Supposedly, the Unveiling of a Hovering Tesla Has Not Been Canceled. Just Postponed Until August

For nearly nine years Elon Musk has claimed some variation on the following:

• There’s a flying and/or hovering Tesla Roadster in the works.
• Flying and/or hovering is part of a new system that primarily provides unprecedented acceleration.
• This system can also enhance sharp turns and braking.
• These capabilities are enabled by SpaceX cold gas thrusters.
• Thruster-equipped Teslas will have special SpaceX air tanks in place of the backseat.

Here’s what Musk tweeted about it in 2018:

The SpaceX option package for the new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around the car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering. Maybe they’ll even allow Tesla to fly…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018

It all, of course, starts with the company bringing back the original Tesla model, the Roadster, a prototype of which was shown at an event in 2017 — though Musk’s more confident claims that the Roadster would fly or hover wouldn’t come until two years later, in 2019. According to an

In October last year, Elon Musk told Joe Rogan that a new Roadster model would be unveiled soon, and that the demo would be “unforgettable.” In March he said the roadster would be “next level banger.”

The new roadster is expected to be unveiled next month.

This will be next level explosive. https://t.co/sO0iB63l07

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2026

But no April announcement was forthcoming, and in late April, Musk said on an earnings call that he expected it to happen in about a month, so in late May or early June. It’s now the beginning of June and there’s no sign of an unveiling, but a new report from The Information finally has some details. Like.

According to the information, details are that the new roadster will not be unveiled until at least August. The demo, a joint effort between Tesla and SpaceX, is supposed to show off the aforementioned cold gas thrusters – which provide unprecedented acceleration, as well as hovering and/or flight, and it looks like Tesla is still ironing out the kinks.

Musk reportedly (according to the information) received his demo of the thruster system in April – meaning he confidently announced that the unveiling would be “next level banger”, and that was before it was repeatedly postponed.