Tesla Debuts Flying Car

What was once science fiction has become reality. Tesla debuted its flying Roadster car on Oct. 15.

At an event in Texas, the vehicle used compressed-air thrusters to fly off a ramp and perform a midair flip and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in under a second.

“Turns out the future does have flying cars,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at a SpaceX test site.

“Flying cars are real,” Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy added.

The breathtaking demonstration showcased the new Roadster speeding up a towering curved ramp, using a fan-poweredsuction system to stay attached as it rotated fully upside down. It then deployed integrated cold-gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX to propel itself off the ramp, perform a midair flip, and land safely on the ground.

In another demonstration, the Roadster soared over a lineup of cars and a semi-truck, executing a midair flip before landing safely on the other side.

Musk said the car consisted of “ultra high-pressure air tanks” to move itself into the air.

“Every car on the road today is limited by one thing: tire grip Roadster’s thruster system generates 4–5x the force the tires can. More force on the same mass means significantly better acceleration – physics does the rest,” Tesla said in a post on X.

The debut came after years of delays and excitement around the Roadster.

Musk said the car will not enter production until 2028. Tesla did not announce a price tag for the vehicle.

Nearly a decade ago, Tesla quoted a base price of $200,000 for the Roadster.

Interested buyers can make an online reservation and place a $5,000 deposit for a non-flying model of the Roadster.

Tesla also plans to offer a limited-edition Thrust model, although reservations are not currently available online. According to the company’s website, the Rocket model, featuring a “full flight system,” will be available by invitation.

Tesla first unveiled a prototype of the second-generation Roadster in 2017 and said then that deliveries would start in 2020.

Musk said the Roadster is expected to be Tesla’s last manually-driven vehicle. He claimed the car could “basically fly like a rocket” and perform “crazy gymnastics,” while acknowledging that it is “not necessarily a safety-optimized car.”

The Roadster can travel over 300 miles on a single charge.

Despite the excitement surrounding the Roadster, Musk has previously played down its financial significance to Tesla. In 2023, he called the project a “small potato situation,” adding that it would not “move the needle in a major way financially” for the company.

The idea of flying cars dates back nearly as far as the automobile itself. In 1917, American aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss unveiled one of the earliest flying car prototypes. However, serious efforts to develop practical flying vehicles have gained momentum only in recent decades, driven by advances in electric motors and high-performance battery technology.

“Tesla does not currently have a halo car, or high-performance luxury vehicle designed to showcase an automaker’s best engineering and technology. The Roadster will be Tesla’s new halo car,” Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said in a note last month.

The unveiling of the second-generation Roadster comes as Tesla increasingly shifts its focus from traditional car manufacturing toward artificial intelligence, autonomous driving technology, and robotics.

Earlier this year, Tesla discontinued the Model S and Model X to free up production capacity for its Optimus humanoid robots. The company also introduced the Cybercab, a two-seat robotaxi designed without conventional manual controls, including a steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors.

Tesla is expected to report third-quarter results on Oct. 21.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.