Roadster 2.0 Takes Flight (Literally) as Production Nears 2028

Tesla officially pulled back the curtain on its redesigned Roadster, showcasing a prototype equipped with SpaceX-developed cold-gas thrusters that enable the vehicle to briefly hover and execute aerial maneuvers Newscord. The demonstration, held at a SpaceX facility in Texas, featured the car driving up a ramp, spinning in the air, and landing with air jets, and a second demo showed it lifting off to fly over a line of five other Teslas Newscord. This next-generation Roadster, initially announced nearly a decade ago, aims for production in 2028, though no immediate price tag has been set Pluang | Uppermichiganssource.com.

Tesla confirmed three variants: Performance, Thrust, and Rocket Tesla Oracle. The Performance model is rated for 0-100 km/h in 1.6 seconds, while the Thrust variant, with cold-gas thrusters, achieves 0-97 km/h in under a second Newscord. The single-seat Rocket version, featuring thrusters around its chassis, is touted to hit 0-100 km/h in under 0.59 seconds and can perform lateral pirouettes Newscord. Despite the impressive display, some critics, like El Confidencial, labeled the event as "pure trickery and steam," questioning the lack of a credible price or firm delivery date for a vehicle that won't reach public roads by 2028 due to regulatory hurdles Newscord | Uppermichiganssource.com.

FSD Incident Injures Officers, NHTSA Probes Robotaxi Speeding

A Tesla driver told California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers he had fallen asleep while his car was running in Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode before it crashed into a patrol vehicle on eastbound Interstate 80 in Fairfield, California, shortly before midnight on October 13, 2026 Tech-Insider.org. The collision seriously injured two CHP officers who were inside their Dodge Charger patrol car, which was positioned in a closed lane marked with cones and flares while investigating an unrelated fatal crash Tech-Insider.org | Tech-Insider.org. The driver, a 22-year-old from Sacramento, sustained minor injuries, and the incident has ignited further debate over FSD's Level 2 classification and driver supervision requirements Tech-Insider.org.

Separately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a safety inquiry into Tesla's 2026 robotaxis, including both Model Y and Cybercab units, following reports and video evidence of these vehicles speeding in active school zones BigGo Finance. This potential investigation covers approximately 1,000 autonomous vehicles operating in Texas, Florida, and the Bay Area BigGo Finance. While no crashes or injuries are alleged, the inquiry is significant as Tesla simultaneously pursues FMVSS self-certification for its steering-wheel-less Cybercab, with the timelines for both decisions converging in late 2026 or early 2027 BigGo Finance. Concerns exist that Tesla's certification could be contingent on conditions such as geographic limits or speed caps, particularly given Tesla's mapless system's potential to misinterpret conditional speed limits BigGo Finance.

Cybercab Rolls Out, Deliveries Impress

Tesla's Cybercab is now in public use, notably as the company's first vehicle designed without a steering wheel or pedals, purpose-built for autonomous operation Basenor.com. The two-seat robotaxi features a cabin organized around two passengers and a single 21-inch touchscreen, with physical door-release and emergency-stop buttons marked with Braille Basenor.com. Production began at Gigafactory Texas in February 2026, with volume manufacturing starting in April 2026 Basenor.com. Following an invitation-only commercial launch in Austin on September 3, 2026, paid public rides through Tesla's Robotaxi service commenced the next day Basenor.com. As of early October 2026, over 300 Cybercabs were reportedly part of the fleet, running on a camera-only autonomy stack with a modified Hardware 4 compute platform and unsupervised FSD version 15 Basenor.com.

In other news, Tesla reported Q3 2026 deliveries of 486,532 vehicles, surpassing expectations and marking its third-best quarter ever and the strongest since the expiry of U.S. federal clean vehicle credits Pluang. Analysts suggest rising fuel prices, possibly due to the Hormuz crisis, may have offset some of the lost $7,500 credit incentive Pluang. This strong delivery performance comes ahead of Tesla's upcoming Q3 earnings report, scheduled for after market close on Wednesday, October 21 The Motley Fool. Historically, Tesla's stock has shown significant volatility around earnings reports, moving 8% or more after 10 of its last 15 quarterly reports since 2023, with an average swing of 9% The Motley Fool.

Market Watch

TSLA closed Friday, October 16, at $354.72, down 2.13% from the prior trading day Pluang. The stock experienced a decline after the Roadster reveal failed to sustain earlier gains Investing.com. Tesla's market capitalization stood at $1.40 trillion as of October 17, 2026 Pluang. The stock saw a robust trading volume of over 61 million shares on Friday Pluang.

Institutional investors continue to adjust their positions in Tesla. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. significantly increased its stake by 694.8% in Q3, now holding 32,700 shares valued at $11.602 million MarketBeat.com. State Street Corp. boosted its holdings by 2.4% in Q2, bringing its total to 117.46 million shares worth $49.402 billion MarketBeat.com. Corient Private Wealth LLC saw a substantial increase of 3,205.5% in its Tesla position in Q4, now owning 21.46 million shares valued at $9.651 billion MarketBeat.com. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 66.20% of the company's stock MarketBeat.com.

Analysts have set a 1-year target estimate of $395.34 for TSLA Yahoo Finance. However, Tesla was recently downgraded to 'Hold' due to expectations that key AI chip technology for humanoid robots won't be available until 2027-2028 Pluang.