Posted on 10/17/2026 10:49:17 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Elon Musk’s latest vision for the company’s sports car has more to do with China than cold-gas rocket thrusters
The new Tesla Roadster was pure spectacle.
There was the design that gave the sports car an appearance of a jet fighter crossed with a Lamborghini. A suction system that enabled it to hang upside down 69 feet above the ground. And, the defining feature, cold-gas rocket thrusters that jumped the car over a line of vehicles while doing a midair barrel roll.
With a flying sports car, Elon Musk displayed again that he’s America’s biggest dreamer. So when the Tesla CEO puts on a flashy show, as he did Thursday at a rocket facility near Waco, Texas, one must take note—not because the new Roadster is going to become a bestseller. After almost a decade of promises, it’s frankly hard to believe the halo car will actually begin production in 2028 with all of the features Musk laid out.
In many ways, whether it flies or not is besides the point. Unveiling the Roadster with out-of-this-world technology reiterated that Musk has given up designing cars for regular people to drive. He says the Roadster is the last new vehicle Tesla will offer for humans to drive and is betting instead on remaking Tesla as a robotics company.
In effect, Musk is leaving the mainstream car market to the Chinese—who, he has suggested, are so formidable that many Western automakers are unable to compete without government intervention. It’s a telling sign of where things are going for the Western automotive industry.
So, too, was this past week’s Paris Motor Show. It...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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Military implications…flying Humvee? IED or mine detector?
Uses compressed air, which is a bomb in-and-of itself. Not to mention that it would run out pretty quickly.
Musk is not leaving the market to Chinese companies. The market will allow a number of Chinese cars to be sold until the quality of the cars is revealed and then they will not threaten Tesla’s market share. The Yugo was the last commie car to try to take over American markets. China can’t innovate only duplicate.
Move the goal post. The last Tesla auto, after all the giga factories, battery plants, giga presses and all. Robots will become commodity soon as well. Phones are well into the commodity range. Anybody really understand what he is going to do with his satellite based net for phones? It still requires towers. Isn’t it just a repeater?
I believe they are way past the Yugo now. Better to be a fast profitable follower than a loss leader. I didn’t say it is right or that I like it.
The car does not fly, it is a promo gimmick, it only flies for the show.
They had to take out the batteries to make room for the compressed gas cylinders.
“China can’t innovate only duplicate.”
You are wrong. Yes, they stole some of the tech and manufacturing ideas. But they implement them very well, better than US or European companies. If they were allowed to be sold in the US, they’d quickly put GM and Ford out of business. I’m not saying it is a good thing.
The electric cars in China are really impressive. They beat anything the US automakers are offering hands down.
Here’s one. These sell for about $33K US in China. This is a Cadillac-level vehicle. They are extremely impressive.
https://www.avatr.com/en
For me, that’s Musk’s best quality. His ability to dream and then translate those dreams into being.
Interesting idea similar to reactive armor except sensors detect the IED detonation within microseconds and trigger a counter detonation that diverts/disrupts the incoming pressure wave and potentially slows down shrapnel.
NOPE.
Roadster is for a tiny number of rich people.
Tesla's sold over 10 million EVs to the masses.
And cut corners.
I read that BYD is a fabulous car and also the Chinese have very small efficient charging systems.
” China can’t innovate only duplicate.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to say “duplicate”. More accurate might be “imitate”. Communism doesn’t reward innovation. It’s just not natural to them. What is rewarded is how cheaply an imitation can be achieved. If they can get close to the same thing with one less worker then they have succeeded. Highly likely safety protocols in Wu-han were shortcuts that let the virus leak.
The question is what it means for the space race.
Musk built this car using technogy from SpaceX and Optimus, with some Starlink thrown in for good measure.
This is going to be used for lunar transporation, and possibly for trans-lunar/space station travel by robotic automatons.
See my lunar framework that I posted here that pulls it all together. This was developed before Musk revealed the flying car.
-PJ
George Jetson didn’t have any problems. I can’t wait until I fly right over traffic jams. Land in the stadium of the Superbowl at halftime.
Check out fullgood cars in China. If I won 5he lottery,
. . . .
It was Just like some of Nikoli Tesla’s demonstrations. While They had showed no immediate, practical or apparent value they demonstrated concept and science in a spectacular manner which would lead to many things to come.
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