The new Roadster drove upside down, flipped in the air and jumped a line of cars on SpaceX thrusters. Tesla clocked 0-60 in 0.81 seconds. CRS-35 docked with the final solar arrays.
Ælon Daily – Friday, October 16, 2026
LIVE FROM THE EMPIRE · OCTOBER 16, 2026
Roadster flies. Dragon docks. Cars fly.
Tesla and SpaceX put cold-gas thrusters on the new Roadster. It drove upside down, flipped in the air, and jumped a line of vehicles. 0-60 in 0.81 seconds. CRS-35 docked at the Station with the final solar arrays. Elon: “Turns out the future does have flying cars.”
ROADSTER
Flew
Thrusters. Flip. 0-60 in 0.81s.
CRS-35
Docked
10:27 a.m. ET. Final iROSAs aboard.
SPACEX
USSF-481
Falcon 9 to orbit from California.
MUSK WEALTH TRACKER
FORBES REAL-TIME · OCT 16, 2026
$925B
-$20B today (-2.1%)
#1 in the world · below $1T
SpaceX / xAI
~38% stake
~$620B
67%
Tesla
~11% stake
~$200B
22%
Neuralink
~$40B
4%
X Corp
~$32B
3.5%
Boring Co & Other
~$33B
3.5%
Source: Forbes Real-Time Billionaires (as of Oct 16). Allocation estimates. Figures move with markets.
Forget SpaceX. Elon's next BIG bet is a radical "light-speed" device that's turning AI into "Accelerated AI" – and making it 100 times faster and 100 times more energy efficient.
The mainstream hasn't caught on yet. But "Accelerated AI" stocks are breaking out as we speak: 133%, 217%, or even 320% or more… and it's just getting started.
At a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, the new Roadster drove upside down on a suction ramp, flipped in the air, and jumped a line of Tesla vehicles. Cold-gas thrusters from the SpaceX collaboration did the work. Tesla clocked 0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds. Top speed claimed above 230 mph. Production targeted for 2028. Reservations are open: Performance at $50,000 deposit, Thrust at $250,000.
Why this matters: The car company and the rocket company just shared hardware on a production-bound vehicle. The demo was not a concept video. It was a prototype that left the ground and came back under control.
“Turns out the future does have flying cars”
Elon posted the line with video after the demo. Tesla posted “Do a kickflip!” and “Holy smokes.” The company also posted “From Roadster in a rocket / To rocket in a Roadster.” The original Roadster is still in heliocentric orbit. The new one just used thrusters on Earth.
Why this matters: The messaging is not subtle. Tesla and SpaceX are treating the Roadster as proof that the stack can move from orbit to the street in the same product cycle.
CRS-35 is berthed
Dragon berthed at the Station’s Harmony module at 10:27 a.m. ET on October 15. Its hold carried over three tons of supplies, among them the last two iROSA roll-out arrays. SpaceX confirmed the capture. The vehicle remains berthed until mid-November.
Why this matters: Those arrays cap the Station’s power build-out. The operational tempo held while the show took the feed. Both clocks kept time.
Falcon 9 flies USSF-481
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from pad 4E in California carrying the USSF-481 mission to orbit. Another national security flight in the background while the Roadster and Dragon stories dominated the feed.
Why this matters: The workhorse keeps the cash and the cadence. National security launches fund the next round of Starship and keep the pad busy.
Three trims. Two deposits. One invite list.
Performance is the road-ready two-seater. Thrust adds rear thrusters for sub-one-second acceleration. Rocket is the single-seat air-ready variant with a full flight system, invite only. Range is listed at about 300 miles. All three share the same core platform.
Why this matters: The product ladder is public. Deposits are live. The question moves from “will it exist” to “which version and when.”
THE MAIN EVENT
HARDWARE
The car left the ground. The cargo stayed on schedule.
McGregor is a rocket test site. Tesla used it as a stage. The Roadster clung to a ramp upside down, launched into a flip, and landed on thrusters. It jumped a line of production vehicles. Tesla posted the 0-60 number at 0.81 seconds. Elon posted that the future has flying cars. The original Roadster is still in solar orbit. The new one just proved it can use rocket tech on a public road platform.
CRS-35 locked onto the Station the same day, docking at 10:27 a.m. ET with the final arrays and over three tons of freight. Logistics did not wait for the show. Falcon 9 also put USSF-481 into orbit from California.
Production is listed for 2028. Deposits are already open. The story is no longer vapor. It is a prototype that flew, a cargo ship that docked, and a company that is selling the next chapter in cash.
My take: The empire just put a thruster under a sports car and a Dragon on the Station on consecutive clocks. One is theater with physics. One is logistics with science. Both are real.
ELON ON X
ROADSTER
“Turns out the future does have flying cars”
With video of the Roadster demo after the McGregor event.
ROADSTER
“My OG Roadster is still orbiting Mars and Earth”
On Tesla’s post that a Roadster and a rocket have shared a ride before.
ROADSTER
“New Roadster is beyond movies, beyond imagination, beyond human, yet still made by humans on Earth”
Posted the day of the reveal, before the thrusters left the ground.
THE TROLL REPORT
🧌 “It is just a stunt car, not a real product”
Deposits are live. Production is dated 2028. Three trims are on the site. A prototype that flew and landed under control is not a concept reel.
🧌 “Flying cars will never be street legal”
The Performance trim is road-ready. Thrust and Rocket are the high-end variants. The company is not claiming every trim is for public roads tomorrow. It is selling a ladder.
“Turns out the future does have flying cars.”
- Elon Musk
The car flew. The cargo docked.
Thrusters on a sports car. Final arrays on the Station.
