# Tesla's Roadster promises 383 mph with nitrogen jets

> Elon Musk revives the Roadster with stunt technology, but rivals already outperform his claims and his track record on delivery is poor.
- Title: Tesla's Roadster promises 383 mph with nitrogen jets
- Summary: Elon Musk revives the Roadster with stunt technology, but rivals already outperform his claims and his track record on delivery is poor. Tesla unveiled a new…
- Keywords: tesla, elon musk, roadster, electric vehicles, performance claims, mcmurtry spéirling, product delays, technology, science, Tesla's, promises, 383
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/10/tesla-turns-to-50-year-old-stunt-technology-as-it-tries-to-roadster-again
- Published: 2026-10-16T14:03:25+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: tesla, elon musk, roadster, electric vehicles, performance claims, mcmurtry spéirling, product delays, technology, science
## Tesla revives the Roadster
Nine years after first trying to resurrect the Roadster, Tesla is apparently trying again. CEO Elon Musk used stunt technology to make a show car do tricks in the air.
## Nitrogen jets power the stunts
The new Roadster has four giant exhaust pipes at the rear where one hundred thousand psi jets of compressed nitrogen shoot out.
## Extreme performance claims
Musk claims a planned top speed of three hundred eighty three mph, with a zero to sixty mph time of zero point eight seconds.
## Rivals already outperform Tesla
The McMurtry Spéirling, which looks like a miniaturized Batmobile, is capable of generating up to three point five lateral Gs.The best Tesla claims for the new Roadster is two Gs.
## McMurtry's proven track record
The Spéirling has set a faster lap time around the Top Gear test track than an F one car, blitzed the Goodwood Hill Climb record in two thousand twenty two, and McMurtry has sold at…
## Musk's history of broken promises
Musk claims the Roadster will go into production by two thousand twenty eight.But in two thousand seventeen he told attendees the previous launch that we are making it now.

> We are making it now.
## Tesla's core business struggles
Tesla's profits are vanishing as costs rise and selling prices drop. Its stratospheric valuation was predicated on constant growth, but Europe and China now have hundreds of EV models to choose from, only two of…
## Musk's real focus elsewhere
Musk has told us time and again Tesla is no longer a car company.He seems more interested in merging Tesla with SpaceX, claiming synergies having to do with AI.
## Key takeaway

Tesla unveiled a new Roadster using compressed nitrogen jets for stunts, claiming 383 mph and 0.8 second acceleration, but existing EVs already exceed these specs and Musk has repeatedly failed to deliver on Roadster promises.