Tesla Roadster, the Thruster-Equipped Electric Supercar Now Split Across Performance, Thrust and Rocket, and What Each One Actually Does

The new Tesla Roadster was revealed on 15 October 2026 and comes in 3 versions: Performance, Thrust and Rocket. All 3 cover more than 480 km per charge. What separates them is the thruster system, the acceleration figure and the number of seats. Reservations for the Tesla Roadster are open in Thailand on 2 of the 3, starting at THB 1,776,000.

How the 3 Versions Differ, and the Word Tesla Gives Each One

Tesla assigns each version a 2-word label, and that label says most of what the version was built for:

Tesla publishes acceleration as 0-60 mph, which is 0-96 km/h rather than 0-100 km/h · Rocket is the only version Tesla gives a top speed for, above 230 mph
Sources — Tesla Roadster page, Thailand · Teslarati, citing Tesla’s Roadster page · Drive Tesla

The Fastest Version Is the One With No Reservation Price

Rocket clears 0-60 mph in under 0.59 seconds, quicker again than the already remarkable Thrust. Yet Tesla lists it as invite only and publishes no reservation figure, and both TechCrunch and Drive Tesla report it is not approved for public road use. Its appeal is something to watch rather than own, which leaves Thrust as the quickest version anyone can actually put money down on.

Tesla’s Thrusters Run on Compressed Air, Not Rocket Fuel

The word thruster suggests flame at the back of the car, but the system is cold compressed gas, with no combustion and no exhaust flame. Electrek describes carbon-fibre overwrapped pressure vessels releasing air through nozzles, while Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of engineering, told TechCrunch the car carries 10 thrusters and 600 litres of compressed air, with the tank rechargeable.

What makes this unlike any other car is that the thrust pushes the body forward without waiting for the tyres to find grip. Tesla puts the force at roughly 4 to 5 times what the tyres alone can put down. That is why Performance, which has no thrusters, runs under 1.6 seconds while Thrust drops to under 0.9 seconds on the same car.

The Underbody Fan Tesla Says Can Hold the Car Upside Down at a Standstill

The second system that sets this car apart is a fan and ground-sealing arrangement under the floor. Teslarati, citing Tesla’s Roadster page, reports the suction is strong enough to hold the car inverted even when stationary, and the downforce figure shown at the reveal was around 4,700 kg. Worth noting: the live demo had the car driving an inverted ramp while moving. Holding it at a standstill is a Tesla claim that has not been demonstrated.

So Can It Fly, or Does It Hop and Land

At the reveal, held at SpaceX’s McGregor facility outside Waco, Texas, Tesla demonstrated 2 things: driving up an inverted ramp, and using thruster force to lift over a row of parked Teslas while in motion. The word flight is attached only to the Rocket version, which is single-seat, invite only, and not street legal.

What Tesla has not published is any figure that would define how far flight goes. No altitude, no duration, no distance and no weather conditions. Meanwhile TechCrunch reports Elon Musk saying on stage that safety is not the main goal for this car, and that anyone who puts safety first should not buy it. Anyone excited by the word flight should read that sentence alongside it.

Thailand Reservation Figures, and Why They Are Not a Currency Conversion

Tesla has opened a Thai-language reservation page, and the split is the same across versions: a refundable first payment, then a balance due within 10 days:

Figures from Tesla’s Thai reservation page as reported consistently by Thai motoring media, checked 16 October 2026
Sources — Tesla Roadster page, Thailand · Car250 · Autolife Thailand · MGR Online

THB 178,000 Is Identical Across Versions, While the Totals Sit 5 Times Apart

Subtract the first payment from each total and the arithmetic lands exactly: 1,776,000 minus 178,000 gives 1,598,000, and 8,873,000 minus 178,000 gives 8,695,000. Tesla appears to have set the baht totals first and carved out a flat THB 178,000 deposit, rather than converting each instalment separately. Compare the 2 published totals and Thrust comes in almost exactly 5 times Performance, on the same body.

Calculated by the Luxe Addict team from the reservation figures Tesla publishes in Thailand · 8,873,000 divided by 1,776,000 gives 4.996
Sources — Car250 · Autolife Thailand

3 Lines in Tesla’s Own Footnotes to Read Before Paying

All 3 sit in the footnotes of Tesla’s Thai Roadster page rather than in any rumour. First: the Thrust version is limited to 1 order per customer, and Tesla reserves the right to cancel duplicate orders, multiple purchases placed on the same account or phone number, and orders sharing payment details or an address. Second: the car is sold as left-hand drive only, which runs against Thai roads, where traffic keeps left and cars are right-hand drive, and Tesla has not said whether a right-hand-drive version will follow. Third: Rocket may not be available in every region, depending on each country’s legal requirements, which means the version that flies may never reach Thailand at all.

These 2 Deposit Figures Are the Same Ones Tesla Used in 2017

Electrek points out that the new deposits, USD 50,000 and USD 250,000, match the figures Tesla set for the Roadster announced in 2017, when it took USD 50,000 for the standard car and USD 250,000 for each of 1,000 Founders Series cars. That car was promised for 2020 and slipped repeatedly without ever being delivered. For this one, Musk has put production at 2028.

Which Version Is Worth the Deposit

In one picture: Performance buys a car that drives on real roads for THB 1,776,000, Thrust buys the compressed-air thrusters that make 0.9 seconds possible for THB 8,873,000, and Rocket, the one that flies, requires an invitation. Anyone weighing this against other electric luxury cars in the same bracket can read luxury EVs under THB 10 million next, or, for an electric supercar from another house, the Ferrari Luce, the first fully electric supercar, before deciding where the deposit goes.