After Tesla showed a concept for a flying Roadster Rocket Edition, Ikea Taiwan answered with an Instagram post pairing a $12.99 toy car set with a bath towel, and called it "Safe, affordable."
Tesla held a livestreamed event this week to unveil what Creative Bloq describes as potentially the world's second flying car. The vehicle is the Tesla Roadster Rocket Edition, or at least a concept version of it.
In the demonstration, the car drove up a halfpipe, performed a kickflip and then glided back to the ground. According to Creative Bloq, it used SpaceXAI thrusters and compressed air to do so.
Creative Bloq says the production car will not arrive until 2028 at the earliest and may not be road legal. It adds that reservations are by invitation only.
Creative Bloq reports that the reservation deposit is reportedly $500,000. A Fortune headline listed in the same source material instead refers to $250,000 deposits. The source does not reconcile the two figures.
Creative Bloq also says the reservation agreement explicitly states that delivery is not guaranteed. The same Fortune headline says the FAA has stated the vehicle is not an aircraft, though the source gives no further detail.
Ikea Taiwan responded on Instagram with its own version of a Roadster Rocket Edition. It combined a four-piece Lillabo toy car set, priced at $12.99, with a Brokglim bath towel. The post shows the setup as a do-it-yourself stand-in for Tesla's stunt.
The caption said "Real life, baby," which Creative Bloq says echoes the caption on Tesla's own post. Ikea then added "Safe, affordable." Creative Bloq says the retailer is offering a safer and cheaper option that is available in store today.
The outlet's writer joked about the practicalities. He said he was unsure how the towel would be held in the air and doubted the Lillabo has a fan-based suction system to keep it on the track. He added that children have plenty of imagination and could work something out. He also suggested a slot car race track as an alternative.
Creative Bloq notes that Ikea's marketing teams are known for fast, clever responses to trends. As an example, it cites the company's recent move on the 2026 Wicker trend. It compared the Taiwan post's impact to the 0.9-second 0-60mph record it attributes to the Roadster.
The Tesla reveal has drawn wider commentary. Headlines in the source material include a Wall Street Journal piece on what the flying Roadster means for the global auto race. Mother Jones asks how police would pull over a flying Tesla, and The Atlantic argues that the flying car must never be built. The source material does not include the text of those pieces.
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