Elon Musk Wants to Turn the Tesla Roadster into an *Actual* Rocket with the SpaceX Package [News]

The Tesla Roadster will reportedly come with rockets, because SpaceX. [Photo: Tesla]

The Tesla Roadster will apparently have 10 rockets. Oh, and maybe it’ll fly.

There’s boosting your car’s performance the old-fashioned way, then there’s Elon Musk’s approach. Oh yes, we heard fantastical claims about the new Tesla Roadster when it was first debuted. Top speed over 250 MPH, 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, 620 miles of range…blah, blah, blah. Getting power to the wheels and onto the road in greater and greater increments is overrated. Frankly, it’s boring. Or at least that’s what Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO must think, because he’s adding rockets to the Tesla Roadster. Yes, rockets.

Elon Musk took to Twitter proclaiming the as yet unbuilt Tesla Roadster and its new way to achieve maximum propulsion. ” SpaceX option package…will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly into the car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering.”

Musk has claimed before that the new Tesla Roadster would be out of this world. In the case of the old one, that was actually true. Back in February, the Roadster slipped the surly bonds of Earth to float among the stars, “Spaceman” in tow.

Will we really get rockets on the new Tesla Roadster?

Now, there are some real-world consequences to actually fitting rockets to the new Tesla Roadster, should it actually happen. We can’t imagine firing rockets on the streets would be particularly safe or quiet. However, they will reportedly use compressed air, rather than rocket fuel. These thrusters would be similar to those used by SpaceX to steer the Falcon 9 rocket. Fitting thrusters would surely help acceleration or braking, but there’s also the question of using that much thrust around other vehicles.

It’s up for debate whether this would actually happen. However, it’s not beneath Elon Musk to try. One of his other companies sold a $500 flamethrower to consumers, remember? In response to a comment on Twitter, Musk responded: “Next gen Roadster will be absolutely out of this world. For those who love to drive, there is no finer car in history and we don’t think there will be another.” Hard to tell if “out of this world” means it will literally fly, but anything is possible.

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