Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has unveiled a flying Roadster capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in under one second, according to infohub.kz.
According to CNN, Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented a car that can fly—a capability long confined to science fiction and cartoons.
The presentation took place at a test site in Texas owned by another Musk company, SpaceX. The new Tesla Roadster was shown: the two-seater sports car accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in a record time of less than one second.
Musk also claims the car uses a suction system under its floor to climb a steep ramp, hold itself upside down on it, then detach from the surface, perform an aerial flip, and land using jet thrusters.
During the demonstration, there was no driver in the car—this was done "so that no one gets hurt," Musk explained.
"Success is not guaranteed. I'm serious. It will probably work, but if something goes wrong, we're at a safe distance," Musk said before the show.
During the presentation, the Roadster used the same jet thrusters to jump over a row of parked production Tesla models, then, using nozzles at the rear of the body, accelerated to 60 mph in the aforementioned record time.
However, despite the success of the staged show, it remains to be proven whether the car can truly meet the claimed expectations: allowing owners to genuinely fly (not just make short jumps) while also achieving high speed on regular roads.
The car is equipped with ultra-high-pressure compressed air tanks that provide airborne movement and rapid acceleration on the ground. Musk described this technology as "the result of collaboration between the world's best car company and the world's best rocket company."
He said serial production of the car will begin in 2028. "We need an audience to prove that this is not AI (artificial intelligence) or some kind of simulation. So you can tell others that you saw it with your own eyes—because you won't believe what you see," Musk also said.
As journalists at the scene note, it is extremely difficult to say whether the car can truly fly, despite the demonstration. In any case, no long-distance flight was shown.