Tesla Roadster rocket booster system runs for five seconds and requires up to six hours to recharge

Ford looked to Tesla for inspiration to develop an electric pickup truck with reduced costs. Instead of building the body using dozens of welded sheet panels, the automaker plans to fuse the front and rear parts into two large aluminum components.

This process, called unicasting by Ford, will be applied to the Fathom, a mid-sized electric pickup expected to enter the American market next year at a price of US$ 28,350 (approximately R$ 151 thousand). According to the manufacturer, these two parts will replace 146 structural elements present in the Maverick, a model also sold in Brazil.

The methodology used is identical to the gigacasting utilized by Tesla on the Model Y since 2020.

In a conventional body, each section of the structure is molded from metal sheets and subsequently welded to the others by robots. In the casting method, liquid metal is poured into a mold and emerges as a single piece, resembling the principle of an ice mold, but on an industrial scale.

Ford has already manufactured over 5,000 of these parts, enough to produce 2,500 pickups, at the Shelbyville Technical Center, located in the state of Kentucky. Currently, these parts are only being used in prototypes.

The procedure begins with aluminum ingots heated to about 700°C. After being injected into the mold, the part is removed by a robot, cooled in a tank, trimmed, and subjected to machining processes.

Next, the parts undergo a rigorous battery of tests. In a climate-controlled area, equipment checks dimensions and hole locations. An industrial X-ray is used to detect any internal voids or bubbles in the aluminum, while an optical scanner maps the surface.

Samples from each batch are also evaluated for their chemical composition and strength. Only after approval is the batch sent to the Louisville factory, also located in Kentucky.

The giant components also allow Ford to incorporate an original invention of its founder. In 1913, Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line for the production of the Model T, known as the Ford Moustache, where the vehicle followed a single conveyor belt receiving components along the way.

In the Fathom, this conveyor belt is replaced by what the company calls the 'assembly tree'. Three lines work simultaneously on assembling the front, the rear, and the battery, which serves as the floor and already receives seats, console, and carpet. These three sets are only joined at the final stage.

According to Ford, this new method has the potential to accelerate assembly by up to 40%. A portion of the saved time will be redirected to automation investments, projecting a final gain of 15%.

Production, confirmed only for the United States, is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year.

Elon Musk's new flying Tesla Roadster has attracted public attention as the first 'flying car' from the manufacturer, but the reaction of leading technology reviewers has not been as enthusiastic.

During a demonstration on October 16, the Tesla Roadster ascended a vertical ramp, was held by a special 'suction cup' system, and then performed a fall, a rollover, and landed safely. This maneuver was made possible by powerful engines that release compressed air to cushion the impact and prevent contact with the ground.

Visually, the car resembles a vehicle from 1980s or early 1990s science fiction films, possessing a sharp, angular aesthetic that combines features of the DeLorean from 'Back to the Future' and retro-futuristic cruisers from 'Total Recall.'

Even if this apparatus never reaches the consumer market, it successfully dominated global tech news for the past week.

Mark Brownlee, who has over 21 million subscribers on YouTube, noted: 'Tesla conducted one of the wildest product demonstrations of all time. Personally, I don't like this design. I preferred the old model. I actually thought the old car was very beautiful, even though it was never produced. This new one will take me some time to like.'

Meanwhile, creator of technological parody content SAMTIME, who has 657,000 subscribers on YouTube, mocked the launch, stating: 'A brand new flying Tesla car. Looks completely safe. And I'm sure their software won't have any bugs. Although their latest version of Windows literally crashed. If AI doesn't kill us, flying cars will!'

The presentation of the Roadster comes against the backdrop of Tesla reporting a decrease in third-quarter profits, as Musk appears to be increasing investments in artificial intelligence and other technologies. According to reports, research and development costs have more than doubled due to the company actively spending funds on AI, robotics, and autonomous transport.

After the new Tesla Roadster demonstrated acrobatic stunts, including jumps and aerial rotations, on October 15th, engineers, scientists, and specialized press began to question its technical feasibility. Although the sports electric vehicle performed maneuvers that attracted worldwide attention, there are serious drawbacks that make repeating these actions on roads extremely difficult.

It was also noted that the presentation was conducted using a remotely controlled prototype, which may be significantly lighter than the final version of the car.

One of the most criticized aspects is the range: in 2017, Tesla promised a range of 998 km using a 200 kWh battery. However, the current figure is slightly over 483 km, and the manufacturer has not disclosed the full capacity of the battery system.

According to information published on Torque News' website, the company reduced the battery size to lower weight and free up space for fans that ensure the car's grip on the surface, as well as for fuel tanks.

These tanks compete for space with passengers. As reported by Lars Moravy, Tesla's Vice President of Engineering, the 200-liter cylinder in the Thrust version is located behind the seats, while in the flying Rocket version, the passenger seat is replaced by another with a volume of 400 liters.

Moravy also told Top Gear that each charge provides about five seconds of thrust, and the refueling process takes between two and six hours.

Scientist Ian LeCun, a professor at New York University and Turing Award laureate, called this demonstration a marketing stunt. He suggested that even if half the car's weight consisted of compressed gas, the powerful thrust required to lift it would last less than ten seconds, likely around five. This figure matches what Moravy himself admitted.

The reason for this is the low efficiency of cold gas jets: without burning fuel, they provide less than a quarter of the impulse of a kerosene rocket engine, according to a comparison conducted by Jalopnik.

For comparison, according to The Verge, the tanks in the Rocket hold about 250 kg of gas, whereas Tesla aims to keep the car's weight below 1700 kg.

Based on this, LeCun concluded that the car presented in the video is a light shell filled with tanks and is far from a road model. He compared the Roadster to the private spacecraft SpaceShipOne from 2004, which completed three record flights before being retired.

The visual appearance has also undergone radical changes: the rounded four-seater coupe from 2017 with a removable glass roof has transformed into an angular wedge two-seater model equipped with scissor doors and inspired by military aircraft SR-71 and F-35.

Despite this, Tesla has reopened pre-orders, priced at approximately 252 thousand reales (50 thousand US dollars). The final price has not yet been determined—it was equivalent to 1 million reales (200 thousand US dollars) in 2017, and production is planned for 2028.

The Rocket version is not permitted to drive on public roads, and Musk himself admitted on stage that it was not designed with safety as a priority.