Tesla has unveiled a new sports car with Elon Musk claiming 'flying cars are real'. The next-generation Roadster was revealed at a Texas test facility belonging to SpaceX, Musk's other public company.
Demonstration shows vehicle flying and flipping
He gave customers a long awaited look at the EV maker's new halo car and demonstrated its ability to fly, as it scaled other parked Tesla vehicles. The dramatic demonstration saw the Roadster travel up a huge curved ramp and then fly and flip in the air before landing safely on the ground.
"Well, it worked," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said after it successfully landed. Lars Moravy, Tesla's Vice President of vehicle engineering, added: "Flying cars are real." Sharing the video on X, alongside the iconic "In the Air Tonight" song, Musk posted: "Turns out the future does have flying cars."
Performance and safety notes
The two person sports car can also go from 0 to 60 mph in record time of less than a second. During the demonstration there wasn't an actual driver in the vehicle, which Musk claimed was "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."
Production and rocket features
He claimed that the car will go into production in 2028. As well as the 'flying' feature, the car also has several other advanced features for drivers.
The Tesla website states: "Roadster can perform at levels unlike any other production car. It goes beyond Plaid to unlock an entirely new dimension of driving. It challenges the limits of design, engineering and physics to deliver an expertly crafted extra-terrestrial vehicle."
The company continued: "We already put Roadster in a rocket. Now we put a rocket in Roadster. We created a vehicle capable of next-level performance. Additional SpaceX components can transform that road performance into a truly revolutionary experience."
The car can 'fly' as advanced cold-gas thrusters use all-electric actuators to thrust the vehicle into the air. This 'rocket' feature is not approved for public road use, and is labelled as invite only. The Rocket version of the car is: "Air ready with seating for one. Features a multi-mode suction system paired with cold-gas thrusters positioned around the perimeter of the vehicle that support forward and upward acceleration as well as lateral rotational movement. So yes, it can fly."
