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Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a vehicle he claims can fly. The long-delayed Tesla Roadster was showcased during a product reveal at a SpaceX test facility in Waco, Texas, highlighting a high-profile collaboration between Musk’s automotive and aerospace ventures.
The sports car features an extreme engineering setup using ten air nozzles fed by ultra high-pressure air tanks. Designed to seat two passengers, the Roadster demonstrated remarkable agility during the driverless performance, which Musk noted was staged remotely “to make sure we don’t kill anyone.”
During the demonstration, the vehicle relied on underbody suction to ascend a steep ramp, hanging upside down before spinning off, flipping mid-air, and landing safely using air jets. In a subsequent showcase of power, the car utilized its rear jets to leap over a line of parked Tesla models, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in under one second.
Addressing an enthusiastic crowd of fans, Musk framed the event as proof of physical reality over digital trickery.
“We need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI,” Musk stated. “So you guys can tell people you saw it with your eyes, because what you see with your eyes, you will believe.”
He acknowledged the experimental nature of the technology, cautioning, “Success is not guaranteed… It’ll probably work, but if it doesn’t work, we’re at a safe distance.”
Despite the high-octane performance, questions remain regarding whether the vehicle can achieve sustained flight or if it simply performs low-altitude hops. A majority of people have expressed skepticism about hybrid road-air vehicles. Experts have also pointed out that aircraft must remain light, whereas street vehicles require heavy safety structures like bumpers and crumple zones adding that Inevitably, something that is a hybrid between the two is going to be a poor performing aircraft and a poor performing vehicle. The Roadster’s aerial ability has been described as hopping rather than true flight.
Musk stated that the Roadster is slated to go into production in 2028, though critics note his history of delayed timelines. Whether the vehicle evolves into a practical airborne vehicle or remains a high-speed roadster with hopping capabilities remains to be seen as development continues.
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