Free Republic

BREAKING: Tesla's Roadster goes airborne, soaring over a row of Tesla vehicles in a live stunt at its unveiling event

This video features an in-depth look at the new *Tesla Roadster* by motoring journalist *Henry Catchpole* and *Lars Moravy*, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering. The car is described as an extraordinary hypercar that aims to transcend standard electric vehicle performance through unique engineering and aerospace-inspired features. **Key Engineering and Design Features:** * **Powertrain and Performance:** The *Roadster* uses two high-performance motors driving the rear wheels, producing over a megawatt of power and 1400 Nm of torque (2:41-3:13). It features a unique 4680 battery cell design with double-sided cooling for consistent high-performance track driving (3:26-4:03). * **Active Aerodynamics:** The car...

In a blurry red, visually cryptic post on X.com, Tesla announced the launch date for its long-promised second generation Roadster: 10.01. Although the image and text in the post itself don’t confirm that the announcement is indeed about Roadster, Tesla posted a link to go with it, to the Roadster page on Tesla.com, which makes it indisputable: come October 1, we’re getting a big update on the second-generation Tesla Roadster and it may have rockets mounted on top. Or... big searchlights. Or possibly snow blower nozzles. Who knows? The image is really blurry. If you recall, back on November 16,...

Harvard University-affiliated astronomers announced the discovery of a new asteroid zooming precariously close to Earth — only to learn it was actually a Tesla sports car launched by Elon Musk as a publicity stunt seven years ago, scientists said Friday. The Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., officially registered the new space rock Jan. 2, saying it was spotted hurling through the final frontier roughly 150,000 miles from Earth, according to Astronomy magazine. Its distance was closer to the planet than the moon— prompting the scientists to declare the asteroid had the potential to some day slam into Earth. The...

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is a big "Hitchhiker's Guide" fan, as Starman's Roadster shows. The car's entertainment display was programmed to read "Don't Panic!" — the phrase that adorns the cover of the eponymous electronic guidebook in Adams' beloved series. Musk has said that he launched the Roadster and Starman because the duo is a lot more fun than the typical inert-mass dummy payload... Launching a satellite or other valuable spacecraft wasn't an option, given the risks inherent in maiden flights. The Roadster and Starman will come within a few hundred thousand kilometers of our planet in 2091,...

After yesterday's good news regarding delivery of the 100th Tesla Roadster, it's back to number-crunching reality. Tesla CEO Elon Musk told the Detroit Free Press that if the electric car maker doesn't get a $350 million loan from the government, then the Model S will be delayed and San Jose plant won't open. Just two weeks ago, Tesla opposed the Big Three getting any bailout money from the government. So, Musk's statement may seem contradictory, but it's not. We just need to look at the details. Tesla's Vice President of Business Development, Diarmuid O'Connell, blogged about how it was a...

------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted on Sat, Sep. 14, 2002 Bowling Green plant to build new Cadillacs BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Test production of a new line of Cadillac sports cars will create 128 new jobs at the General Motors factory here, although most of them will go to outsiders. The plant is expected to reach full production by April of the Cadillac XLR, a $70,000, two-seat sports car that goes on sale next year. All but about 20 of the new jobs will go to workers already employed by GM in factories elsewhere. The Bowling Green plant was specifically chosen for the production...

Police Investigate Rodent in a Roadster Sun Sep 8, 9:56 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - British detectives are investigating the mystery of a hamster found driving a toy racing car along a promenade at a northern seaside resort, newspapers said on Saturday. The hamster, nicknamed Speedy, was handed in by a member of the public who found him cruising through Cleveleys, near Blackpool in the modified toy, which he powered by a treadmill. "It is a model hotrod racing car with large wheels at the back and small ones at the front," the Daily Express quoted Constable Quentin Allen...