Tesla will finally be launching its car and customers’ pictures to space
It was announced earlier this year that Tesla will eventually send its customers’ photos into space. The business is launching the images on the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter mission four years after the program came to an end. It belongs to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute of South Korea and will be launched by SpaceX the following week.
When Tesla first started selling cars in 2018, owners could refer new customers by giving them a referral code in exchange for Supercharging credits. Referrers would receive rewards in exchange, depending on how many people they brought in. A photo launch into deep space was one of the rewards. “Launch Your Photo into Deep Space Orbit We’ll laser-etch any image onto glass and send it into deep space orbit for millions of years. Refer more friends while you wait for an alien race to discover your payload.”
Four years after the program’s conclusion, Tesla still hadn’t delivered the reward, as we reported last month. After a week, Tesla eventually unveiled a system that would allow referral program prize winners to send their photos into space, but we were unsure of the timing or the specifics of how the photos would be launched. SpaceX needed a “dummy load” to send into space in order to showcase the Falcon Heavy rocket’s capabilities when it launched its maiden Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018. Musk, the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, made the decision to launch his own Tesla Roadster.
SpaceX didn’t want to launch a satellite because of the increased chance of failure associated with a brand-new rocket, but Musk also didn’t want to blast a weight into space. He reasoned that the unveiling of a Tesla Roadster would be more exciting and motivating, and it was. Stunning photographs of the Tesla Roadster in space were produced thanks to the video of the launch, which gained enormous popularity. “Tesla’s purpose is to speed the world’s transition to sustainable energy – thank you for your support in making it a reality,” the company said as it announced the launch. The KPLO mission will launch your image into space on August 4, 2022.
In June, Tesla stated to its customers, “Our records show that you earned the chance to launch a photo into space under a previous Tesla Referral Program. After much anticipation, we are excited to begin your photo’s journey to space. To participate, please submit your photo before June 30, 2022.”