On October 16, 2026, a crowd of roughly seven hundred thousand viewers watched Elon Musk take the stage at a SpaceX facility in Texas. There he revealed a new Tesla Roadster that is not only electric but also capable of flight. The vehicle performed flips, rolls and even drove upside down, maneuvers made possible by cold gas thruster technology supplied by SpaceX. Musk told the audience that the demonstration was needed to prove that what they were seeing was not computer‑generated imagery or artificial intelligence, insisting that "you guys can tell people that you saw it with your eyes. Because what you see with your eyes, you will not believe."
Musk backed the spectacle with hard numbers. He said the Roadster can accelerate from zero to sixty miles per hour in just 0.81 seconds, a figure that puts it well under the one‑second barrier. Its top speed exceeds 370 kilometres per hour, and the car is said to travel up to 620 miles on a single charge. The entrepreneur, who is fifty‑five years old, also reiterated Tesla’s goal to begin production of this flying Roadster in 2028.
Throughout the event Musk offered a series of statements that highlighted both the car’s capabilities and the unusual nature of the show. He repeated the acceleration claim, noting the car’s ability to go "from 0 to 60 mph in just 0.81 seconds and has a top speed of over 370 km/h." He urged the crowd to serve as witnesses, saying "We need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI." In a mix of English and Italian he described the vehicle’s thrusters: "L'auto è dotata, com'è evidente, di propulsori per il controllo dell'assetto e di propulsori principali nella parte posteriore, può quindi volare praticamente come un razzo, eseguire rotazioni e compiere... una sorta di folli acrobazie."
He repeated the acceleration claim, noting the car’s ability to go "from 0 to 60 mph in just 0.
The flying Roadster was presented as the product of close cooperation between the two Musk‑led companies. Musk called it "the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and Space X engineers working closely together to make something that you haven’t seen in any movie." The cold gas thruster technology that enables the car’s aerial tricks comes directly from SpaceX, underscoring the shared expertise that made the demonstration possible.
Elon Musk said in 2018 that Tesla could make the Roadster fly https://t.co/WaDYMZyzAZ
All public references to the event point to the same date: October 16, 2026. On that day Tesla unveiled its new electric sports car, showed the flying Roadster, and Musk presented the vehicle to the world. Despite the futuristic display, the company’s stated timeline for bringing the car to market remains grounded, with production slated to start in 2028.
The combination of blistering acceleration, extreme top speed, long‑range electric flight and the use of aerospace thrusters signals a bold step beyond conventional performance cars. By tying the vehicle’s capabilities to verified live observation and a clear production target, Tesla aims to turn what looks like science fiction into a tangible product. Whether the flying Roadster will reach showrooms as described remains to be seen, but the October 2026 showcase has already given audiences a concrete glimpse of what the company claims is achievable.
Tesla Roadster release day🚗 https://t.co/Ktv7ehIWy8