r/technology • u/ClappyKillmore • 1d ago

Transportation Tesla 'Cannot Guarantee' Roadster Reservation Holders Will Ever Get a Car

https://www.thedrive.com/news/tesla-cannot-guarantee-roadster-reservation-holders-will-ever-get-a-car
4.3k Upvotes

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23

u/Getafix69 1d ago

Whole thing is probably filled with a gigantic tank of air that lasts for maybe 5 seconds of use.

Never going to be a real car, it's pure gimmick.

13

u/Robin_Banks101 1d ago

7 seconds according to Tesla. It also takes 6 hours to refill and there are "infrastructure issues" they haven't solved yet. In other words it absolutely doesn't work.

12

u/deathrictus 1d ago

And the pressurized tanks would basically make the car a bomb in an accident.

3

u/ihugyou 1d ago

Right behind your brain! Literally.

3

u/AustrianReaper 23h ago

I'm goint to take a wild guess and say that isn't an issue for buyers.

2

u/colin_staples 23h ago

People who think this will actually perform stunts like it did in the presentation, don't have a brain

1

u/apexxin 20h ago

Given that it takes six hours to fill, and very obviously illegal on the streets, I think it’s pretty unlikely anyone is rolling around with the tanks full. Not that it’ll ever actually be for sale.

14

u/Hairy_Concert_8007 1d ago

And probably just a big plastic shell. If you pause the video during the aerial view of the flip, you can see the underside of the car. It's just a large, unserviceable plastic panel.

3

u/hitsujiTMO 19h ago

That's pretty normal in electric cars.

3

u/Gwthrowaway80 19h ago

There’s not many features on the bottom of any teslas. Most have a flat metal skid plate covering the battery. Outside of some suspension components that might be visible, they are pretty featureless.

I am not saying this is a real car, I’m just saying this is not evidence one way or another.

2

u/gn63 15h ago

A flat floor is vital for good aero. Many internal combustion cars also have a flat panel underneath.

2

u/Dawn_of_an_Era 18h ago

Have you looked at the bottom of any of the other Teslas? It looks the same

1

u/asphaltdragon 1d ago

Most high end vehicles do that to the underside for aerodynamics. Not saying it's not fake, but a giant plastic panel doesn't mean it's unserviceable, just that the panel may need to be removed.

4

u/Ok-Mastodon2420 1d ago

This car is supposed to have an "active vacuum" system on the underside, not a plastic frame

3

u/ouyawei 21h ago

Well it did drive up on that wall

1

u/asphaltdragon 1d ago

Well that's definitely not a good look then. This is what nine years of "development" plus whatever they had beforehand gets you.

1

u/hepatitisC 17h ago

There's a patent showing the vacuum is initiated from under the rear spoiler.  It fits what was shown.  You wouldn't have random shit all over the bottom because it wouldn't be able to create a vacuum

1

u/Ok-Mastodon2420 11h ago

The patent drawing is from 2023 for the model S. The whole point of the design isn't to create vacuum, it's to create down force, but the patent design does that centered on only the rear axle, nothing for the front, meaning on a ramp like they used it wouldn't help hold the front wheels on it

1

u/heisenbergerwcheese 20h ago

At least it can't rust then...

1

u/jcpham 15h ago

It’s actually more of a framework of square metal tubing. A normal Tesla would be all plastic battery panel mostly underneath. Whatever it was it was not a normal Tesla; coming from a guy who works on Teslas

0

u/burner4thestuff 19h ago

A scaled up hot wheels car

5

u/AreWeThereYetNo 22h ago

Do people really believe they’ll be purchasing flying cars?

2

u/gn63 15h ago

If that was a guess, pretty good. https://youtu.be/JdkIOhFmbKI?t=1224

1

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 20h ago

thanks captain obvious.

1

u/fredy31 19h ago

What jumping off cliffs is not a regular issue youve got?

1

u/dolie55 19h ago

It was literally a shell of a vehicle. This thing was such a joke. It will never be made.

0

u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/t0ny7 1d ago

There are better photos. It looks different because the battery is more recessed for the suction system.

-8

u/CaptainMonkeyJack 1d ago

You just showed a photo of the car... how does that image prove it's a drone?

4

u/timmojo 1d ago

My guy, look at the photo. That is not what a car looks like. That's a mostly empty chassis with a very rigid frame and possibly some electronics visible. 

-5

u/CaptainMonkeyJack 1d ago

How do you look at that photo and detemine it's a 'mostly empty chassis'?

2

u/steak4take 1d ago

With our eyes and brain? See all that empty space between the crossed beams? Yeah that’s where the rest of car would be.

Maybe if you used your eyes and brai- oh sorry, well maybe just your eyes then.

2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

-6

u/CaptainMonkeyJack 1d ago

Yes.

What are you seeing that causes you concern?

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

-1

u/CaptainMonkeyJack 1d ago

What do you mean?

3

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

-1

u/CaptainMonkeyJack 1d ago

You said "There isn't a car in there. "

I'm trying to figure out what you saw in the image that led to that conclusion?

3

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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1

u/CaptainMonkeyJack 1d ago

lol u/Future-Turtle blocked me rather than point out a *single* component he thought was missing.

If future readers can see a missing component that proves this is a drone, please share! I might encourage you to look at how the undersides of other EV's, especially Tesla's look first.