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Tesla announced a thruster-powered Roadster it says can hover and perform barrel rolls by 2028. YouTuber MKBHD publicly questioned whether the claims are a prank, creating a clear tech-market narrative.
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Tesla Promises Its Flying Roadster For 2028, but MKBHD Has One Question: ‘This Is A Prank, Right?’ The Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Roadster made its debut on Thursday, sporting Space Exploration Technologies Corp.-sourced (NASDAQ:SPCX) cold-gas thrusters that made the highly anticipated vehicle perform barrel rolls in the air and hover. However, YouTuber Marques Brownlee, aka MKBHD, has questioned the Elon Musk-led company’s Roadster efforts, remaining skeptical about Tesla’s promises about the upcoming vehicle. Marques Brownlee Thinks Tesla Pulled a Prank In a post on X on Thursday, the YouTuber quoted a post by Tesla that outlined that the Roadster’s design language was inspired by fighter planes like the Lockheed Martin Corp’s (NYSE:LMT) SR-71 jet. “They really just got on stage and said this newly designed 4000+ pound car can do flips and go half the speed of sound (380+mph) and will ship in 2028,” MKBHD said in his post, expressing skepticism about the car’s ability to hover with the thrusters. “This is a prank, right?” MKBHD said in the post. They really just got on stage and said this newly designed 4000+ pound car can do flips and go half the speed of sound (380+mph) and will ship in 2028. This is a prank, right? https://t.co/YBhhQf4QXq — Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) October 16, 2026 A similar concern about the car’s weight was also shared by investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management during an exclusive conversation with Benzinga earlier this month. Marques Brownlee, Sam Altman Held Reservations Notably, Brownlee had made a $50,000 reservation for the Tesla Roadster, which the YouTuber eventually cancelled last year. “Tesla has been sitting with my 50 grand for eight years and hasn’t done anything with it,” Brownlee said in a podcast appearance in September 2025. OpenAI founder Sam Altman also held a reservation for the Roadster, saying that he had eventually cancelled the reservation, but he had not received the $50,000 he paid, which was denied by Musk. Dan Ives, Ross Gerber Tout Tesla Merger Noted Tesla bull Dan Ives, following the reveal, said that the debut could make the Tesla and SpaceX relationship more “tangible” since the vehicle was combining technology from both the Musk-led enterprises in the Roadster. On the other hand, Gerber also stressed that a merger between the two companies was now “obvious.” Investor Gene Munster also praised the debut, but said that it was more of an “engineering flex” and that it did not have any economic value for the company. Read Also: Diesel Is Near $6.33 a Gallon, But Trump Says Iran Defeat Will Send Prices ‘Falling Like a Rock’ — More Tax Relief Could Be on the Way Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock