LeCun crunches the numbers: Musk's jet car demo is compressed air with ~5s of thrust
ylecun · x · 2026-10-18
Replying to Elon Musk's question about whether a jet-powered car demo used hydrogen peroxide, Yann LeCun works out the physics: it's just compressed air, with a specific impulse under 50 seconds. Even assuming half the car's mass is compressed air, thrust-to-weight ratio above 1.0 yields less than 10 seconds of useful thrust — probably closer to 5. The car must be an empty lightweight shell holding big air tanks. "Cute demo, but totally impractical."
Related event: LeCun Debunks Musk's Flying Car Demo: Only ~5 Seconds of Thrust(3 posts)→
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