6 min read
For nine years the new Tesla Roadster was a promise and a line in Elon Musk's speeches. On 15 October 2026 it finally appeared, at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, and it did something no road car has done in front of a live audience: it climbed a ramp, took off and came back down on its wheels.
The clips have been everywhere since, and so has the phrase "flying car". The real story is more interesting than the headline, because part of it is true and part of it has not been proven yet.
What actually happened in Texas
The car drove up a tall, curved half-loop ramp, accelerated off the end and jumped over five other Teslas, including a Cybertruck and a Semi. Cold-gas thrusters slowed it down, and it landed softly in a cloud of condensation. On a second run, Tesla says, it reached 27 feet (about 8 metres) in the air while performing a barrel roll, then landed again.
Nobody was inside. Musk said the car ran on automated controls, and his explanation was blunt: if the stunt had gone wrong, it would not have killed anyone. He also said the car is "not necessarily a safety-optimized car".
How does a car stay in the air?
It doesn't, not for long. There are no wings and no rotors. The Roadster carries tanks of gas at very high pressure and releases it through nozzles around the body. Nothing burns; the push comes from the gas leaving the nozzle, the same principle spacecraft use to adjust their position. The top version has ten of these thrusters: four at the back for acceleration and six more to control the car in the air.
So what was shown is a powered jump with a controlled landing, not flight from one place to another. The second trick is on the ground: four electric fans near the rear pull the car down onto the road, and Tesla says this suction is enough to keep the tyres gripping even upside down.
The three versions
| Version | Thrusters | 0–60 mph (claimed) | Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance, for the road, 2 seats | None, suction only | Under 1.6 s | $50,000 |
| Thrust, for the track, 2 seats | 4 at the rear | Under 0.9 s | $250,000 |
| Rocket, invitation only, 1 seat | 10 | Under 0.59 s | Not disclosed |
The figure most people quote, 0–60 mph in 0.81 seconds, is what Tesla says the prototype did with thruster help. None of these times has been independently tested. For scale, the fastest cars on the road today need around two seconds.
Price and release date
These are the two questions everyone searches, and neither has a firm answer. Tesla has not announced a final price; the numbers above are deposits, not the cost of the car. The 2017 Roadster was announced from about $200,000, and the new one is a very different machine.
Musk says production will start in 2028. Treat that as a target: the first promise was 2020. Range has also changed, to about 300 miles (480 km) on a charge, less than half of the 620 miles announced in 2017.
What is still unproven
- Real flight. Only short jumps were shown. Nothing suggests the car can travel any distance through the air.
- Road legality. Tesla says the Rocket is not approved for public roads, and Musk accepts the car may not be legal everywhere.
- Air rules. We found no published approval from any aviation authority.
- Everyday use. Refilling the Rocket prototype's gas tanks reportedly takes six to seven hours.
- Top speed. Musk wants about 383 mph (616 km/h), half the speed of sound. That is an ambition, not a result.
Will we see one in Dubai?
A city that already has fully driverless taxis and is preparing for air taxis feels like a natural home for this car, and we would love to hand over the keys to one. We found no announcement about the UAE so far, though, and with production two years away at best, it will be a while before anyone can answer.
Until then, a car does not need thrusters to turn heads on Sheikh Zayed Road. Our McLaren 750S Spider has 750 PS and doors that open upwards, and it stays firmly on the ground. See the full supercar fleet in Dubai.
Sources
- NBC News, 16 October 2026
- Fox News: trims, deposits and thruster details
- CNBC: video of the unveiling
Photo: the Roadster in the air at its unveiling in Texas, as published by NBC News.
