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Musk Says Tesla Roadster to Swap SpaceX Thrusters for Rear Seats

Musk’s two companies have done plenty of sharing over the years, including of engineers and materials.

Musk Says Tesla Roadster to Swap SpaceX Thrusters for Rear Seats
Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors, stands for a portrait with a Tesla Roadster electric car outside the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York, U.S. (Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. may offer an option on the upcoming Roadster sports car to enable drivers to float above the ground using thrusters from Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX.

And no, if his tweets are to be believed, this isn’t a bunch of hot air.

In his initial tweet Wednesday, Musk was responding to a follower who sent him a GIF rendering of a levitating car. While his claim that the Roadster may boast aircraft-like qualities drew some bemused responses, he wrote soon after that he wasn’t kidding.

Musk, 47, is chief executive officer of both Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The two companies have done plenty of sharing over the years, including of engineers and materials. And SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket pulled off quite the cross-promotional feat in February by launching Musk’s original Roadster into orbit in February.

Before getting Tesla fans too excited, Musk cautioned that the feature may not be street legal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Trudell in New York at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Kevin Miller

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