# Musk's flying Roadster finally does what he promised in 2019

> Eight years after describing the technology on Twitter, Tesla demonstrated its Roadster using cold-gas thrusters, exactly as Elon Musk said it would.
- Title: Musk's flying Roadster finally does what he promised in 2019
- Summary: Eight years after describing the technology on Twitter, Tesla demonstrated its Roadster using cold-gas thrusters, exactly as Elon Musk said it would. Tesla's…
- Keywords: elon musk, tesla, roadster, flying car, cold-gas thrusters, spacex, business, technology, Musk's, flying, finally, does
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/elon-musk-described-tesla-flying-roadster-tech-8-years-ago-2026-10
- Author: Georgia Hennessy
- Published: 2026-10-16T11:58:49.281+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: elon musk, tesla, roadster, flying car, cold-gas thrusters, spacex, business, technology
## Musk promised flying Roadster in 2019
In January two thousand nineteen, Elon Musk said on Twitter that Tesla's new Roadster would lift off using cold-gas thrusters and ultra-high-pressure air.

> The new Roadster will actually do something like this.
## How the thrusters would work
Musk described a SpaceX-made cold-gas thruster system using high-pressure air stored in a composite pressure vessel, replacing the two rear seats of the car.

> Will use SpaceX cold gas thruster system with ultra high pressure air in a composite over-wrapped pressure vessel in place of the 2 rear seats.
## Earlier hints about thrusters
In June two thousand eighteen, Musk said the Roadster would include roughly ten thrusters and suggested they might allow the car to fly.
## Test flight succeeds in Texas
At a SpaceX test site in Texas on Thursday, almost eight years later, a Roadster climbed a curved ramp, dropped, rolled through the air and landed on its wheels.
## Technology matched Musk's description
The test used the same basic technology Musk described: cold-gas thrusters fed by high-pressure air stored in composite pressure vessels, proving his eight-year-old claim.
## Production delayed but promise kept
Tesla unveiled the second-generation Roadster in two thousand seventeen, originally targeting two thousand twenty production. Musk now says production will begin in two thousand twenty-eight.
## Key takeaway

Tesla's Roadster performed a flying test using cold-gas thrusters at a SpaceX site in Texas, matching technology Elon Musk described on Twitter in January two thousand nineteen.