Elon Musk's Tesla flying car was met with a mixture of astonishment and skepticism

Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a car he claims can fly, followed by a brief demonstration of its airborne capabilities — and it's hard to think of a Tesla car that has sparked more online reactions since the Cybertruck.

Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a car he claims can fly, followed by a brief demonstration of its airborne capabilities — and it's hard to think of a Tesla vehicle that has sparked more online reactions since the Cybertruck.

The demonstration took place outside SpaceX's Texas test facility, where Musk unveiled the car in front of a live audience. During that demonstration, Musk took the stage and said, "We need an audience to prove it's not AI or SI, so you guys can tell people you've seen it with your own eyes," and "You're going to see the results of what happens when you team up with the best car company in the world and the best rocket company in the world."

When the Flying Roadster was unveiled, it was piloted remotely to "make sure we didn't kill anyone." The demo started with the car facing a ramp, where it used suction to drive and park upside down, before finally zooming up the ramp, jumping off the ground, and using rockets to move to the right and land safely.

It turns out that the future will have flying cars

The car uses SpaceX thrusters on the back of the car and along the bottom to "basically fly like a rocket." Musk admitted that it's "not necessarily a safety-optimized car," which is probably why he claimed earlier in the event that "it's going to be the only manual car Tesla makes in the long run." Musk added that the new roadster will go into production in 2028, but with something like this, I'd expect some delays, if it hits the streets at all.

Regardless, the car has blown people's minds. Christopher Lloyd, who played flying car driver Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies, wrote on X/Twitter: "Finally... flying cars." Meanwhile, other people, like user CARN0N, tweeted highlight loops of all the stunts Tesla pulled off with the rocket car prototype. Some have even compared it to Rocket League.

Highlights of all four stunts Tesla pulled off with the new Roadster today.

— Spawn Wave (@SpawnWaveMedia) October 16, 2026

Of course, there is a healthy dose of skepticism. Tech influencer MKBHD tweeted his disbelief, saying, “They really just came on stage and said this newly designed 4,000 pound car can spin and go half the speed of sound (380+ mph) and is shipping in 2028. It's a joke, right?

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was impressed, even if a little skeptical, tweeting: "Hard to think of a wild product unveiling. Not sure how fast drivers will run over each other in traffic, but damn, that was a fun way to introduce the Roadster to the world."

Only time will tell if this new flying roadster will actually see the day or even be legal in most places. Musk certainly seemed hopeful that Tesla could get it to customers in the next few years, but really, we'll just have to wait and see.