Elon Musk: Can we have a special SpaceX-edition Tesla Model 3, please?
In 2018, Elon Musk's original Tesla Roadster served as payload during the landmark SpaceX Falcon Heavy test flight. Musk even promised a special SpaceX option package for the next-gen Roadster. But what about Tesla's flagship seller, the Model 3 — is there any cool SpaceX collab in the works?
Above: SpaceX Emergency Operations Tesla Model 3 (Courtesy of Tesla Oracle)
Well... it turns out that a mysterious white Tesla Model 3 is performing services as an ‘Emergency Operations’ vehicle for SpaceX. The Model 3 has been spotted on several occasions and at a number of different SpaceX events.
Above: SpaceX Emergency Operations Tesla Model 3 spotted at the Boca Chica launch site. (Source: @BocaChicaGal / NASASpaceFlight.com)
There are many hidden (and not so hidden) synergies between SpaceX and Tesla. You probably saw SpaceX video footage of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley getting out of a Tesla Model X before their recent mission to the International Space Station. Tesla's Elon Musk has even been credited with helping to make NASA cool again.
Above: SpaceX Emergency Operations Tesla Model 3 spotted at the Boca Chica launch site. (Source: @BocaChicaGal / NASASpaceFlight.com)
Okay, let's get back to that mysterious SpaceX Model 3. Spy shots surfaced at the Boca Chica launch facility (courtesy of @BocaChicaGal) via a stunning photo of the same Model 3 with the SpaceX logo wrapped on the doors and equipped with the emergency vehicle lighting on the top.
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Twitter: @spotted_model
The SpaceX-edition Model 3 was also spotted at a company recruitment event at their Boca Chica office. And, when the huge Starship SN2 tank was returning to the assembly area on a rolling lift, the SpaceX Model 3 can also be seen monitoring the situation at the back in a live video feed earlier this year.
Above: SN2 tank starts rolling at around ~17:00 and the Tesla Model 3 SpaceX Edition joins the scene at the same time (YouTube: SPadre)
Alright, I admit it. I'm absolutely fiending for one of these SpaceX Model 3s. Elon, forget the Roadster SpaceX package... we need a Model 3 SpaceX package!
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Written by: Iqtidar Ali. An earlier version of this article was originally published on Tesla Oracle.