Image: Tesla
Elon Musk says Tesla plans to build a “wild looping track” at its Texas headquarters where Roadster owners can put their cars to the test. He described the planned attraction as “crazier even than Hot Wheels.” Musk shared the details in a reply to Robert Scoble on X early Saturday.
Musk also made a more unusual claim about what the car will be able to do. In the same reply, he wrote, “You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient.” He didn’t specify which tricks he was referring to, explain what he meant by the car being “sentient,” or say when these capabilities might arrive. He also left out the track’s exact location in Texas and how much it would cost to use.
The latest comments follow Tesla’s Roadster reveal on October 15, when the company showed off three versions of the car: Performance, Thrust and Rocket. Tesla said the single-seat Rocket version uses cold-gas thrusters for forward, upward, sideways and rotational movement. In Tesla’s words, “yes, it can fly.” The event took place at SpaceX’s rocket test site near McGregor, Texas, and our backstage footage story covers what attendees saw up close.
Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy, later explained how the car’s fans, wings and thrusters work together. Musk has also made claims about the Roadster’s performance on a race track. On Friday, he wrote that even without rocket thrusters, the car “will crush the best Formula 1 track times,” thanks to its suction and active control surfaces. That’s Musk’s claim, and he didn’t provide a lap time or identify a specific track.
Later on Saturday, Musk posted that “Future fun Roadster demos will include flying over the Snake River or maybe Grand Canyon and landing on its wheels and exceeding half the speed of sound.” Tesla’s performance figures remain stated targets rather than independently tested results, and Musk hasn’t provided a timeline for any of the capabilities described in his posts.
Tesla has yet to announce pricing for the Roadster. Reservations require a $50,000 deposit, with $5,000 due upfront and the remaining $45,000 due within 10 days.
Would you want to take a Roadster around a looping track?
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