How I helped to make Elon Musk's flying car The Times James Crook | Katie Prescott How I helped to make Elon Musk's flying car James Crook, from Eastbourne, led the aerodynamic development of the new Tesla Roadster, working for a company where 'the only limitation is physics' new Tesla launches its Roadster in Texas tesla/Reuters James Crook and Katie Prescott Monday October 19 2026, 7.00am BST , The Times Listen 0:00 / · 6:01 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save “This is going to be the most epic demo ever,” Elon Musk told a small group of Tesla engineers in 2025, huddled deferentially around him in the company's Los Angeles design studio. While he spoke with a wide smile on his face, our moods were less buoyant as we looked at each other, struggling to comprehend just how we were going to achieve his ambitious vision. We all loved cars. We all loved an engineering challenge. But a car that could drive upside down? And that wasn't all he wanted. His dream car would also fly. Most commented 1 Trump claims to be 'negotiating peace' as rift with Zelensky deepens Russia-Ukraine war 82 comments 2 Third of investors ready to stop UK spending after budget Politics 53 comments 3 Douglas Dunn obituary: Scottish poet and academic Obituaries 7 comments 4 New 'We're 34 — we can't wait to start being landlords' Property & Home 2 comments 5 New The beauty expert's all-time favourite hair products Beauty 7 comments I was one of that select group. A 36-year-old from Eastbourne with a degree in engineering from Cambridge, I had joined Tesla in 2022 after a decade-long stint working in F1 in Oxfordshire. It was never the dream to move to the US, as I did, taking my reluctant medic-wife and two children (now three!) with me. James Cook My job? To lead aerodynamic development of the new Tesla Roadster, the newest iteration of a car that was last revealed in 2017 but never actually made. I was making sure it could stick to the ground, like a normal, high-performance hypercar. Others in the team were enabling its flight as we collaborated with SpaceX engineers to get it off the ground, so to speak. Top stories 1 New Caitlin Moran: People hate me, my hair, my face, my feminism Life 2 New Clodagh McKenna: I always get up at 6am on holiday. I love the calm Inspiration 3 16 of the best safaris in Africa Africa 4 13 of the best affordable hotels in New York New York City 5 The Marylebone pop-up for Christmas-maxxers LUXX We dubbed it Project Mede, the acronym for Most Epic Demo Ever — forever pronounced mee-dee by the team. This wasn't just a plan for a car, it was like creating a Transformer: four vehicles in one body capable of cruising along the freeway, driving upside down, short flights and acceleration from 0 to 60 in 0.81 seconds — making it the quickest-accelerating car ever built. Advertisement Some people may question the point of the Roadster's engineering feats but that is to miss the engineering dance we performed under the shell. We were not just building a car, we were pushing the boundaries of science and technology. Top stories 1 New Caitlin Moran: People hate me, my hair, my face, my feminism Life 2 New The beauty expert's all-time favourite hair products Beauty 3 New Tony Hadley: Fans still threw their knickers on stage after I became a dad Parenting 4 New The ten companies fund managers think will make them billions Saving & Investing 5 New 'Mum is dating a fraudster. What can I do?' Family Finances The Roadster is a tiny two-seater sports car and yet its slight frame had to contain two ultra-high-pressure air tanks feeding ten nozzles positioned around the vehicle, creating more than eight tons of thrust to enable it to fly and cornering forces greater than 2G, racing-car territory. I never doubted we would make it work: the question was rather how long it would take. Cost, on this project at Tesla, was never a strong consideration. Others on the team were equally on board. At Tesla, there is always a sense that anything can be achieved . The only limitation is physics. There were long hours building prototypes, different iterations with the inevitable setbacks and failures along the way. When we successfully turned the car upside down for the first time, the atmosphere was electric. The nervous energy in the team was released and everyone whooped and cheered, hi-fiving and hugging. We could put the ever-present fire-extinguishers down, for now. The Tesla engineering team joined forces with Franz von Holzhausen (who heads up Tesla's design team) and worked hand-in-glove to bring together the super sleek and smooth design with the high-performance tech under its carbon fibre skin. Advertisement Musk did not want it to look like something off an F1 racetrack, rather to have a cleaner aesthetic. But we were in no doubt we were building a hypercar that when required could perform stunts that no other had done before. These conflicting requirements forced us outside our comfort zone and encouraged us to become experts across all disciplines. When I worked for F1, we were focusing on one goal: winning races. Yet working on the Roadster, we had to weigh up many different aims, which made it much more of a collaborative effort between engineers from different disciplines: aerodynamics, mass, powertrain, design and rocket hardware! What might make the car fly, could pull back its speed on the ground. Juggling these conflicting desires was a constant balance to strike. tesla/Reuters A friend of mine used to say “pressure is a privilege” when we were under the cosh with work, that despite the challenges, we were delivering something amazing in difficult circumstances. In this case, driving the car (whether on a ceiling or a road) there was another kind of pressure to consider. Low pressure under the car sticks it to the road and high pressure air inside the specialised tanks ( COPV tanks, see diagram ) gives it the energy to fly. These features, needless to say, are not always practical. At Thursday's demo, the car was driven remotely because the tanks hold such high pressure and remain experimental devices which are potentially dangerous if they go wrong. Advertisement Despite my involvement in its creation, I never got to fly inside the car myself although I did witness one of the first autonomous flights with my own eyes and so can confirm it isn't AI despite some chatter online! I've since left Tesla, the thrust of my work on the Roadster complete, to move on to other exciting projects. Working there was the most astonishing experience and I cannot wait to see the car out on the road. (as told to Katie Prescott ) Business Technology Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save