The flying Tesla Roadster is an overbaked idea from my least favorite person

Date:
Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:34:45 +0000

Description:
Elon Musk finally unveiled his-long-promised rocket-powered, flying Roadster, and it's exactly what we don't need right now.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Theres a phrase I often used to use when referring to Elon Musk: Dont bet against Elon.

This stemmed from long before he became a supervillain, and was instead no more than an oddball tech-sector genius primed to become a real-life Tony Stark. It was at the tail-end of this honeymoon, in 2017, that Musk unveiled the Tesla Roadster 2020, a luxury model EV that promised insane specs and performance (0-to-60mp in 1.9 seconds) and maybe even something wed only dreamed of: rockets that might let it fly. Now, for chronology sticklers,
Musk did not promise rockets during Tesla's November 2017 event; it was was primarily devoted to the Tesla Semi. That tease came months later on his favorite platform, Twitter, where Musk wrote: Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly

I posted my skepticism with a Tom Hanks GIF of him saying Really? You may
like The Tesla Roadsters October reveal looks like another piece of pantomime Teslas new Roadster can do a barrel roll, climb walls and hit 230mph How does the new Tesla Roadster 'fly', and is it dangerous to be around its thrusters? @LanceUlanoff @elonmusk Yes, really. https://t.co/SMt0yydSA6 October 16, 2026 This morning, my X feed has been filled with people replying to that old post with Yes, really and wild videos of the fully redesigned Tesla Roadster
flying with the aid of what appears to be 10 thrusters (SpaceX rocket engines).

In the videos shared from Musks launch event, the Roadster inexplicably rides up a vertical incline and then flies off it, flips over, and lands on its wheels. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Yes, a car can fly. We may not have affordable healthcare or housing, world peace, safe social media, or know if AI will save us or kill us, but we have
a car that can fly. Do a kickflip! https://t.co/DJ1Bq1yu8m October 16, 2026
Im not discounting the impressive engineering or sheer audacity of the flying Tesla Roadster, but its been a long time since Musk crashed his own launch event with a one-more-thing Roadster update, and I feel different about,
well, just about everything.

Back then, it had been five years since I had interviewed Musk and gotten him to playfully whistle Fly Me to the Moon . The busy entrepreneurs personality had been shifting slowly to a more petulant and unpredictable place. Id recently sat through a Tesla Model 3 launch where he abruptly ended a press conference without taking any real questions from journalists, and at the
Semi event, he showed up incredibly late, though he did deliver the goods in the end. What to read next Tesla wants $50,000 deposits to secure a Roadster build slot Tesla Cybercab finally launches but Waymo has a 200-million-mile lead Teslas driverless Robotaxi has a traffic-post problem, and the timing couldnt be worse I see things differently now Now, when I look at this more geometric and rocket-filled Tesla Roadster (it looks nothing like the one I saw in 2017), its through the prism of everything else Musk has done in the last five or so years.

He purchased Twitter, smothered the brand, and rebooted it as the darker and often angrier X. To be fair, some now report that X has started to rekindle some of its older, kinder, and more inclusive community (Ive experienced a
bit of this myself), but its still a far cry from the place Musk so enjoyed when he touted all his latest Tesla and SpaceX advancements back in 2017.

Musk became not just the face of government cost-cutting; he became President Donald Trumps weapon of choice, with the Musk-led Doge taking an axe to life-saving programs around the world .

Its hard to reconcile the excitement of a flying car with the man who now guides it.

Or is it? (Image credit: Getty Images) The fact is that no one needs this
car, and anyone who understands even the tiniest bit of physics (and rocket technology) knows that the power and effort to lift and fly a one-ton car is extraordinary.

Its thrusters have nothing to do with the EV motors or batteries theyre cold-gas thrusters, which use massively compressed gas stored in a 200-liter tank and a 400-liter tank. Musk was clear that this car is not expected to be road legal, which is good, because Im frankly terrified of the idea of something crashing into it and rupturing those tanks.

But even if he delivers multiple of these cars for the invite-only crowd its aimed at, and it doesnt turn out to be a one-off (which, lets face it, is likely), why bother? If its so impractical that it can never make it to American roads, or any others, what was the point outside of a fun few
seconds to watch?

Musk has his devotees, and I can see them tripping over themselves to applaud the unveiling (finally, after almost a decade) of this promised Tesla
Roadster update, but for many others Musk is just another inscrutable tech
bro who does what he does for his own reasons with very little, if any, of them having to do with the betterment of humankind.

So, thanks for the tech showcase, Elon. You have anything for whats really ailing the world? Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/the-flying-tes la-roadster-is-an-overbaked-idea-from-my-least-favorite-person


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