Tesla’s new flying Roadster completed its first New Orleans test Friday, successfully clearing one pothole before descending directly into a second, larger pothole approximately nine feet away.
Local drivers remained unimpressed by the demonstration, noting the city has quietly conducted inadvertent flying-car tests for decades.
“My Altima did that on Claiborne in 2018,” resident Riley Simon said. “Flew clear over a pit. No rocket thrusters, either. Paid $2,800 for the whole car.”
City officials praised the test as further proof that New Orleans streets remain fully accessible at multiple elevations. The Roadster was last seen partially submerged beneath an orange traffic cone while several agencies worked to determine which one was responsible for not responding.
Tesla engineers said the incident exposed a flaw in their testing. “The Roadster cleared the first pothole exactly as designed,” one engineer explained. “Our models indicated there would be pavement afterward. That assumption does not appear to hold in New Orleans.”