It looks like Elon Musk is following through with his plans to launch his personal Tesla Roadster into a Mars orbit. At first, it was thought that the claim was merely a lot of grandstanding, but now we have pictures of Musk’s beloved red roadster being prepped for its trip into infamy as it arrived in Florida for the launch.
The vehicle payload will be used to test the new SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which utilizes two additional Falcon 9 first stages as well as other multiple stages. As to how Elon Musk feels about launching his car into space, he states,
I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future.
Could First Contact be done through a bright red Tesla Roadster? Well, I can think of worse ways to make a first impression on an alien species. And you know that some future episode of Star Trek is going to find the interstellar Tesla, only by then it will be artificially enhanced by an advanced robotic race. Or maybe it will be the Borg that finds it, and soon everyone will be assimilated by bright red robotic Tesla Roadsters. Resistance (and gas) is futile!
Either way, this sounds like a Heavy Metal cartoon that has come to life, and I can’t help but feel downright giddy at the idea of such a thing actually happening. Here’s hoping that everything works as expected and the Telsa Roadster is launched into space and beyond.
