Elon Musk May Be Sending a Tesla Roadster to Space on a SpaceX Rocket It's not entirely clear whether he's kidding or not.
By Nina Zipkin
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Elon Musk on Friday seemingly revealed what would be part of the first ever Falcon Heavy launch payload: Tesla's red Roadster.
Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape. Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2017
Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn't blow up on ascent.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2017
Related: It Was Fun for a While, But Elon Musk Denies Theory He Created Bitcoin
The founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX said on Twitter in replies to fans that there were a handful of reasons for wanting to send that particular vehicle. "Red car for a red planet," and "I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future."
But when The Verge reported about the plan, the publication says that it was contacted via Twitter direct message by Musk, who said that he "totally made it up."
However, it seems that there actually might be some truth to the "joke." We'll just have to find out in January. The Falcon Heavy launch will be a significant milestone for SpaceX, as it is the rocket the company intends to use for missions to the Moon and Mars.
