Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has unveiled a new version of the Roadster sports car capable of performing short airborne manoeuvres, although its ability to sustain flight remains uncertain. The vehicle was demonstrated on Thursday at a SpaceX test facility in Texas, where it used air jets to leap over…...
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has unveiled a new version of the Roadster sports car capable of performing short airborne manoeuvres, although its ability to sustain flight remains uncertain.
The vehicle was demonstrated on Thursday at a SpaceX test facility in Texas, where it used air jets to leap over parked Tesla cars, climb a steep ramp, flip in mid-air and land.
According to CNN, Musk said the two-seater vehicle could accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than a second, describing the technology as a combination of expertise from Tesla and SpaceX.
The demonstration was conducted without a driver inside the vehicle.
Musk told the audience the decision was made “to make sure we don’t kill anyone.”
“Success is not guaranteed,” he said. “I mean that. It’ll probably work, but if it doesn’t work, we’re at a safe distance.”
The Roadster uses 10 nozzles and what Musk described as “ultra high-pressure air tanks” to generate thrust for its airborne manoeuvres and rapid acceleration on the ground.
He described the technology as “the results of what happens when you have a collaboration with the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company.”
Musk said the vehicle would enter production in 2028, although Tesla has previously missed some of his announced product timelines by several years.
He also urged attendees to witness the demonstration in person, saying, “we need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI. So you guys can tell people you saw it with your eyes, because what you see with your eyes, you will not believe.”
Despite the spectacle, the demonstration did not establish whether the Roadster could sustain flight over long distances or function as a conventional road vehicle capable of flying wherever its owner wished.
Advances in electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, commonly known as eVTOLs, have brought flying vehicles closer to reality, but engineers continue to face challenges in combining road safety requirements with the demands of flight.
Roger Connor, curator for vertical flight at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, told CNN before the event that combining the two functions could compromise the performance of both.
“Aircraft are extremely sensitive to weight, whereas with ground vehicles you want them to have bumpers and crumple zones and all that,” Connor said.
“Inevitably, something that is a hybrid between the two is going to be a poor performing aircraft and a poor performing vehicle, and also quite expensive.”
California-based start-up Alef is also developing a flying car that uses eight propellers to lift off. However, its vehicle weighs 254 pounds, carries only one person and requires the occupant to weigh less than the vehicle itself.
Alef chief executive Jim Dukhovny told CNN before Tesla’s demonstration that he would not be surprised if the Roadster managed to leave the ground, but said that alone would not prove it could truly fly.
“It absolutely is 100% feasible,” he said.
He added that one of the biggest engineering challenges for eVTOLs was transitioning from vertical take-off to forward flight while maintaining lift and stability.
Connor also questioned whether a road-legal vehicle such as the Roadster could achieve sustained flight.
“We’re not talking about sustained flight,” he said. “We are literally talking about hopping.”