When Will Tesla Sell Its Flying Car? Musk Targets 2028 for Roadster, but the Rocket Version Faces Big Hurdles

Elon Musk has spent years promising that Tesla's next Roadster would do something no production car has done before. Two weeks ago, he finally showed it leaving the ground.

Now the question for customers, investors and regulators is when, and whether, anyone will actually be able to buy a flying Tesla and use it.

Musk says production of the new Roadster will begin in 2028. But the version that flies is available by invitation only, is not approved for public roads and, according to experts, remains far from the kind of certified aircraft that would make it a true commercial flying car.

A dramatic debut

Tesla unveiled the second-generation Roadster on Oct. 15 at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, near Waco, in a livestreamed event that had been postponed two weeks because of severe weather.

The white, two-seat sports car drove up a curved ramp until it was hanging upside down, held in place by suction, then flipped off the end, rolled in midair and landed on its wheels. It also launched over a row of Tesla vehicles, including a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y and Model 3, and lifted off from a standstill.

"Turns out the future does have flying cars," Musk told the crowd.

The car was designed jointly by Tesla and SpaceX, both led by Musk, who described it as "a collaboration with the world's best car company and the world's best rocket company."

He also compared it to cinema's most famous gadget-filled vehicles, calling it "better than any James Bond car." Musk's own Lotus Esprit, the submarine car from the 1977 James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me," was on display at the event.

How it works

The Roadster does not fly like an airplane or helicopter. Instead, it relies on technology adapted from rockets.

The car uses 10 nozzles fed by what Musk called ultra-high-pressure air tanks to propel itself, both in the air and for rapid acceleration on the ground. Tesla says the system uses self-refilling cold-gas thrusters for airborne maneuvers.

A separate fan-based suction system pulls the car toward the road to create downforce, which allowed it to cling to the inverted ramp. Musk joked about the feature, quipping that the car "really sucks."

The same thrusters deliver extraordinary acceleration. In the demonstration, Tesla showed the Roadster reaching 60 mph in a claimed 0.81 seconds, which the company says would make it the quickest production vehicle ever.

Musk said engineers eventually hope to push speeds toward half the speed of sound.

No one behind the wheel

The demonstration car had no driver inside. Musk said the stunt was automated "to make sure we don't kill anyone."

He was candid about the risks, acknowledging that "it's not necessarily a safety-optimized car." Before the test, Musk said success was not guaranteed but added that "it will probably work."

That frankness highlights one of the biggest obstacles to commercialization: safety rules for vehicles that leave the ground are far stricter than those for cars that stay on the road.

Three versions, one that flies

Tesla is offering the new Roadster in three versions, and only one is designed to fly.

The base Performance model is the road-ready version. It includes the suction system but no thrusters and accelerates from zero to 60 mph in under 1.6 seconds. Customers can reserve one for $50,000, paid as $5,000 upfront and $45,000 by wire transfer.

The Thrust version adds rear-mounted thrusters for acceleration and is positioned as a "race-ready" car, reaching 60 mph in under 0.9 seconds. Its reservation costs $250,000, with a limit of one order per customer.

The Rocket version is the flying model. It seats only one person, can reach 60 mph in under 0.59 seconds and has a top speed of more than 230 mph, according to Tesla. It is available by invitation only, with no public reservation path.

Tesla says the Roadster will offer more than 300 miles of range.

Final prices for all three versions have not been announced. The amounts customers are paying now are reservations, not purchase prices. When Tesla first showed the Roadster concept in 2017, it quoted a base price of $200,000. Some observers expect the invite-only Rocket to sell for well over $1 million, though Tesla has not confirmed any figure.

The 2028 target

Musk said at the event that Roadster production will begin in 2028. In remarks reported by The Atlantic, he put it simply: "We enter production in 2028."

But production is not the same as delivery. Tesla has not announced when customers will receive cars, where the vehicle will be built or how many will be made. Tesla's Roadster web page does not repeat the 2028 date.

The timeline also comes with a long history of delays.

Tesla first revealed the second-generation Roadster in 2017 and originally planned production for 2020. Musk first talked about adding thrusters to the car in 2018. Over the following years, he repeatedly set and missed new dates for the unveiling, including claims earlier this year that the reveal was coming the next month. Even the final event slipped from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15.

Some observers say the 2028 production target could stretch by a year or two because of factory setup and custom tooling needs.

The road to legality

Even if production begins on schedule, the flying Rocket faces a much harder path than its earthbound siblings.

Tesla says on its website that the Rocket version is not approved for public road use. Musk has acknowledged that the Roadster may not be legal in every jurisdiction.

The flying features raise questions about where and how customers would be allowed to use the car. A vehicle that hops over traffic or lifts off public roads would likely fall into a regulatory gray zone between automobiles and aircraft.

In the United States, cars are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while anything that flies falls under the Federal Aviation Administration. Companies developing flying cars and electric air taxis have spent years and large sums seeking FAA approvals, and the process typically requires extensive flight testing and certification.

For its own demonstration, Tesla needed restricted airspace, which the FAA granted, according to Tesla-focused news site Teslarati.

A hop, not a flight

Experts also caution that what Tesla showed is not yet flight in the usual sense.

The demonstration featured brief aerial hops lasting a few seconds. Whether the Roadster can provide owners with the ability to truly fly, rather than just hop, while also driving fast on roads remains to be proven.

That distinction matters. The broader flying-car industry, including developers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft known as eVTOLs, has focused on sustained flight with passengers, complete with certification, pilot training and air traffic integration. Tesla's demonstration generated enormous attention online, but analysts note that views do not substitute for the certification hours regulators require.

Technical and regulatory challenges have so far kept the broader flying car sector from taking off commercially.

Musk's change of heart

The flying Roadster also marks a shift in Musk's own thinking.

He once dismissed flying cars, arguing they would be noisy and anxiety-inducing for people below. He joked about worrying that a poorly maintained flying car might shed a hubcap and injure someone on the ground.

But in a November 2025 interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Musk said the Roadster prototype demonstration would be unforgettable. He cited his friend Peter Thiel's famous complaint that the future was supposed to have flying cars, adding that if Thiel wants one, "we should be able to buy one."

A halo car, not a moneymaker

Even Musk does not expect the Roadster to transform Tesla's finances. He has said he is "not sure it moves the needle massively" from a revenue standpoint.

Instead, the car serves as a halo product, designed to showcase engineering and generate excitement for the brand. Musk has also said the Roadster will be the only manually driven vehicle in Tesla's lineup over the long term, as the company focuses on autonomous vehicles such as the Cybercab, which entered production in February.

The Roadster's spectacle comes as Tesla pushes its broader vision of robotaxis and artificial intelligence, areas that analysts view as far more important to the company's future value.

So when can you buy one?

Based on Tesla's own statements, the most realistic answer comes in stages.

Customers can reserve the Performance and Thrust versions now. If Musk's timeline holds, production of the Roadster will begin in 2028, with deliveries likely following, though no delivery date has been confirmed.

The flying Rocket version is a different story. It is invitation-only, likely to be built in limited numbers, and not approved for public roads. Even owners may be restricted to using its flying features on private property or closed courses unless regulators create a new framework.

A Tesla flying car that ordinary drivers can buy and use legally in daily traffic, the kind of vehicle science fiction has long promised, has no announced date.

For now, Tesla has proved it can make a car leave the ground. Turning that spectacle into a commercial product that regulators approve and customers can safely use remains the much harder challenge.