Tesla unveils its flying Roadster and revives speculation on a merger with SpaceX

A demonstration in Texas combining automobile and space propulsion

Elon Musk unveiled the Roadster 2 prototype at an event at the SpaceX rocket testing and development site in Texas, reports The Guardian. The leader presented this sports model as the world's first flying car, capable of using rocket-derived thrusters from its aerospace group to evolve in the air like a rocket.

According to the British daily, the presentation staged a remote-controlled vehicle to prevent any risk of accidents. The Roadster first climbed a curved ramp using an suction system to advance the head down, then activate its backprops to make a perilous jump, fly and land. During the demonstration, the vehicle also crossed a series of Tesla cars through the air, before making an acceleration in a record time of less than a second.

On social network X, Elon Musk claimed that the future now had flying cars. During his speech, he detailed the presence of altitude controls and main thrusters located at the rear, while recognizing that the machine was not necessarily optimized for safety and that its legal compliance in all jurisdictions remained uncertain. The entrepreneur had, however, expressed his scepticism about flying cars in 2014, before announcing this electric sports project three years later in order to compete with thermal models, recalls The Guardian.

Industrial calendar, variations and booking conditions

The schedule announced at this presentation provides for an entry into production in 2028, at an announced rate of over $200,000, or 150,000, says The Guardian. The manufacturer subsequently opened an interesting registration platform specifying several variants of the two-seat vehicle.

According to information from the UK publication, the reservation of the so-called performance edition requires the payment of a down payment of 50,000 pounds, while the configuration called "thrust" requires a security deposit of $250,000. A single-seater version designated "rocket", with a complete flight system, is for its part reserved for buyers sorted by invitations. Tesla also stipulated that the use of this vehicle by air was not permitted on the public highway.

This unveiling comes after a very long wait for fans of the brand, says Dow Jones, which recalls that the project had raised expectations for almost a decade before reaching this presentation combining aerospace thrusters and car chassis.

Speculative bets on a merger

This spectacular technological hybridization between the two flagship companies led by Elon Musk immediately revived investors' conjectures on a consolidation of their capital structures. According to Dow Jones, analysts believe that the presentation of this flying athlete could provide Elon Musk with a lever to plead for a merger between Tesla and SpaceX.

This perspective has found a direct echo in prediction markets. According to the information reported by CNBC, the implicit likelihood of a merger between the electric vehicle manufacturer and the aerospace group rose above 50% by the beginning of 2027. Contract prices for integration before March 2027 thus jumped to 56% on Friday morning, compared with 29% earlier. Expectations for April and May 2027 showed comparable levels.

The prediction platform submits to the operators the question of the merger date between the two companies, the outcome to be validated by the media and the EDGAR public registry of the Securities and Exchange Commission, states CNBC. The channel recalls that both entities already share multiple cooperation and are both controlled by the leader.

The project of vertical integration into artificial intelligence

The intensification of rumours of a financial operation is due in particular to the comments made by Elon Musk at the last Tesla financial performance conference, during which the leader had mentioned increasingly frequent overlaps between the activities of the car manufacturer and SpaceX, notes CNBC.

A note of analysis published on Wednesday by Barclays detailed the potential contours of such a rapprochement. Analyst Dan Levy indicated that this merger could take the form of vertical integration based on artificial intelligence. This project would combine Tesla's Robotaxi and Optimus programs with the Grok and Macrohard initiatives on the SpaceX side. According to Barclays, an announcement could occur prior to the next regular general meeting in Tesla, scheduled to take place no later than December 6, 2026.

The bank's analyst also identified the Terafab semiconductor project, which involves Tesla, SpaceX and xAI together, as a driving force behind this operation. Dan Levy stated that if financial synergies are likely, the fundamental value of such a rapprochement would lie primarily in this vertical technological integration.

Financial recommendations and action behaviour Tesla

In the wake of these conjectures on the space ecosystem, the Evercore ISI study office has positioned itself on the title SpaceX, reports CNBC. The financial analyst recommended Friday to buy shares of the space launcher group before the publication of its next financial results, scheduled in early November 2026. Evercore ISI simultaneously increased its 12-month SpaceX course target by 20% to $275.

On stock markets, the Tesla share ended the session of Friday, October 16, 2026 with a 2.13 per cent decline, closing at $354.72, according to the quotations recorded by Yahoo Finance at 22:00.