The world’s best known figurehead for modern space travel, Elon Musk recently announced on Twitter what some have referred to as a “baffling” addition to his famed Tesla Roadster – 10 mini rocket thrusters offered as part of the SpaceX performance package.
The 46-year-old SpaceX founder and CEO said thrusters on the second generation roadster, due in 2020 will of course, dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering, but also most notably, might enable the Tesla to fly.
Part of the SpaceX quest is to develop fully and rapidly reusable rockets and spacecraft, which Musk has said could slash the cost of spaceflight enough to make ambitious goals such as Mars colonization economically feasible.
The latest considerable amount of tinkering with the modern automobile design to incorporate rocket technology signifies a disruptive lunge at the gasoline car industry, while bringing road travel to a whole new level.
The original and already edging on insane Lotus Elize inspired 2005 Tesla Roadster launches from 0-60 in a surreal 3.9 seconds and could travel more than 200 miles on a charge.
The new Roadster, announced as a surprise in November 2017 at the Tesla Semi Introduction will have a 200kWh battery pack which will enable the removable topped ride to speed from 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 0-100 mph in 4.2 seconds and a quarter mile in 8.9 seconds. Tesla claims the range per charge will hit 620 miles.
“These numbers sound nutty but they’re real,” said Musk in November. “The point of all this is just to give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars.”