Elon Musk Tells Joe Rogan That He Will Demo a Flying Car by End of Year

Billionaire oligarch Elon Musk appeared on the latest episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast on Friday. And while most of the conversation covered topics we’ve heard before, Musk decided he’d drop some news about something he wants to demo by the end of the year: a flying car.

If you stop us Heard it before– from the musk itself, no lesswho has been talking about building a flying car since at least 2014

Musk’s flying car dream comes in the context of Tesla’s Roadster, a car that was originally produced from 2008 to 2012. Musk has been promising a second-generation Roadster for years, but has always failed to deliver since the original target date of 2020. When Rogan asked the Tesla CEO if he wanted to slow down Musk’s status, he made the fly clear but it took him a while to reveal what he was really talking about during the conversation.

“We’re getting closer…” Musk said with a long pause, “…showing off the prototype. One thing I can guarantee is that this product demo will be unforgettable. Unforgettable.”

Rogan didn’t quite understand because Musk didn’t reveal that he was talking about a flying car. The podcaster asked him how to make it unforgettable. Kasturi smiled and replied, “Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable.” Rogan, still confused, asked Musk to explain.

“Well, you know, my friend Peter Thiel, once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars,” Musk finally said with a hint.

Thiel, the co-founder of Palantir and an old friend of Musk’s from his days at PayPal, is another far-right billionaire who spends his days Talking about the Antichrist In the sweatiest way possible. Rogan didn’t quite understand what Musk was saying and pressed him further, to which Musk replied, “I mean, I think if Peter wants a flying car, we should be able to buy one.”

Rogan asked Musk if the car would have a “retractable wing,” prompting him to elaborate. Musk replied that he “can’t unveil before the unveiling,” but said he thinks, “it has a shot at being the most memorable product launch of all time.” The billionaire said he hoped to unveil it “before the end of the year”. I hope.

None of this should come as a surprise to those who have followed Musk over the past decade. He often likes to roll out prototypes and ideas long before they are ready to be delivered. That doesn’t mean you’ll see those things in the form they were promised.

Remember the mask idea for Hyperloop? Or the more modest loop system, which was supposed to be one 155-mph Autonomous mass transit systems? It will be able to carry 16 people at a time, zipping around tunnels under cities. When it’s time for Musk to deliver, he builds a tunnel in Las Vegas where human drivers regularly ferry people around in Tesla vehicles. slow speed.

Which is to say Musk could hold a demo of a flying car soon, though a prototype isn’t the same thing as a marketed product. Musk also unveiled an autonomous two-seater CyberCab More than a year agoAnd there is no indication that it will be released anytime soon Robotaxis (regular Tesla vehicles that drive “autonomously” with a safety driver in the passenger seat), on the other hand, are already shuttling people around Texas.

There’s also a problem that every flying car inventor of the past century has faced: Since flying is so much more difficult and dangerous than driving, how big is the market for something like this? Any aircraft carrying passengers in the United States must be flown by someone with a pilot’s license. Unless, of course, it’s an autonomous flying vehicle. And that presents its own logistical challenges, such as coordinating air traffic.

Full episodes, which are available YouTubeIncludes extensive conversation, but Musk must have hedged his flying Roadster time while talking to Rogan.

“You know, we have to make sure it works,” Musk said. “Like some crazy, crazy technology we’ve got in this car. Crazy… technology. Crazy crazy.”

Rogan asked him if it was different than what was previously announced for the Roadster, which Musk confirmed.

“It has crazy technology. Like, is it even a car? I’m not sure. It looks like a car,” Musk said. “Let’s put it this way. It’s crazier than James Bond… it’s crazier than if you took all of James Bond’s cars and put them together.”

It’s interesting that Musk is hinting that it might not be a “car.” It’s entirely possible that this means he’s building a vertical take-off and landing vehicle (VTOL), which doesn’t normally drive on roads, but can still shuttle passengers. Many of the VTOL promises of the past decade have grabbed headlines as “flying cars,” even though they don’t actually drive on the road at all and act like helicopters.

Rogan was shocked, saying he didn’t know what to think because he only had a “limited amount of information.” Musk, clearly feeling the skepticism, told Rogan that if he wanted to see it before the unveiling, he would show it to him.

Are we going to see a flying car soon? It feels good. But we have since introduced flying cars At least in the 1950s. Are we going to see something that will be more than just a flashy distraction from Tesla cars Sales are toilets Since when did Musk align himself with President Donald Trump and give those two Nazi-style salutes? That part remains to be seen.