Tesla shows off flying Roadster prototype with SpaceX thrusters
Tesla has shown a Roadster prototype using SpaceX thrusters and suction to drive upside down and make short hops, with production planned for 2028 but safety and legality unresolved.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Tesla has unveiled a prototype version of its Roadster sports car that uses thrusters developed with SpaceX to make short airborne hops and drive upside down. The two-seater was shown at an event in Texas, where it travelled up a large curved or vertical ramp, flipped and then landed using inbuilt thrusters. Elon Musk said an audience had been invited to witness the demonstration so people would not dismiss it as AI-generated footage. There was no driver in the car during the display.
According to Tesla, the Roadster is fitted with high-pressure air tanks and cold-jet rocket thrusters, alongside a suction system and compressed air boosters that let it cling to a ramp and hover back to the ground. Tesla claims the car can reach 60mph in less than a second and has a top speed of 230mph. Musk has said the car will be available to the public, with production planned for 2028. Reports suggested a price of around £1m and that it could be about two years away, though approval for road use is not in place.
The demonstration was presented as proof that a flying car is real, but the vehicle does not fly like a conventional aircraft. It performed a brief liftoff and glided over a short distance, and experts described the cold-air thrusters as an inefficient way to store energy. One estimate put flight time at around six seconds, comparable to a hot-air balloon as a practical flying machine. Motoring specialists said the engineering was impressive but warned that translating it into everyday use would require major work on legislation, road safety and air traffic rules. A failure on the road leaves a car stationary; a failure in the air could send it to the ground.
Safety remains a central question. The Roadster is not approved for use on public roads, a process that could take years. Musk himself said the car was not created with safety as its main priority and described it more as fun, while acknowledging that the demonstration vehicle was not safe. Analysts noted the risk from compressed gas and the difficulty of insuring or regulating a vehicle that can leave the road. The car shown had no human inside.
Reaction has been divided. Some commentators welcomed the ambition and the potential spin-off technology, and described it as unlike anything yet produced by a major car maker. Others called it a stunt or gimmick, questioned who would use it, and compared it with the long promised flying cars of film and fiction. Musk has a record of spectacular promises that do not always arrive on schedule, including an underground high-speed passenger pod and plans to colonise Mars, though previous ventures such as PayPal and Starlink have succeeded. The Roadster demonstration has made the flying car debate more concrete, but it has not resolved the practical, legal or safety barriers to seeing one on a street or in a car park.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 5 or more of 6 channels | ||||||
| Tesla revealed a new Roadster with thrusters and a suction system that allows it to cling to a vertical ramp and hover safely to the ground. | Not reported by GB News | |||||
| Reported by a few · 2–4 channels | ||||||
| Tesla plans to begin production of the Roadster in 2028. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | |||
| The Roadster was developed with SpaceX, and Tesla claims it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under one second. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | ||
| Only on one channel | ||||||
| An expert estimated the Roadster's flight time at about six seconds. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| GB News described a vehicle as Elon Musk's new flying car and noted that it does not actually fly. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Musk stated that the Roadster was not safe. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| No driver or human was inside the car during the demonstration. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Safety concerns were raised about the flying car, including compressed gas on board and potentially catastrophic accidents. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The Roadster flies only a short distance during the demonstration. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The Roadster has a claimed top speed of 230 mph. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The Roadster is not approved for road use and may never be legal for ordinary road use. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The Roadster was reported to cost around £1 million. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The initial bulletin treated the Roadster as straight news, stressing the thrusters, suction system, acceleration claim and 2028 production date. A later panel segment turned mocking and sceptical, questioning who needs a flying car and whether the concept makes practical sense.
- “It is in fact the new Tesla Roadster, which is equipped with thrusters and a suction system”
- “can go from zero to 60 miles an hour in less than a second”
- “Flying pillocks, who asked for that? Nobody, right?”
Channel 4 gave a short, factual summary with no sceptical framing. It focused on the Texas event, the car driving upside down and landing with SpaceX thrusters, plus the top speed and production date.
- “Tesla has unveiled a redesigned Roadster car, which Elon Musk says can fly.”
- “At an event in Texas, the two-seater vehicle drove upside down, turned, then landed using inbuilt thrusters developed in collaboration with his rocket company SpaceX.”
- “It can reach a top speed of 230 miles an hour and is due to enter production in 2028.”
One bulletin presented social media footage and invited viewers to judge whether it was real. A later segment added context through a motoring journalist, focusing on the prototype's engineering, the absence of a driver, safety doubts and the legal barriers to everyday use.
- “This is Tesla footage posted on social media by Elon Musk of its new sports car The Roadster with a claim that flying cars are real”
- “The vehicle traveled up a huge curved ramp and then flipped in the air before landing safely”
- “I think it's a real achievement in terms of engineering and design and technology. But to actually translate all of that into the real world is going to be quite a challenge.”
The BBC report balanced the spectacle with expert scepticism. It highlighted the attempt to prove the stunt was not AI, the high-pressure air tanks and SpaceX thrusters, an estimated six-second flight time, the lack of road approval and Musk's own safety caveat.
- “Tesla boss, Elon Musk, said he'd invited a crowd along to prove that the stunt wasn't AI-generated.”
- “those cold-air thrusters are probably about the most inefficient way of storing energy you could possibly think of.”
- “Tesla's flying roadster isn't approved for use on the roads. That could take years, and there was no human inside the demonstration vehicle.”
ITV treated the story as a spectacle but stressed its limits. It said the car flies only a short distance, may never be legal on the road, could cost around a million pounds and carries serious safety questions over compressed gas.
- “Elon Musk has combined the expertise of his companies Tesla and SpaceX to make a flying car.”
- “Now it has to be said it flies only a short distance and Musk admits it may never be legal to take it down the shops”
- “It has a lot of compressed gas on it. That has a huge amount of safety considerations to think about.”
GB News was mostly enthusiastic, calling the car cool and ambitious and praising Musk's innovation. Some panelists still questioned its practicality, said it does not really fly and raised doubts about use, insurance and competition from Chinese electric cars.
- “It's just nuts. It doesn't really fly, though.”
- “I see absolutely no problem with this. It is so cool, but it's not really a flying car.”
- “The benefit of this is that it actually says we need to be ambitious”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.