Tesla's flying car reveal prompted a White House joke about beating GTA 6. Elon Musk later said the Roadster could reach 400 mph.
The White House taunted Rockstar Games by joking that America got flying cars before GTA 6. By the evening, Elon Musk had floated a roughly 400 mph top speed for the Roadster.
Rockstar is steering its long-awaited title toward release, but the car behind the joke remains at least two years away from customers.
In the image posted by the White House account, President Trump is seen beside a hovering car while Marine One flies overhead. The slogan “Make America Great Again” appears in the GTA franchise’s distinctive style.
We really got flying cars before GTA 6
— The White House (@WhiteHouse), October 16, 2026
Trump also praised the demonstration, telling Fox News he was “very happy for Elon” and describing the vehicle as “very impressive.” He added that he did not know whether people would see him in it.
The praise came a week after Trump awarded Musk the National Medal of Science at the White House.
The administration has used pop-culture posts before, including Mario and Naruto memes that drew pushback from Japan.
Years of delays have not moved Rockstar from its November GTA 6 launch. That made the flying Tesla an easy punchline for the White House.
Unveiled at a SpaceX test site in Texas on October 15, the redesigned Roadster was launched by cold-gas thrusters off a ramp, flipping midair before landing.
The company also demonstrated a 0-to-60 mph time of under one second. Musk said at the event that certain versions would top 230 mph.
Reacting to a post that cited the 230 mph figure, Musk suggested a peak speed above half the speed of sound.
I think we can reach a peak speed of >0.5 Mach or ~400 mph
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk), October 17, 2026
Buyers still face a long wait. Tesla plans production for 2028 and now lists three tiers. The base Performance model costs $50,000 to reserve, while the thruster-equipped Thrust model requires $250,000.
The Rocket version is invite-only and comes with the full flight system.
The Roadster prototype was first shown in 2017 with deliveries promised for 2020. By that metric, the flying car is already eight years overdue.
Musk hinted at a possible Tesla-SpaceX merger before the reveal. A combined company would place the flying car alongside SpaceX rockets, while the White House has already made it part of its online messaging.
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