Tesla Roadster aerial demo draws praise from Trump, Pichai and Altman
Tesla's Roadster prototype drew praise from political and technology leaders after an aerial demonstration, but its flying version faces restrictions.
Tesla AITesla's latest Roadster demonstration drew praise from President Donald Trump, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The company unveiled the prototype on October 15 at SpaceX's testing facility in McGregor, Texas, where it jumped over vehicles and rotated in the air.
Altman praised the car's appearance and congratulated Elon Musk in an October 16 post on X. Trump expressed admiration for the vehicle, while Pichai congratulated Musk. Altman's response followed his public cancellation of a Roadster reservation in 2025 after years of waiting..
Tesla describes a system combining suction fans with compressed-gas thrusters to control the vehicle's movement. The company lists three configurations: Performance, Thrust and Rocket. Its single-seat Rocket configuration is intended for aerial maneuvers and is available by invitation.
Availability remains subject to regional rules, and Tesla says the Rocket configuration lacks approval for use on public roads. Those restrictions separate the demonstration's capabilities from what customers can legally use on the street..
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