Flying Roadster.net

File 06 Demo breakdown

The flying Tesla Roadster video, explained

Three stunts and a drag launch made the clips everyone is sharing. Watch Tesla's footage of each below, with a beat-by-beat breakdown from the livestream and on-site reporting.

Updated 6 min read15 sources

Watch the replay on Tesla's X
The Roadster flipping high above a line of Tesla vehicles including the Semi
The Roadster upside down above the Tesla fleetImage: Tesla
Date
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Start time
7:55 p.m. Central (CDT)
Location
SpaceX test site, McGregor, Texas (near Waco)
Broadcast
Livestreamed on Tesla's X and YouTube
Originally
October 1 — postponed for weather
Driver
None — runs were autonomous

01 Run one

The inverted ramp, beat by beat

The signature shot. The ramp was built to curl past vertical so the car would have to drive upside down before letting go.
Run one: the inverted ramp (46 s, no sound)Video: Tesla
  1. The white Roadster from behind, parked at the foot of a towering curved ramp at nightT+01

    Approach

    The empty Roadster drives at a ramp that rises and curls back over itself, rolls back down once, then goes for it.

  2. The Roadster high on the curved ramp, near the overhang where it drives upside downT+02

    Suction lock

    As the curve passes vertical, the underbody fans hold the car to the surface.

  3. The Roadster upside down at the very top of the ramp as it lets goT+03

    Inverted

    At the top it is upside down on the overhang, held on by suction alone, before it lets go.

  4. The Roadster beside the ramp in mid-air, a cold-gas jet blasting from its rearT+04

    Thrust + roll

    Thrusters fire as it drops away, rolling the car 180 degrees, right side up, in mid-air.

  5. The Roadster settling onto the pavement in a cloud of vapour next to the rampT+05

    Landing

    Downward jets ease the descent and it settles onto its wheels in a cloud of vapour.

Frames from Tesla's demo footage · Credit: Tesla

02 Run two

Jumping five Teslas

In the second run the Roadster fired its thrusters while moving and flew over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y and Model 3, flipping on the way. “Tony Hawk would be proud,” said Tesla's Lars Moravy. “We call that the kickflip.”
Run two: the kickflip over the fleet (44 s, no sound)Video: Tesla
  1. The Roadster lifting off the ground on two downward thruster jetsT+01

    Lift-off

    Two downward jets lift the car off the pavement as it closes on the line of vehicles.

  2. The Roadster flipping high above a line of Tesla vehicles including the SemiT+02

    Kickflip

    Above the fleet it rolls fully upside down — the move Tesla's Lars Moravy called “the kickflip.”

  3. The Roadster flipping over the Tesla Semi and a gold Cybercab under floodlightsT+03

    Over the Semi

    Another angle: the Roadster spinning above the Tesla Semi and a gold Cybercab under floodlights.

Frames from Tesla's demo footage · Credit: Tesla

Run three: the corkscrew

For the final trick a Roadster lifted straight off the ground from a standstill, corkscrewed in the air and landed back on its tires — no ramp involved.

03 The drag launch

The 0.81-second 0–60 run

Loop · actual speed
Tesla's clip of the live 0–60 runVideo: Tesla

Tesla also ran a standing-start acceleration test for the crowd, presented by Lars Moravy, its vice president of vehicle engineering. The on-screen timer stopped at 0.81 seconds to 60 mph, with thrusters firing.

Three things to know when you watch it. First, the time is Tesla's own measurement, not an independent test; Tesla's YouTube clip of the run adds that it is 0.67 s with rollout subtracted. Second, earlier in the show Tesla played a recorded thruster run of about one second, and the live attempt came after some trouble with the timer. Third, Electrek's frame-by-frame review found the thrusters were already firing before the car began to roll — useful context when comparing it with conventional 0–60 times.

Full acceleration figures by version →

04 On stage

What was said on stage

Well, it worked.
Elon Musk, on stage · via Euronews
We enter production in 2028.
Elon Musk · via Yahoo Finance
Flying cars are real.
Attributed to Musk by CBS News and to Moravy by Fox Business

05 Where to watch

Replays, clips and GIFs

  • Official replay: the full livestream is on Tesla's X account and YouTube channel.
  • The 0–60 clip: Tesla posted the live acceleration run as “The 0-60 | Roadster” on YouTube.
  • Crowd footage: attendees posted their own angles, which fact-checkers used to confirm the official video.
  • Reddit and GIFs: the inverted-ramp clip is the one circulating as a GIF; discussion threads on r/teslamotors dig into the frame-by-frame details.

Wondering whether what you are watching is real? Read our fact check →

06 Quick answers

Video FAQ

Is the Tesla Roadster flying video real or fake?

The footage is real. The demo was livestreamed on Tesla's X account, attendees filmed it from the crowd, and Snopes found nothing suggesting the video was AI-generated or edited. Some commentators argue parts were staged or pre-planned, and Electrek noted the thrusters fired before the car started moving on the 0–60 run, but the stunts themselves happened.

Watch the demo breakdown →

Where and when was the new Roadster unveiled?

On Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:55 p.m. Central time, at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, Texas, near Waco. Tesla livestreamed it on X and YouTube. It was originally scheduled for October 1; on September 28 Tesla moved it to October 15 because of severe weather forecasts.

Event breakdown →

Who was driving the Roadster in the demo?

Nobody was inside. The demo cars ran autonomously, which Musk told the crowd was “to make sure we don't kill anyone” if a maneuver went wrong.

What did Elon Musk say about the flying Roadster?

At the event Musk quipped “Well, it worked,” and confirmed “We enter production in 2028.” A year earlier, on Joe Rogan's podcast, he had promised the demo would be “unforgettable” and said you would have to wait for it to find out whether the car could really fly.

Musk's promises, in order →

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.

  1. TechCrunchTesla reveals SpaceX-powered Roadster that flies and falls with style
  2. CNNTesla unveils what it says is a flying car
  3. Not a Tesla AppTesla Roadster event recap: it flies, flips, and hits 0-60 in 0.81s
  4. GizmodoTesla's new Roadster can somehow do corkscrews in the air (without exploding—yet)
  5. ElectrekAre Tesla's claims for its new 'flying' Roadster real, or is it just full of cold gas?
  6. HagertyNew Tesla Roadster revealed, and it flies
  7. Austin American-StatesmanTesla's new Roadster drove upside down, flew and went 0 to 60 in less than a second
  8. SnopesAre videos of Tesla's new 'flying' car performing mid-air stunts real?
  9. Euronews'Well, it worked': Elon Musk unveils new Tesla Roadster that can fly
  10. Yahoo Finance'Something extraordinary': Tesla Roadster wows with compressed air thrusters for limited flight
  11. Fox BusinessTesla's new Roadster makes a flying debut, hitting 60 MPH in under a second
  12. CBS NewsWith Tesla Roadster debut, Elon Musk shows “flying cars are real”
  13. ElectrekTesla delays Roadster demo two weeks to October 15, blames weather
  14. ElectrekTesla is unveiling the new Roadster for real this time, promise
  15. Tesla on YouTubeThe 0-60 | Roadster

NEXT Continue the dossier

02 · Fact checkIs the flying Tesla real?What was shown, what is only claimed and what experts say.Open file →05 · EngineeringHow it “flies”Fan suction, ten cold-gas thrusters and 600 liters of compressed air.Open file →07 · TimelineMusk's nine-year promiseFrom the 2017 reveal and Starman to the 2028 production target.Open file →