Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled a new Roadster sports car fitted with thrusters, describing the vehicle as a “flying” car during a livestreamed event at a SpaceX test facility in Texas.
The demonstration, streamed on Tesla’s X account on Thursday, showed the Roadster accelerating up a steep ramp before landing back on its wheels.
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“Flying cars are real,” Musk declared during the event.
However, the billionaire acknowledged that the project still faces uncertainty, saying its “success is not guaranteed” but adding that it would “probably work”.
Musk said the vehicle would use ultra-high-pressure air tanks to generate the thrust required to lift it into the air.
He described the project as the result of a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX, the rocket company he also leads.
“This is what happens when you have a collaboration with the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company,” Musk said.
He added that production of the vehicle was expected to begin in 2028.
The idea of a car capable of travelling both on roads and in the air has fascinated inventors and technology enthusiasts for more than a century.
American aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss unveiled an early flying-car prototype in 1917, in one of the earliest attempts to combine conventional road transportation with flight.
The concept has attracted renewed attention in recent years as advances in electric motors, battery technology and lightweight materials have created new possibilities for personal air transportation.
Yet commercially viable flying cars remain difficult to develop.
Manufacturers must overcome major challenges involving flight safety, regulatory approval, infrastructure, energy requirements and the cost of producing vehicles capable of operating reliably both on roads and in the air.
Musk’s latest Roadster demonstration therefore represents an ambitious step rather than proof that flying cars are ready for widespread commercial use.
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With production tentatively targeted for 2028, attention will now turn to whether Tesla and SpaceX can overcome the technical and regulatory hurdles surrounding the project.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
