'Well, it worked': Elon Musk unveils new Tesla Roadster that can fly

Read the original at Euronews ↗
Cite

Rennolds, N. (2026, October 16). 'Well, it worked': Elon Musk unveils new Tesla Roadster that can fly. Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/16/well-it-worked-elon-musk-unveils-new-tesla-roadster-that-can-fly

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Euronews · collected 2026-10-16 · by Nathan Rennolds

Quick Summary

Elon Musk demonstrated the new Tesla Roadster at a livestreamed event, showcasing its ability to perform acrobatic maneuvers including flying upside down and doing mid-air flips with the help of SpaceX technology. The car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under one second and has a range exceeding 300 miles with a top speed over 230 mph for the Rocket version. Musk emphasized that these capabilities were visible proof rather than simulated by artificial intelligence or software illusions.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-16, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 15, 2026, Tesla unveiled its redesigned next-generation Roadster at a live event in McGregor, Texas. First previewed nearly nine years ago with deliveries initially set for 2020 but now pushed back to 2028, the new Roadster features SpaceX technology such as thrusters that enable it to perform acrobatic maneuvers and fly. The vehicle, priced at $200,000, can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under a second and includes altitude control thrusters, allowing it to lift off the ground using a suction fan system before flipping mid-air and landing safely with rear rocket thrusters. Despite its high price and limited financial impact on Tesla's bottom line, CEO Elon Musk emphasized that the Roadster serves as a showcase for the company’s advanced engineering and technology.

Written for “Tesla Next Generation Roadster Unveiled” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 84216 · logged 2026-10-16

Story

📰 Tesla Next Generation Roadster Unveiled
Technology · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Elon Musk unveils flying car: Crowd screams as new Tesla with rocket thrusters takes off and flips mid-air same event · 100%
Daily Mail · 0.88 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 5 of 36 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe Elon Musk unveiling and demonstrating a flying Tesla Roadster at SpaceX's testing facility in McGregor, Texas on the same date.”
Tesla unveils redesigned next-generation Roadster after long-awaited anticipation same event · 100%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 1 of 12 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the unveiling of the redesigned Tesla Roadster on the same date and mention Elon Musk presenting it.”
Tesla unveils next generation Roadster sports EV with SpaceX thrusters same event · 100%
The Straits Times
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 20 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe Elon Musk unveiling the next-generation Tesla Roadster equipped with SpaceX thrusters on October 15, 2026.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
2 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
60/100
Euronews's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Euronews · 844 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)
2026-10-01
Death-row inmate Christa Pike seen during murder trial

Who wrote this

Nathan Rennolds
45 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Because what you see with your eyes, you will not believe."
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · 'Well, it worked': Elon Musk unveils new Tesla Roadster that can fly
🔮 At least four people have reportedly died since Isaias made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Friday, authorities have said, as forecasters warn of flooding and tornado risks as the storm pushes further inland.
2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Four dead as Isaias continues to push across the Southeast US, bringing strong winds and heavy rain
🔮 He went on to claim he "should have won 8 Nobel Peace Prizes" for having "settled 8 wars" and said he would soon "settle, or win, two more," pointing to the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
2026-10-10 · assertive framing · 'No one ever heard of her': Trump goes off on petty rant after Nobel Peace Prize snub
🔮 Strong winds are likely across large parts of the southeastern US, with Isaias also expected to bring heavy rainfall to much of the wider region over the weekend.
2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Life-threatening Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in Florida, bringing high winds and heavy rain
🔮 However, Musk has found himself back in Trump world in recent weeks, with the Tesla CEO set to take on a role as co-director of "Project Meridian."
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · 'Modern-day Thomas Edison': Trump awards Elon Musk top US science medal
🔮 British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband stressed that the consulate would not be closing and that it would instead become the UK Mission, Jerusalem, from Thursday.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Israel says British consulate in East Jerusalem 'ceasing operations'
🔮 The Republic of Ireland football team are set to don black armbands when they run out to face Israel in Sunday's Nations League clash amid calls for a boycott of the fixture over the war in Gaza.
2026-09-27 · assertive framing · Ireland team to wear black armbands as players vote to go ahead with Israel game
🔮 Russian forces also carried out another wave of strikes on the Ukrainian capital overnight, injuring five people, per Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
2026-09-26 · assertive framing · At least six people killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine over last 24 hours
🔮 It has said it would investigate the matter.
2026-09-26 · mixed framing · Israeli settlers seizing natural springs in the West Bank
🔮 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that his US counterpart Donald Trump had informed him that he would grant Ukraine a license to build coveted Patriot missiles.
2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Trump makes 'final decision' to grant Ukraine Patriot license, Zelenskyy says
Also by Nathan Rennolds
Four dead as Isaias continues to push across the Southeast US, bringing strong winds and heavy rain
2026-10-11 · Euronews
'No one ever heard of her': Trump goes off on petty rant after Nobel Peace Prize snub
2026-10-10 · Euronews
Life-threatening Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in Florida, bringing high winds and heavy rain
2026-10-10 · Euronews
'Modern-day Thomas Edison': Trump awards Elon Musk top US science medal
2026-10-09 · Euronews
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 45 articles by Nathan Rennolds →

Topics

Performance Roadster Rocket SpaceX Tesla

Subjects

Tesla ORG · 7× Musk PERSON · 5× Elon Musk PERSON · 1× Lars Moravy PERSON · 1× SpaceX ORG · 1×

Narrative

Musk added that the Roadster has "altitude control thrusters and main thrusters in the rear, so it can basically fly like a rocket." "It can do rolls, it can do crazy gymnastics," he said, whilst joking that it was "not necessarily a safety optimised car."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16
🔮 Because what you see with your eyes, you will not believe."
2026-10-16 · Euronews
'Well, it worked': Elon Musk unveils new Tesla Roadster that can fly · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 2 hedged)

Musk said the Roadster has "altitude control thrusters and main thrusters in the rear, so it can basically fly like a rocket." asserted
it → say → rocket
Tech billionaire Elon Musk gave Tesla fans an up-close look at the electric vehicle maker's latest and perhaps most ambitious project on Thursday night - the long-awaited Tesla Roadster. asserted
Musk → give → night
"We need an audience to prove that it's not AI or SI," Musk told the crowd at the livestreamed event. asserted
Musk → need → event
"So, you guys can tell people that you saw it with your eyes. asserted
you → tell → eyes
Because what you see with your eyes, you will not believe." asserted
you → see → eyes
In a dramatic demonstration, the Roadster - Tesla's only manually driven car - then drove up a towering, curved ramp, going upside down before launching off the end, flipping in mid-air, and landing safely back on the ground as the audience cheered. asserted
audience → drive → ground
"Well, it worked," Musk said. asserted
Musk → work → ?
According to Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, who was presenting alongside Musk, the Roadster uses a "fan suction system" on the underside of the vehicle that he said can "pull up to 2 Gs in order to make the car go upside down. uncertain
car → accord → Gs
"Then we borrowed some technology from SpaceX to do the rest," he said. asserted
he → borrow → rest
Musk added that the Roadster has "altitude control thrusters and main thrusters in the rear, so it can basically fly like a rocket." "It can do rolls, it can do crazy gymnastics," he said, whilst joking that it was "not necessarily a safety optimised car." asserted
it → add → gymnastics
A second demonstration then put that claim to the test, with the car driving up to a row of other Tesla vehicles before firing into the air and doing a "kickflip" over them. uncertain
car → put → them
Another display showed the Roadster accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in under one second. asserted
Roadster → show → second
Tesla's website shows the company is now taking reservation orders for the car, with three variants available - Performance, Thrust, and Rocket. asserted
variants → show → car
The Rocket version is listed as invite only. asserted
version → list → invite
The Roadster has a range of more than 300 miles and a top speed of over 230 mph (Rocket version), per Tesla. asserted
Roadster → have → Tesla
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