Lars Moravy

If you listen to the press interviews right after the smoke cleared, you heard two entirely different narratives.

On one side, you had Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, a seasoned, grounded engineer who has to live in the physical universe governed by the laws of thermodynamics.

Moravy gave an interview to Top Gear and industry reporters.

He stated clearly that the thruster system runs on pure compressed nitrogen.

If there is even a trace of ambient humidity in that gas, that water vapor doesn't just condense, it flash freezes into microscopic ice bullets at minus fifty degrees Celsius.

Those ice crystals instantly clog the high-speed solenoid valves and choke the de Laval nozzles.

That is why Lars Moravy said nitrogen.

Dry, pure, inert nitrogen doesn't ignite, doesn't freeze in the lines, and protects the carbon fiber lining.

And the Roadster's equipment has to fit within a really ambitious weight target as well.

Lars Moravy will lose sleep if you've had a big breakfast that day because he wants all of the weight out of the car possible, below 1,700 kilograms.

They've used carbon fiber for the tub and the structural materials.

The seats form part of the structure itself.

The performance model is described as road ready.

Lars Moravy described an underbody fan suction system that pulls the car toward the surface to enable inverted driving on the ramp.

Euro News reports the system is rated for up to two G of force.

Remaining propulsion after the suction phase borrows from SpaceX.

He could invent this thing.

The dope who pestered, uh, Franz von Holzhausen and Lars Moravy.

How do you say it? Lars Moravy?

Think so.

Those are, those are the two engineers.

... uh, well, it worked.

He equipped alongside Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy, and Tesla's chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen-

[laughs]

... after the demonstration passed without any accident.

[laughs] Right.

Uh, well, it worked, he quipped alongside Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, and Tesla's Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen-

[laughs]

... after the demonstration passed without any accident.

Turns out the future does have flying cars, writes Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy added flying cars are real.

The jaw-dropping showcase featured the new Roadster accelerated up a massive curved ramp and using a fan-based suction system to remain attached until it was completely upside down.

before using integrated cold gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX to launch off the ramp, flip in midair, and land safely back on the ground.