Musk's "flying car": Tesla unveils the new Roadster
In a demonstration held at the SpaceX headquarters in Texas, Tesla's new sports model climbed a steep ramp, flipped in the air, and landed back on the ground
Tesla unveiled Thursday night their new generation of its electric sports car, the Roadster. According to the company's CEO, Elon Musk, the car will be capable of lifting off the ground and performing acrobatic maneuvers.
During a demonstration at a SpaceX testing facility in Texas, the car was seen climbing a steep ramp, flipping in the air, and landing back on the ground. In another demonstration, it leaped over a row of Tesla cars.
According to Musk, the vehicle is equipped with ten exhausts and a high-pressure air tank system, which are supposed to allow it to lift off and perform maneuvers. He also claimed that the car is capable of accelerating from a standstill to 60 miles per hour (96 km/h) in less than a second.
The demonstrations were conducted without a driver inside the vehicle.
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However, despite the statements, there remains doubt as to whether this is a flying car in the conventional sense. During the event, no prolonged flight was demonstrated.
Aviation experts doubt the ability to combine the weight of a road car with the engineering requirements of an aircraft, with some noting that the demonstration in fact showed jumps in the air rather than actual flight.
At Tesla, they hope to begin production of the car in 2028. The new generation of the Roadster was first unveiled back in 2017, and since then its launch date has been repeatedly postponed.
Now it remains to be seen whether the company can turn the impressive technological demonstration into a commercial product that is safe, reliable, and legal for road use.