Tesla Unveils “Flying” Roadster: SpaceX Thrusters, 0–60 Under 1 Second, Production in 2028

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the redesigned second-generation Roadster on October 15, 2026, at SpaceX’s rocket test facility in McGregor, Texas, and used it to make a startling claim: “Flying cars are real.” The event was livestreamed from 7:55 p.m. Central after an October 1 date was postponed over weather.

During the demonstration — which had no driver in the car, “to make sure we don’t kill anyone,” Musk said — the two-seat sports car drove up a curved ramp on suction alone, hung upside down, barrel-rolled in midair, and landed. It then used its thrusters to leap over a line of Tesla models parked side by side — a Cybercab, a Cybertruck, a Semi, a Model Y, and a Model 3 — before launching to 60 mph in under a second. The car carries 10 nozzles fed by what Musk called “ultra high-pressure air tanks” — SpaceX cold-gas thruster technology. Musk called it “the results of what happens when you have a collaboration with the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company.”

The honest caveats matter. The car does not sustain flight like an aircraft, and Tesla’s own site notes the flying configuration is not approved for public road use. Production is promised for 2028 — nine years after the car was first promised for 2020 — and Tesla disclosed no final price. Reservations are open with a $5,000 deposit for the non-flying version, while the “full flight system” Rocket model will be offered by invitation only. “Success is not guaranteed,” Musk admitted. “I mean that.”

Markets noticed anyway. After Tesla shares closed at $362.44, trading in the 24/7 TSLA perpetual contract on crypto exchange Hyperliquid leapt roughly 1,580% in an hour — from $2.8 million to $47 million — while the contract price rose about 5% to roughly $378. Binance’s TSLA contract still led with $279 million in 24-hour volume, per RootData. Tesla reports Q3 results on October 21, where investors will weigh whether a halo car that can’t yet be bought supports the story.