The official account of the White House on X launched a viral joke this Friday that combined politics, technology, and popular culture: it published an AI-generated image of Donald Trump walking next to a futuristic, hovering car with propellers, while Marine One flew over the scene, and the slogan "Make America Great Again" was written in the distinctive font of Grand Theft Auto.
The message accompanying the image was direct: "We really got flying cars before GTA 6."
The publication came a day after Elon Musk unveiled the new Tesla Roadster Cyberfie at the SpaceX rocket testing facilities in McGregor, Texas, where the vehicle performed autonomous maneuvers that left the audience speechless: it ascended a nearly vertical ramp, drove upside down, flew over a line of Tesla vehicles, and completed a full rotation in the air that the Vice President of Engineering, Lars Moravy, dubbed the "kick flip."
The joke about the White House has a double irony that did not go unnoticed. On one hand, GTA 6 —developed by Rockstar Games and one of the most anticipated video games in history— has been facing delays for years and is scheduled to be released on November 19, 2026.
On the other hand, the Tesla Roadster will not be in the hands of consumers before 2028, and its flight capability—achieved through cold gas thrusters using aerospace technology from SpaceX—is not approved for use on public roads.
Trump, asked by a journalist from Fox News, responded with moderate enthusiasm: "I'm very happy for Elon," he said, describing the car as "quite impressive, very impressive," although he added that he wasn't sure if he would be seen inside the vehicle.
The joke comes just a week after Trump presented Musk with the National Medal of Science at the "Science: A New Golden Age" summit at the White House, where he referred to him as a "national treasure" and compared him to Thomas Edison.
It was the first time that Trump personally presented these medals during either of his two administrations.
The Cyberfie Roadster, according to information about the unveiling of Tesla's flying car, accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 0.81 seconds and uses two 600-liter tanks of compressed air released through ten nozzles.
Tesla confirmed three versions: the Performance, with a reservation of 50,000 dollars; the Thrust, with a reservation of 250,000 dollars; and the Rocket, available only by invitation. Musk later indicated that certain versions could exceed 400 mph, more than half the speed of sound.
This is not the first time that the Trump administration has turned to popular culture to viralize its message.
The White House has a history that includes Trump characterized as a Green Lantern superhero in a video that surpassed 19 million views in September, and as a Mandalorian warrior for Star Wars Day in May. The administration has also used memes of Mario and Naruto that caused diplomatic tensions with Japan.
The post on Friday amassed nearly 3.8 million views and more than 98,000 "likes" within a few hours, reinforcing the White House's digital communication strategy as one of the most active on social media.
The first prototype of the Roadster was presented in 2017 with a promise of production by 2020, which means that the vehicle has already accumulated at least eight years of delays—almost as many as GTA 6 itself.
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