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Tesla Roadster’s ‘SpaceX package’ with rocket thrusters could actually work
This weekend proved to be a fruitful one for Elon Musk’s Twitter followers and fans of the next-generation Tesla Roadster, as the billionaire entrepreneur discussed, in honest-to-goodness seriousness, how the electric car maker would utilize SpaceX technology to make the upcoming all-electric supercar an absolute monster on wheels. Needless to say, there was quite a lot to take in.
Musk started off his Twitter discussion on the next-generation Roadster by stating that the car will feature ~10 rocket thrusters that are “arranged seamlessly around (the) car.” Musk further noted that the thrusters would “dramatically” improve acceleration, braking, and cornering, to the point that the Roadster would be able to fly — a reaffirmation of his previous statement referring to the vehicle having the capability to fly “short hops.”
Musk noted that Tesla would be using SpaceX’s Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV), a container consisting of a thin, non-structural liner wrapped with a structural fiber composite. COPVs are designed to hold a fluid under pressure, and are used by SpaceX’s first-stage rocket boosters during re-entry and landing. Musk further explained the use of SpaceX’s technology in later tweets.
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. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
While the idea of using rocket propulsion to enhance the performance of an all-electric supercar might seem to be well into the realms of science fiction, using COPVs for the next-gen Roadster is actually pretty feasible, at least from a technical standpoint. SpaceX’s COPVs have operating pressures of around 350 bars (5,000 psi) and too powerful for a land vehicle. If Tesla installs a similar version of SpaceX’s upper stage thrusters that are used in guiding rockets, rear-mounted devices could store just enough compressed air to provide Tesla’s next-gen Roadster an additional boost in acceleration for a short duration.
Note, gas contained would be ultra high pressure air in a SpaceX rocket COPV bottle. The air exiting the thrusters would immediately be replenished whenever vehicle pack power draw allowed operation of the air pump, which is most of the time.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2018
Rocket thrusters placed in front of the vehicle that provides thrust opposite of the Roadster’s direction of travel, at least in concept, could help the electric car’s braking capability, while thrusters placed along each side of the vehicle can help in cornering by providing lateral force. In order to accomplish this, however, Tesla would have to carefully balance the weight of components from the upgraded SpaceX package – Musk noted that the vehicle would sacrifice its rear seats from the standard 2+ 2 configuration to accommodate the additional hardware – with output from the rocket thrusters to maximize the vehicle’s performance. Onboard electric air pumps would repressurize the space-grade containers when they were depleted, making for repeat fun, at least in a theoretical sense. Musk also stated that SpaceX COPVs that will be used for the next-generation Roadster will be durable, and be “literally bulletproof.”
Exactly. Total energy stored even in ultra compressed air is low vs battery, but power output is insane. The composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) is most advanced ever made. It’s what SpaceX is qualifying for NASA crewed missions. Extremely robust — literally bulletproof.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2018
Overall, Musk reiterated that the next-generation Tesla Roadster is designed to be the best car in the industry when it gets released. During his tweetstorm, Musk mentioned that with the all-electric supercar, Tesla is attempting to beat ICE vehicles on “every performance metric;” thus transferring the “halo crown effect” gas cars have as the top speed standards in the automotive market.
New details about Tesla’s next-generation Roadster have been released by Elon Musk lately. The SpaceX option for the vehicle was announced during the 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting, and not long after that, Musk also revealed that the vehicle would feature an “Augmented Mode” designed to “enhance human driving ability,” thereby providing assistance to drivers who would be operating the insanely powerful supercar.
During the unveiling of the next-generation Tesla Roadster, Elon Musk noted that the purpose of the all-electric supercar is to give a “hardcore smackdown” to gasoline-powered cars. The specs of the vehicle that were unveiled then, which are representative of the all-electric supercar’s base trim, are already record-breaking, including a 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 8.9 seconds, a top speed of over 250 mph, 620 miles of range thanks to a 200 kWh battery, and 10,000 Nm of torque. With the Roadster’s SpaceX option, the all-electric supercar could very well establish a new class of vehicles that lie beyond the hypercar echelon.
A Tesla upfitter has offered to take over Cybertruck lines from the company in a last-ditch effort to save the all-electric pickup from being completely canceled in the middle of 2027.
Unplugged Performance, the Hawthorne, California-based Tesla aftermarket specialist, has publicly offered to take over Cybertruck production from Tesla, funding the effort “through a consortium of investors.”
An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands.
We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn.
Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built.
We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond.
Worth a conversation?— UP (@UnpluggedTesla) November 10, 2026
The proposal comes as Tesla prioritizes its Cybercab Robotaxi program and prepares to wind down Cybertruck assembly at Gigafactory Texas around mid-2027.
Founded in 2013 by Ben Schaffer and located adjacent to Tesla’s Design Studio and SpaceX, Unplugged Performance has become a leading provider of premium upgrades for Tesla vehicles, including extensive Cybertruck packages under its UP INVINCIBLE line.
Through its UP.FIT division, the company has also developed purpose-built police and fleet versions of the Cybertruck, including deliveries to agencies such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
In an X post on Tuesday, Unplugged said:
“An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands. We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn. Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built. We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond. Worth a conversation?”
The arrangement would free Tesla resources and manufacturing capacity for Cybercab while allowing continued production of the stainless-steel pickup and expanded variants. Unplugged Performance indicated it would wait for battery cells after Cybercab needs are met and would generate ongoing revenue for Tesla through licensing and software/network services on the vehicles it produces.
Following strong initial interest, Unplugged Performance posted a follow-up inviting potential investors and strategic partners to email cyber@unpluggedperformance.com. The company clarified that the outreach is solely to gauge interest and does not constitute an offer to sell securities or acceptance of funds at this stage.
The proposal arrives shortly after Elon Musk indicated that Cybertruck production in Texas would be phased out by roughly the middle of 2027 to expand Cybercab output.
Whether Tesla engages with the offer remains to be seen, but the public overture highlights both the aftermarket specialist’s deep experience with the Cybertruck platform and the growing focus on autonomy within Tesla’s manufacturing plans.
Elon Musk said the Tesla Cybercab will perform “a majority of all passenger miles” where it is allowed to operate and that point is “obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.”
Musk used the point to double down on the company’s decision to ax the cult-favorite Cybertruck, as its production space will be removed and transitioned into additional Cybercab lines. The move has catalyzed a polarizing conversation on whether its right or wrong.
Whatever side you are on — it’s happening.
Dodge ended the Viper.
Audi retired the R8.
Mitsubishi said goodbye to the Lancer Evo.
Ford bid farewell to the Bronco (at one point).
Chevrolet sunset the Camaro.Tesla is ending the Cybertruck. I’m pissed. I’m upset.
Fans of those five automakers mentioned did the same thing. It happens. It sucks. I don’t like it.
But I still love Tesla. I love my Model Y. I hoped to be in a Cybertruck in a little under two years.
I won’t be. But I still won’t put my family in anything else. Too safe. Too advanced. Too much better than everything else.
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Regardless, Musk seems to be getting to the point that he is done talking about the choice. At some point, you have to think that this was truly a difficult decision for him and the company as well, and this is not something he took lightly. In fact, he’s probably a little bit disappointed with it, too.
But the point remains that the Cybertruck is gone. Musk’s focus is purely on developing an autonomous platform that the world will utilize for transportation, and he’s telling you that anyone “with eyes and a brain” can see it:
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is betting that all of its passengers in the future will be okay with not owning their own personal cars and will be fine with ride-hailing for the rest of their lives. Every dinner, every errand, every trip to the airport and transportation thereafter, will all be operated by ride-sharing, and in Tesla’s perfect world, it will happen in a Cybercab.
As of now, Cybercab is only active in Austin, but it has been spotted all over the country with a driver behind the wheel in those prototypes. In Austin, the car has no steering wheel or pedals for people to control the vehicle.
The Cybertruck dilemma is one that has truly come across the entire Tesla community and while it seems to be a great idea to keep it because people love it, the business side of things is steering Musk and Tesla in another direction.
Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.
After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.
Tesla has stopped taking orders for the Cybertruck Premium AWD.
The Cyberbeast is now the only trim you can order, and its price went up $7,500 to $109,990.
Estimated deliveries have also slipped to March–June 2027 as the Giga Texas line heads toward its mid-2027 wind-down. https://t.co/o28epA0ZQl
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.
Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.
Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.
Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.
Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.
Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing
Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.
Tesla upfitter offers to keep Cybertruck alive
Elon Musk says Tesla Cybercab future is ‘obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain’
