Tesla Roadster demo lifts 24/7 trading

What happened

The Tesla Roadster was one of the most searched topics on Google this week, topping the daily trends in Mexico and ranking high in Germany. The reason was a demonstration of a prototype that can briefly lift off the ground. According to CoinDesk, Elon Musk showed the flying version of the Roadster on 15 October, after US stock markets had closed. Because Nasdaq was shut, the first big market reaction did not happen on a stock exchange. It happened on crypto trading venues that never close.

The car behind the trend

Telemundo reported that the second-generation Roadster was presented at an event at SpaceX's site in Texas, and that it uses cold-gas thrusters to rise briefly and perform flips. Tesla executives said they borrowed some SpaceX technology for it. Univision described three planned versions: a cheaper, fully electric Performance model, a Thrust model with a compressed-air thruster at the rear, and the Rocket prototype seen in the demo. No price was announced. Musk has acknowledged that consumer production will not start before 2028, and Telemundo noted that Tesla's reservation list does not guarantee a delivery date.

Crypto venues moved first

CoinDesk reported that volume in the Tesla contract on Hyperliquid, a decentralised trading platform, jumped from about $2.8 million to $47 million within one hour of the demo. The contract rose about 4.9% to roughly $378. With the day's candle only nine hours old, it was already the contract's second-busiest day since it was listed about a year earlier. Tesla shares themselves were up about 4.5% in premarket trading the next morning, according to the same report.

Hyperliquid was not the only venue. Citing RootData, CoinDesk said the largest Tesla contract by 24-hour volume was on a large centralised exchange, at about $279 million, against $159 million on Hyperliquid. Hyperliquid held the most open interest, at about $99 million.

What these contracts are

It is important to be precise here. The Hyperliquid product is a perpetual futures contract that tracks Tesla's share price; it is not a tokenized share and gives no ownership in the company, CoinDesk explained. It settles in USDC, needs no brokerage account, allows leverage and trades around the clock. For readers asking for the stablecoin meaning, USDC is a dollar-linked token issued by Circle, and here it simply works as the settlement currency.

Why it matters

CoinDesk argues that exchanges that never close are becoming the first place where investors react to news about traditional companies. That is a notable shift for crypto news: the same venues people use to check the bitcoin price are now pricing a carmaker's announcement while Wall Street sleeps. CoinDesk's market coverage that day also showed bitcoin trading lower as stocks slid, a reminder that both markets can move sharply.

Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains, and such products are not offered in every country. This article is not a recommendation to trade them.

What to watch next

Tesla is due to report third-quarter results on 21 October, CoinDesk noted. That will show whether demand on 24/7 venues keeps growing around company news. On the product side, experts quoted by Univision questioned safety and regulation, and Telemundo cited a law professor who doubts that all US states would let drivers lift off in traffic.

What it means for ODIX Pay users

ODIX Pay does not offer shares, futures or leveraged trading, and nothing here is investment advice. If you simply want to hold USDT or USDC, you can buy them with a bank card in the ODIX app. If you follow US markets from abroad and need to move money, money transfer shows the fee and exchange rate before you confirm. Availability depends on your country, and fees are shown in the app.