Cars South Africa Shares AI Flying Car to Avoid Potholes After Elon Musk's Demo Goes Viral

Cars South Africa Shares AI Flying Car to Avoid Potholes After Elon Musk's Demo Goes Viral

  • Cars South Africa posted an AI-generated video of a car appearing to fly over a pothole-riddled road, poking fun at South Africa's infrastructure
  • The clip was posted on TikTok on 16 October 2026 and quickly went viral, drawing comparisons to Elon Musk's flying car demonstration
  • South Africans flooded the comments with jokes, calling it the country's version of the Tesla and praising the speed of the response

South African roads have long been the subject of frustration, but one TikTok account turned that frustration into comedy gold. On 16 October 2026, @carssouthafrica posted an AI-generated video that appeared to show a car flying right over a massive pothole on a residential street. The clip was a direct, tongue-in-cheek response to Elon Musk's flying car demonstration, and Mzansi absolutely loved it.

Cars South Africa shows best solution for potholes after Elon Musk's flying car demo
Cars South Africa shows the best solution for potholes after Elon Musk's flying car demo. Image: Rüveyda / Pexels
Source: UGC

The short outdoor video, filmed from inside a vehicle on what looked like a typical South African suburban road, showed a silver hatchback navigating around a large pothole filled with reddish dirt. The narrator's reaction was candid and amused, setting the tone for what quickly became a viral moment.

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The joke landed because it hit close to home for millions of South Africans dealing with deteriorating roads daily. Rather than a sleek futuristic vehicle gliding through the sky as Musk's demo suggested, the "flying car" in this version was simply trying to survive Johannesburg's roads. The video by @carssouthafrica touched on an all-too-relatable subject matter. Watch the AI flying car video that had Mzansi in stitches:

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Mzansi reacts to the clip

South Africans in the comments on @carssouthafrica's TikTok could not get enough:

@Nathan Ramalingam320 wrote:

"South Africa doesn't waste time 🤣🤣"

@Kaylin Swanepoel said:

"Elon is late for the party, here in RSA we maak n plan [we make a plan] 😭🤣💀"

@beau_boove reacted:

"Yoh cars.co.za moves fast 😭"

@Vukani Memela added:

"There is no peace in Mzansi 😂. Ford Tesla"

@Llewellyn Govender said:

"We all need roadsters for JHB roads if something doesn't change 😂"

@Shadow_CODM🍉 quipped:

"Haters will say it's AI."

Other Briefly News stories about fast food marketing

  • Veteran comedian David Kau joined a viral social media trend by sharing an AI-generated portrait of himself styled in 1980s attire, complete with a high-top fade, denim two-piece, and retro music posters.
  • An iconic, cinematic Chicken Licken commercial resurfaced on Instagram, captivating South Africans and reigniting conversations about the country's rich history of humorous fast-food advertising.
  • Nando's South Africa sparked laughter across social media after dropping a cryptic Facebook post offering free delivery "everywhere," which netizens instantly connected to news footage of a Nando's bag spotted inside a police vehicle.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Rutendo Masasi avatar

Rutendo Masasi (Weekend Entertainment and Human Interest editor) Rue Masasi is a Human Interest and Entertainment writer at Briefly News who graduated with a BA (Hons) in English from Rhodes University in 2018. Rue also has 4 years of experience in journalism and over four years of experience as an online ESL teacher. She has also passed a set of training courses by Google News Initiative. You can reach her via email: rutendo.masasi@briefly.co.za