Did Elon Musk release a flying car? No, but this false claim spread on Facebook

A claim about a new invention by billionaire Elon Musk is spreading on Facebook.

“After years of anticipation, Elon Musk is finally launching his first flying car today,” reads a November 29 post. “This innovative Tesla car is completely different from the flying cars that other companies boast about.”

It quoted Musk as saying: “Our new flying cars are launching TODAY.”

(Screenshot from Facebook)

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat fake news and misinformation in its news feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Despite the headline that this innovation was “different,” reverse image search showed that the top two photos are associated with Jetson, a Swedish company specializing in electric vertical takeoff and landing.

His aircraft, the Jetson ONE, is drone-like in operation and does not require a pilot’s license. According to Business Insider, it cannot be flown in densely populated areas or near airports. The first flight in the USA took place in Texas in October 2023.

The Jetson ONE uses Tesla battery cells that enable a flight time of 20 minutes. However, this aircraft is not mentioned on Tesla’s website.

The top left image of the post is similar to a photo Axios uploaded in an October 2023 article about Jetson, while the top right image of the person in a black shirt operating the vehicle is from a Jetson YouTube video from that year 2022 is from.

On its website, Jetson says production is sold out for 2024 and 2025, but orders are being accepted for 2026. The price of the aircraft is $128,000 before taxes and fees, with a down payment of $8,000.

Musk has claimed that Tesla’s Roadster sports car – which is still in development – may have flight capabilities. He posted on more.”

There has been a surge in Facebook posts about innovations attributed to Musk, but these creations do not exist.

Fantasies about a flying Tesla car are falling by the wayside for now. We rate claims that Musk released such a car as false.