2028 Tesla Roadster
| Tesla Roadster (2028) | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Production | 2028‒ |
| Designer | Franz von Holzhausen |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Tesla Roadster |
| Body style | T-top[1]:10:37 |
| Layout | Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout |
| Related | Tesla Roadster (2017 prototype) |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2× Electric; ca. 1 megawatt (1,300 hp) |
| Transmission | 8.4:1 Epicyclic gearing[2]:06:53 |
| Propulsion | 0‒10× cold gas thruster |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,825 millimetres (111 in)[1]:16:36 |
| Curb weight | 1,700 kilograms (3,700 lb)[1]:05:40 |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Tesla Roadster (2008)[1]:01:43 |
The 2028 Tesla Roadster is a planned battery-electric T-top sports car to be built by Tesla, Inc. from 2028. Four to five prototypes were demonstrated at the SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility near McGregor, Texas on October 15, 2026.[2]:23:38 One prototype performed a measured 0 to 60 mph acceleration time of 0.81 seconds,[3] and other prototypes performed air born kickflip and landing maneuvers.[4]
History
Telsa had originally developed and sold a 2008 Tesla Roadster as its first product. In 2026 Lars Moravy referred to the 2017 Tesla Roadster prototype as having been the "middle roadster";[1]:01:43 with the technology of the middle Roadster evolving into the Tesla Model S Plaid.
Models
Four models are planned: base, performance, thrust, rocket.[1]:07:15
| Model | Base | Performance | Thrust | Rocket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motors | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Battery | 115 kWh | 115 kWh | 115 kWh | 115 kWh |
| Seats | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Luggage | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Fans | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Thrusters | 4 | 10 | ||
| COPV | 1 | 2 | ||
| Gas | 200L | 600L |
Performance versions and above include a sucker system with four rear-mounted fans[2]:12:50 and four independent skirts.[2]:12:38 Thrust versions have four cold gas thrusters.[5]:04:28 Rocket versions add six extra nozzles for a total of ten cold gas thrusters.[5]:05:05
Cockpit
The central cockpit area is covered by a titanium oxide-coated glass windshield at the front,[2]:15:28 and removable T-top panels above the seating area.[1]:10:34
The vehicle uses steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire.[1]:06:47 The base of each seat is fixed, with the rear portion reclining using a pneumatic release.[1]:35:18 The pedals slide to match leg length.[1]:35:33
A centrally positioned screen is fixed at an angle facing towards the driving position.[2]:23:00 A second small horizontal display is positioned below the windshield.[2]:23:02
Battery
The electric vehicle battery is mounted flat under the vehicle and constructed of a quantity of cylindrical 4680 cells, with a Nickel-based Lithium-Ion chemistry specific to the Roadster programme.[1]:12:12 Cells use an aluminium can instead of steel,[2]:04:59 with the completed pack having a titanium top plate, and aluminium bottom plate.[2]:03:58
Battery capacity is 115 kWh,[5]:03:53 with a road range of 310–320 miles (500–510 km) miles,[1]:13:27 or estimated race track usage of 20‒30 minutes.[6]
Charging will be over 500 kilowatts, at 800‒1000 volts,[1]:13:27 with a target of 15-percent to 85-percent in 10 minutes.[1]:13:27 The electrical charging port is located behind the rear wing, with the wing required to be extended during charging.[1]:32:53
Motors
The car is rear-wheel drive only.[1]:04:36 Two 500-kilowatt (650 hp) electric motors are arranged back-to-back between the rear wheels and together rated at 1 megawatt (1,300 hp).[1]:06:50 Transmission is via planetary reduction[2]:06:48 at a ratio of 8.4:1.[2]:06:53.
Both motors operate at the battery pack voltage of 800‒1000 volts.[1]:06:18 Separate power inverters drive each motor,[1]:06:37 enabling torque vectoringref name="2026-10-16-top-gear">:06:50 and removing the need for a [[[differential (mechanical device)|mechanical differential]].[2]:06:53
Electric motor inner lamintations are formed from cobalt steel.[1]:06:18
Aerodynamics
Most of the body panels pivot to adjust the automotive aerodynamics.[1]:15:57 The space in front of the windshield can open, along with side-mounted barge boards.[1]:33:14 When opened, the front area of the car serves as a large hidden wing with 0.3 square metres (3.2 sq ft) of air flow.[2]:11:53
Two movable surfaces are located behind the front chin spooler, allowing air to be diverted.[2]:10:00
Sucker system
On performance, thrust, and rocket versions a sucker system increases downforce under the car by two G-force, by using four rear-mounted fans to lower the pressure under the car.[2]:12:50 At speeds under 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) four deployable skirts are lowered to the ground.[2]:13:59 The deployable skirts are made of rubber with bristles made of nylon,[2]:14:35 and are sacrificial wear items that needs to be replaced.[2]:14:15 Above 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) front and rear skirts are retracted to induce a Venturi effect as air passes under the vehicle at high-velocity.[2]:13:59
The sucker system is documented in a patent filed by Tesla called "Electric fan car".[7][8]
Reaction
Speaking in Italian the Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna stated that the presentation of the Telsa Roadster in October 2026 was ten-out-of-ten for both technology and presentation.[9]:16:32
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 Ford, Tom; von Holzhausen, Franz; Moravy, Lars (2026-10-16). New Tesla Roadster: 330mph, Sub-1sec 0‒60mph & It Flies! | 4K. Top Gear. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
[01:43] [Moravy] There's the original roadster, the middle roadster, 9 years ago, then this, the new roadster. [04:16] [Moravy] Task here was to make the last best drivers' car … [Holzhausen] …truely the best, on all metrics. [04:36] [Moravy] rear wheel drive only car … dual motor at the rear [05:14] [Moravy] This is our alpha, we always build these out of carbon fibre … hybrid structure … aluminium at the front, suspension bits, carbon ceramic brakes, carbon areas of the tub, the glass, … plastics where you need it; still working out some of the body panels … under 1700 kilograms, its got to start 16xx [kilograms] … you can't go around with a 2200 kilogram electric vehicle [06:11] two motors at the rear [06:18] 800‒1000 volts … cobalt steel on the inner lamination … [06:28] over 1000 kilowatts of power, 1500 horsepower … more than the Plaid had in three motors … [06:37] two motors sit on the rear axle … each have their own inverter with planetary reduction [06:47] brake-by-wire system … torque vectoring at the rear which can help with yaw control … [07:01] stability control … brake power at the front [Holzhausen] [07:15] there's a base roadster, … performance, … thrust version, … rocket version … [Holzhausen] [10:30] Back to your Roadster point … the roofs come out … T-top, but you get the open air feeling … [Moravy] [12:12] Lithium-ion Nickel-based material … bespoke chemistry … just for this programme [13:04] more current throughput; manage the thermals better … cooling on both sides, left and right … [13:27] 310‒320 miles … 15‒85 percent in 10 minutes … 800 volt … over 500 kilowatts [15:57] pretty much every panel moves … [16:36] 2825 [wheelbase in millimetres] … 2.8 meters [18:03] pull the car down with air … side skirts, front and rear skirts … pull the car down at 2g [20:42] 200 litre COPV that can go up to about 10,000 psi … [21:15] roughly the same thrust as a fighter jet [22:17] with two sets of thrusters we can keep it straight [22:30] there's a nozzle to fill it … with a high-pressure nitrogen system [22:55] current fill times 2‒6 hours … hoping to get down to near a half hour … [23:00] one charge … in a quarter-mile run, will last first third … two thirds … five-ish seconds [23:13] 0 to 60, in under a second [23:20] thruster system here will do about 0.85‒0.88 seconds [23:26] one time: once! [Holzhausen] [24:30] if you don't have [the COPV] on the standard Roadster version, it is just open space for luggage [Morvay] [25:06] … 80 kilonewtons of cold gas [26:30] 214 miles per hour, but we're working on a version … [Holzhausen] 330 mile per hour [Morvay] it's just gearing [Ford] [26:50] standard Roadster will have one megawatt of power [Holzhausen] [32:53] hide the charge port … open the wing to charge … [33:14] almost every panel moves … the barge boards come out, the front hood vent comes out [33:26] the rear quarters, the front fenders, and the front part of the roof don't move [Morvay] [34:38] single stack [battery pack] [35:18] [seat] recline button here, operates the pneumatics … lower mass and only needs to happen once [35:33] for the leg distance, the pedals move [Holzhausen] [35:40] Yoke is really tailored to the steer-by-wire … and we're exposing the system; there's no connections [Morvay] [36:54] feels a little unreal … over 2g of cornering or 6g of thrust [39:30] and the suspension … double wish-bone up front … adaptive suspension with adjustable ride height
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 Catchpole, Henry; Moravy, Lars. The FLYING Tesla Roadster explained by the man who engineered it. Hagerty – via Youtube.
[04:27] just under 1700 kilos [04:59] 4680 cells here … these are not steel, these are aluminium … aluminium can … lighter … better at dissipating heat … double sided cooling … downflow from one side to the other [05:38] keep a very uniform heat flux throughout the battery … titanium upper plate … tailor welded … [06:10] typical aluminium lower plate … for dent resistance, impact resistance; also for thermal management in a safety event [06:30] 800‒1000 volt range … 10-minute charge time [06:45] smaller than the Plaid motor; two motor-rotor-stator combos in here … planetary gear set out here [06:53] no differential; independent control … 8.4× reduction out to the side … more power, more torque than the three motors in a Plaid combined [07:55] 25—30 minutes of unlimited track performance … 20 minutes on the track is a lot, for normal people [08:16] very traditional supercar suspension: double wish bone; rocker arm [08:40] next generation heat pump [Catchpool] [09:02] spool valve adaptive dampers, and track mode will drop the ride height by 40 millimetres, increasing stiffness three fold in the process. [09:11] all carbon fibre, … some panels on the production models may be metal [09:21] headlights are pop down [Morvay] [09:30] headlight models … 15 mm; lower beam and high beam in one module [09:50] panel above the hood, that's actually an active vent for the cooling system [10:00] chin spooler … wings that can move up to 80 degree [11:53] third of a square meter of air flow … front section is just a massive wing … five different surfaces [12:50] that car had four propellers, we have four fans … [13:29] we created … a sucker system [13:38] four independent skirts [13:59] going 200 plus miles per hour … open up the front and rear skirts, then we get a high-flow mode underneath [Catchpool] [14:15] the skirts that fold down to seal the car will be replaceable, sacrificial elements made from rubber with nylon bristles, … for track use only … [15:28] titanium oxide glass, which is this orange tint [15:32] 200 litres … up to 10,000 psi [15:52] with the suction system, and this, and the power train that is over a megawatt, we can actually do it in .55 seconds … over 80 kilonewtons of thrust [Catchpool] [16:40] 0.55 is a rollout figure [Morvay] [16:38] 600 litres of cold gas … 80 plus kilonewtons of force [20:15] the higher the pressure we get, the more usable area under the curve of usable pressure we have [Catchpool] [22:36] just two seats … removal roof panels [23:00] central screen permanently angled towards the driver … slim screen … below the windscreen [Moravy] [23:38] 4‒5 prototypes here today
- ↑ Roadster Event. Tesla, Inc. 2026-10-15. Retrieved 2026-10-16 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Prakash, Timothy. "Rocket thrusters and a kickflip: Tesla unveils radical new Roadster". Motoring. The Sun. Malaysia. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
Roadster demonstrated an acceleration time of 0-100 km/h in just 0.8 seconds, although the figure has yet to be independently verified. … the car appeared to perform a kickflip over Tesla's electric semi-truck.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Loh, Ed; Holzhausen, Franz (2026-10-16). Full Walkaround with Chief Designer of Tesla Roadster. MotorTrend. Retrieved 2026-10-20 – via Youtube.
[Holzhausen] [03:32] a new bespoke battery pack, 115 kilowatt hour pack … [03:53] rear-wheel drive, twin motor, with the same battery pack: 115 kilowatt hour pack … [04:02] in the Performance, you add a fan suction system … [04:28] add a COPV for the Thrust version … 200 litres compressed air, 10,000 psi, in the rear, exiting out of four nozzles [05:05] add another 400 liter COPV into the passenger version and you have a Rocket … add six extra nozzles
- ↑ Lisenby, Joel. "Tesla Roadster Revealed: It Flies, Drives Upside Down and Hits 60 in 0.81 Seconds". News. Electron Motion. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
Franz von Holzhausen told MotorTrend every version shares a 115 kWh pack … The cells will come from Tesla's pilot plant in California, and the car from its own building at Giga Texas, Roadster Factory Texas (MotorTrend, 08:12)
- ↑ US 12746987, Cymbalist, Niccolo; Rebbeck, Luke Michael & Caponetti, Andrew et al., "Electric fan car", published 2026-09-29, assigned to Tesla, Inc.
- ↑ Fremel, Sebastian (2026-10-15). "Teslas neues Patent klebt Autos auf die Strasse" [Tesla's new patent sticks cars to the street]. Auto Bild (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2026-10-21.
Das am 29. September 2026 erteilte US-Patent mit der Nummer US 12,746,987 B1 trägt den Titel "Electric Fan Car"
Unknown parameter|trans-quote=ignored (help) - ↑ Vigna, Benedetto (2026-10-20). "Grazie Musk! Intervista a Benedetto Vigna" [Thank you Musk! Interview with Benedetto Vigna]. Quattroruote (Interview) (in italiano). Interviewed by Lago, Alessandro. Quattroruote Next, IBM Innovation Studio, Milan; and India. Retrieved 2026-10-21 – via Youtube.
[Lugo] [16:22] da amministratore delegato di Ferrari, che effetto ti ha fatto vedere volare la Tesla di Elon Musk? [Vigna] [16:32] Eh, lo dico in modo semplice, sicuramente 10 in tecnologia, 10 in comunicazione, tanti dubbi, una presentazione sensazionale e diciamo come ha detto lui stesso, sarà un po' difficile avere qualcosa di omologazione, però sicuramente fa capire come anche nel mondo dell'auto c'è tanta roba da fare, cioè noi dobbiamo continuare a sognare, noi dobbiamo continuare da un quella macchina lì al di della tecnologia, no? Dà un ci fa capire che anche in un mondo apparentemente seduto si possono fare delle innovazioni.
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