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Tesla demonstrated airborne manoeuvres with its redesigned Roadster.
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SpaceX-developed thrusters helped the car turn and land.
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Production is targeted for 2028, with pricing undisclosed.
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The flight-equipped Rocket version will not be available in every region.
October 16, (THEWILL) – Tesla has unveiled a redesigned Roadster that turned in mid-air and landed using SpaceX-developed thrusters, giving Elon Musk’s long-promised “flying” sports car a public demonstration ahead of a planned 2028 production start.
At the October 15 unveiling in Texas, the vehicle also drove upside down along a ramp using a suction system before performing airborne manoeuvres. Tesla has not disclosed its selling price.
The demonstration helps explain the “flying car” description circulating online. It showed short airborne stunts, rather than sustained flight of the kind associated with an aircraft.
According to the presentation, the thrusters use compressed air stored in reinforced tanks. Tesla also demonstrated acceleration from zero to 60 miles per hour, approximately 97 kilometres per hour, in a claimed 0.81 seconds. That remains a company demonstration figure, not an independently certified performance result.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s accompanying Track Mode announcement focused on keeping the car firmly on the road.
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The company said movable aerodynamic components generate downforce, the force that presses a vehicle towards the surface to improve grip. Its claim that the package approaches Formula One levels has not been independently verified.
The wing’s movement uses actuator technology from Tesla’s Optimus robot programme, according to the company’s announcement.
Availability will depend on the version and market. Tesla’s Roadster webpage states that the Rocket trim is unavailable in some regions and that its advertised Thrust features are an optional upgrade.
Musk also acknowledged uncertainty over road-use rules. “I’m not sure it’s necessarily legal in all jurisdictions,” he said during the presentation.
The next-generation Roadster was first shown in 2017 with production originally promised for 2020. The latest unveiling gives prospective buyers a new demonstration, but the revised 2028 target still leaves them waiting for a production car.
Joy Onuorah is a business journalist and brand communications specialist covering financial markets, artificial intelligence, digital economy, and the ideas reshaping business across Africa and the global market. Beyond her reporting for TheWill, Joy uses brand strategy, storytelling, copywriting, and high-value SEO to help brands build lasting market authority.
