Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Elon Musk's midnight cherry Tesla Roadster


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was draftify. There's no consensus over whether this car is notable, or whether it will become notable if it isn't. However, given that there is a decent chance it will be launched into space, we ought to keep the article around somewhere. The relevant content can be temporarily merged to Tesla, Inc. or something like that and a better title can (and probably should) be discussed. ansh 666 09:45, 11 December 2017 (UTC)

Elon Musk's midnight cherry Tesla Roadster

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An individual car. Fails WP:GNG. Was briefly in the news because Musk tweeted that he'd launch it to Mars, which turned out to be a joke. Still, this is the WP:BLP1E equivalent for cars, as there seems to be little else to say about this specific car.  Sandstein  15:31, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep it until further, official info is given - It's only been disproven by one news outlet, everyone else says it's true. Just keep it until we learn more from reliable sources. — Preceding unsigned comment added by IanThePineapple (talk • contribs) 21:17, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Comment Changed to Keep now it is confirmed - I agree that if this is a joke the car is not notable. However there are still reputable source such as Space News or the twitter account of Eric Berger which say the story is authentic. See here for I think a reasonable view of the current status. There is only one source I have found which says the story is a joke; The Verge. So if a joke, Delete, if it is on board Falcon Heavy, the first commercial car launched beyond Low Earth Orbit is intrinsically notable so Keep. Anyhow, any payload launched to Mars is notable per se. So for the moment my advice is Wait. Hektor (talk) 15:52, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Even if it's not a joke, this doesn't make the car notable. It's just an inert payload. What makes it particular is that it is supposedly to be shot into space. This means that the rocket launch, not the car, is the notable thing here. The launch will get an article, as these things do, and the car can be covered as part of that article if it's indeed aboard.  Sandstein   19:09, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * We disagree on that point. All payloads to Mars have their own article, and the car has powerful battery so is not an inert payload at least during the first days of its flight. Hektor (talk) 22:16, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * What makes the vehicle notable is that it is the very first production vehicle that was manufactured by Tesla Motors. That Elon Musk is joking about flying it in space is some additional information useful.  I agree the title could change and the notion that this is a spacecraft is something to hold off on, but the vehicle itself already has plenty of notability with more sources to flesh out an article than many articles that routinely pass muster with AfDs.  I also agree that this tweet by Elon Musk does not, by itself, grant notability to the car though even if the car is notable for other reasons. --Robert Horning (talk) 01:25, 4 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Wait. All news outlets (including Ars Technica) report it is true, except for The Verge. I say wait. If correct, and if approved by the FAA, the vehicle will be quite notable and popular, so it has to become a keep. BatteryIncluded (talk) 16:29, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Transportation-related deletion discussions. Mahveotm (talk) 16:35, 3 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Delete Never have I ever. Fails the GNG, belongs in a short little mention in either the Falcon Heavy Article or in Elon's own article under the "Plum Loconess" heading. L3X1 (distænt write)  19:08, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * There is a good chance this will be notable, but not until after it launches in January as we have no proof the vehicle even exists right now. TOOSOON L3X1 (distænt write)  19:09, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Seeing as it is he said she said about whether it is a joke or not this really is toosoon. L3X1 (distænt write)  19:10, 3 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Delete nuke the article from orbit. A joke by Elon Musk on Twitter is not enough for an article, and there's not enough reliable coverage to believe this farce to be true. power~enwiki ( π,  ν ) 20:51, 3 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Comment/Move to Draft This is precisely why the Wikipedia Incubator was created. The idea that this is a joke or not is still in dispute and I suspect a more complete story about this will come out next week.  Still, that is a solid WP:CRYSTAL argument.  There are sufficient reliable sources to avoid deletion, but it really needs to move to some sort of draft article status for now and heavily watched.  Please move this at least out of the main article space, no matter what else happens.  As a side note, this vehicle actually is already notable because it is literally serial number 0001 off of the production line for the original Tesla Roadster and quite literally the very first Tesla automobile sold to anybody (Elon Musk contractually purchased it when he originally invested into Tesla Motors).  And yes, there are reliable sources for that trivia.  As to if in that condition it needs to remain a separate article is something to debate, so in that case.... Merge to the Tesla, Inc. article for those little tidbits of actual information in terms of this genuinely historical vehicle.  If it turns out to be a real thing (with Elon Musk, it is hard to know), then something far more substantial can be written.  --Robert Horning (talk) 01:17, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Speedy incubate Whatever the community decides and how and when, this article should not be in mainspace right now.  Unscintillating (talk) 01:25, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Delete - WP:TOOSOON. The car isn't notable until it's attempted to be launched. Until then, it's just a car. - The Bushranger One ping only 02:47, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Wait If the car is actually launched into space, then it will become notable. EDIT: Bloomberg says that it's real. --Puget Sound (talk) 06:52, 4 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Wait It is really being planned to be launched into Mars orbit, assuming everything works with the Falcon Heavy. If it launches, then it is notable. If the plan is changed without a launch, then it is not notable. The article should just be called Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster if kept. --Frmorrison (talk) 20:36, 5 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Make it a draft — A car drifting in space around the Sun is —to say the least— weird, unique, extremely expensive, and the mass media considers it notorious. If the rocket and car blow up during launch, I reckon a one-liner somewhere will suffice. Having said that, I agree to take this article into an invisible "draft state" until more information is released. Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) 22:33, 5 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Delete The information contained in this article could be a potential sub-section on the Tesla page regarding Musk. As the car has not launched, and there is little information beyond some Twitter comments from Musk, this page does not meet notability requirements.  Per WP:TOOSOON, Musk's Roaster does not yet deserve it's own page. Balon Greyjoy (talk) 23:35, 5 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep and rename – Multiple sources have confirmed that Musk's car is the real payload and that it is intended to demonstrate trans-Mars injection by the Falcon Heavy rocket. If indeed this car also happens to be the first production Roadster, then the article should include some details about this fact and be renamed Tesla Roadster or something similar. Hopefully Musk will assign a spacecraft name to the car when it flies (he already picked Heart of Gold as the name of the future BFR spaceship intended to carry the first Mars colonists). — JFG talk 04:59, 7 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Make it a draft until it actually launches, and find a better title, for example if the payload is given an official name of some sort. In the meantime, all this deserves is a mention on the Falcon Heavy and Tesla Roadster (2008) pages. Rosbif73 (talk) 11:26, 7 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Delete. Seriously. This is just an inert payload on a test flight. I'm a huge fan of Tesla, SpaceX, and space in general, but this just seems silly. Any relevant information on the car can be included in the flight article. — Huntster (t @ c) 15:44, 7 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Problem is we don't have a separate article about the maiden flight yet. And even if we did, the convention is to have spaceflight articles named after their payloads. — JFG talk 16:47, 7 December 2017 (UTC)
 * We write the article about the notable component, in this case the spaceflight. It can be created at any time. My point is there's simply no reason for *this* article about the Roadster to exist. — Huntster (t @ c) 16:55, 7 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Under the same criteria, do you also propose the deletion of the Ratsat article? It also is an "inert payload on a test flight". I am sure there are many other examples. Plus, with cameras confirmed, this is hardly an inert payload. Keavon (talk) 08:20, 8 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Wait Or since this is space related maybe Hold would be more appropriate... If this is true, this car would be the first item launched beyond Earth's SoI by a nongovernmental enity. The furthest anything launched on private rocket has gone so far is DISCOVR to earth's L1 point with the sun. As stupid as this sounds, if it's real, this car could very well be man's first steps into becoming a two planet species. So let's just wait till the faring pops off.Metropod (talk) 03:50, 8 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep (and possibly rename once a more official mission name is given). This is now very much confirmed and its launch window is literally next month (assuming the targeted launch date holds). Musk announces lots of crazy things on Twitter, but that doesn't make it a joke. Lots of reliable news sources have independently confirmed with Musk, SpaceX employees, and the SpaceX PR team. Although there was initial confusion, this is now absolutely confirmed to be a real payload (and it's slated for launch sooner than many other upcoming space missions with articles). Also, being the first consumer automobile in space, this is *very* notable. Let's keep the article and remove that "considered for deletion" banner soon. And rename it when an official mission name is announced. Keavon (talk) 08:17, 8 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Delete - Fails the WP:GNG guideline. -Ventric (talk) 19:57, 10 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep – it's the first ever vehicle by Tesla, as well as the primary payload of a Mars mission. Easily enough for this article to be considered notable. Chessrat  ( talk, contributions ) 22:52, 10 December 2017 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.