Will The Flying Tesla Roadster Be Street Legal? Nope.

During the Tesla Roadster reveal on Thursday, Tesla's CEO was cagey about whether it would actually be legal to drive on public roads.

Photo by: Tesla

By: Tim Levin

Oct 15, at 10:16pm ET

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During Tesla's jaw-dropping demonstration of a flying supercar on Thursday evening, the next-generation Roadster drove upside down, jumped over a series of cars, and executed a mid-air barrel roll. After years of hype, the company answered one big question on the minds of those who have followed the Roadster saga: Yes, this car will have SpaceX thrusters and be able to fly, at least to some degree.

But the event left one important question unanswered: Will the flying Roadster actually be street legal? The way Tesla CEO Elon Musk danced around the topic was telling.

Gallery: New Tesla Roadster

Source: Tesla

"Like, this will be an actual car that's on the roads," Musk told the crowd gathered at a SpaceX facility in Waco, Texas, just after its compressed-air thrusters catapulted it over Tesla's vehicle lineup. Then he walked that back slightly.

"You know I’m not necessarily sure it’s legal in all jurisdictions. But there will be such a car that someone can own," he added. That distinction is important, as you can buy an EV with a suction system already to own for use on a private track. Making one actually legal to drive on public roads, however, is a whole different challenge.

Towards the end of the presentation, one audience member yelled out asking if it was street legal. Musk's response: "Yeah, yeah. Depends on your street. But it'll be a viable car."

Tesla Roadster Demo

Photo by: Tesla

Tesla has billed the Roadster as the last hurrah for its human-driven cars before transportation goes autonomous. It's equipped with a fan that can suck the car to the ground so hard (with 2Gs of force) that it can drive upside down. The automaker also says that extra downforce, plus a retractable spoiler, should make the Roadster corner extraordinarily well. The quartet of SpaceX-supplied thrusters in back deliver what Tesla claims to be a 0-60-mph time of 0.81 seconds, which is completely unheard of for a production car. As Musk put it, "it’s going to crush every track record that has ever existed.”

As a high-dollar electric supercar, the Roadster was already bound to be a small-batch effort. A Roadster that is less of a real car and more like a track toy for the ultra-rich—Musk mentioned during the presentation that the his friend Peter Thiel had always complained that flying cars weren't a thing—will be even more of a niche attraction.

The Roadster page on Tesla's website explains that different versions of the car will be availalbe and helps clear things up a bit. The Rocket model, presumably what we saw on display during the event, is invite-only and described as "air ready with seating for one." The small print says, "Note: Not approved for road use."

There are two other options available that may be more road-worthy. The Performance model, which includes suction plus active aerodynamic elements, is described as "road ready with seating for two," suggesting it would be street legal. The next level up, Thrust, is billed as "race ready" and adds acceleration thrusters.

The Roadster's legality was just one of the many questions left unanswered by an event that was heavy on dazzling acrobatic demonstrations but light on some of the more concrete details about the car.

Musk said the Roadster would go into production in 2028, but didn't say how much it would cost. There wasn't any discussion of its battery capacity, range, or charging speed. When Tesla originally unveiled the second-generation Roadster in 2017, it targeted a range of 620 miles. Today's event didn't shed any light on that, despite the clear interest from the crowd.

But then again, if the flying Roadster is indeed limited to tracks and private land, how much range do you really need anyway?

What do you think?

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Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com

Updated Friday Oct. 16 at 8:28 AM with additional information about the Roadster's street-legal status and available variants from Tesla's website.