Innovation Jumped the Shark

From "Don't be evil" to a flying car with nobody inside

Tesla’s Roadster, billed as the best of the last human-driven cars, flips over the company’s lineup at McGregor on October 15 with nobody inside, the Cybercab robotaxi parked at the end of the row. (Image: Tesla)

On Thursday night a Tesla Roadster drove upside down along a curved ramp at SpaceX’s test site in McGregor, Texas, then fired cold-gas thrusters and flipped back onto its wheels. Musk wrote on X, “Turns out the future does have flying cars.” Tesla presented the car as “the best of the last human-driven cars,” yet the driver’s seat was empty, which Musk told the crowd was “to make sure we don’t kill anyone.” Tesla says the flying Rocket trim is not approved for public roads, and Musk puts production at 2028. The Roadster was first shown in 2017.

Fonzie’s 1977 water-ski jump gave us the phrase for the moment a show runs out of story and reaches for a stunt. Tech’s account of innovation has reached that moment, and Thursday’s flying car is its shark. (Happy Days, “Hollywood: Part 3,” ABC, 1977. Paramount Television / CBS Media Ventures.)