Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared on controversial Dussehra posters across Lucknow as one of Ravana’s ten faces. The Sanatan Raksha Sangathan installed these posters, titled "Bharat Virodhi Dashanan Ravan," at several intersections. The artwork depicts Musk alongside various political leaders and public figures, labeling them all as opponents of India’s interests.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has appeared alongside Indian political leaders and international public figures on controversial Dussehra posters displayed across Lucknow, ahead of the festival.
The posters, titled "Bharat Virodhi Dashanan Ravan", depict those featured as alleged opponents of India's interests. They were reportedly installed at several intersections in the Uttar Pradesh capital by an organisation called the Sanatan Raksha Sangathan.
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The artwork draws on Ravana, the ten-headed figure from the Ramayana whose effigies are traditionally burnt during Dussehra celebrations.
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad is depicted as Ravana, while other faces include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Mukhtar Ansari, US billionaire Elon Musk, American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, investor George Soros and lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
The inclusion of Musk, best known for leading Tesla and SpaceX, comes days after he attracted international attention with the unveiling of a new electric sports car.
On Thursday, Musk presented Tesla's long-awaited second-generation Roadster at a SpaceX testing facility in Texas.
During the demonstration, the sports car climbed a steep curved ramp, travelled upside down and launched into the air. It then flipped and landed safely using a combination of suction technology and thrusters.
Take a look here at the clip:
According to TechCrunch, Tesla vehicle engineering head Lars Moravy explained that the Roadster uses 10 thrusters connected to 600 litres of compressed air to lift and rotate the vehicle briefly in midair.
"More compressed gas on board = more flight time," Tesla said in an X post.
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Although the display demonstrated short airborne manoeuvres, it did not establish that the Roadster can undertake sustained flight.
Tesla first announced the second-generation Roadster in 2017 and initially promised deliveries in 2020. However, the project faced repeated delays.
Musk now says production will begin in 2028.
Tesla is offering the Roadster 2 in three variants: Performance, Thrust and Rocket. According to the company's website, the Performance version is described as "road ready", while the Thrust variant is labelled "race ready". The top-end Rocket version, equipped with additional thrusters that enable airborne manoeuvres, is described as "air ready".
Tesla has begun accepting reservations, with deposits of $50,000 for the Performance variant and $250,000 for the Thrust version. The single-seat Rocket variant, however, is available by invitation only and cannot be reserved by the general public. The company has yet to announce the final retail prices.