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Is Elon Musk Serious About Building A Flying Tesla? (inc.com)
An anonymous reader quotes Inc:
It's inevitable, really. Musk's two largest companies, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, make electric cars and rockets.... Musk tweeted about a "SpaceX option package" for the next Tesla Roadster in June of last year. The upgrade was described as including about "10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly..."
Musk then hinted even more strongly at the possibility of a flying Tesla this week when he retweeted a GIF of a flying DeLorean from "Back to the Future," saying: "The new Roadster will actually do something like this." He then went on to describe how small SpaceX air thrusters will be used to essentially turn a Tesla Roadster into a hovercraft or perhaps... something with an even higher vertical range.
Two years ago Musk insisted flying cars were noisy and annoyed the people on the ground -- although you could argue this shows he'd been thinking about the mechanics of flying cars, and when it's an appropriate time to use rocket thrusters.
Inc's headline? "Elon Musk Has Plans For a Tesla / SpaceX Flying Car (And He's Serious. Probably.)"
Musk then hinted even more strongly at the possibility of a flying Tesla this week when he retweeted a GIF of a flying DeLorean from "Back to the Future," saying: "The new Roadster will actually do something like this." He then went on to describe how small SpaceX air thrusters will be used to essentially turn a Tesla Roadster into a hovercraft or perhaps... something with an even higher vertical range.
Two years ago Musk insisted flying cars were noisy and annoyed the people on the ground -- although you could argue this shows he'd been thinking about the mechanics of flying cars, and when it's an appropriate time to use rocket thrusters.
Inc's headline? "Elon Musk Has Plans For a Tesla / SpaceX Flying Car (And He's Serious. Probably.)"
They should dust of David Hasselhoff to introduce it
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... will be new again.
If it were within my capability I'd put background music on every Musk televised appearance. The monorail song from The Simpsons.
This is Elon Musk trolling for attention as usual. Of course he's not going to build a flying Tesla, why is this even on Slashdot?
soylentnews.org
Do you have any idea how LOUD a system like that would be? People standing outside while one these was taking off would need HEARING PROTECTION.
People have already tried strapping rockets to cars. It usually doesn't end well, unless the outcome you wanted was some awesome high-speed camera footage and a totaled car. Also, rocket engines tend to use lots of fuel, and once you run out of fuel, gravity takes over with predictable results.
So yeah, unless Elon Musk is getting into the business of expensive car demolition (well, he did send a car off into space), I don't see the practicality in this. Sounds like he's just trolling for attention, again.
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DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
...thrower?
Personally his sounds like another marketing gimmick because he needs vulture capital again to make up for his production shortfalls.
I personally think he's getting a lot done, but as a hypothetical investor I don't feel he's in a very stable place right now and definitely a high risk investment at this point in time.
But hey, I would love to be proven wrong. He's pushed forward *TWO* whole industries that had been complacent for a long time (battery powered cars date to the 1910s-1920s!!!), and he's probably helped save the US billions in space scams to the defense-welfare industry as a result of the Falcon and soon BFR, compared to the launch costs for many of the 'military/nasa grade rockets', while making them more reusable and more advanced than the current designs.
This is the dumbest, least researched summary I've read in a long time.
Musk and Tesla have been openly discussing this for quite some time.
The new Roadster is going to get cold-air thrusters to improve the car's maneuverability.
Simply compressed air. Compressors engage when the motors don't draw full power.
I want a Mr. Fusion!
Yes, we said the same thing about the flamethrower, and we were right. It's a propane roofing torch in fancy plastic - Musk said so himself in the infamous Joe Rogan interview.
Nothing more.
This is so impractical from the certification perspective that it's not even funny - I can't see it happening for years simply through trying to get permission from the FAA/NTSB to even try the idea.
I think this is Mr, Musk just trying to stay relevant and being talked about in mainstream media.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
If they can do it, why not? It will make the toaster totally unique among cars. No other car can fly. Which supercar do you want? The ultrafast one, or the ultrafast flying one?
It could also be useful on some rare occasions. Like crossing small bodies of water, emergency braking or collision avoidance or taking small jumps to otherwise inaccessible places.
How much cost and value? Iridium works was deployed timely but the ROI was a boondoggle.
Maybe you need a whoosh. Product tweets are always accurate, but not always what you think. Remember the dragon he was going to build? Part of it is announcement, with fun, wrapped in a riddle. It always has been. What part of this makes him unstable? It sounds like you just don't get his humor. That's fine, but others do.
Apart from big problems like high fuel consumption, limited combat time, maintenance and cost, the minor problems not talked much outside included FOI, military speak for foreign object ingestion, small objects pebbles and stuff on the tarmac being kicked up and getting sucked into the air intakes. And another issue was the control jets. When the aircraft is hovering or at very low speeds, the control surfaces dont work, (ailerons, rudder, elevators etc), so they used small nozzles at the tips of control surfaces. These jets go in all directions creating hazard for tarmac workers and sailors on the flight deck.
The roadster is going to have two packs of Model 3 batteries. That is 2200 lb. So the loaded weight is likely to be around 3500 lb, very heavy for a two seat roadster. 10 thrusters, 350 lb each kicking up pebbles all around is very very impractical. Hazard to adjacent vehicles and pedestrians would be too much. But, on a clean surface, on prototype, with some good press cameras rolling, it can occupy one or two news cycles. About 30 sec coverage in news, and probably 2 minute segments in other programs. Free publicity worth about 100 to 200 million. So it is worth doing from Tesla point of view.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Remember that his tweets are usually riddles. When he tweeted he was building a dragon, he did, but it wasn't what you thought it was. You can't draw conclusions until after the product is announced. Otherwise, you are just saying that a literal interpretation of a riddle is stupid, and I would agree. But the stupidity is not on Musk's part.
He shows how far you can get with a lot of money if you go in one direction.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
It will probably just have a "Thruster jump" for showing off. Thrusters to turn fast at high speed. And they could add down force with it. But it would be interesting to see stuff like Thruster U-Turn, Thruster hard breaking, and Thruster parallel parking heh
Hahahahaha... never change, Elon. I fucking love you, man. Keep keeping it weird. :)
Because there are at least two reasons this cannot be done (and several more that make it horribly impractical):
1) The noise level would be insane and nobody would want / allow that to be used anywhere but an airport.
2) The tanks he mentioned using would be ridiculously cold, not something you'd put in your back seat.
This is unfair. As crazy-af as Elon is, no one has ever even hinted that he is putting children in the casting couch.
He is a finance criminal, an incompetent, a self aggrandizing asshole, crazy af and many other things but I do not believe he has ever molested a child.
It sounds like you just don't get his humor. That's fine, but others do.
No, what it sounds like is that you'd suck Musk's cock if you had the chance.
Die in a fire, you stupid arrogant prick.
When Harrier VTOL fighter debuted in the 1990s
The Harrier was first flown in 1967, and was introduced to operational service in 1969.
it was remarkable.
In the 1990s it would have been remarkable. In the 1960s it was amazing.
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I want a time machine!
It could really be a flying Tesla S... drone.
In particular, if it's an air taxi service, those issues are addressable. The issues really are:
* Noisy
* Propellers will blow small rocks and sticks and such around.
* People peering into private backyards is unkind.
The air taxi solution is:
* To reduce noise and wind issues: longer but slower propellers and drop carriage by cables from the ends of long propeller arms.
Note: this also solves the problem of requiring landing zones. And longer arms give exact precision.
* To solve the privacy issue: put broad ledges just outside under the windows so occupants cannot see nearby neighboring places.
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To solve these problems for personal flying cars will require infrastructure under the Department of Transportation. Neighborhoods and/or places along highways could half lifting and landing zones created. So you'd drive to one, fly up, and then follow air avenues.
The air avenues would be routes through which you are allowed to fly (all under 700 feet -- to avoid conventional aircraft). I would suggest keeping them high, such as about 600 feet. With electric multicopters, you have sub-millimeter precision.
I think Elon has watched too many Knight Rider re-runs.
..this will require a liquid fuel source and you would need to add a gas tank to the car.
This is a novel idea, but people have a hard enough time driving in 2D. I don't want some idiot crashing into my 5th story apartment.
I would rather that the fuel system be used for powering an emergency generator just in case I can't get to a charging station in time. The tank can be small as to provide just enough charge time to get to the nearest charging station.
Carbon dioxide is a problem today. Global warming. So let's make flying cars and put ten times more carbon dioxide in the air. Brilliant.
no, I don't have a sig
This is so impractical from the certification perspective that it's not even funny - I can't see it happening for years simply through trying to get permission from the FAA/NTSB to even try the idea.
That particular part is easier than you think. The FAA has something called a "powered lift license" already done and in the books. They did it for Moller back in the day. (Remember that Popular Mechanics cover?)
But it's rather blindingly obvious that the actual product is a Tesla vehicle with limited edition SpaceX badging, sold at a premium. That's a time honored tradition in car manufacturing. There are fucking Eddie Bauer SUVs, after all. They're a Ford Bronco, Explorer, Expedition, or Excursion with fashion company badging. An electric car with rocket company badging has got to be at least that good for marketing.
Usually you get the badging company's logo on a bumper plate, worked into custom floormats and seat backs, and as a wheel hub insert on custom wheels only available with that edition. Sometimes you get the logo on the dashboard somewhere, passenger side. On a Tesla you'd also get the logo worked into the console computer.
I'm just surprised it took this long.
Musk isn't talking about putting rocket engines on the car. He's talking about adding cold-gas thrusters. These thrusters are what is used to help steer rockets. Basically, he's going to add compressed air. The thrusters won't last for very long, and refueling them basically means running an air compressor. But it's going to be an awesome addition to have when visiting a drag strip.
I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
If you actually need to ask this question, I don't even know what to say. He IS very interested in inflating Tesla's stock price.
Ironically, your comment is amazingly arrogant, stupid, and prickish. And the anti-homosexual bigotry coming from nowhere makes me think there is denial of your own suppressed feelings under the surface...
Sounds like Musk is smoking more than pot with his flying Tesla idea. Rockets on cars? How can that not be dangerous?
Should focus on not driving his company i to the ground full speed ahead. Too many druga have rotted this idiots brain
Did you think pricks with money to squander on drones were annoying? Just wait for the fuckers with flying cars.
Elon Musk is serious about staying in public eye. Nothing more. This is so impractical from the certification perspective that it's not even funny - I can't see it happening for years simply through trying to get permission from the FAA/NTSB to even try the idea. I think this is Mr, Musk just trying to stay relevant and being talked about in mainstream media.
I agree with the first part. As far as certifications, private propeller/piston and jet aircraft exist and fly, as do private helicopters. They get certified all the time. The only really unrealistic part would be if he truly wanted to take a Model-T in every garage approach. That and economy of scale would likely keep that impractical.
Also, yeah... Musk is a narcissistic megalomaniac attention-whore. Or so they say. Never met him myself.