Elon Musk unveils Tesla Roadster that can fly and flip mid-air using SpaceX rocket thrusters — but it is not road-legal
A Tesla Roadster prototype, which the company first showed in 2017 after promising deliveries by 2020 — a launch that never came.
Musk unveiled the Tesla Roadster 2 at SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas, driving it upside-down on a ramp before cold-gas thrusters fired to flip it through the air and land safely. The car can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in under a second and Musk claimed it will 'crush every track record that has ever existed'. Production is pencilled in for 2028, priced at over $200,000, with orders currently invite-only.
Tesla's own website lists the flying Roadster as 'not approved for public road use', and Musk conceded it may not be 'legal in all jurisdictions'.
Tech blogger Marques Brownlee asked 'This is a prank, right?' after Musk claimed the 4,000lb car could reach over 380mph.
The US Department of Transportation reportedly has no clear answer on which body would regulate a flying car.
