The Guardian reports the two-seater drove up a curved ramp using suction to grip while upside down, then used SpaceX-style thrusters to flip, fly and land, remotely controlled "to make sure we don't kill anyone."

Musk told the crowd the car "can basically fly like a rocket, it can do rolls, crazy gymnastics," and later wrote on X that "the future does have flying cars."

The centerpiece of the reveal was the demonstration clip itself, posted via Tesla's own channels and picked up by outlets worldwide. CNN notes Musk insisted on a live audience "to prove that it's not AI or SI," telling fans "what you see with your eyes, you will not believe."

The footage shows the driverless Roadster climbing the ramp, somersaulting mid-air, landing on its wheels, and later leaping over a line of five parked Teslas before accelerating to 60 mph in under a second, per CNN.

Skeptics were quick to deflate the framing. CNN quotes Roger Connor, vertical flight curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum: "We're not talking about sustained flight. We are literally talking about hopping."

Connor argues a hybrid of car and aircraft is doomed to be "a poor performing aircraft and a poor performing vehicle, and also quite expensive."

CNN also cites the hard engineering problem of transitioning from vertical ascent to forward movement, which Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny calls the hardest part of any eVTOL.

NewsCord's 28-outlet comparison reports Tesla showed three configurations: Performance, Thrust and Rocket. According to NewsCord citing 20Minutos, the Performance version requires a $5,000 deposit plus another $45,000 within ten days, while the Thrust version asks $5,000 followed by $245,000.

The Guardian instead reports a £50,000 deposit for the performance version and $250,000 for the "thrust" version, with the invitation-only single-seat "rocket" variant not reservable. Both agree on the fine print: flying is not permitted on public roads.

Musk himself flagged the regulatory gray zone, telling attendees per The Guardian, "I'm not sure it's necessarily legal in all jurisdictions," and admitting the prototype is "not necessarily a safety optimised car but it takes the fun meter to 11."

NewsCord relays El Confidencial's sharper verdict, which framed the event as "pure trickery and steam," criticizing the lack of a credible price or date. The Guardian also notes Musk expressed skepticism about flying vehicles as recently as 2014, a reversal that colors the announcement.

The Roadster 2 is slated for production in 2028 at a price above $200,000, according to The Guardian, which cautions that Musk has a history of missing self-imposed Tesla timelines by years.

CNN reports the car uses 10 nozzles and what Musk called "ultra high-pressure air tanks" — cold-gas thrusters derived from SpaceX rocket technology — and notes the demonstration included no long-range flight.

Whether the Roadster can ever truly fly, rather than leap, remains unproven even by the show's own spectacle.