Flying Mehran and pothole jumps: Pakistanis' funniest Tesla 'flying car' memes

When Tesla showed off a Roadster that flips and flies on October 15, the rest of the world joked about motorway signs and insurance. Pakistan asked a more practical question: what would this car do on our roads?

The answers, as covered by Samaa, Aaj News and WE News, were brilliant.

The best Pakistani takes

1. The flying Mehran. The star of the week was a clip captioned “Raja Ji in action”, in which a humble Suzuki Mehran sails over the roads of Islamabad, parodying Tesla’s demo. Pakistan’s favourite small car finally got the upgrade it deserved.

2. Jumping potholes. Several videos showed a locally used car firing thrusters to leap over a pothole. Honestly, this is the one feature every Pakistani driver would pay for.

3. Tangled in bijli wires. A popular edit showed the flying car escaping a traffic jam, only to get caught in the overhead electricity wires a few metres later. Anyone who has looked up in an old Karachi or Lahore bazaar understands this one instantly. Indian users shared a similar clip, because the wires look the same on both sides of the border.

4. Karachi traffic. Plenty of memes imagined simply flying over Karachi’s traffic jams.

5. Basant duty. One joke imagined booking the car to go and fetch kites during Basant.

6. Flying donkey carts. WE News noted that some memes skipped the car altogether and made the donkey cart airborne.

7. “Look both ways.” One video warned pedestrians to look up as well as left and right before crossing.

On X, one Pakistani user also claimed a first-day backflip attempt in Pakistan. We suggest no one tries that on the Lahore Ring Road.

Why these memes landed

The best memes are local. A flying sports car is far from daily life here, so people did what Pakistanis do best: they laughed at the everyday problems the car would meet. Potholes, loose wires and traffic are things we all deal with, and the jokes say more about our roads than about Tesla.

The real car, by the way, isn’t due until 2028, and its flying version isn’t approved for public roads. So the Mehran remains the king of our streets for now.