Elon Musk Teases Flying Cars During End-of-Week Media Blitz

Elon Musk is teasing a potential release of flying cars.

The CEO of Tesla appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience on Friday and made a reference to how Peter Thiel once said that “the future was supposed to have flying cars,” which don’t exist on the streets — or in the air — at the moment.

When host Joe Rogan followed up and asked Musk if he is “actively considering” making an electric flying car, and if the vehicle would have retractable wings.

“I can’t do the unveil before the unveil,” Musk said. “I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever.”

The discussion came during a conversation about the coming Tesla Roadster prototype, which Musk said has “crazy technology” that is “crazier than anything James Bond.”

Musk added that he is “getting close” to a demo of the prototype — “hopefully before the end of the year” — and promised it would be “unforgettable.”

The Joe Rogan podcast aired just a day after Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, took a jab at Musk by sharing a screenshot of an email from July 2018 confirming a $45,000 deposit for a second-generation Tesla Roadster, then another screenshot asking to cancel the order and requesting a $50,000 refund on Thursday, only for the email to bounce.

“I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays,” Altman wrote in a follow-up post on Thursday. “But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait.”

The original Roadster was the first consumer vehicle Tesla ever made. A prototype for the second-generation Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and Musk said at the time that this new Roadster would “be the fastest production car ever made, period.” The car is not yet available to the public.

Musk has competition that may be ahead of his plan to build a flying car. Alef, a California-based company, has secured test agreements with two Bay Area airports to trial a car that can take off vertically and fly. Joby Aviation, an aircraft company, is also developing an aircraft for air-taxi service, and test flights are already underway.

Musk’s media blitz also included an appearance on the “All-In Podcast” on Friday. Next week, on November 6, Musk faces a pivotal day as shareholders are set to vote on Tesla’s board’s proposed new pay package for Musk, which could be worth up to $1 trillion, contingent on performance milestones.