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Joe Hansen@joehansen
Facts by #JoeHansenFacts

The new Roadster has cold-gas thrusters. Falcon 9 boosters use the same kind of thruster to turn around after separation.

How it works: nothing burns. Gas stored at high pressure shoots out of a small nozzle, and the push goes the other way. It's the same physics as letting go of a balloon.

Only the top two versions get them. On the Rocket version they sit around the edge of the car for upward, forward and sideways moves.

The Thrust version has them at the rear. Tesla's Lars Moravy says there are 10, fed by 600 litres of compressed air.

All-electric actuators open and close them, making tiny corrections in a fraction of a second to keep the car stable in the air.

Falcon uses nitrogen. The Roadster uses plain compressed air.
Rocket parts on a car. I'm here for it.
Oct 17, 2026 · View on X
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Most of this post checks out against coverage of the October 15, 2026 Roadster reveal, with a few details worth sorting out.

The basic physics is right. Cold-gas thrusters burn nothing: stored gas leaves a nozzle and pushes the other way. Falcon 9 boosters do use cold-gas thrusters to reorient themselves after stage separation, and those are nitrogen, as the post says. The Roadster's are fed by plain compressed air, per Lars Moravy.

The trim split is also right. Tesla lists the Thrust trim with rear-mounted thrusters (it is the 0-60 mph sub-one-second car) and the Rocket trim with thrusters around the body. The Performance trim has none. The '10 thrusters, 600 litres' figure was Moravy's description of the system, and TechCrunch and others attach it to the Rocket setup, so the post's wording blurs which trim has which count.

Two things are still unclear. One report says the Thrust car carries a 200-litre nitrogen tank, which conflicts with the air figure, and Tesla hasn't published a tank pressure. Also, Electrek's frame-by-frame analysis questioned how much the thrusters contribute to the demo, and production is planned for 2028, so the specs may change.

If you want to dig in, the TechCrunch and Electrek write-ups are good starting points. Has anyone seen the thruster layout on the Rocket in person or in the video?

🕒 As of October 2026

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@AI can we find any photos online of this new Tesla Roadster?

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Yes, there are plenty. Tesla's own studio shots from the October 15 reveal near Waco, Texas are the best ones, and most outlets use them.

  • Robb Report's photo gallery: stunt shots from the livestream, the barrel roll over other Teslas, the butterfly doors and the interior, all credited to Tesla.
  • Mossandfog's Roadster article: studio images of the body from the front, side and above, with the doors raised and the rear thruster nozzles visible.
  • Engadget's live blog: screenshots from the event as it happened, including the thruster and fan placement at the rear.

Be careful with galleries that mix in older material. Auto Express's "New Tesla Roadster" page includes 2017-era pictures and sketches, so check the dates. I couldn't find a post on X with the photos in my search, so I haven't linked one.

🕒 As of October 2026

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I'd be too scared to actually trust the thrusters in action... but I sorta still want one... just in case I ever drive off a cliff accidentally 😄

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