Elon's Flying Car: What Happens When Tech Invades Your Industry?

By Derek Whitaker, Founder, Blu Sky Factory · Updated 27 October 2026

The short answer

When a new technology arrives, the product itself is the least of it. The real change happens in everything built around the old way of doing things: the rules, the insurance, the infrastructure, and the businesses that depended on it. The people who come out ahead are the ones who ask "what does this change for me?" before it arrives, not after. And for most Australian businesses, the technology most likely to invade their industry this year isn't flying. It's AI.

I woke up on a Saturday morning to footage of Elon Musk's new Tesla Roadster driving up a ramp, hanging upside down, and landing on the other side under its own power. Then came a second clip, even bigger than the first. When we went on air, my first words were simple: "I have to say, this is nuts."

Travis Carter and I spent the whole of this week's Greater Wealth on it. We talked less about the car itself, and far more about what happens to everything around it.

The Greater Wealth with Derek Whitaker and Travis Carter, Edge Radio Australia. Also on Rumble, Spotify and all podcast apps.

What actually happened

In other words, it's a short, powered hop rather than a car that cruises through the sky. But that's beside the point.

It's not about the car

Credit where it's due: whoever put the theatrics together did a brilliant job. As I said on the show, it was "marketing on steroids," and it played straight to the little boy in all of us who once made hot rods do backflips off big ramps.

Was it real? A lot of people online were saying it was fake, and as Travis put it, "I don't blame people for being skeptical about that because AI is just so good these days." That's a fair instinct in 2026. But this one was a live demonstration in front of an audience, and Musk told the crowd that what they were about to see was not AI.

Was it really flying? Travis played devil's advocate and asked whether it flew or simply fell gracefully. It's a fair question, but remember that the Wright brothers' first flight was a short hop too. The car took off. It was directional under its own power. It landed under its own power. And it was upside down when it took off.

That's the real point. Once something like this has been done, the question stops being "can it be done?" and becomes "what does it change?" It's that second question where the money is made, and lost.

Five industries that just got a question they can't answer

This is what disruptive technology does. It doesn't just add a product; it changes the question for everyone around it.

1. The rules. Travis put it best: "Do you have to get an aviation licence to own one of these cars, or is it a motor vehicle licence?" If a speed camera clocks you in the air, are you a car or an aeroplane? Do the traffic rules even apply? There is no legislation for any of this yet, and politicians are usually the last to catch up.

2. Insurance. On air I said it this way: "Imagine the insurance businesses now having to scratch their heads. Is it safer for us to insure a car that is driven by a human or by AI?" Insurers price risk from history, and this arrives with no history at all. As Travis joked, just picture the phone call: "I just had a Tesla land on the top of the car."

3. Roads and infrastructure. If cars can hold a steady height, "you could have three levels of traffic movement." Suddenly you're no longer building the same infrastructure on every single road. That's a massive game changer in how we think about moving from A to B, and a serious one for every business whose work is roads.

4. Real estate. If you can get somewhere in minutes that once took three hours, why not live where you actually want to live? "That changes not just transportation. That changes the entire real estate game. The flow-on effect is going to be huge."

5. The car makers themselves. Imagine running one of the world's great sports-car brands and watching this unfold. Elon has already forced the whole industry to race to catch up on electric vehicles. Now the question is how anyone competes with this from a marketing perspective.

None of these industries did anything wrong. A technology simply moved into their space, and the question changed underneath them.

The question for your business

If there's one thing I'd want every business owner to take from the conversation, it's this:

"How many businesses are dependent on something travelling from A to B? This has just changed the entire dynamic."

Think about it. Freight, trades, retail, hospitality, health and professional services: almost every business moves something, someone, or some piece of information from one place to another. When the way that happens changes, the whole business model shifts with it.

That's why the question for Australian businesses and workers is what new tools could you use to meet and change customer expectations? Service, speed, costs, the skills employers value. We have to start thinking differently.

And here's the part most people miss. The flying car is the headline, but the technology already changing those four things, in businesses like yours, right now, is AI. It doesn't need new legislation to land on your doorstep. It's already there, and your competitors can start using it this afternoon.

Winners and lemons: how investors look at it

Through an investor's eyes, the same moment looks quite different. On the show I put it like this: "Where is the money to be made? What are the winners here? What are the losers here in any market?"

Every disruption sorts companies quickly. Some find the new opportunities, while others become lemons "because they haven't innovated to this level." That's the question serious investors ask when a technology moves into an established industry. Not "is the technology impressive?" but "who adapts, and who doesn't?"

The wealthy add one more question. Why does a CEO need a corporate jet? It isn't the leather seats; it's the time it saves. The wealthy will judge flying cars, and every other new technology, in exactly the same way: is it a good investment of my time?

This is general education, not financial advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any stock.

The little guy's advantage

This is the part that genuinely excites me. We're moving into a new economy, one where small businesses can access technology that was only available to Silicon Valley once upon a time.

My closing thoughts on the show were two-fold:

"Be prepared. If you're a small business owner, well, guess what? You have access to new technologies you never had before. Think bigger. Think differently. Create, create, create. We've just seen a major disruption. The little guy can really take inroads here. You don't have to have the big bucks, but think differently."

And if business isn't your path, the challenge is just as real: start thinking about which investments are likely to emerge in the new economy, and how you set your family up for generations to come with the changes involved.

Your questions, answered

About the Tesla flying car

Is the Tesla flying car real or fake?

It's real. Tesla demonstrated the Roadster live at a SpaceX test site in Texas on 15 October 2026, in front of an audience, and Musk told the crowd that what they were about to see was not AI. What it isn't, yet, is a car you can buy: it was a prototype demonstration, and Tesla says production starts in 2028.

How does the Tesla Roadster fly?

With air. Tesla's engineers said the car uses ten cold-gas thrusters connected to about 600 litres of compressed air, which can be recharged, along with high-powered fans that help it grip the ramp. That gives it a short, powered hop rather than sustained flight. Musk first floated the idea of a "SpaceX option package" with thrusters back in 2018.

How much is the flying Tesla Roadster, and when can you buy one in Australia?

Tesla hasn't announced a price, an Australian price or an Australian release date. Musk said production would begin in 2028. Tesla's website took reservations in US dollars: US$50,000 for the "Performance" version and US$250,000 for "Thrust", with the airborne "Rocket" version by invitation only. Treat any Australian price you see on social media with caution.

Is Tesla the only company building flying cars?

No. China's XPeng has taken more than 11,000 orders worldwide for its flying car, including from a buyer on the Gold Coast, and companies such as Joby Aviation, EHang and Hyundai-backed Supernal are flight-testing passenger aircraft overseas.

Flying cars in Australia: the rules

Are flying cars legal in Australia?

Not yet, in any practical sense. A privately owned flying vehicle would need approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), covering airworthiness, safety, low-altitude airspace and pilot licensing. As of mid-2026 there was no confirmed pathway or timeline. One of our listeners put it bluntly on the show: there will be too much red tape for this to ever happen in Australia. My view is that if Australia wants to keep its competitive edge in the world, it has to work this out.

Do you need a pilot's licence for a flying car?

Nobody can say yet, and that's exactly the problem. In Australia, cars are licensed by the states while aircraft and pilots are regulated by CASA, and a vehicle that is both falls between the two. As Travis asked: "Do you have to get an aviation licence to own one of these cars, or is it a motor vehicle licence?"

How will flying cars be regulated?

Expect them to be kept well away from airports and to be networked. As we said on the show, every one of these vehicles would need to be on a network so each knows where the others are, which is why the AI and the communications behind them matter as much as the car. Satellite networks like Starlink are part of that picture.

Everyday life

Who would insure a flying car?

It's an open question for insurers. They price risk from history, and flying cars have none. They'll also have to decide whether a human or an AI is safer at the controls, and who pays when a car lands on someone else's.

Will flying cars fix traffic congestion?

They could change it completely. If vehicles can hold a steady height, "you could have three levels of traffic movement," which means you're no longer building the same infrastructure on every road. The catch is collisions in the air, and the rules to prevent them.

How will flying cars affect real estate and where we live?

If travel times collapse, places that were impractical to live in become practical, and city prices have to compete with them. As I said on the show: "That changes not just transportation. That changes the entire real estate game."

When will flying cars be part of everyday life?

Not soon for most people. Tesla's own target is to begin production in 2028, and regulators in Australia haven't set a pathway yet. The businesses around cars (insurers, road builders, developers, dealers) have a few years to think, which is precisely why they should start now.

When will cars drive themselves in Australia?

Sooner than most people think, in my view, because AI is learning every single day. The things most likely to slow it down are legislation and the quality of our internet. Australia has been developing a national Automated Vehicle Safety Law that would make the company behind a self-driving system, rather than the person in the seat, responsible for its safety; check the Department of Infrastructure for its current status.

Business, jobs and investing

What is disruptive technology?

In simple words, it's a technology that changes the rules for a whole industry, not just the product. Electric vehicles did it to car makers, satellite internet is doing it to telecommunications, and AI is doing it to almost every kind of office work. The flying Roadster is a reminder that it can happen in a single demonstration.

Which industries will flying cars disrupt?

Licensing and regulation, insurance, roads and infrastructure, real estate, and the car makers themselves, plus every business that depends on moving people or goods from A to B.

How do you future-proof a business against disruption?

Ask the questions before the technology arrives. What in your business moves from A to B? Which customer expectations (service, speed, cost) could a competitor with better tools meet first? Then learn the tools already changing those things, starting with AI. As I said on the show: "Think bigger. Think differently. Create, create, create."

How can AI help a small business in Australia?

By giving small operators capability that used to need a big team: answering customer enquiries, drafting quotes and proposals, marketing, research and admin. The aim isn't to replace people; it's to meet customers' expectations of service, speed and cost before a competitor does.

Will AI replace my job?

AI won't take your job. Someone who knows how to use it will. The jobs most exposed are the ones built on routine information work, and the people best placed are those who learn to use AI in the work they already do.

Is there a flying-car stock to invest in?

Not a separate one: the Roadster is a Tesla product. Investors looking at disruption tend to ask a broader question: which companies are adapting, and which are about to become lemons? (General education only, not financial advice.)

Where can Australian business owners learn to use AI?

Blu Sky Factory, an Australian education company founded by Derek Whitaker, runs a free masterclass called Thrive in the Age of AI for business owners and professionals who aren't in the tech industry, at bluskyfactory.com/ai-training, followed by live AI programmes for those who want to go further.

Three questions to ask this week

What in my business moves from A to B, and what happens if that becomes faster, cheaper or automated?
Which of my customers' expectations (service, speed, cost) could a competitor with better tools meet before I do?
What would I do with ten more hours a week? That's what the right tools give back, and time is what the wealthy really pay for.

If those questions make you a little uneasy, good. That's the feeling of seeing it before it arrives. The next step is to understand the technology that's already doing it.

Sources

Education only. Nothing here is personal financial, tax or legal advice.