, using its incredible downforce to cling to the vertical roadway. When it reached the top of the ramp, it flipped around using its cold-gas thrusters to bring it gently back down to earth. The car uses a fan-based suction system, supplied by SpaceX and mounted underneath the vehicle, which is capable of generating up to two Gs of suction force.

On Thursday night, Tesla and CEO Elon Musk unveiled what’s been billed as the company’s last human-driven car. Maybe human-piloted is a more accurate way to say it. At a demonstration event in McGregor, Texas—at SpaceX’s rocket development and testing facility—the new car did what Musk has long promised. With a herky-jerky burst of steam, it flew into the air. At one point, the car appeared to flip over the automaker’s entire line-up, floating several feet over its electric semi-truck. Tesla executives said the vehicle could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in one second. “This is not necessarily a safety-optimized car,” Musk said. (It’s also likely to raise the eyebrows of federal regulators.)Tesla says it will begin production on the Roadster 2 in 2028. Fans have waited a long time for the vehicle. The Roadster 2—the successor to Tesla’s first vehicle, the Roadster—was first announced in 2017, and at the time Tesla said the new sports car would be the fastest production vehicle in the world. The “flying” technology is enabled by four thrusters, Tesla vehicle engineering head Lars Moravy said.

Browse this and many other websites without banner ads, personalized tracking and video ads. The second-generation Tesla Roadster is gearing up for a second reveal.