Blog Musk Says He Wants the Roadster to Hover

Elon Musk wants the upcoming Tesla Roadster to hover.

The Tesla CEO shared new details on the supercar, as well as the possibility of a van with a solar roof during an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Musk said Tesla should finalize engineering this year and could start delivering the car next year. Musk has teased a “SpaceX” version of the car for several years, saying it will use cold-gas thrusters developed by the space company, propelling the car to even greater speeds. 

But, Elon wants the cat to fly.

“I want it to hover,” Musk said. “I’m trying to figure out how to make this thing hover, without, you know, killing people. I thought, maybe we could make it hover, but not too high. So maybe it could hover, like, a meter above the ground, or something. So, if you plummet, you blow out the suspension, but you’re not going to die. Maybe, I don’t know, six feet. If we put a height limit on it, it will probably be fine.”

Musk told Rogan that Roadsters with the SpaceX package will not have a back seat, making room for the thruster system.

Musk said he expects the thruster to come out of a James Bond-style flip-down license plate.

Listen to the full interview here. 

 

[DaveG_NJ]

The Roadster will no doubt hover with a well-timed fart noise.

I'm hoping to live long enough to see FSD released beyond Beta. I couldn't possibly be interested in another fantasy feature.

 

[78Lion]

Just spend some time and money to fix your awful customer service.

 

[Ciaopec]

Wonder how long rocket motors capable of getting this thing to hover will delay the Roadster? Worrying about hovering is putting the cart before the horse and so far they don't have a horse.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Hover should not delay the New Roadster. The cold air thrusters are part of an optional SpaceX package that can come along later.

 

[Dolemite]

Why is it that all these guys completely start losing their *sugar* as they approach 50?

 

[designrs]

Let’s put this in perspective, a single motor of a Learjet delivers 4,600 pounds of thrust.

The new Tesla Roadster prototype battery is about 1,900 pounds, plus the car and the occupants. (Original Tesla roadsters are about 2,700 pounds total weight.) Then the lifting thruster equipment needs to be added. That’s a lot of weight to lift! A light two-seater airplane is 1,300 fully loaded. A Cessna 172 four-seater aircraft is about 2,500 pounds, fully loaded, including fuel, occupants and luggage.

On an airplane, thrust provides the forward motion. The wings are what provide lift.

Helicopter rotors are huge. A Harrier jet and the F-35 use vertical thrust in special situations using complicated systems. True hovercraft are extremely light.

Lifting the car with a hot rocket or hot thrust engine would destroy the pavement. So it would have to be be some type of cool air pressure, perhaps multiple electric driven turbines. Flying debris is a major liability issue.

A six-foot hover is technically flying. As a pilot, I can call attention to the concept of ground effect. It’s easier to lift an object closer to the ground (about two or three feet) because the ground is there to push upon. When you get up to about six feet, significantly more force is needed to create lift independent of the ground.

One foot of lift would be noticeable. Two feet would feel like a large SUV. Three feet is a lifted truck!

... and where is it going to go? The vehicle will not move until the wheels are firmly planted on the ground!

I’m all for the hover feature. It would be very cool at red lights! Two-feet would be more than adequate. I think Elon has flying cars (hovercraft) in mind for the long term... and his usual media bluster for the short-term!

 

[Radish11]

Elon why?

 

[HankLloydRight]

Elon why?

Because he never grew up and wants a flying car.

 

[jboy210]

Elroy or Elon?

 

[Merrill]

Yes let’s spend time and energy on something stupid and not fix the current software issues.

 

[designrs]

Hover while parked in front of a restaurant or nightclub would be so cool! Maybe hover can be turned on with climate pre-conditioning... with colored lights beneath the vehicle.

A nice low hover would make it easier to get in the low-slung Roadster. Then, when it shifts into “D” the car lowers before you drive off. I am game!

 

[jboy210]

Hovering at 6 feet would help during the commute. At least until you got stuck behind a 7-foot panel truck.

 

[Ron97062]

Take my money. When can I order one?

 

[Silicon Desert]

Why is it that all these guys completely start losing their *sugar* as they approach 50?

yea, a hovering Tesla ! Has Elon been smoking that devil weed again?
I'm waiting for the submersible version

 

[Silicon Desert]

Elroy or Elon?

ha ha ha. good one. Some of these young whipper snappers are not going to understand that one.
Elon was watching back to the Future 3 movie and got an idea.

 

[YoungRoadster]

Two questions:

1. Does anyone know for sure if the roadster has a frunk?

2. Curious to know how they are going to justify dishing out more than $60k extra to buy the roadster instead of the plaid+

 

[MaxPowers]

If I could get the roadster a year sooner I would forgo the hovering. I would rather have the roadster sooner. :-(

 

[HankLloydRight]

I don't think it's actually going to ever hover in production, except for maybe a proof of concept at the Tesla design center during the big reveal party.

 

[whitex]

Let’s put this in perspective, a single motor of a Learjet delivers 4,600 pounds of thrust.

The new Tesla Roadster prototype battery is about 1,900 pounds, plus the car and the occupants. (Original Tesla roadsters are about 2,700 pounds total weight.) Then the lifting thruster equipment needs to be added. That’s a lot of weight to lift! A light two-seater airplane is 1,300 fully loaded. A Cessna 172 four-seater aircraft is about 2,500 pounds, fully loaded, including fuel, occupants and luggage.

On an airplane, thrust provides the forward motion. The wings are what provide lift.

Helicopter rotors are huge. A Harrier jet and the F-35 use vertical thrust in special situations using complicated systems. True hovercraft are extremely light.

Lifting the car with a hot rocket or hot thrust engine would destroy the pavement. So it would have to be be some type of cool air pressure, perhaps multiple electric driven turbines. Flying debris is a major liability issue.

A six-foot hover is technically flying. As a pilot, I can call attention to the concept of ground effect. It’s easier to lift an object closer to the ground (about two or three feet) because the ground is there to push upon. When you get up to about six feet, significantly more force is needed to create lift independent of the ground.

One foot of lift would be noticeable. Two feet would feel like a large SUV. Three feet is a lifted truck!

... and where is it going to go? The vehicle will not move until the wheels are firmly planted on the ground!

I’m all for the hover feature. It would be very cool at red lights! Two-feet would be more than adequate. I think Elon has flying cars (hovercraft) in mind for the long term... and his usual media bluster for the short-term!

Neh! You are too conventional, you gotta think like Elon - no need for hot or cold thrusters, just some superconducting levitation.

Elon never said it will hover aby time and anywhere, right? Roadster 202x will be "hover capable", like my P85D is capable of 691hp, and 2016+ cars are Full Self Driving capable to drive kids to school and summon across the USA. The fine print for Roadster 202x of "hover capable over a special track but limited by the car's battery power and cooling capacity to keep the superconductors cold enough" is coming when the next Roadster rolls out of the factory (or when Tesla loses a lawsuit).