Tesla Stock Higher After Flying Roadster Reveal, but Production Is Years Away

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), the electric vehicle and self-driving technology maker, showed off its second-generation Roadster on Thursday evening, and its shares were indicated higher in overnight trading. The reveal came after the US close, at a SpaceX test site in Texas.

The stock was indicated up 2.93% at $373.06 in overnight trading, an unconfirmed level published early on Friday. Tesla closed yesterday at $362.44, its third lower close in a row. The US cash session opens at 2.30pm UK time, so the move is not yet tested.

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At the launch event, developed with SpaceX, the Roadster drove upside down, spun and jumped over a Tesla Semi truck. It uses cold-gas thrusters, essentially compressed-air jets that push the car. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said it would be the company’s only manually driven car in time. He also posted on X after the event:

Turns out the future does have flying cars.

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO

The detail is thin. Tesla claims 0-60mph in 0.81 seconds, and Musk said production starts in 2028. No price was given. Reservations are open at $50,000 for the Performance trim and $250,000 for the Thrust, and a third, single-seat Rocket trim is invite-only and not approved for public roads.

The Roadster is a showpiece, or “halo”, car, one meant to lift the brand rather than add volume. Seth Goldstein, a Morningstar analyst, said in a September note that Tesla does not currently have a halo car and that the Roadster will be its new one. Before the event, a Yahoo Finance panellist named Gary predicted a niche product selling perhaps a couple of thousand units.

Tesla is down about 19.4% this year from its 2025 year-end close of $449.72, and 8.1% over three months from $394.46 on the 15th of July.

The next test is the third-quarter results, expected next Wednesday after the US close, with an EPS estimate of 0.21. They will show whether the spectacle changes the picture on robotaxis and AI spending.