This week, Tesla Roadster comes twice in the news for two very different reasons. On October 15, 2026, Tesla showed off a new Roadster prototype in Texas that appeared to lift off the ground using thruster technology inspired by SpaceX. While the new Roadster was making headlines on Earth, the original red Tesla Roadster that Elon Musk launched into space in 2018 is still traveling around the Sun. The two cars look connected by the same futuristic idea, but their journeys are very different. So, how did the new Tesla Roadster appear to fly, and what is actually happening to the original Tesla Roadster in space?
Astronomers Find the First Green Star
The New Tesla Roadster Stunt That Started This Story
At a SpaceX testing site in McGregor, Texas, Tesla demonstrated a new Roadster prototype performing a series of unusual moves. The car climbed a ramp, moved along an upside-down section, briefly lifted into the air, and then used onboard thrusters to lift itself into the air. It also performed a midair rotation before landing. The stunts looked like something from a science fiction movie, but the technology behind it has a practical explanation. The prototype used a suction-based system to grip surfaces and 10 cold-gas thrusters that produce thrust by releasing highly pressurised gas.
However, this does not mean the new Tesla Roadster can fly like an aircraft or travel into space. The demonstration only showed that the prototype could perform controlled, short-duration aerial movements under test conditions, not actual powered flight. Tesla has targeted 2028 for full production, so that we do not know its final features and capabilities yet. However, this news reminds people of original Tesla Roadster car that is actually in space and has been there for more than eight years.
How Cold-Gas Thrusters Actually Work?
The idea behind cold-gas thrusters is very simple. Imagine blowing up a balloon and then letting go of its opening without tying it. Air rushes out in one direction, and the balloon moves in the opposite direction. A cold-gas thruster works on the same basic principle, but it uses a controlled nozzle and a supply of pressurised gas. They release pressurized gas through a nozzle, creating a push that can move or turn an object in a controlled direction.
When gas escapes through the nozzle, it produces a force in the opposite direction. This force is called thrust. Spacecraft use these thrusters to make small movements, adjust their position, and control their direction without firing a large rocket engine. On the new Tesla Roadster prototype, multiple thrusters placed around the car. They are designed to control its movement and rotation. However, the system has one important limitation: it depends on a limited supply of compressed gas stored in onboard tanks. Once that gas runs out, the thrusters cannot keep working until the tanks are refilled.
This technology is very different from the system that sent the original Tesla Roadster into space in 2018. That car was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and is now traveling around the Sun.
Why There’s a Tesla Roadster in Space Right Now?
The story of the original Tesla Roadster began on February 6, 2018, when SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time. Instead of carrying a regular satellite, the rocket took Elon Musk’s cherry-red Tesla Roadster into space. A mannequin named Starman sat in the driver’s seat, wearing a SpaceX spacesuit. The name was inspired by David Bowie’s song “Starman.”
After liftoff, Falcon Heavy’s upper stage fired its engines and sent the car into heliocentric orbit, meaning an orbit around the Sun, rather than around Earth or Mars. NASA’s records confirm that the Tesla Roadster entered a path around the Sun that extends from near Earth’s orbit toward the region of Mars’ orbit. That launch turned an ordinary sports car into one of the most unusual objects ever sent into space.
Why did Elon Musk do It?
Falcon Heavy was making its first flight, and there was always a risk that the new rocket might fail. Satellite companies were unlikely to risk expensive equipment on a rocket that had not flown before. SpaceX needed a test payload, so instead of sending a block of concrete or steel, Musk chose his own cherry-red car. This unusual choice also attracted worldwide attention to both SpaceX and Tesla. A car floating through space made headlines around the world and gave the companies publicity that a typical rocket launch might not have received.
So Where Is the Original Car Right Now?
Many people thought that Tesla Roadster was sent to Mars, but that was never the plan. The car was placed in orbit around the Sun, and it is not parked near Mars. Since the Roadster has no engine or steering system, it cannot change its course on its own. Instead, it continues along the path set by its launch, following the Sun’s gravity much like other objects moving through the solar system.
Scientists have used computer models to study the car’s long-term journey. These calculations suggest that the Tesla Roadster could continue orbiting the Sun for millions of years, with a chance of eventually colliding with Earth or Venus. However, this is only a possibility based on long-term orbital calculations, not a prediction of when such a collision might happen. There is no reason to worry about it anytime soon.
Could the Tesla Roadster Ever Return or Hit Earth?
The Tesla Roadster cannot simply turn around and return to Earth. It has no engine to change its direction or adjust its orbit, so it will continue following its path around the Sun unless gravity changes its course. Although its orbit crosses the general region where Earth travels around the Sun that does not mean both will collide. Earth and the car move at different speeds and follow different paths, so a collision would require them to reach the same place at the same time.
Over millions of years, the gravitational pull of planets could gradually change the Roadster’s orbit. This is why scientists consider a future collision with Earth or Venus possible, but far from certain. The car is also extremely small compared with the vast distances in space, so it poses no meaningful safety concern. For now, its journey remains an interesting example of how gravity can shape the long-term paths of objects in our solar system.
Final Thought
The new Tesla Roadster prototype may grab attention with its unusual thruster-powered stunts, but the original Tesla Roadster in space remains a story unlike any other. One is a new experiment in car technology, while the other is a real vehicle traveling around the Sun after its historic 2018 launch.
More than eight years later, Elon Musk’s cherry-red car and its mannequin passenger, Starman, are still drifting through space. The car has no engine to guide it home, so its journey continues under the influence of the Sun’s gravity. What started as a test flight for SpaceX became one of the most unusual space stories ever told and the Roadster’s journey is far from over.