Well, that was a memorable debut.

Tesla unveiled its highly anticipated new Roadster last night (Oct. 16) with a spectacular stunt, using SpaceX thrusters to make the vehicle "fly."

"This is not necessarily a safety-optimized car, OK?" Elon Musk , who runs both companies, said during the livestreamed reveal, which was held at SpaceX's rocket-testing facility in McGregor, Texas. "But it takes the the fun meter to 11 out of 10."

Tesla's next-gen, thruster-equipped Roadster launches itself over other vehicles during an unveiling event on Oct. 15, 2026. (Image credit: Tesla)

Tesla first announced the next-gen Roadster in 2017, saying at the time that it would be released in 2020 . In 2018, Musk announced that the new car would incorporate some SpaceX tech.

"SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering.…