“Flying Cars They Said”: Future Transit or Marketing Stunt?
On Oct. 15, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, released a prototype of his “flying” Tesla Roadster at a SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas. The car uses SpaceX cold-gas air thrusters that allow it to do short jumps and wall-climbing stunts, generating excitement and new opinions from the general public.
People have always had the sci-fi dream of having floating cities equipped with flying cars. Nevertheless, we are stuck today with densely packed cities and unbearable traffic. The question is: will this new Tesla invention actually change future transportation with flying cars that could lift off like a drone, or is it just an attention-grabbing campaign to bring up brand hype and dominate news headlines for some time?
The Tesla Roadster’s thrusting system surpasses traditional tire friction as it relies on the aerospace principles of momentum exchange and Newton’s laws of motion. It’s equipped with cold-gas thrusters (CGT) with high-pressure air and nitrogen being compressed up to 10,000 psi while stored in pressure vessels. This gas then rapidly flows through unique convergent-divergent nozzles, reaching the speed of sound while accelerating the car.
Therefore, it doesn’t need tire traction to propel the car forward. Going from 0-60 mph in just 0.8 seconds, the car’s nozzles are linked to an intricate drive-by-wire computer control network that replaces traditional mechanical links with electronic signals.
However, because it has fixed 600-liter storage tanks for the nitrogen, the maneuvers it can perform are limited to only a few seconds before coming down to replenish the tanks. Due to this, the Tesla Roadster’s short hops are very different from the actual Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft that are being developed by aviation startups. A levitating sports car for 2-5 seconds is fundamentally different from sustained aerial transportation.
“Honestly, I think there’s a genuine possibility that this could be the norm in the future, and I think what he did could somehow have an impact on future technological progress that goes far beyond our comprehension,” said junior Pamela Mendez.
Now, there are certain real-world obstacles that are limiting the release of this car to the general public. First off, it needs to pass the strict regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration on multiple factors, such as where it can be used, the pilot’s license, and its airworthiness. Then, there are also air traffic rules, noise levels, and safety issues regarding the car’s nitrogen tanks, making it highly unlikely to be used in people’s normal day-to-day life.
“I don’t think the new Tesla Roadster will be practical for everyday commuting or future transportation as its main focus is speed and performance rather than affordability and convenience. Its high price, limited space, and design make it less suitable for daily use compared to regular electric cars,” said sophomore Nicholas Morales-Roche.
On one hand, tech enthusiasts view the Roadster’s system as great engineering that proves that rocket technology can revolutionize the future of automotive performance. On the other hand, we have critics and public opinions that just believe it’s acting as a high-cost marketing stunt. They argue that the high pressure nitrogen tanks serve more as attention grabbers rather than an alternative everyday transportation method.
At the end of the day, while the promise of an airborne car captures our imagination and gets us thinking of what it could become, the reality still remains grounded in physics and strict regulations. Opinions remain divided, but even if the Tesla Roadster stays as hype and never becomes our everyday reality, experiments like these bring us closer to a future where the sky isn’t the limit, just another thing for humans to conquer. So much for flying cars…
