Tesla's next Roadster flies, flips and lands, but the flying version won't be street legal

Tesla unveiled its redesigned, next-generation Roadster on Thursday, October 15, at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas. The car, built with Elon Musk's rocket company, used rocket-style thrusters to leave the ground, and Tesla says it will start production in 2028, according to Reuters.

What it actually did

The demonstration was short. The Verge reports that the event ran under 30 minutes. In that time the Roadster drove up a tall ramp, clinging to the surface with a fan-based suction system supplied by SpaceX, then flipped and came back down on cold-gas thrusters. It then flew over Tesla's lineup, including the Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi and Cybercab.

Per The Verge, the car carries two ultra-high-pressure air tanks with a combined volume of 600 liters, holding about 250 kilograms of air, and uses 10 nozzles for its maneuvers. That means it is thrust from stored compressed air, not wings or rotors.

The Guardian reports Musk said the car was controlled remotely during the demo "to make sure we don't kill anyone." He also said: "I'm not sure it's necessarily legal in all jurisdictions."

Three versions, one that flies

After the event, Tesla's reservation page listed three versions, according to Reuters and The Verge:

• Performance: two seats, $50,000 deposit.
• Thrust: two seats with rear acceleration thrusters, $250,000 deposit, in "limited release."
• Rocket: single seat with a "full flight system," invite-only. Tesla says it is "not approved for public road use."

No price was announced at the event. Nearly a decade ago Tesla quoted a $200,000 base price. Tesla engineering chief Lars Moravy said the car can reach 60 mph in under a second and top 230 mph, and Reuters reports a range of over 300 miles. That is less than half the range Musk promised in 2017, when he also said deliveries would begin in 2020.

How the flying-car industry reacted

Rivals took it as validation. XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng called it "a very cool, different kind of flying car" on Weibo, and added that nobody can skip flight certification, according to XPulse. Zhao Deli, founder of XPeng-affiliated Aridge, said that nobody believed Aridge's flying-car story before, and now that Musk has flown one, everyone does. Alef Aeronautics answered with its own video, flying its Model A over an old Roadster.

Our take

This is a ground vehicle that can hop, not an aircraft. No FAA approval was announced, and Tesla itself says the flying variant isn't road legal. For this tracker, the Roadster goes in as a prototype with a 2028 production target. That target comes from a program whose first delivery date, 2020, has already slipped by eight years. The milestones we'll watch for are deposits turning into delivery dates and any regulatory filing.

Sources

• Reuters via Investing.com: Tesla's new Roadster turns in air with SpaceX thrusters, won't land until 2028 (Oct 15 2026)
• The Verge: The Tesla Roadster flew, drove upside down, and hit 60mph in under a second (Oct 16 2026)
• The Guardian: Elon Musk reveals 'world's first flying car' at Tesla event (Oct 16 2026)
• XPulse: XPeng's CEO and ARIDGE's founder praise Tesla's flying Roadster (Oct 16 2026)