Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a futuristic “flying” car Thursday that can launch itself into the air using rocket-inspired thrusters — and can hit 60 mph in under a second.
The tech billionaire showed off the next-generation all-electric vehicle, called the “Tesla Roadster,” at a SpaceX site in McGregor, Texas, on Thursday with an out-of-this-world demonstration.
“We need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI,” Musk, 55, told the crowd.
“So, you guys can tell people that you saw it with your eyes. Because what you see with your eyes, you will not believe,” he continued.
“You’re going to see what happens when you have a collaboration with the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company. This is the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and SpaceX engineers working closely together to make something that you haven’t seen in any movie.”
The car then drove up a steep, curved ramp and appeared to defy gravity as it hung upside down on the ramp using a high-tech suction system.
The vehicle then launched off the ramp, flipped in midair, and used air jets to land softly back on the ground.
“Well, it worked,” Musk quipped after the awe-inspiring demonstration finished without any accident.
Musk — who was standing alongside Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, and Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Wolzhausen — said he thought he was “crazy” when he suggested the concept of the Roadster to his team, teasing that the vehicle was “better than any James Bond car.”
“We have a fan suction system on the bottom of the car that can pull up to 2Gs (twice the force of gravity) in order to make the car upside down,” Moravy said, explaining the function.
“Then we borrowed some technology from SpaceX to do the rest. This car really sucks. This car could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. It could suck a tennis ball through a hose pipe,” Moravy added.
The car, which didn’t have a human driver inside because Musk didn’t want to “kill anyone,” landed using its built-in, rocket-inspired thrusters.
The futuristic vehicle, which has a steer-by-wire system built in, then performed a kickflip demo.
It zoomed towards a truck and other Tesla cars, thrust up into the air to an altitude of about 21 feet, rotated and landed.
The Roadster can reach a top speed of up to 230 mph and has a battery range of at least 300 miles.
A zero-to-60 mph speed test was also conducted, with the car clocking 0.81 seconds.
However, Musk suggested the car might be able to exceed its 230 mph top speed.
“I think you’ve got to crack halfway to the speed of sound — Mach 0.5,” he said, which was met with sniggers by Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, and Moravy.
Fans were left in awe by what they had seen during the event, which was livestreamed by Tesla.
“Elon Musk just made Turbo Boost a reality,” one said, including a nod to the iconic scene from the 1980s show “Knight Rider” where Michael Knight, played by David Hasselhoff, pressed the turbo boost button on K.I.T.T’s dashboard.
“A bunch of guys my age have been waiting our whole lives for this.”
“Turns out the future does have flying cars,” Musk later quipped on X, reveling in the achievement.
Musk has previously teased the prospect of flying cars.
During an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” last October, Musk teased the demonstration would be “unforgettable” and said, “I think it has a shot of being the most memorable product unveil ever.”
Production will start in 2028 and a “performance” version of the vehicle requires a $50,000 deposit.
A so-called “Thrust” version that comes with “acceleration thrusters” will require a $250,000 deposit.
During the event, Musk claimed the car will be “on the roads” before slightly backtracking.
“You know I’m not necessarily sure it’s legal in all jurisdictions,” he said.
“But there will be such a car that someone can own.”
“Depends on your street, but it’ll be a viable car,” he said in response to an audience member who asked if itwould be road legal.
Tesla’s new Roadster comes 18 years after the original Roadster, Tesla’s first EV, hit the market.
The company is shifting its focus towards artificial intelligence-led self- driving tech and robotics.
Tesla has stopped selling its Model S and X cars. The company will publish its Q3 2026 financial results on Oct. 21.
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