Is Tesla bringing flying cars? Elon Musk's teaser video clip triggers buzz. Watch

Are flying cars going to be a reality soon? Tesla seems to have an answer to that. The Elon Musk-owned company brought flying-car concepts a step closer to reality during a high-stakes demonstration at a SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, on October 15.

In a scene resembling The Jetsons' Flying Car from the 1962 animated series The Jetsons, a Tesla Roadster flips and lands flawlessly on its feet (tires in this case). Nearly nine years after the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled, the vehicle performed an extraordinary stunt: driving up a massive curved ramp, continuing along the track completely upside down, launching into the air, and executing a controlled flip before landing safely on the ground.

The dramatic display provided waiting customers with their first fresh look at EV maker’s long-awaited halo car. The vehicle's radical aerial capabilities rely heavily on technology developed in direct partnership with Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX.

Specifically, the redesigned Roadster features SpaceX-developed cold-gas thrusters mounted to the bottom of the vehicle. By releasing pressurised gas, these thrusters generate instant thrust, working alongside other specialised systems to perform unusual maneuvers impossible for conventional road cars.

Despite the spectacle, widespread commercial adoption of airborne electric vehicles remains a distant prospect. The airborne sequence was executed strictly under controlled test conditions, and there is no indication that the vehicle or its thruster systems have received regulatory approval for operation on public roads. Major legal, safety, and operational hurdles remain unresolved before such technology could ever be considered practical for daily transportation.

The demonstration also highlights the protracted development timeline of the vehicle. First announced in November 2017, the next-generation Roadster has suffered repeated delays, leaving customers waiting years for the electric supercar.

According to reports following the Thursday night livestreamed unveiling, Tesla now plans to begin production in 2028. While the Texas test provided a dramatic preview of futuristic vehicular engineering, whether thruster-assisted flight becomes a viable reality for consumers remains an open question.