Isn't it a concept car? Concept cars are like those fashion shows where people are dressed like couches or in clothes made of bin bags. It's more like art than a practical thing we would actually use in daily life.
IIt is exactly a concept car, and concept cars are meant to range from practical to completely bonkers. They all share one common goal.. to showcase something people think is impossible, dare to be different, or hint at a company's future direction.
After the event, every automotive media outlet had articles ready to publish. They were obviously embargoed and held until after the demonstration. Going into the event, the press already knew about two unique features.
First, the car uses fans in its design. This is not a new concept. Last year, the McMurtry Spéirling demonstrated its fan technology by remaining stationary while hanging upside down.
Second, it incorporates integrated thrust boosters, a tech built by SpaceX, to help achieve an astonishing 0 to 60 mph time.
Beyond the headline grabbing features, the car also showcases new motor and battery cooling designs that allow for greater on-demand power.
The entire SpaceX connection is simply part of this concept car's performance showcase and serves as a technology demonstration. It was never intended to be about practicality or road legality. It is a spectacle.
Whether you like Elon Musk or not, the upside-down driving demonstration, the self-righting capability, and the thrust-assisted jumps are genuinely clever pieces of engineering. Elon is a divisive figure, and his association with these demonstrations admittedly affects my perception of them. Even so, I am genuinely impressed by the engineering involved. That is the part I find exciting. I can appreciate the innovation while still disliking the person behind it.
The demonstration does highlight one important reality. Tesla and SpaceX have both the resources and the expertise to market an idea in a way that captures attention. That is something McMurtry cannot easily match due to its much smaller scale, even though the Spéirling is an equally impressive and arguably more practical engineering achievement.
I unfortunately know multiple people who are drooling over this, saying it's the future. They aren't really dumb either, just when it comes to Elon and his "team". It's baffling.
That’s what I thought about the cyber truck, because who would look at that stainless steel dumpster in wheels and thinks it looks good. Not saying they’ll become as common as the cyber truck but I definitely see rich people buying and driving it whenever they want to show off
do some quick research into how choreographed this jump is, how heavy the car is, how many passengers it can hold, how unsafe it is, how long it can jump, how much it costs/time.it takes to recharge, etc.
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u/Baals_Balls 10h ago
Isn't it a concept car? Concept cars are like those fashion shows where people are dressed like couches or in clothes made of bin bags. It's more like art than a practical thing we would actually use in daily life.