Tesla unveiled its next-generation Roadster car in a livestreamed video demonstration on Thursday, showcasing its ability to fly using SpaceX thruster technology.
The unveiling by Tesla was held in front of a live audience, with CEO Elon Musk onstage to introduce the first video demonstration, showcasing the car doing flips and jumping over other cars. The vehicle sped up a curved ramp, clinging to the underside with suction grip, and launched itself into a safe landing at a controlled speed.
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“Flying cars are real,” Musk said. “It’s got altitude controls, thrusters, and main thrusters in the rear. So it can basically fly like a rocket; it can do rolls, crazy gymnastics.”
Musk noted in the promotional video, taken at SpaceX’s rocket development and testing facility in Texas, that the vehicle was controlled remotely, “to make sure we don’t kill anyone.”
The car was able to reach a speed of 60 miles per hour in under a second, a record time, and could lift off using its thrusters.
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The Tesla chief did concede that he wasn’t sure the vehicle was “necessarily legal in all jurisdictions” and clarified that the prototype was “not necessarily a safety-optimized car, but it takes the fun meter to 11.”
Musk had promised the car for nearly a decade, but technological limits delayed the project. Flying car enthusiasts still have some time to wait before getting their hands on one; however, the Tesla CEO said the new vehicle won’t enter production until 2028 and did not reveal its price.
