What does this have to do with Tesla you may ask.

A LOT in my opinion.

The Tesla/SpaceX/Solar City conglomerate rests on the foundation of Elon Musk's supposed genius.

After all, if he can land a rocket on a barge then building a car or making a profit should be a walk in the park right?

Let's start at the beginning.

There is a competion for hovering rockets with a $2M prize.

http://lunarlander.xprize.org/

Here is a test flight of one of the entrants.



Note that the rocket is short and squat, the motor runs with a hot blue flame, and very rapid adjustments are made to maintain the rocket in a vertical position.

Now watch the SpaceX videos.

Here is a handy compilation https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxc4HdHFu6nGQuflr9gtBcCGPYR96j4Q3

Several things are quite remarkable about those videos.

The rocket burns with a very lazy yellow flame which which gives maximum visibility and minimum thrust and efficiency.

Secondly the rocket is allowed to get well off the vertical and probably past the point of no return for a tall rocket in unstable equilibrium.

What is even more amazing is that despite the town of McGregor being only a few miles away and visible on some of the footage there was no interest shown in these amazing flights by the local media.

No bystanders with video cameras.

No complaints to the newspapers about the noise and the risks posed by an experimental rocket loaded with explosive fuel hovering above their heads.

Contrast this with the genuine flight that did take place at McGregor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgGVkw9zjI8

A perfectly ordinary straight up launch, (no hovering) and then the rocket was deliberately detonated and the debris fell to earth.

Plenty of rocket enthusiasts (Anoraks) lined up outside the fence.

Where were the Anoraks when the amazing hover flights took place?

Not really interested?

M'kay.

I'll move on to the "loop the loop" flight next.

Any rocket scientists in the house?