Elon Musk has appeared to unveil a flying Tesla Roadster, demonstrating a sports car that flipped through the air, hovered and landed using rocket-style thrusters at an event in McGregor, Texas.
The vehicle was driven up an inverted ramp before tumbling towards the ground. Moments later, attitude-control systems and rear thrusters fired, allowing it to hover before reaching safety as the crowd cheered.
Musk said the new Roadster would be available by 2028 and claimed it was “going to crush every track record that has ever existed”.
“It can basically fly like a rocket. It could do rolls. It could do crazy gymnastics. Whatever you want, really,” he said during the presentation.
He attributed the car’s manoeuvrability to “altitude controls, thrusters and main thrusters in the rear”, while warning that it was “not necessarily a safety-optimized car”.
“But it takes the fun meter to 11 out of ten,” Musk added.
Flying Tesla Roadster uses rocket-style thrusters
Further clips of the Tesla Roadster showed it accelerating towards parked vehicles before launching into the air, completing a flip and landing on the other side.
In another demonstration, the car rose vertically from a stationary position, rolled while hovering and then lowered itself gently back to the ground amid clouds of white smoke.
The rapid bursts from the thrusters resemble the reaction-control systems used to manoeuvre spacecraft and lunar landers. Tesla says the Roadster has been developed in collaboration with SpaceX.
The car is also claimed to accelerate from zero to 60mph in about 0.81 seconds and reach a top speed of 230mph. Tesla engineers say a suction fan beneath the vehicle can generate up to 2G of downforce, helping it remain attached to the road and, according to Musk, a steel ramp while upside down.
Tesla has been promising a reworked Roadster since 2017. The original model, the company’s first car, has not been in production since 2012.
Customers can reserve a performance version with active aerodynamics and a multi-mode suction system by paying a refundable $50,000 (£37,525) deposit. A version with acceleration thrusters is available for $250,000 (£187,656), while an invite-only “rocket” upgrade is described as including a full flight system and seating for one.
The final price has not been confirmed, and it remains unclear whether all of the proposed features would be legal on roads. Musk acknowledged: “I’m not sure it’s necessarily legal in all jurisdictions, but there will be such a car that someone can own.”
His interest in giving the Roadster rocket capabilities dates back to 2018, when he discussed a “SpaceX package” using cold-air thrusters to improve performance and handling, and possibly allow the car to hover briefly.
Last year, Musk said the redesigned Roadster would fly, partly because fellow billionaire Peter Thiel wanted a flying vehicle. He later told Joe Rogan that Tesla was preparing “something really special” and that the product unveiling would be “the most memorable product unveil ever”.
At the McGregor event, Musk’s demonstration presented the long-promised concept to the public for the first time, although the timetable for production and the practical limits of the flying system remain to be established.
