Idea for flying Roadster has been around 'since the beginning': Former Tesla president Jon McNeill

Summary

Jon McNeill discusses Tesla's reported plan to unveil a flying or hovering Roadster as soon as this month, explaining the SpaceX cold-gas thruster origins and the Roadster's role as a catalyst for Tesla. He also argues Tesla and SpaceX are likely to combine sooner rather than later due to Musk's incentives and AI and engineering overlap. Later he acknowledges Tesla's shift toward fossil fuels to power AI data centers is changing its climate messaging.

• Tesla may reportedly unveil a new Roadster design with flying or hovering capabilities as soon as this month.
• Jon McNeill says the space thruster concept originated in 2016 to make the Roadster the fastest production car.
• The demo may show hovering rather than full flying using SpaceX cold-gas thruster technology.
• McNeill sees the Roadster as a way to inject excitement back into Tesla's car business.
• He argues Tesla and SpaceX are likely to combine sooner rather than later, citing payout incentives and AI overlap.
• He notes Tesla's increased use of fossil fuels for AI data centers changes its green messaging.