New Delhi: Elon Musk’s new “flying” Tesla Roadster has taken over social media. But not everyone is impressed. Yann LeCun, often called one of the “godfathers of AI”, has questioned the demo, and the exchange with Musk has turned into a strange online argument.
How the Debate Began
Musk unveiled the new Roadster at SpaceX’s test facility in Texas. He then shared a video of the car appearing to fly over other Tesla vehicles. “Turns out the future does have flying cars,” he wrote.
LeCun replied by asking whether Tesla was using hydrogen peroxide, a liquid that some rockets use to power thrusters. He later learned that the thrusters actually run on compressed air.
LeCun Raises Doubts
LeCun said Tesla would need a huge amount of compressed air just to keep the Roadster in the air for a few seconds. “So the car must be an empty, lightweight shell containing big compressed air tanks,” he wrote. He called it a “cute demo, but totally impractical” and added that Musk knew this already.
Musk’s Reply
Musk, who often uses humour in online arguments, answered with a joke. “I fart in your general direction,” he wrote.
LeCun used the comment to take another dig at the car. He said a fart from a “high-pressure belly” might push a person up and forward. He joked that the Roadster works in much the same way: “A 700 bar, 600 liter, 3 second, noisy fart”, though he hoped it came without the methane and smell.
Can the Roadster Really Fly?
The short answer is yes and no.
The Roadster comes in three versions: Performance, Thrust and Rocket. Only the Rocket version can fly. Tesla says it has thrusters from SpaceX placed around the edges of the car to give it upward and rotating movement.
The car in the demo carried two pressure tanks made of carbon material, each with a 600-litre capacity, holding a total of 250 kilos of air. To make room for the tanks, the Rocket Roadster does not have a passenger seat.
According to Tesla, the thrusters use the compressed gas stored in the car to create force that lifts it. This means it can stay in the air for only a few seconds, depending on how much gas is stored. At least in its current form, it cannot fly for longer.
Price and Availability
The Rocket version is available only by invitation, and Tesla has not announced its price. In India, the Roadster Performance is priced at Rs 50.06 lakh, while the Thrust model costs roughly Rs 2.5 crore. Tesla says deliveries of the Roadster will begin in 2028.
What It Means
For many people online, the demo showed that the dream of a flying car is getting closer. For critics like LeCun, it is a stunt that is hard to turn into a practical vehicle. Both sides agree on one thing: the car can fly, but only for a very short time.
