Rod Dreher sees space-race ambition in Musk’s Roadster

Rod Dreher, re-watching "Mad Men," posted on Oct. 16, 2026 that the work of Elon Musk makes him feel the way he imagines most Americans felt during the 1960s space race, an era when, in his words, America could do anything. He wrote that the achievements dazzled the world, and called it a great feeling¹.

“Turns out the future does have flying cars,”

Dreher's post, as published on X:

Dreher's post quoted an Autism Capital post saying the Tesla Roadster does a flying kickflip over the Tesla fleet¹. The event behind it was Tesla's Oct. 15 unveiling of its redesigned Roadster, livestreamed from a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, Fox Business reports. "Turns out the future does have flying cars," Musk said at the event².

In the demonstration, the unmanned Roadster drove up a curved wall, left the ceiling, performed a barrel roll using jets of air, and landed safely, Shacknews reports³. The car also used thrusters to lift itself over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y and Model 3 while in motion⁴.

The car has been a long time coming. When Tesla revealed a prototype in 2017, it said deliveries would begin in 2020. Musk then delayed it in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, and severe weather forced another delay when Tesla tried to hold the reveal on Oct. 1. After the event, Tesla's reservation page listed a $50,000 payment for the Performance version and $250,000 for the Thrust version². Musk said Tesla will build the Roadster in 2028 and did not name a price, TechCrunch reports⁴.

Tesla described three versions: Performance, a two-seat road-ready model; Thrust, a two-seat race-ready model with rear cold-gas thrusters; and Rocket, a one-seat version with 10 thrusters, which the company called “air ready,” TechCrunch reports. Tesla said all three trims would have 300 miles of range and exceed 230 mph. At the event, engineering vice president Lars Moravy said 10 thrusters linked to 600 liters of compressed air lift and spin the car, with the tank able to be recharged, according to TechCrunch⁴.

Sources

1. @roddreher on X, 2026-10-16: I'm re-watching "Mad Men" now, and I swear, the stuff @elonmusk does makes me feel like I imagine most Americans felt in the 1960s, during the space race, when America could do anything. Made stuff happen that dazzled the world. It's a great feeling., 2026-10-16
2. Tesla's new Roadster takes flight during dramatic unveiling at SpaceX facility | Fox Business
3. The Tesla Roadster can fly | Shacknews
4. Tesla reveals SpaceX-powered Roadster that flies and falls with style | TechCrunch