Play Road Thruster to Fly Tesla’s Roadster Years Before 2028

Production of Tesla’s new Roadster isn’t slated to start until 2028, but you can pilot a virtual one in your browser today. A fan-built racing title called Road Thruster is centered on the cold-gas thrusters Tesla demonstrated at the Roadster’s reveal event in October.

“Race seven rivals along walls, ceilings and twisting night roads, using thrusters to jump, hover and boost past them.”

What Road Thruster Is Like

Built with Three.js, Road Thruster runs in your browser with keyboard controls. You race an Ano White Roadster against seven rivals, either solo or with friends through the game’s party system.

The thrusters are the headline mechanic. They can provide a speed boost or, with the Rocket trim’s full-perimeter thruster system, launch the car into the air, execute mid-air flips, and clear obstacles. Courses range from city circuits to outer space; the “Escape Velocity” level even includes an easter egg featuring Musk’s OG Roadster that SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket shot into space. Tracks wind through tunnels and loops, rewarding gravity-defying stunts with bonuses.

There are several levels to progress through, and the developer recently added a daytime mode. Updates with fixes and new content have been arriving regularly, with the latest shipping on October 30, though it’s unclear how long that pace will continue.

Not as Far-Fetched as It Looks

In most racing games, thruster boosts, upside-down driving, and flying would be gimmicks. Tesla has already shown the real Roadster doing all three.

At the Roadster reveal event, the car drove upside down on a half-loop using its fan-powered suction system that creates up to 2 Gs of downforce. It then drove off the end, used its thrusters to flip upright and hover, and landed safely on its wheels. It also launched off the ground and flipped over Tesla’s current consumer and commercial lineup, and hit 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds with help from its thrusters.

Tesla even plans to build a looping track at its Texas headquarters so owners can try the Roadster’s stunts themselves.

The Closest Most of Us Will Get

Production isn’t set to begin until 2028, and the price will keep the Roadster out of reach for most people. The Roadster’s Thrust trim takes a $250,000 deposit just to reserve. The Rocket version, the one Tesla says can actually fly, is invite-only and doesn’t have a public price.

In Los Angeles, the new Roadster has been on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum. For everyone else, Road Thruster is the closest you’ll get to flying a Roadster for now, and with updates still coming, it should have plenty to keep players busy until the real thing arrives.