Tesla Roadster Simulation
A 3D simulator that runs in the browser: you drive a Tesla Roadster fitted with 10 compressed-gas thrusters and an underfloor suction fan (the SpaceX package described in the code). Free-roam driving with rigid-body physics, designed mainly for the PS5 DualSense controller; keyboard and mouse work too. No build step: a tiny local Python server serves the game, and three.js is bundled in the repository.
Unofficial fan project, not affiliated with Tesla or SpaceX.
Play online
Open the link above in Chrome or Edge, connect the PS5 controller and press any button. Nothing to install.
Run it locally
Requirements:
- Python 3, only for the local server
serve.py (ES modules don't load from file://)
- A browser with WebGL and the Gamepad API (written for Chrome/Edge; PlayStation controllers with the different Firefox/Safari mappings are normalised too)
| OS | How |
|---|
| macOS | double-click start-mac.command (first time: right-click → Open; if needed chmod +x start-mac.command) |
| Windows | double-click start-windows.bat (uses py -3 or python, prints a message if Python is missing) |
| Terminal | python3 serve.py (Windows: py -3 serve.py) |
serve.py starts on port 8000 (tries up to 19 further ports if it's busy), prints the address, e.g. http://localhost:8000, and opens your browser. Stop it with Ctrl+C. On the start screen click or press ✕ to begin.
PS5 controller (recommended)
Connect the DualSense via USB or Bluetooth and press any button: it is detected automatically (a "Controller connected" notice appears). DualShock 4 and Xbox pads work too (A=✕, B=○, X=□, Y=△, View=CREATE, Menu=OPTIONS). Controller rumble is used when the browser exposes it.
| PS5 pad | Action | Keyboard / mouse |
|---|
| R2 / L2 | Accelerate / brake (stopped: reverse) | W / S (or ↑ / ↓) |
| Left stick | Steer (in air: flip and spin) | A D · W S (or arrows) |
| ✕ | Lift thrusters | Space |
| ○ | Rear boost | Shift |
| □ | Front braking jets | C |
| L1 / R1 | Barrel-roll (on ground: turn in place) | Q / E |
| △ | Change camera (third person, cockpit, side, drone) | V |
| Touchpad / L3 | Change challenge | T |
| CREATE | Right the car | F |
| OPTIONS | Restart (hold 0.6 s: settings) | R (P: settings) |
| Right stick | Orbit camera | mouse drag |
| R3 | Camera distance | Z / wheel |
| D-pad ↑ / ↓ | Manual suction: more / less | M / N |
| D-pad → | Suction auto / manual | G |
| D-pad ← | Traction control on/off | H |
The Controls button at the top (or ? / F1) shows the same table in-game.
Challenges
Switch with Touchpad / L3 / T. There are five:
| Challenge | Description (from the game) |
|---|
| Ramp | Climb the J, let go and land in the zone. J-ramp: r = 7 m curve, 9 m wall, r = 5 m hook at 90°, 3 m lip, 4.6 m wide; landing zone at x = −24 |
| Jump | Clear the five parked vehicles (landing zone at x = −76) |
| Test grid | Grid test area: bumps, washboard and rock field, 10°/20°/30°/40° ramps, stairs and wall, long jump, banked circular track, conical hill climb, skidpad and slalom, crates to smash (a 4 × 5 wall and a 21-crate pyramid) |
| Stunt park | Kickers, table-top, helix loop, half-pipe and slalom |
| Hills | Dirt between the hills: less grip, lots of jumps |
Scoring (computed by the code at each landing): release height (60 pts/m), airtime (150/s), full turns (1500 each), soft landing (up to 1200), car level (up to 600), gas left (up to 800), on target (+1000); in Jump, 600 pts per vehicle cleared. A wheels-down landing above 12 m/s is a crash; you can keep going, right the car (CREATE) or restart (OPTIONS). The best score is saved in the browser.
Settings
Open with the Settings button, P, or by holding OPTIONS; the game pauses and choices are saved in the browser. Gamepad: D-pad ↑↓ to pick, ←→ to adjust, ○ to close.
| Setting | Range (default) |
|---|
| Compressed gas | 100–2000 L, or infinite (600 L) |
| Lift gas burn | 50–600 L/s (180) |
| Lift thrust | 1.4–4 g (2.4) |
| Boost thrust | 0.5–5 g (2.2) |
| Compressed-air density (fog) | 40–250 % (140 %) |
| Road grip | μ 0.4–1.4 (0.85) |
| Ramp-hook impact bang | 0–100 % (100) |
| Camera vertical axis | normal / inverted |
| Volume | 0–100 % (80) |
| Language | Italiano / English |
Gas is refilled by restarting (OPTIONS) or by stopping on the "GAS" station in the map.
How it works (from the code)
- Car: 1745 kg + 155 kg of nitrogen (600 L at ~690 bar) that is used up as you go; 2.65 m wheelbase; rear-wheel drive, 10,000 Nm and 1000 kW; top speed ~370 km/h.
- Physics: 3D rigid body with 8 sub-steps per frame; independent spring/damper suspension; Pacejka magic-formula tyres (longitudinal and lateral) with a friction circle (μ 1.25); Ackermann steering; traction control, ABS and stability control (ESC) with torque vectoring on the two rear motors; drag and downforce.
- Suction: underfloor fan up to ~2 g of downforce, with a seal that depends on ride height. In auto mode it switches on above 60 km/h, on the ramp and in the loop, never in reverse.
- Thrusters: 10 nozzles: 4 fixed rear (boost) and 6 gimballed (up to 35°, up to 11 kN each: 2 front under the splitter, 2 in the side skirts, 2 at the rear corners), used for lift, braking, lateral thrust and attitude, with automatic stabilisation in flight. Positions are a reconstruction, not official data.
- Compressed air: volumetric condensation fog whose particles collide with the car, ramps and ground.
- Sound: synthesised in real time with Web Audio (no audio files).
- Languages: the game UI is available in Italian and English, picked from the browser and switchable in Settings.
Project layout
index.html page and interface (HUD, controls, settings)
game.js engine: physics, input, camera, audio, particles, challenges
routes.js test grid, stunt park and hills
roadster-model.js procedural car (used when the .glb model is missing)
wheels.js wheels built from scratch
i18n.js Italian / English translations
serve.py local server (python3 serve.py)
start-mac.command launcher for macOS
start-windows.bat launcher for Windows
vendor/three/ three.js (MIT), bundled
.github/workflows/ GitHub Pages deployment
docs/ screenshot and social preview image
3D model (optional)
The Tesla model is not included (unknown license). The game looks for models/tesla-roadster-2026.glb; without it a procedural car from roadster-model.js is used. Drop your own model at that path (models/ is git-ignored). See CREDITS.md.
Publish your own copy (GitHub Pages)
Settings → Pages → Source: GitHub Actions; the included workflow (.github/workflows/pages.yml) deploys on every push to main.
License
MIT (code). Third-party assets: see CREDITS.md.
