How does Tesla's Roadster fly?

Elon Musk said the car has altitude control thrusters and main thrusters in the rear and "can basically fly like a rocket and do rolls and crazy gymnastics".

The story so far: On Thursday (October 15, 2026), Elon Musk showed off a prototype of Tesla's Roadster at a SpaceX testing facility in Texas. Addressing a gathering at the stunt-filled outing, Mr. Musk told the audience, that cheered him on, "you are going to see some crazy stuff tonight" and "what you see with your eyes you will not believe".

A few minutes later, the Tesla's so-called "flying car" made two gravity-defying stunts. It crawled up a curved ramp and remained stationary upside down, like a halted roller coaster, and then exited the loop mid-air, landing safely on its wheels, cushioned by pressurised air. The car then dashed towards five parked vehicles, popped up in the air, performed a barrel roll (Asphalt 8-type), or kick flip as Tesla called it, and landed on the other side.

How the 'flying car' works?

Announced eight years ago, the Roadster prototype can briefly go airborne using thrusters, and then soft-land using cold-air thrusters shrouded in white cloud of condensation.

Tesla says the fan suction system at the bottom of the car "can pull up to 2Gs to make the car go upside down", and it "borrowed some technology from SpaceX to do the rest".

Mr. Musk said the car has altitude control thrusters and main thrusters in the rear and "can basically fly like a rocket and do rolls and crazy gymnastics".

It has two pressure vessels that can hold 250 kg of air and 10 nozzles. "Using ultra high pressure air tank, the car can recharge its air tank pop itself up," Mr. Musk said.

Tesla gave a more detailed explanation on its website. "Our multi-mode fan and ground sealing system acts as a downforce generator, pulling air out from beneath the vehicle. This provides enough suction to hold the vehicle upside down, even when stationary. Powered fans and active wings maximise traction and cornering speeds in all conditions, achieving massive downforce at zero speed," it said.

"Advanced cold-gas thrusters use all-electric actuators to offer precise thrust, completing micro adjustments within a fraction of a second. This helps stabilize the vehicle in flight," it added.

'Not safety-optimised'

Mr. Musk termed the stunts "the culmination of incredible work of Tesla and SpaceX engineers". He called the Roadster a car that "sucks" (because of the use of suction force) but one that "you have not seen in any movie" and "that is better than any James Bond car".

While Tesla did not comment on the road-worthiness of the car, Mr. Musk cautioned that "is not a safety- optimised car" and that he is "not sure if this is legal in all jurisdictions". However, the car, according to him, "takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10".

Talking about the suction system that lets the car hand upside down, he said, "The actual benefit on the track where the downforce of the car means you can corner incredibly well, it looks like you are breaking physics because the car sticks to the ground so hard. Acceleration, cornering, its gonna crush every track record that existed."

The car can reach 60 miles per hour in .81 seconds and Mr. Musk said he expects his engineers to make the car run a "half a Mach", or half the speed of sound.

Not production-ready

Mr. Musk said the car will go into "production in 2028, actually" and it will be a "buyable car".

While Tesla did not say what could be the practical applications of such a technology, apart from the fun factor, it has listed three variants.

The base version of the car, Performance, will be "road-ready" with two seats and the suction system. The "race-ready" Thrust variant will have the multi-mode suction system and acceleration thrusters. These cars will not fly.

The top variant, the "air ready" Rocket variant can seat one passenger and has a "full flight system". The car comes with a "multi-mode suction system paired with cold-gas thrusters positioned around the perimeter of the vehicle that support forward and upward acceleration as well as lateral rotational movement" and can fly. But Tesla also admits that it is "not approved for public road use".

Unlike the other variants that can be reserved for $50,000 to $2,50,000, the Rocket variant cannot be reserved and is an "invite only" product.