In what was quite possibly the best PR stunt since Steve Jobs pulled a Macbook Air out of a manila envelope in 2008, Elon Musk has mounted his very own Telsa Roadster onto the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket and sent it into outer space with a space suit wearing dummy in the driver’s seat and David Bowie blasting out of the speakers.
Elevating the already impressive Falcon Heavy Rocket launch, it was these tongue and cheek additions that turned an astrophysical achievement into a relatable human experience that will stay in the minds of people for years to come - because who wouldn’t want to cruise through the stars in a shiny red supercar?!
Designed for performance and aero-efficiency the all-electric Telsa Roaster maximizes the potential of aerodynamic engineering. It is the first supercar to set every performance record accelerating from 0-60 in 1.9 seconds with a top speed of more than 250 mph, and thanks to its joyride through space it now holds the title of fastest car in the universe; the glass roof has also proved ideal for the avid stargazer or casual astronaut.
After its six-hour ‘cruise’ through the Van Allen radiation belts and one final ‘burn’ the Telsa Roadster was supposed to be headed towards Mars’ orbit, but it seems the Falcon Heavy overshot that trajectory, and both are now in an orbit that extends out into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Though the supercar has shown that the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is more than capable of sending objects into deep space, which could come in handy if the companies working on technology to mine water from asteroids one-day ever comes to fruition, its exact orbit, collision odds and ability to endure deep space remain unclear.
