Musk Unveils Flying Tesla Roadster in Texas Stunt, Promises 2028 Production
Elon Musk has unveiled a flying car.
At a livestreamed event Thursday at SpaceX’s facility in McGregor, Texas, the Tesla chief executive showed off a prototype of the long-delayed Tesla Roadster alongside design chief Franz von Holzhausen and vehicle engineering vice president Lars Moravy.
The highlight was brief, wild and entirely experimental. The prototype climbed a steep curved ramp upside down, held to the surface by underbody suction. It leaped over a line of parked Teslas, flipped in mid-air on bursts of compressed gas and landed safely in a cloud of white smoke.
Musk made no promises the stunt would work. “Success is not guaranteed,” he told the crowd. “I mean that. It’ll probably work, but if it doesn’t work, we’re at a safe distance.” The demonstration ran autonomously, with nobody aboard, for safety. Afterward Musk wrote on X: “Turns out the future does have flying cars.”
The specifications sound implausible. Musk claims the production car will go from zero to 60 mph in under a second — the run on stage clocked 0.81 seconds. He puts the top speed above 230 mph and the range at 620 miles per charge.
Production is planned for 2028, nine years after the Roadster was first revealed in 2017. Reservations require a $50,000 deposit; a “Thrust” version with rear thrusters requires a $250,000 deposit.
Skeptics were quick to weigh in. Some viewers said the car had glided rather than flown. Aviation rules could pose another hurdle: vehicles that leave the ground are typically treated as aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. Musk acknowledged the question. “I’m not necessarily sure it’s legal in all jurisdictions,” he said.
Musk has talked about fitting SpaceX cold-gas thrusters to the Roadster since 2017. Thursday’s demonstration was the first physical proof of the idea — a car that briefly refused to stay on the ground.
