Nine years after its first attempt to bring back the Roadster, Tesla appears to be making another try. Although CEO Elon Musk has moved the company’s headquarters to Texas, he has once again turned to California’s entertainment scene to promote his latest project. Previously, he showcased a remote‑controlled Cybercab on a Hollywood backlot; last night the focus shifted to using vintage stunt equipment to perform aerial maneuvers with a show car.
The forthcoming Roadster is billed as unlike any other vehicle, yet its sharp, wedge‑shaped design clearly nods to Giorgetto Giugiaro’s classic Lotus Esprit—a car Musk reportedly owns as a James Bond prop—while also recalling the recent Lamborghini Gallardo. At the rear, four oversized exhaust pipes stand out; they do not signal a new reliance on fossil fuels, but instead channel 100,000‑psi jets of compressed nitrogen. Early morning reading of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Statutes has not yet revealed the specific provision that would permit such a system on public roads.