Tesla’s new Roadster hovers on jets of compressed air during the unveiling. Credit: Tesla / X
Blade Runner, Star Wars, Back to the Future… Since seeing some of these films, many of us have dreamt about owning a flying car and being part of a slightly more glamorous traffic jam in the skies. Some movies even projected we would have had them by now. Well, Elon Musk has done it again and unveiled his new Tesla Roadster that apparently can ‘fly’.
The car drove upside down, jumped and flipped itself over a row of cars, and hovered above the tarmac. Yet nobody appeared to be driving (or piloting?) the vehicle, and the only version that gets airborne isn’t approved for any public road.
The Roadster drove upside down, then flipped over a row of Teslas
Elon Musk has shown off a Tesla Roadster that sticks to ramps, hovers and jumps over other cars, with the demonstration streamed live from SpaceX’s test site near Waco in Texas on Thursday night.
Real life, baby pic.twitter.com/3QEqn18wig
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 16, 2026
The car drove up an inverted ramp and along the underside using suction fans built into its floor. It then left a ramp and flipped over a row of Tesla vehicles, including a Cybertruck and a Semi, using thrusters powered by compressed air.
Do a kickflip! pic.twitter.com/DJ1Bq1yu8m
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 16, 2026
Musk was quick to claim victory online, posting: ‘Turns out the future does have flying cars.’
Hovering isn’t quite the same as flying
However, ‘flying car’ does flatter what was actually shown. The Roadster hovered briefly before landing, and Tesla hasn’t said how high it rose or how long it stayed up.
Its 10 thrusters run on 600 litres of compressed air rather than rocket fuel, and nobody appeared to be at the wheel for the stunts. Musk himself admitted it’s not necessarily a car that’s been designed with safety first.
Only one of three versions can get airborne
Tesla is offering three new versions of the Roadster. The Performance is billed as road ready and the Thrust as race ready, while the single-seat Rocket is the only one built to leave the ground and is invite-only.
Tesla says the Rocket isn’t approved for public roads, and Musk said he’s not sure the car is legal everywhere.
Refundable reservations are open for the Performance at $50,000 (about €43,000) and the Thrust at $250,000 (about €215,000), according to TechCrunch.
A 2028 start date for a car first promised in 2017
Tesla hasn’t announced a final price and says production will start in 2028, which is nearly a decade after the Roadster was first shown. Tesla also claims a 0 to 60mph time of 0.81 seconds in a live test, although that figure comes directly from the company itself and not external testers.
Tesla’s own reservation page says the car won’t be available in every region, and it hasn’t said whether Spain or the rest of Europe will be included. So anyone dreaming of ‘nipping to the shops’ above the rush-hour traffic may be waiting a while yet, with production not due until 2028 and the flying version invite-only anyway.