File 07 2008 → 2028
Elon Musk's flying Roadster: the full timeline
A sports car promised for 2020, a “SpaceX option package” teased in 2018, a Roadster in orbit, and a demo that finally happened in October 2026. Every milestone, in order.
01 Milestones
From Starman to stunt car
2008The original
The first Tesla Roadster goes on sale
Tesla's first car, a Lotus-based electric roadster, enters production. Elon Musk's own cherry-red example would later be launched into space.
2017November 16
A new Roadster surprises the Semi event
Tesla rolls the next-generation Roadster out of the Semi truck it was unveiling. Promises: 0–60 mph in 1.9 s, 620 miles of range, 250+ mph, a $200,000 base price and production in 2020.
2018February 6
Starman: a Roadster in orbit
SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy launches Musk's 2008 Roadster, with a spacesuited mannequin at the wheel, into an orbit around the Sun. It is still out there.
2018June 9
The “SpaceX option package”
Musk tweets that a SpaceX option package will add about ten small rocket thrusters around the car to improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering.
“Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly…”
2020–24Delays
The 2020 launch date slips, and slips again
Battery supply and other programs push the Roadster back year after year. In February 2024 Musk says Tesla has “radically increased the design goals,” targets 0–60 mph in under one second, and plans an unveil by the end of 2024 with shipping in 2025. Neither happens.
2025October 31
Joe Rogan: an “unforgettable” demo
On The Joe Rogan Experience, Musk says Tesla is close to demonstrating the prototype and that the product demo will be unforgettable. Asked if it can fly, he says you will have to wait for the demo.
“This product demo will be unforgettable.”
2025November 6
April 1, 2026 is floated
At Tesla's shareholder meeting Musk says the demo will be on April 1 of next year: “I have some deniability because I can say I was just kidding.” It slips again.
2026September
Reservations reopen at $50,000
Tesla reopens Roadster reservations at $50,000 ahead of an October 1 unveil near Waco, Texas. The trim names and the $250,000 Thrust tier only appear after the reveal.
2026September 28
Weather postpones the show
Citing severe weather forecasts for an outdoor-only event, Tesla calls off October 1 and sets a new date: October 15. It posts the 7:55 p.m. Central start time on October 12.
2026October 15 · 7:55 p.m. CT
The Roadster drives upside down and kickflips over five Teslas
At SpaceX's McGregor, Texas test site the driverless Roadster climbs an inverted ramp on fan suction, fires cold-gas thrusters to roll upright and land, flips over a row of Tesla vehicles, corkscrews up from a standstill and posts a 0.81 s 0–60 run on Tesla's timer.
“We enter production in 2028.”
2026October 16
Fact-checkers: the video is real
Snopes rates the footage authentic. The FAA tells CBS News the vehicle doesn't meet its definition of an aircraft, while aviation experts stress that what it does is hop, not fly.
2028Target
Production begins (planned)
Musk's stated start of production, about eight years after the original 2020 promise. No delivery date or price has been given.
02 Promise vs reality
What Musk promised in 2017 vs what Tesla showed
| Spec | 2017 promise | 2026 reveal |
|---|---|---|
| 0–60 mph | 1.9 s | 0.81 s on stage (thrusters on) |
| Top speed | 250+ mph | 230+ mph |
| Range | 620 miles | 300+ miles |
| Battery | 200 kWh | Not disclosed |
| Drive | Three motors, AWD | Two motors, rear-wheel drive |
| Seats | 2+2 | 2 (Rocket: 1) |
| Flight hardware | “SpaceX package” idea (2018) | Up to 10 cold-gas thrusters |
| Base price | $200,000 | Not announced |
| Production | 2020 | 2028 (target) |
03 Motive
Why Elon Musk wanted a flying car
When Joe Rogan asked about the Roadster in October 2025, Musk steered the conversation to flying cars, recalling his friend Peter Thiel's remark that the future was supposed to have them. “I think if Peter wants a flying car, we should be able to buy one,” he said — though he would not confirm the Roadster could fly.
It also ties together Musk's companies. The thrusters were developed with SpaceX, the reveal was held at a SpaceX test site, and the car descends, in spirit, from the Roadster SpaceX fired into orbit in 2018. CNBC noted that the collaboration fed speculation about a closer Tesla–SpaceX combination.
And it is marketing. After nine years of delays, a car that hangs upside down and hops a Semi got the Roadster talked about again: search-trend data shows queries like “is the tesla roadster flying real” breaking out in the days after the reveal.
04 The other Roadster
Meanwhile, in orbit
Not to be confused with the new car: Musk's own first-generation Roadster, with the spacesuited “Starman” mannequin at the wheel, rode the first Falcon Heavy into space on February 6, 2018 and was placed in an orbit around the Sun that carries it out beyond Mars. It has been circling ever since — the one Tesla Roadster that genuinely flies.
REF Reporting we relied on
Sources
Figures marked as claims come from Tesla's event and reservation pages as reported by these outlets. None have been independently tested yet.
- WikipediaTesla Roadster (second generation)
- WikipediaFalcon Heavy test flight
- FortuneElon Musk says Tesla's next Roadster will feature actual SpaceX rocket thrusters
- ElectrekElon Musk says Tesla Roadster 'flying' demo is coming
- EngadgetElon Musk teases a flying car on Joe Rogan's show
- AxiosTesla flying car? Elon Musk teases “unforgettable” demo
- ElectrekTesla reopens $50,000 Roadster reservations ahead of October 1 unveil
- ElectrekTesla delays Roadster demo two weeks to October 15, blames weather
- ElectrekTesla is unveiling the new Roadster for real this time, promise
- TechCrunchTesla reveals SpaceX-powered Roadster that flies and falls with style
- Yahoo Finance'Something extraordinary': Tesla Roadster wows with compressed air thrusters for limited flight
- SnopesAre videos of Tesla's new 'flying' car performing mid-air stunts real?
- CBS NewsWith Tesla Roadster debut, Elon Musk shows “flying cars are real”
- CNBCTesla unveils long-delayed Roadster developed with SpaceX, fueling merger speculation
- Space.comSpaceX thrusters just made a Tesla Roadster 'fly' (and Elon Musk's car is still out there in space)
NEXT Continue the dossier