So are flying cars real? You have probably seen the Tesla video and wondered. The honest answer is: parts of the idea are real, and the part everyone imagines is not here yet. Here are six facts that sort the real from the hype.
Updated October 2026. Aircraft approval moves slowly and the position changes, so check the official pages linked at the end for the current state.
1. What counts as flying, legally
This sounds like a boring detail. It is actually the whole argument. In United States law, an aircraft is defined in a rulebook called 14 CFR 1.1. It means a device that is used, or intended to be used, for flight in the air.
That definition is why the Tesla stunt is argued about. The FAA told CBS News the vehicle does not meet its definition of an aircraft. A jump, even a spectacular one, is not the same as flight.
2. The Tesla jump was real, but it was a jump
The car drove up a curved ramp, launched off it, cleared five other Teslas, and landed using blasts of compressed air. On a second run Tesla says it reached 27 feet and did a barrel roll.
It really happened and it was livestreamed. But it went up and came down. It did not travel through the air to somewhere else, which is what most people mean by flying. We cover the full event in our guide to the Tesla flying car.
3. The real flying machines are called eVTOLs
The serious work is happening somewhere else, under an ugly name: eVTOL. It stands for electric vertical take off and landing. Think of a large electric drone big enough to carry people. They lift straight up like a helicopter, then fly forward like a plane.
The FAA has a page about these, and calls them air taxis. They are aimed at short hops, like crossing a city, rather than replacing your family car.
4. Nobody has the final approval yet
Before anyone can sell seats on a new type of aircraft, the FAA has to issue something called a type certificate. That is the official sign off that the design is safe. It takes years.
As of late 2026 the leading companies have not finished that process. The FAA has set up a programme to allow demonstration flights before full certification, which tells you where things stand: close enough to show people, not finished.
5. Why this is so much harder than it looks
Three problems keep getting in the way, and none of them are about imagination.
- Weight. Batteries are heavy. A car already carries a heavy battery. Lifting all of it straight up takes a lot of energy.
- Safety. If a car breaks down, it stops. If a flying machine breaks down, it falls. The safety bar is far higher, which is why approval is slow.
- Rules. Roads and skies are run by different bodies. A machine that does both does not fit neatly into either rulebook. CBS reported it was not even clear which agency would oversee the Roadster.
6. So what is the honest answer?
Here is the fair summary, with no hype in either direction:
- Machines that carry people through the air using electric power exist and fly today, in testing.
- None of them is approved yet for you to buy a ticket on in the United States.
- A car you drive to the shops and then fly home does not exist, and is not close.
- The Tesla Roadster jumps. It does not fly in the legal sense, and the flying version is not road approved.
So the next time someone sends you a video with a headline about flying cars, the useful question is simple. Did it travel somewhere through the air, or did it go up and come back down? That one question sorts almost everything. If you want the technical side of the Tesla version, read about the Tesla Roadster flying car.
A short history of why people ask are flying cars real
This question is older than you might think. Working machines that both drive and fly have been built since the 1930s. Several flew. None ever sold in numbers.
The reason is always the same trade off. A good car is heavy, low and strong. A good aircraft is light, wide and has to carry wings somewhere. Build one machine to do both and you get something that is mediocre at each job and expensive at both. Electric motors and better batteries change some of that maths, but they do not remove it.
What is realistically coming next
Rather than a car that flies, the likely next step is a short flight you book like a taxi. The pattern would look like this:
- You book a seat in an app for a trip across a city.
- You travel to a small landing pad, not an airport.
- A pilot flies you, at first. Nobody is starting with no pilot.
- You land at another pad and finish the trip on the ground.
Notice what is missing. You do not own the aircraft, you do not fly it, and it never drives on a road. That is a long way from the picture in most people heads, but it is the version that is actually being certified.
Common questions
Are flying cars real right now? Electric aircraft that carry people are real and flying in tests. A road car that also flies is not available, and the Tesla Roadster jump is not legally flight.
What is an eVTOL? Electric vertical take off and landing. A large electric aircraft that lifts straight up then flies forward, aimed at short city trips.
Why has nobody finished approval? New aircraft designs need an FAA type certificate, which takes years of testing because a failure in the air is far more serious than one on a road.
Did the Tesla really fly? It left the ground, by up to 27 feet according to Tesla. The FAA told CBS News it does not meet the definition of an aircraft.
Will I own a flying car? Not soon. The nearer future is booking a seat on a short air taxi flight, not parking one on your drive.
Sources and further reading
Where the figures and rules above come from, so you can check them:
- Where real air taxi approval has actually reached: FAA, Air Taxis
- The legal definition of an aircraft in the United States: eCFR, 14 CFR 1.1
- The quotes from the event, and what the FAA said about it: CBS News
- The ramp, the five cars, the 27 foot jump and the 0.81 second sprint: NBC News
Photo credits: Spirit of Innovation electric aircraft, Science Museum, London by The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Life flight helicopter in Hermiston Oregon by Bobjgalindo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. 2015 Dron DJI Phantom 3 Advanced by Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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