Elon Musk unveiled a new version of the Tesla Roadster on Thursday that can fly, flip over and drive upside down, demonstrating the vehicle before a live audience at a SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas. The event was livestreamed by Tesla.
No driver sat behind the wheel during the demonstration. The car was operated remotely through a steer-by-wire system and relies on four cold gas thruster nozzles adapted from SpaceX rocket technology to achieve flight. In one pass, the Roadster accelerated toward a line of parked Tesla vehicles before launching vertically and flying over them.
Musk told the crowd the car “can basically fly like a rocket” and described a series of maneuvers including rolls and what he called “crazy gymnastics.” At one point the car drove upside down along a curved ramp.
Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy explained the mechanics behind the inverted driving. “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. He added that SpaceX technology handled the rest: “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.”
Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen was also present for the demonstration. After the stunts concluded without incident, Musk turned to Moravy and von Holzhausen and remarked, “Well it worked.”
Musk said he deliberately staged the event in front of a live crowd rather than relying on footage alone. “We need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI,” he said. “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 described the Roadster as the product of two companies working together. “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,” Musk said. “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.” He called the car “better than any James Bond car” and said even he initially thought the concept was “crazy” when he first pitched it.
Musk said the decision to operate the demonstration car remotely rather than put a driver inside was a safety precaution, noting a mistake could “kill anyone.”
Specs and pricing
According to Musk, the Roadster will reach a top speed of up to 230 mph with at least 300 miles of range. He suggested the car’s capabilities may go even further, saying, “I think you got to crack halfway to the speed of sound, Mach 0.5.”
The Roadster will remain Tesla’s only manually driven model going forward. A “Performance” version that keeps all four wheels on the ground requires a $50,000 deposit, while a “Thrust” version equipped with the cold gas thruster system requires a $250,000 deposit. Production is scheduled to begin in 2028.
Musk acknowledged legal uncertainty surrounding the flying feature. “You know I’m not necessarily sure it’s legal in all jurisdictions,” he said.
