Elon Musk is well known for his outlandish claims on Twitter - and in the most recent, has promised buyers of Tesla's $200,000 Roadster their car will be able to fly - assuming they buy a 'SpaceX addon package.'

Musk made the claim by retweeting an image of the famous DeLorean car from Back to the Future, adding 'the new Roadster will actually do something like this'.

'The thing is I feel like you’re not joking,' replied Marques Brownlee, a hugely popular tech blogger.

'I’m not,' Musk replied.

'Will use SpaceX cold gas thruster system with ultra high pressure air in a composite over-wrapped pressure vessel in place of the 2 rear seats.'

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Musk make the claim by retweeting an image of the famous DeLorean car from Back to the Future, adding 'The new Roadster will actually do something like this'.

The original tweet, showing a hovering DeLorean from the hit film

HOW WILL THE TESLA ROADSTER FLY? Although, as with many of Musk's ideas, details of the plan are scarce, Musk has said a 'SpaceX oprio package' for the four-seater sports car – which was already set to be the fastest production car ever built – will boast 10 small rocket thrusters around the body to help with cornering, braking and improve top speeds. Advertisement

When later asked is it would be able to cover a quarter of a mile in less than eight seconds, Musk replied 'no problem' before asking 'Vertically or horizontally?'

Last year the billionaire tweeted that the new Tesla Roadster will come with the option to add a system of rocket thrusters to the sports car to 'dramatically' improve acceleration.

And, he claims the upgrade could maybe 'even allow a Tesla to fly.'

The newly touted extra features, which he dubbed the 'SpaceX option package,' are just the latest in a string of outlandish plans announced by the tech giant on social media in the last few years – some of which have actually come to fruition.

It remains to be seen, however, if the Roadster-SpaceX package will follow in the footsteps of Musk's Boring Company and 'zombie-killing' flamethrowers, both initially revealed on Twitter to widespread skepticism.

The four-seater sports car – which was already set to be the fastest production car ever built – will boast 10 small rocket thrusters around the body to help with cornering, braking and improve top speeds, the 46-year-old Tesla CEO said on Twitter.

It's a plan that will likely be met with several challenges if Musk is indeed serious.

Tesla has stayed tight-lipped on the specifics of the rockets, including whether the SpaceX variant of the Roadster will be road legal.

Elon Musk revealed plans to add rockets to the Tesla Roadster to 'dramatically' improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering on the new vehicle

However, Elon Musk did confirm the rockets on the forthcoming Roadster will be ‘pure electric’, ruling out the use of any petrol-based booster technology in the all-electric sports car.

One Twitter user speculated that Tesla would use compressed air in the rocket boosters in order to keep its all-electric promise, and achieve the acceleration improvements touted by Musk.

The Tesla CEO confirmed the theory, tweeting in reply: ‘Using the config you describe, plus an electric pump to replenish air in COPV, when car power draw drops below max pack power output, makes sense. But we are going to go a lot further.’

COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, is a tank designed to hold a fluid under pressure.

Tesla says its all-new Roadster – an update to its first ever car – will be the fastest production vehicle in history. The four-seater sports car will cost $200,000 (£151,000) at launch

The announcement of the rocket-boosted SpaceX option comes less than a week after Elon Musk confirmed a swathe of new features coming to Tesla vehicles during its annual shareholders meeting.

Musk confirmed plans to reduce charge times at Tesla Supercharger stations, promising three- or four-fold improvement for new vehicles, like the Roadster.

Tesla says its all-new Roadster, which starts shipping in 2020, will be the fastest production car ever built.

The $200,000 (£151,000) sports car is an updated version of the 2005 Roadster – the first car ever built by the electric car company.

One Twitter user speculated that Tesla would use compressed air in the rocket boosters in order to keep its all-electric promise, and achieve the acceleration improvements touted by Musk

The all-new Roadster will be able to travel 620 miles (1000 km) on a single charge, a new record for an electric vehicle

The first 1,000 of the new Roadsters will cost $250,000 (£190,000) each, paid in full up front, with later models starting at $200,000 (£150,000). It will be available in 2020, Tesla claims

The all-new Roadster can travel 620 miles (1,000 km) on a single charge – a new record for an all-electric vehicle.

The Roadster can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour (0 to 100 km/h) in 1.9 seconds and boasts a top speed over 250mph (400 kph).

This would make it the quickest electric car ever sold to the public, beating the Chinese-made NIO EP9 all-electric hypercar, which has a top speed of 194 mph (310 kph).

It also makes the vehicle the fastest production car ever, with a 0 to 60 miles per hour acceleration quicker than any non-electric vehicles, including the record-breaking Bugatti Chiron, released this year.

It’s unclear whether the Roadster’s top speed was achieved using the so-called Space X option, or whether the rocket-assisted version of the vehicle will be even faster.

During a recent shareholders meeting, Elon Musk revealed plans to reduce charge times at Tesla Supercharger stations, promising three- or four-fold improvement for newer vehicles, like the upcoming Roadster

Powering the car is a 200 kilowatt hour battery pack. Musk claims drivers will be able to drive from LA to San Francisco, and back, at highway speed without recharging. Pictured: The futuristic steering wheel for the 2020 Tesla Roadster

'You’ll be able to travel from LA to San Francisco, and back, at highway speed without recharging,' Elon Musk said during the launch event last November.

‘These numbers sound nutty, but they’re real. The point of doing this is to just give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars.

'Driving a gasoline sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche.'

The first 1,000 cars will cost $250,000 (£190,000) each, paid in full up front, with later models starting at $200,000 (£150,000).

It will be available to buy in 2020.

Powering the Tesla Roadster will be a 200 kilowatt hour battery pack.