Elon Musk takes the idea of making the next Tesla Roadster “hover” with rocket technology seriously in new comments about the electric supercar.
When unveiling the vehicle for the first time, Tesla claimed a list of impressive specifications for its new Roadster, including 0-60 mph in 1.9 sec, 620 miles of range and more.
The CEO has also considered these specifications to be the “basic specifications”, and other versions should perform even more crazily.
With the recent launch of the Model S Plaid and Plaid +, Tesla has already outperformed the performance initially announced on the Roadster, which is a more expensive vehicle.
Musk said earlier that Tesla will offer a “SpaceX package” that will include cold air thrusters to give the Roadster even greater performance.
In a new interview with Joe Rogan, the CEO said that Tesla is really planning to incorporate this technology and make the vehicle hover:
We’re going to launch some rocket technology on that car. I want it to hover. We have to figure out how to make it hover without killing people.
Musk previously discussed this possibility and even talked about a potential demonstration:
In the interview, the CEO began to discuss possible restrictions to make the electric supercar hover “safely”:
I thought that maybe we could make it hover, but not too high. You make it hover like a meter above the ground or something. Something in which if you fall, you blow up the suspension, but you will not die. Maybe 6 feet. You probably just put a height limit on it.
When asked if you will be able to move while hovering, Musk confirmed that you will be able to:
You would go very fast, but you will have a time limit. You will use a super high pressure air bottle. The standard version will have a back row with two small seats, like child seats in a Porsche or something, or if you get the optional SpaceX package, then in that place where those two seats is a high carbon coated pressure vessel pressure, something like 10,000 psi, and a lot of thrusters.
The CEO reiterated the recent announcement that they are finishing engineering the new Tesla Roadster this year for production next year.
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