• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Elon Musk explained why he sent Tesla Roadster into space seven years ago as it's revealed where it is now

Home> News> Technology

Published 20:55 7 Feb 2025 GMT

Elon Musk explained why he sent Tesla Roadster into space seven years ago as it's revealed where it is now

A lot has changed since then

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

It's been about seven years since Elon Musk launched a Tesla Roadster up into space, and the car is still up there.

Remember 2018? It seems like an absolute age ago and a lot has happened since then, but all the while a car has been floating up in the vastness of space.

The Earth has changed quite a bit since then and the man who sent it there has certainly ended up with a rather altered reputation in the meantime.

As for why he sent his car up into space, there are a few reasons and one part of it is simply because he could.

Advert

When you've got a space company and a car company, you can just blast a car up into space and it's not like anyone can stop you.

Seven years in space. This car flies almost as well as time. (SpaceX via Getty Images)
Seven years in space. This car flies almost as well as time. (SpaceX via Getty Images)

However, at the time of the launch, he also said he hoped that one day humans would be able to settle on other planets and that his 'descendants will be able to drag it back to a museum'.

Musk has also said that he wanted to put the 'silliest' thing his SpaceX team could think of into space, and the Roadster was fitted with a crash test dummy in the driver's seat called 'Starman' after the David Bowie song.

He'd given his mission a 50-50 chance of succeeding, so apparently the team responsible for getting the Roadster into space was fitted out to have a bit of fun with it.

Advert

The Bowie tune 'Space Oddity' was set to play on repeat through the car's sound system, though, of course, since in space nobody can hear you scream they also can't hear an admittedly excellent song.

Besides, the car has been up there for seven years now and it can only keep playing the song as long as it still has a battery to do so.

The car was kitted out to be the 'silliest' thing you could put in space, so it's got a mannequin in a space suit, a Hot Wheels and a classic book. (SpaceX via Getty Images)
The car was kitted out to be the 'silliest' thing you could put in space, so it's got a mannequin in a space suit, a Hot Wheels and a classic book. (SpaceX via Getty Images)

The car was also fitted with a Hot Wheels toy and a copy of the Douglas Adams book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

As for where it is now, at time of writing it's over 240 million miles away from the Earth according to the website whereisroadster.com, which tries to keep track of it.

Advert

It's actually closer to the Sun than our planet, being about 151 million miles away from the mass of incandescent gas at the centre of our solar system.

However, that's apparently because our planet and the car are currently on different sides of the star, so give it a bit of time and we'll be closer again.

There is a risk, though rather a low one, that the Roadster could eventually come crashing back down to Earth one day, and if it did happen it'd land Elon Musk in quite a bit of trouble.

Featured Image Credit: SpaceX via Getty Images

Topics: Tesla, Cars, Space, Technology, SpaceX, Elon Musk

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Where Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster is now after he launched it into space seven years ago
  • Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster is travelling through space at 11,000 mph as he asks 'where is it'
  • Elon Musk awarded $29 billion by Tesla
  • Everything we know about Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster travelling through space at 16,000 mph

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • YouTube/Jeremy London, MD.
    an hour ago

    Heart doctor shares ‘life threatening’ mistakes he made that led to having heart attack

    Heart surgeon Dr Jeremy London said he 'reprioritised' his whole life after suffering a heart attack

    News
  • YouTube/The Diary of a CEO
    an hour ago

    Fertility doctor issues worrying warning to men who smoke marijuana while trying for baby

    Dr Natalie Crawford explained how weed can sometimes scupper your chances of starting a family

    News
  • Instagram/Radford Family
    2 hours ago

    Parents of UK’s biggest family opened up about why they had so many children

    They might not even be done yet

    News
  • Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage
    2 hours ago

    Wife of Ian Watkins' Lostprophets bandmate breaks silence on paedophile's sick crimes more than a decade later

    The wife of a Lostprophets bandmate breaks her silence on paedophile Ian Watkins’ disturbing crimes

    News