'Turns out the future does have flying cars': Musk's Tesla unveils 'flying' sports car with SpaceX technology | Watch

"Turns out the future does have flying cars," Elon Musk wrote on X on Thursday (Oct 15), sharing a video of Tesla's long-awaited Roadster performing dramatic aerial manoeuvres using thrusters developed with his rocket company SpaceX. The feat of engineering was unveiled at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas (near Waco).

“A friend of mine, Peter Thiel, once said the future promised us flying cars, but instead we got 140 characters,” Musk, the world's first trillionaire, joked while addressing a crowd of cheering fans at the unveiling event. The "140 characters" bit was a reference to the character limit of social media posts on Twitter before he bought it in 2022. “Well, not anymore,” he stated.

An astounding video of the car shows the white electric sports car lifting off the ground, hovering, flipping and manoeuvring above a paved surface. The demonstration also features the vehicle performing high-speed stunts under spotlights, with thick plumes of smoke adding to the spectacle.

The reveal has reignited interest in Musk's long-promised vision of a car that can "fly". Here's all you need to know about the Tesla Roadster.

0 to 60 in under 1 second: How Tesla's flying Roadster works

Tesla demonstrated the Roadster using a combination of cold-gas thrusters and a fan-based suction system. The thrusters, developed in collaboration with SpaceX, are designed to propel the vehicle into the air and help control its movements.

During the event in Texas, the car drove up a ramp, remained upside down briefly and returned to the ground. It was also shown lifting off from a stationary position and clearing a row of parked Tesla vehicles.

Musk has described the Roadster as a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX. According to the company, the car has an acceleration time of 0 to 60 miles per hour in 0.81 seconds.

When will the flying Tesla Roadster launch?

The Roadster has been one of Musk's most anticipated projects since Tesla first unveiled its second-generation version in 2017. Deliveries were originally expected in 2020, but the vehicle has faced repeated delays.

Tesla now expects production to begin in 2028. The company has not yet provided a complete set of production and pricing details for the newly revealed vehicle.

Is Tesla's flying car ready for everyday use?

Not yet. The demonstration showcased a specialised vehicle performing controlled stunts, rather than a flying car designed for routine commuting.

Notably, the car comes in two variants: a specialised Rocket variant with the ability to lift off the ground and a Thrust version intended for road use. The Rocket version is not yet approved for public roads.

Musk has acknowledged uncertainty over whether the vehicle would be legal in every jurisdiction and said it was not necessarily optimised for safety. Speaking at the unveiling event, Musk acknowledged that the Roadster, which Tesla describes as "Beyond The Limits of Physics" on its website, was “not necessarily a safety-optimised car”, but it said it would “be an actual car that’s on the roads”.

“I’m not sure it’s necessarily legal in all jurisdictions,” he accepted. “But there will be such a car that someone can own.”