Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares climbed more than 5% at one point in Friday’s premarket trading after Elon Musk unveiled the redesigned Roadster. AASTOCKS reported a 5.3% advance at 5:44 a.m. Eastern time, or 09:44 UTC, on October 16. The move preceded the regular U.S. session.
Against Thursday’s $362.44 close, a gain of that size implied roughly $75 billion in additional market value, using approximately 3.95 billion shares outstanding in Investing.com’s market data. That calculation reflects the earlier premarket level; it can change as the share price moves.
At the October 15 demonstration in Texas, the Roadster drove onto an inverted ramp, flipped through the air and landed with help from compressed-air thrusters developed with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX). We previously reported on the engineering collaboration and Musk’s 2028 production target.
The “flying” label needs a distinction between configurations. Tesla’s Roadster page describes an invitation-only, single-seat Rocket version with thrusters supporting upward and rotational movement. Tesla says that version is not approved for public-road use and is unavailable in some regions. The demonstration does not establish that customers can use those capabilities on ordinary roads.
The reveal also renews attention on the relationship between Tesla and SpaceX, which remain separately traded companies. Merger discussions were reported months before the Roadster event, as we wrote in May. No merger agreement was announced at the presentation, and Tesla has not provided a detailed Roadster sales-volume or margin forecast.
