Tesla has teased its first ever flying car prototype

Elon Musk has once again hinted that the upcoming Tesla Roadster might be a flying car.

If everything goes to plan, the first prototype should be unveiled by the end of the year.

Musk also said it will be the ‘most memorable product unveil ever’.

And he used another analogy that made people even more excited.

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Could the next Tesla Roadster be a flying car?

For the second time in two years, Elon Musk has teased the Tesla Roadster in a way that convinced fans it might actually fly.

He first talked about it in a podcast with ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon on X.

Even though Musk didn’t provide enough details, he said that the next Roadster would be ‘a collaboration between SpaceX and Tesla’ and that it would feature ‘rockety stuff‘.

Over a year later, in another podcast – this time with Joe Rogan – he said the Roadster would feature ‘crazy, crazy technology’.

“If you took all the [gadgets in] James Bond cars and combined them, [Roadster is still] crazier,” Musk said.

Musk said they hope to unveil a working prototype by the end of the year.

So, with a bit of luck, we’ll find out soon enough.

Why flying cars still don’t really exist

The definition of ‘flying car’ is quite loose.

Most people think a flying car is just a car that also flies, which is a bit misleading, because in reality, it’s the other way around.

A flying car is generally an aircraft that can also be driven on the road.

Think eVTOL, not iRobot-style cars.

There are exceptions, though

The Samson Sky Switchblade (above), for example, is arguably a ‘real’ flying car because it’s a car that can also fly, and it was designed to be a car first, aircraft second, whereas most eVTOL are developed to be aircraft first.

In theory, anybody can reserve one and drive it as a normal car without ever flying it, if they choose to.

There are several reasons why we don’t have flying cars yet, and regulatory scrutiny is certainly one of them.

But regulations generally follow technology.

Sooner or later flying cars will be good enough and safe enough, and they’ll take off.

Pun intended.