Tesla's Roadster backflip gets MotorTrend's engineering treatment

A silent stunt Short is drawing attention alongside a longer tour of the pressure vessel, fans and thrusters behind Tesla's plans.

Channel: MotorTrend Channel Story of October 17, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 64,692 views a day, 18 times a normal first day on this channel (3,493).

The NEW Tesla Roadster Does an Actual Flip

What is supposed to send a sports car into the air? MotorTrend's Roadster coverage offers both the spectacle and a closer look at the machinery Tesla says makes it possible.

In "The NEW Tesla Roadster Does an Actual Flip," a white car launches from a straightaway lit by red beams, rotates backward and lands amid white tire smoke. It then rolls toward the camera. There is no spoken explanation, just on-screen declarations that this is not AI and that the Roadster can fly.

The Short drew roughly 65,000 views in its first day, far above MotorTrend's usual Shorts start. Comments arrived more than twenty times faster than usual, with viewers asking about seat belts, the forces on an occupant and what practical purpose a flip would serve. Others question whether the footage is genuine; those comments do not establish how it was made.

For the engineering questions, MotorTrend has a separate, longer upload featuring Tesla vehicle-engineering executive Lars Moravy. Its description promises explanations of fan-generated downforce, active aerodynamics and cold-gas thrusters, including the carbon-fiber-wrapped pressure vessel supplying them. That video is also drawing an unusually large audience for the channel.

The distinction matters: the Short shows the maneuver, while the Moravy tour tackles the proposed hardware. MotorTrend even gives the longer video's final chapter the question the spectacle invites: "Will the Roadster Fly?"

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The numbers

Both the stunt Short and the longer engineering tour drew unusually strong starts for their respective formats.

the video's first day

usual first day here

3,493

this video

64,692

subscribers

7,000,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

1,681,928,321

views per day

141,257

typical day: 84,426

the video

views

70,661

likes

621

comments

156

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

Top Gear

9,550,000

Donut

9,360,000

Mat Armstrong

7,810,000

MotorTrend Channel

7,000,000

Scotty Kilmer

6,660,000

Westen Champlin

5,960,000

As of October 17, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.