Alright, the delays are over. The Tesla Roadster livestream is still set for October 15th. And it’s strangely at 7:55 PM.
Roadster event streaming live this Thursday at 7:55pm CST https://t.co/AbsmpVucui
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 14, 2026
But wait… That 7:55 was very intentional. At least that’s what Tesla fans think. 7:55 PM in military time is 19:55. And 1955 is the year Marty visits when he time-travels in “Back to the Future.” This seems like a deliberate reference to the film, possibly due to the Tesla Roadster’s own futuristic features.
Like its ability to fly.
Can the Tesla Roadster actually fly?
I am personally under the impression that the second-generation Roadster has been constantly delayed for 10 years because CEO Elon Musk can’t get it to “fly” as promised.
Musk initially mentioned that the Roadster can “fly” in June 2018. Back then, he explained that there would be a “special option package” that included SpaceX rocket technology, allowing the electric sports car to do “short hops.”
In June 2024, Musk tweeted: “The new Tesla Roadster can fly.”
Keep in mind, this is coming from the same person who said that the massive, ugly dumpster-of-a-vehicle, the Cybertruck, could float like a boat. He also said that blind people should be using Full Self-Driving mode, which is called Tesla Assisted Driving in Europe. Key word: assisted.
But is Musk telling the truth for once?
On October 1, we learned that the Federal Aviation Administration issued a Temporary Flight Restriction over SpaceX’s test facility in Texas during the Tesla Roadster’s original launch. However, no Temporary Flight Restriction has been issued for the new October 15 launch event. However, this initial TFR led Tesla’s fans to truly believe that the Roadster would fly. Like literally fly.
The more realistic possibility is that the Tesla Roadster will sorta hop.
But if it were to fly, it would use cold-gas thrusters that expel ultra-pressurized gas while the Roadster is accelerating, braking, cornering, or flying. These thrusters are the same ones that send power to Falcon 9 boosters and Starship prototypes. The Roadster would need some type of onboard compressor to charge an air tank, as well as a nozzle to release the gas.
Once the Roadster is in the air, it’s pretty unclear how it would be controlled. Musk has claimed in the past that its onboard computer could spin up the wheels and electric motors to help the Roadster position itself in the air. But that isn’t a real answer.
Would you have to keep buying this special gas if you buy this “special option package?”
Alright, fantasy over. I am not convinced that the Tesla Roadster can fly. Even if the Tesla Roadster lived up to Musk’s other promises, like a 0-60 mph time under 2 seconds, a 250 mph top speed, and a 620-mile range, I would be stunned.
I am not even convinced that this reveal will really show us what the Roadster can actually do. Remember Musk’s “We, Robot” event in 2024 that was supposed to reveal the Cybercab? We didn’t really see the Cybercab do much of anything. And the Optimus robots at the event were secretly controlled by humans.
I mean, Tesla fans still ate it up. But it didn’t really tell us anything. And I am under the impression that this reveal will be very similar.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I want the Roadster to be lame. If Tesla could give us this four-motor hypercar with a hopping ability, I’d be pretty happy. We need more cool electric vehicles.
Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
