Tesla’s Roadster jumps and rolls at its debut, but the flying version isn’t cleared for roads
A recorded 0–60 mph run of 0.81 seconds is unverified, production is set for 2028, and shares rose as much as 5.4% before Friday’s open.
- Spin gap
- Wide
- Hard evidence
- Real jump; not road-cleared
- Our verdict
- Both oversell it
The loudest takes
Flying-car breakthrough, or costly stunt?
“Tesla just made flying cars real: 0 to 60 in 0.81 seconds, and the stock is soaring!”
Heard from: Tesla enthusiasts, retail investors and political admirers of Musk. Composite of the loudest arguments.
“Eight years late and not even street legal: Tesla’s flying Roadster is a stunt to distract from shrinking profits!”
Heard from: Longtime Musk critics, short sellers and auto-industry skeptics. Composite of the loudest arguments.
Plot twist: The split is not left versus right. Some of the coolest verdicts on the car’s business value came from analysts who are usually bullish on Tesla, while longtime critics and fans argue mostly over Musk himself.
The brief
Tesla’s new Roadster drove up a curling ramp, flew off its end, rolled in mid-air on gas thrusters and landed on its wheels at a SpaceX test site in Texas on Thursday. Tesla says it hit 60 mph in 0.81 seconds in a recorded test, a figure not independently verified. The thruster-equipped version is not approved for public roads, no price has been set, and production is planned for 2028, eight years after the car was first due. Tesla shares rose as much as 5.4% before Friday’s open. The argument is whether this is a breakthrough or an expensive show.
The car went up a ramp that curled over until it was upside down, left the end of it, rolled half a turn in the air and came down on its wheels. Tesla livestreamed the demonstration of its next-generation Roadster on Thursday night from a SpaceX test site in Texas, and Elon Musk presented the high-pressure gas thrusters that steadied the car as a joint project of his two companies, CBS News and Agence France-Presse reported. Yahoo Finance reported a second stunt in which the car jumped over several parked Teslas, including a semi truck, and used its thrusters to land.
Musk hedged before the attempt, saying success was not guaranteed but the car would probably work, according to CBS. The event had been scheduled for October 1 and was postponed, which Tesla attributed to weather at the site.
Tesla announced three versions, Yahoo Finance reported: a two-seat Performance model it calls road-ready, a race-oriented two-seat Thrust model, and a one-seat Rocket model whose thrusters allow short flights and which will be offered by invitation. Tesla’s Roadster page says the Rocket is not approved for public road use, The Next Web reported. Asked whether the car is street legal, Musk joked that it depends on your street. Federal rules generally treat a vehicle that flies as an aircraft, and coverage noted it is unclear how any flight capability could be used outside a controlled site.
The speed claims are large and so far rest on Tesla’s own footage. Tesla said the car reached 60 mph in 0.81 seconds in a recorded test at the event; that has not been independently verified. Its listed figures run from under 1.6 seconds for the Performance model to under 0.59 seconds for the Rocket, with a 230 mph top speed and range above 300 miles.
Buyers can reserve now: Yahoo Finance reported a $5,000 deposit followed by a $45,000 wire within 10 days, and The Next Web reported a $250,000 reservation for the Thrust version. Tesla has not announced a price. Production is planned for 2028. The car was first shown in 2017 and was originally due in 2020.
Investors cheered. Tesla shares rose as much as 5.4% in premarket trading Friday, Yahoo Finance reported. Analysts who are generally upbeat on the company were cooler about the car itself. Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives wrote that it will not move Tesla’s volume or revenue and should not be modelled as a growth driver, CBS reported. Gene Munster of Deepwater Management called it an engineering flex with little commercial value, Yahoo Finance reported. Business Insider noted that Tesla trades at roughly 215 times expected earnings and that its second-quarter operating margin was 1.4%. The company reports third-quarter results on October 21.
The following is editorial analysis. The demonstration answered one question: the thruster system can lift, roll and land the car under controlled conditions. It did not answer the ones a buyer or regulator would ask, including price, verified performance, and whether the flying version can ever be used off a test ground. Tesla’s next earnings report and any regulator’s response will say more about the car’s future than Thursday’s video.
Key facts
10 pointsCheck the reporting behind each point.
On October 15 Tesla livestreamed the Roadster leaving a curling ramp, rolling in mid-air on high-pressure gas thrusters and landing at a SpaceX site in Texas.
Tesla announced Performance, Thrust and one-seat Rocket versions; its Roadster page says the thruster-flight Rocket is not approved for public roads.
Tesla said the car reached 60 mph in 0.81 seconds in a recorded test at the event; the figure has not been independently verified.
Disputed claim
Sources for this story 6 links
Links show the reporting used for this brief. Multiple links may report the same underlying account; they do not automatically mean independent confirmation.
Spin check
We took each take apart. Tap a claim to see if it holds up.
Take A · The flying-cars-are-here take
Take B · The it’s-all-a-stunt take
Under the spin
What should a product launch have to prove?
One side asks: Is publicly showing that a new technology works progress in its own right?
The other asks: Should a company be judged by what customers can actually buy, price and use?
What would settle it: Independent testing of the acceleration claims, a published price, a regulator’s position on the thruster version, and whether production starts in 2028 would settle most of it.
What each side leaves out
Compare the two framings in depth
Compare perspectives
See what each framing puts first, leaves out, and worries about.
What matters most in each reading?
Test the promise against the record
Progressive-leaning framing
- Judge the launch by what buyers can verify, price and drive, not by the video.
- Ask who protects customers and the public when a flying feature outruns the rules.
Reward the risk-takers
Conservative-leaning framing
- Credit a private company for building and publicly testing something new.
- Let markets and buyers, not pre-emptive rules, judge whether it succeeds.
Illustrative editorial analysis, not a survey of news coverage. These readings do not represent everyone or imply that both arguments have equal evidence.
Spot the spin
4 quick calls
“The thruster-equipped Rocket version of the Roadster is approved for public roads.”
“Tesla shares rose as much as 5.4% before Friday’s market open.”
“The 0.81-second 0–60 mph time has been independently confirmed.”
“The Roadster was first shown in 2017 and was originally due in 2020.”
Takes are composites of the loudest arguments unless a source is linked. They are not a measurement of news coverage. Verdicts show how far each claim goes beyond the sourced facts.
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