Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has unveiled a new Roadster sports car that he claims can fly, combining high-speed road performance with technology designed to lift the vehicle into the air.
The vehicle was demonstrated on Thursday at a SpaceX test facility in Texas, where it performed a series of stunts, including climbing a steep ramp, hanging upside down, flipping in the air and landing with the aid of air jets.
During the demonstration, the two-seater Roadster also leapt over a row of parked Tesla vehicles and used jets mounted at the rear to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in less than a second, according to Musk.
The car operated without a human driver during the demonstration, a precaution Musk said was taken to prevent injuries.
“Success is not guaranteed,” Musk told the audience. “I mean that. It’ll probably work, but if it doesn’t work, we’re at a safe distance.”
The Roadster reportedly uses 10 nozzles and what Musk described as ultra-high-pressure air tanks to propel itself into the air and accelerate rapidly on the ground.
He attributed the technology to collaboration between Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer, and SpaceX, his aerospace company.
Musk said the vehicle would enter production in 2028, although the car’s ability to achieve sustained flight remains unproven. The demonstration showed the Roadster performing aerial manoeuvres but did not establish whether it could fly over long distances.
Addressing the audience, Musk said the event was intended to demonstrate that the technology was real and not generated by artificial intelligence or special effects.
However, questions remain about the practicality and safety of developing a road-legal vehicle capable of sustained flight.
Roger Connor, curator for vertical flight at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, told CNN that combining the requirements of aircraft and road vehicles presents significant engineering challenges.
“Aircraft are extremely sensitive to weight, whereas with ground vehicles you want them to have bumpers and crumple zones and all that,” Connor said.
He added that a hybrid vehicle could struggle to perform effectively both as an aircraft and as a road vehicle, while also being expensive.
California-based startup Alef is also developing a flying car that uses eight propellers to lift off the ground. However, its vehicle weighs 254 pounds, carries only one person and has limitations on passenger weight.
Alef Chief Executive Officer Jim Dukhovny told CNN before Tesla’s demonstration that getting a vehicle off the ground would not necessarily mean it could fly effectively.
He said one of the biggest challenges facing electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft was transitioning from vertical lift to forward flight while maintaining stability.
Connor also expressed doubts about whether a road-legal vehicle such as the Roadster could sustain flight over distances comparable to those covered by conventional aircraft.
“We’re not talking about sustained flight,” he said. “We are literally talking about hopping.”
Despite Thursday’s demonstration, Tesla’s proposed flying capability will need to be proven beyond the staged aerial manoeuvres before the vehicle can be considered a practical flying car.
Boluwatife Enome
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