Want The Flying Version Of The Tesla Roadster? You'll Need An Invite

The top-trim, Rocket version of the 2028 Tesla Roadster looked mighty impressive during Thursday's reveal event. It did a mid-air barrel roll. It leapt over a semi truck. And it went from 0-60 in 0.81 seconds. But if you want that version, you better be well-connected.

The Tesla Roadster reservation site lists the top-shelf Rocket version as "invite only." It's the only version to get all 10 thrusters, which Musks says will recharge themselves using compressors. Those are what enable all of the high-flying acrobatics Tesla showed off on Thursday.

Photo by: Tesla

The good news is that you won't need a direct hook-up to get that world-beating 0-60 time. The Thrust version of the Roadster comes with the rear-facing boosters. Musk claims that the production version may hit 60 even faster than the time recorded during the event. But this version isn't going to be widely available, either, at least according to the website. The order form lists it as having "Limited" availability.

The order form for the Roadster.

Photo by: Tesla

That means the majority of Roadsters will be base model, Performance trims. They won't offer any thrusters. But all three version of the Roadster get the fan-powered suction system, which generates 2Gs of downforce, according to the company. That should make them plenty quick, even if not all of them will be able to barrel roll.

This doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. Musk noted that the gases come out of the thrusters at well above the speed of sound, making them seem deafening in the video. It's no wonder that the event was held outside, with the crowd far from the demonstration. And given the open question about the street legality of the Roadster, I think it's likely that any version that's legal for public roads would have to ditch the thrusters. I just can't see regulators letting you barrel roll over traffic anytime soon.

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Come to think of it, it's hard to imagine any of this coming anytime soon. Musk says the Roadster will launch in 2028 "for real." But while two years isn't too far out, remember that last time the company claimed the Roadster was three years away. Nine years later, we're still waiting.

But just like before, Tesla is happy to take a big chunk of cash for reservations in the meantime. All three versions are available to pre-order with a $50,000 deposit, with $5,000 of that due immediately and $45,000 due within 10 days of the order.

Gallery: 2028 Tesla Roadster: The Reveal

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Source: Tesla

What's most interesting, though, is that this time Tesla isn't listing a price. While it may not have delivered any of the $200,000 2020 Roadsters, it at least announced how much they'll cost. Now, you'll have to choose between the three versions without knowing any of their prices. I can't imagine the barrel-rolling version will be cheap. Not that the price really matters for most of us; I'm certainly not on the list, and I doubt you are, either.

Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com