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Tesla shows a Roadster prototype that can lift off the ground

The long-delayed electric sports car used cold-gas thrusters developed with SpaceX to jump a ramp, flip in mid-air and land on its wheels at a Texas test site. Production is planned for 2028.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 18 Oct 2026, 11:52

The second-generation Tesla Roadster prototype displayed at its 2017 launch event. Tesla unveiled a redesigned, thruster-equipped version of the car at a SpaceX test site in Texas on 15 October 2026. Smnt / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tesla has unveiled a redesigned version of its long-delayed Roadster, a two-seat electric sports car fitted with thrusters developed with SpaceX that allowed it to leave the ground during a livestreamed demonstration.

The event was held on Thursday, 15 October, at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, near Waco. In the demonstration a white prototype drove up a curved ramp until it was upside down, launched off the end, flipped in mid-air and landed on its wheels. In another run it used the thrusters to lift itself over a line-up of other Tesla vehicles.

According to Tesla, the car uses cold-gas thrusters fed by about 600 litres of compressed air. The company says the top speed is above 230 miles per hour (about 370 kph) and that some versions can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under one second.

Chief executive Elon Musk described the collaboration with SpaceX as producing something the audience had not seen in any movie. He said production would begin in 2028 but gave no price.

Tesla lists three versions. The two-seat Performance model is described as road ready; the two-seat Thrust version adds rear-mounted thrusters; and a single-seat Rocket version, described as air ready, carries ten thrusters positioned around the car. Tesla's website shows reservation payments of $50,000 for the Performance version and $250,000 for the Thrust, and says the Rocket is invite-only.

The company has not said whether the car will be street-legal. Musk said it is not necessarily a safety-optimised car, and no aviation regulator has approved it for flight.

The Roadster was first shown as a concept in 2017 and was originally promised for 2020. Deliveries were delayed several times. Analysts say the model is unlikely to have a large financial impact on Tesla, but the reveal has renewed speculation about a possible merger between Tesla and SpaceX.

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Ginger and garlic prices jump in Dhaka as vegetable costs stay high

Ginger rose by Tk50-60 a kilogram in two days in the capital's kitchen markets, with onions, garlic and most vegetables also climbing while eggs eased slightly.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 13:04Open this article

A vegetable shop in Dhaka. Ginger, onion, garlic and most vegetables have become more expensive in the capital's kitchen markets, while egg prices have eased slightly. Photo: Yahya / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ginger prices in Dhaka's kitchen markets jumped by Tk50-60 a kilogram in two days, with Chinese ginger selling for about Tk190 a kilogram at markets in Hatirpool, New Market and Lalbagh on 16 October, up from Tk130-140 the previous Wednesday, according to market surveys by The Business Standard.

Onions were selling for about Tk60 a kilogram and local garlic for about Tk100, The Business Standard reported. A separate survey by The Daily Star at Karwan Bazar found wholesale onion prices up by Tk4 a kilogram to Tk48-52, and ginger and garlic up by Tk20-30 a kilogram in a week.

Most vegetables, except papaya and pumpkin, cost Tk80 a kilogram or more. Tomatoes reached Tk180-200 a kilogram and beans Tk160, while traders said supplies of early winter vegetables were still too small to bring prices down.

Egg prices, which had reached about Tk160 a dozen two weeks earlier, eased to Tk145-150. Poultry prices were broadly steady, but beef sold for about Tk800 a kilogram and mutton for Tk1,250.

Traders blamed higher transport and input costs for pushing up wholesale prices, and shoppers said they were buying smaller quantities to manage household budgets. Bangladesh has faced persistent food inflation for months, with essentials climbing after recent floods damaged crops in dozens of districts.

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Saudi-led coalition reports helicopter crash in Najran as Houthis claim a shootdown

The coalition said an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter came down with a technical fault, killing two officers. A Houthi spokesman said the group shot down a Saudi Apache.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 13:04Open this article

A US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter in flight over Alaska in 2019, in a file photo. Saudi Arabia operates Apache helicopters; a Houthi spokesman said the group shot down a Saudi Apache near Najran, while the Saudi-led coalition said a National Guard AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed with a technical fault. Photo: CW2 Cameron Roxberry / U.S. Army (public domain)

The Saudi-led coalition said on 18 October that a Saudi National Guard reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region near the border with Yemen because of a technical malfunction, killing its two-officer crew.

Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said the AH-6i helicopter came down inside Saudi territory. The official Saudi Press Agency carried his statement.

The crash was reported a day after the Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a post on X that the group had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran while it was carrying out what he called hostile operations against Houthi positions along the border. Saree gave no details of the weapon, the crew or the exact location.

Al-Maliki rejected that account. He replied to Saree's post with a photo of several Apache helicopters lined up, saying: "You claim to have shot it down, but it will enter the battlefield soon."

The two sides described different aircraft types, and it was not clear that they were referring to the same helicopter.

Najran, in south-western Saudi Arabia on the Yemen border, has come under repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks in recent weeks as fighting has escalated. The coalition also said it intercepted two ballistic missiles fired towards Khamis Mushait and a drone over the Riyadh region.