Would you get into Elon Musk’s flying car? Tesla superfans certainly would, if the reaction to the unveiling of the new Tesla Roadster is anything to go by.
The Roadster was unveiled last week in a dramatic presentation that saw the car drive up a half-loop, fly off the end, flip in mid-air, and then land safely on the ground. The maneuver was down to an “advanced ultra-high pressure air tank” produced in collaboration with SpaceX engineers, with Musk adding that the car can “basically fly like a rocket.”
Per Business Insider, Tesla fans rushed to reserve the new EV, with some paying as much as $250,000 to become one of the first people to own a “flying” car. But it seems the small print may provide a few wrinkles.
“Not necessarily a safety-optimized car”
The terms and conditions of the reservation underline that the Roadster is still very much “under development” and, crucially, that Tesla “cannot guarantee when your vehicle will actually be delivered or if it will be delivered.” The situation has echoes of what happened with the first-generation Roadster.
Much like this new version, the other Roadster was announced with great fanfare, but ultimately never entered production. OpenAI’s Sam Altman publicized his struggle in Oct. 2025, with Musk snippily responding that Altman “stole a non-profit.”
The T&Cs also note that the current price is very much an estimate, as Tesla is still “working on what options, features and hardware the vehicle will have.” This means that even those who’ve put down the “full” $250k may need to top up their reservation to take delivery of the car, or get their money refunded and their pre-order canceled.
Finally, it remains unclear whether this flying car is even road-legal. Musk himself noted (per BI) that the new Roadster is “not necessarily a safety-optimized car.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also weighed in, saying: “While the vehicle may appear to defy the laws of physics, the manufacturer must ensure that it does not defy applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and drivers must obey all local traffic laws.”
However, we do at least know that the Roadster is officially not an aircraft. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson told BI that, “The Tesla vehicle does not meet the FAA’s definition of an aircraft.”
On top of all that, it seems the demonstration may have been smoke and mirrors. Perhaps even reminiscent of the old promises that the Cybertruck could function as a boat.
AI scientist Yann LeCun did the math on X after discovering that the propellant was “just compressed air” and said: “Even assuming that 50% of the mass of the car is the compressed air, that gives you less than 10s of useful thrust (with thrust-to-weight ratio larger than 1.0). Probably more like 5 seconds, actually. So the car must be an empty, lightweight shell containing big compressed air tanks. Cute demo, but totally impractical. But of course, you knew that.” Musk responded: I fart in your general direction.”
Published: Oct 19, 2026 09:45 am