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The Day the Car Flew: Tesla's Roadster and the Flying Cars Movies Promised Us

The Day the Car Flew: Tesla's Roadster and the Flying Cars Movies Promised Us


When I watched the video of Tesla's new Roadster leaving a ramp, flipping in the air and landing on its wheels, the first thing I thought of was Back to the Future. For more than seventy years, cinema has promised us flying cars, from Doc Brown's DeLorean to the taxis of The Fifth Element. On 15 October 2026, at a SpaceX test site in Texas, Elon Musk told a crowd that "flying cars are real". To borrow from The Day the Earth Stood Still, this was the day the car flew, or at least jumped.

In this article I look at what the Roadster actually did, how far it is from the flying cars of the movies, and which films imagined this moment first, from Blade Runner's Spinner to James Bond's flying AMC Matador. And since Musk once bought Bond's submarine Lotus, I also ask whether a car that drives under the sea is next.

What Happened on 15 October 2026?

Category: Tesla Roadster 2026 reveal, flying car Tesla, SpaceX, Elon Musk

On Thursday 15 October 2026, Tesla unveiled its second-generation Roadster at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, near Waco, Texas. In a livestreamed demo, the car clung upside down to a curled ramp using suction fans, launched into the air, rolled over with cold-gas thrusters and landed on its wheels. Musk told the audience "Flying cars are real", and Tesla says production will begin in 2028.

A Reveal Nine Years in the Making

Tesla first showed a next-generation Roadster concept in 2017, and fans who placed reservations waited years for this night. The car revealed in Texas looked very different from that concept, and, as Road & Track reported, the bigger news was what Tesla said it could do. The livestream was scheduled for 7:55 pm Central time, a nod to Back to the Future, where 1955 is the year Marty McFly travels back to.

Upside Down, Then Airborne

According to CBS News, the car launched from a ramp that curled over so it was upside down, appeared to defy gravity by clinging to the surface, then flew off the end and rolled 180 degrees in midair to land on its wheels. Later it used its thrusters to jump over a line of parked Teslas, twisting in the air. Tesla also claimed a boosted sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 0.81 seconds.

What Musk and Tesla Said

On stage, Musk said "flying cars are real", adding that success "is not guaranteed" but "it will probably work". He called the car "the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and SpaceX engineers working closely together". On X, he summed up the night in one line:

From Roadster in a Rocket to Rocket in a Roadster

Tesla's own account played on history. In February 2018, SpaceX launched Musk's original Roadster into space on a Falcon Heavy rocket, with a mannequin called Starman at the wheel. Now the rocket technology had come back down to the car.

Can the Tesla Roadster Really Fly?

Category: can the Tesla Roadster fly, cold-gas thrusters, Rocket variant, FAA, Tesla Roadster 2028

Not in the way the movies imagined. The Roadster cannot cruise through the sky. It makes short hops and midair flips using cold-gas thrusters fed by ultra high-pressure air tanks, and it grips the road, even upside down, with suction fans. Only a single-seat "Rocket" version, approved only for non-road use, can do the aerial stunts, and production is planned for 2028.

Thrusters and Suction, Not Wings

Musk said the car is equipped with "ultra high-pressure air tanks" that propel it into the air, as CBS News reported. A fan system creates the downforce that lets it hold on upside down. As Road & Track pointed out, the stunts were all very short, and a limited supply of compressed gas means they may not be repeatable more than a few times.

Three Versions, One Flying

According to Tesla's website, the aerial stunts are possible only with the "Rocket" variant, which has a single seat, is approved only for non-road use and is sold by invitation. A "Thrust" model has rear boosters for the 0 to 60 mph launch but none of the side or floor systems, and a road version has neither. Tesla did not claim that any demonstrator was a production car.

What the FAA Says

The US Federal Aviation Administration told CBS News that the car does not meet its definition of an aircraft. In other words, legally it is still a car that jumps, not a plane that drives.

When You Can Have One

Tesla says production will begin in 2028. Prices were not announced at the event. Until then, the flying car remains, as it has been for decades, mostly a dream on a cinema screen.

Doc Brown, Altman and DeSantis React

Category: Christopher Lloyd Tesla Roadster, Sam Altman, Ron DeSantis, reactions to the flying car

The most perfect reaction came from Christopher Lloyd, Doc Brown himself in Back to the Future, who posted "Finally…flying cars" and tagged Tesla. Sam Altman called the new Roadster "quite amazing", and Florida's Ron DeSantis promised to make sure it would be legal in his state, at least for leapfrogging golf carts.

Doc Brown Approves

For anyone who grew up with Back to the Future, there was only one opinion that mattered. In Part II, Doc Brown flies the DeLorean into a future full of flying cars. Thirty-seven years after that film came out, the man who played him gave his verdict:

A Rival's Compliment

Sam Altman, the OpenAI chief who has had a long public feud with Musk, offered unexpected praise:

Leapfrogging Golf Carts in Florida

Ron DeSantis turned the reveal into a joke about The Villages, Florida's famous retirement community, where golf carts are a way of life:

The Skeptics

Not everyone was convinced. Critics noted that the jumps lasted seconds, that compressed gas runs out fast, and that the flying version will not be allowed on public roads. Asked whether it would be street legal, Musk replied that it "depends on your street". Between the cheers and the doubts, the reveal had already done what Musk events do best: make the whole world talk about a car.

Back to the Future Part II: The Flying DeLorean and 21 October 2015

Category: Back to the Future flying car, DeLorean, 21 October 2015, Robert Zemeckis, hoverboard

Back to the Future Part II (1989) gave cinema its most famous flying car: Doc Brown's DeLorean, converted to hover and fly, arriving in a future of airborne traffic on 21 October 2015. That date came and went without flying cars. Eleven years later, almost to the week, Tesla's Roadster flipped in the air in Texas.

"Roads? Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads"

The first film ends with Doc Brown's famous line, "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads," as the DeLorean lifts off and flies into the screen. Part II, directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Universal on 22 November 1989, takes Marty McFly and Doc to Hill Valley in 2015, a town of flying cars, hoverboards and self-lacing shoes.

The Date That Became a Holiday

The future scenes are set on 21 October 2015. When that day arrived, fans around the world celebrated "Back to the Future Day", comparing the film's predictions with reality. Video calls and flat screens had come true; flying cars had not. Tesla's choice of 7:55 pm for its livestream showed it knew exactly which film everyone would think of.

What I Thought When I Saw the Video

I spent the 1990s marketing Hollywood films in Cairo at UIP, the company that released Universal's films outside America, and Back to the Future was one of the trilogies everyone in the business remembered. So when I watched the Roadster leave the ramp and roll in the air, I did not think of engineering or Tesla's share price. I thought of the DeLorean lifting off at the end of the first film. For more on the trilogy, see my article Remembering the Back to the Future trilogy and my look at Robert Zemeckis's career in film.

Hoverboards and Flying Cars

The film's other icon was the hoverboard, and like the flying car it has been "almost invented" many times since. The Roadster's thrusters may be the closest anyone has come to Hill Valley 2015, eleven years late.

Total Recall's Hover Cars, Harry Potter's Ford Anglia and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Category: Total Recall 2012 hover cars, Harry Potter flying car, Ford Anglia, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car

Three very different films gave us three very different flying cars: magnetic hover cars racing through the cities of Total Recall (2012), a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E that flies the Weasleys and Harry to Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and the magical car of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), based on a children's book by James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming.

Total Recall: The Colin Farrell Chase

Len Wiseman's remake of Total Recall, starring Colin Farrell, replaced the Mars of the 1990 original with two cities on a ruined Earth. One of its best set pieces is a chase between hover cars running on magnetic tracks, flipping between levels of the city. Like the Roadster's suction fans, the scene plays with cars that drive upside down.

Harry Potter's Flying Ford Anglia

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ron and Harry miss the Hogwarts Express and borrow Mr Weasley's enchanted 1962 Ford Anglia 105E, flying it over the countryside until it crashes into the Whomping Willow. It is the most loved flying car of a whole generation, and "harry potter flying car" is still searched thousands of times every month.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Fleming's Other Car

Ian Fleming wrote Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang for his son after a heart attack in 1961, and the 1968 film with Dick Van Dyke turned it into a musical about a vintage racing car that sprouts wings and flies. The man who gave James Bond his gadget cars also gave children their first flying car.

Magic or Machine

What these three films share is that their cars fly by magic or by technology the films never explain. The Roadster reverses that: its flight is very short, but every second of it has to be engineered.

Bond's Flying AMC Matador and the Wet Nellie Musk Bought: Next, a Submarine Tesla?

Category: Man with the Golden Gun flying car, AMC Matador, Wet Nellie, Lotus Esprit submarine, Elon Musk James Bond

James Bond films gave us both a flying car and a submarine car. In The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), the villain Scaramanga turns his AMC Matador Brougham Coupe into a plane by attaching wings. In The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Bond's white Lotus Esprit, nicknamed "Wet Nellie", drives off a pier and becomes a submarine. In 2013, Elon Musk bought that Lotus prop.

Scaramanga's Flying Matador

At the end of The Man with the Golden Gun, Christopher Lee's Scaramanga escapes with a kidnapped Mary Goodnight by driving his AMC Matador into a barn, where it is fitted with wings, a tail and an engine before it takes off. It is one of the most charmingly absurd moments in the Roger Moore era, and an honest reminder of how hard it is to make a car fly.

Wet Nellie: Bond's Submarine Lotus

In The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore's Bond escapes a helicopter attack by driving his Lotus Esprit off a pier in Sardinia. Under the water its wheels fold in, fins appear and it becomes a submarine. When it drives out onto the beach in front of stunned tourists, it creates one of the most famous gadget-car moments in cinema.

Musk's Bond Car

In September 2013, Elon Musk bought the original Wet Nellie submarine prop at auction, and he reportedly said he wanted to fit it with a Tesla powertrain to make it work for real. The car Bond drove under the sea now belongs to the man whose Roadster has just jumped into the air.

Next Up: A Submarine Tesla?

So after the flying Roadster, what comes next for Musk? If he follows the James Bond playbook, a Tesla that drives off a pier and keeps going under the water. Given what we watched in Texas on 15 October, I would not bet against it.

Movie Dreams vs Reality: How the Roadster Compares

Category: flying cars in movies vs reality, Tesla Roadster comparison, flying car history

Compared with the movies, the Tesla Roadster is a short jumper, not a sky cruiser. Film flying cars cross whole cities, while the Roadster hops, flips and lands within seconds, driven by compressed gas. It is still the first time a major carmaker has shown a car leaving the ground under its own power at a public event.

The Comparison Table

Film / CarYearHow it fliesReal or fiction
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang1968Magic wingsFiction
The Man with the Golden Gun (AMC Matador)1974Bolt-on wings and engineFiction
Blade Runner (Spinner)1982Vertical take-offFiction
Back to the Future Part II (DeLorean)1989Hover conversionFiction
The Fifth Element (taxi)1997Anti-gravity traffic lanesFiction
Harry Potter (Ford Anglia)2002EnchantmentFiction
Total Recall (hover cars)2012Magnetic tracksFiction
Tesla Roadster "Rocket"2026Cold-gas thrusters and suction fansReal, short hops only

What the Movies Got Right

Filmmakers guessed that a flying car would come from a car, not a plane, and that it would be a spectacle before it was practical. Like Bond's Matador, the Roadster's flight is a show. Like Blade Runner's Spinner, it still has wheels and drives on the road.

What the Movies Got Wrong

No film imagined that the first flying car would fly for only a few seconds, be watched by millions on a livestream, and be judged by an aviation regulator not to be an aircraft at all. Cinema dreamed of freedom in the sky; reality delivered a stunt.

From Fast Cars to Flying Cars

For decades, film car fantasies were about speed, from Bond's Aston Martin to the fastest cars in Fast and Furious. The Roadster suggests the next fantasy will be about leaving the road altogether.

Conclusion: The Day the Car Flew

Category: Tesla Roadster flying car, flying cars in movies, film and technology

On 15 October 2026, Tesla's Roadster did what cinema had promised for decades: a car left the ground under its own power and landed on its wheels. It was a few seconds of compressed-gas flight, not the sky traffic of Blade Runner or The Fifth Element, but it brought the dreams of Back to the Future a little closer to reality.

When I saw the video, I thought of Doc Brown's DeLorean lifting off, and I suspect millions of film lovers did the same. Christopher Lloyd's "Finally…flying cars" said it for all of us. The movies always ran ahead of the engineers; this time the engineers caught up for a moment, even if only for a jump over a row of parked cars.

Production is planned for 2028, and the flying version will stay off public roads. Until then, the best flying cars are still the ones on screen. And if Musk ever drives his Wet Nellie into the sea, you will read about it here.

Tesla Roadster Flying Car FAQ

Can the Tesla Roadster fly?

Only briefly. At its 15 October 2026 reveal, the Roadster used cold-gas thrusters to jump, flip in midair and land, but it cannot cruise through the sky. Only the single-seat "Rocket" variant, approved only for non-road use, can perform the aerial stunts.

Where was the Tesla Roadster flying demo?

The demo took place at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, near Waco, Texas, on Thursday 15 October 2026, and was livestreamed on X.

What does the Tesla Roadster use to fly?

It uses cold-gas thrusters fed by ultra high-pressure air tanks, developed with SpaceX, plus a suction fan system that lets it grip a ramp upside down.

When will the new Tesla Roadster be available?

Tesla says production will begin in 2028. Prices were not announced at the reveal.

Is the flying Tesla Roadster street legal?

No. Tesla's website says the flying "Rocket" model is not approved for public road use, and the FAA told CBS News the car does not meet its definition of an aircraft.

What did Christopher Lloyd say about the Tesla Roadster?

Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc Brown in Back to the Future, posted "Finally…flying cars" on X and tagged Tesla.

What year did Back to the Future say we would have flying cars?

Back to the Future Part II (1989) set its future scenes on 21 October 2015, in a Hill Valley full of flying cars and hoverboards.

What movies have flying cars?

Famous examples include Back to the Future Part II, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, Total Recall (2012), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Man with the Golden Gun.



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