“A flying car is what men do when they are free. A wealth tax is what politicians do to the men who built it. One of them needs the other to survive, and it isn't Musk.”
Well said. As Elon Musk has noted, our society is divided into Makers and Takers. Elon is our preeminent Maker. The Takers don’t like it when he does things. There’s more to that than trying to steal his money, though God knows stealing is a major part of being a Taker. But there’s also jealousy.
Elon’s flying car — the Tesla Roadster Rocket — is amazing. Granted, it’s not Jetsons material. There’s no antigravity or reactionless thruster at work, alas. But given that we’re limited, for the moment anyway, to existing technology, it’s pretty impressive. In the video, it climbs up a steep ramp until it is driving upside down, held in place by the suction fans that give it immense traction on Earth. Then it drops, falling upside down until it flips, precisely and neatly, and lowers itself to the ground on cold-gas thrusters.
The upside down driving, and that ultra-precise flip, are in some ways more impressive than the rockets. (This demonstration was fully autonomous, with no human on board. Quoth Elon: “Well, it is technically autonomous for this demo to make sure we don't kill anyone!”). The car can do more than lower itself to the ground. A followup demo had it somersaulting over a Tesla’s Semi truck and current car line-up in what the designer called (referencing skateboard champ Tony Hawk) a “kickflip.”
With rocket assistance, it can do zero to sixty in .81 seconds, a truly absurd acceleration. With the suction fans holding it down it can corner in ways that appear to defy the laws of physics.
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