Debunking claims that Tesla in space is fake 

anyone who cries foul when they think a perfectly clear photo has been doctored, then gets excited about the highly distorted black swan photo has lost all credibility in my eyes.

4:32 if SpaceX needed a "dummy payload", why didn't they just send a flat earther?? 🤔

Having been in a few car accidents, it's worthy to note that afterwords I typically find the rear-view mirror laying in the floor. Yep, they are just glued to the windshield and can easily break off with heavy vibrations or extra g-forces. It makes total sense why they'd remove it. Same with the visors.

I just assumed the mirror and visors were removed to give an unobstructed view through the windshield for the camera.

This has to be one of the biggest straws flerfs have grasped. I guess they're going to say "we're just asking questions!" but aren't there bigger questions they could be asking? What a colossal waste of time even for them.

I watched just for the dog. I miss mine; four weeks now R.I.P.

Flatzoid was one who declared it was CGI because the reflections of earth in the helmet were wrong and how easy it is to animate such scenes. When I pointed out how the reflections work out exactly, he demand that I tell him the name of the software they used to animate it, But I had never said or implied it was animated, it was real. Lol.

"mirrors ?, where we're going we don't need mirrors" Excellent Debunk as ever Dave

Flerfer's Default Setting : "It's Fake"

How to flerf: 1. Find something you don't understand 2. Publicly claim that thing proves flat earth 3. Wait until challenged 4. Double down 5. Goto 3

Both left and right rear view mirrors are still attached to the car. If they didn't want any unwanted rear views in the center mirror, why keep both side mirrors on? Whitsit is clutching at straws more and more, could it there are no real arguments left (if ever there was one).

I personally tracked the Falcon Heavy second stage with the Tesla attached to it out to a distance almost 8 times greater than the distance of the moon, over multiple nights for over a week after the launch, using telescopes around the world on the iTelescope network. I solved for the orbit just using my own tracking of the object and confirmed it traced back to the final burn of the second stage that sent it out of earth orbit. That burn was also observed from the ground and could be seen in at least one all-sky camera.

I thought that flerfers didn't believe a rocket could get past "the firmament." If that's the case, then there would have been no need to remove the mirror, because you're just going to fake everything anyway, and faking a reflection in a mirror would be a pretty trivial task for an effects artist to pull off. Speaking of effects artists, I'd like to know, where are the offices for the massive army of effects artists that would be needed to do all of this CGI work in order to fool the public? NASA would have to have a crew of effects workers that would rival the one Disney has for making Marvel movies. And then you'd have to have similar groups working for SpaceX, ESA, JAXA, etc. So, where do these effects artists work? What buildings are they in? Where do they source their hardware? What schools do they recruit from? Where do they post their job openings? How do they find another job doing CG effects work, since presumably they would be unable to use their work faking space imagery in their portfolios and demo reels? These are all things I'd like to know.

Yeah, there's a camera pointed straight behind the car from the front that shows way more than that little mirror would ever show , so I'm not sure how removing the mirror would be hiding anything .

Flat Earthers really forget to compute the consequence of their claims and reject basic consistency.

The takeaway pizza is also missing from the passenger seat.

Oh, those darn FACTS...🤦‍♂️

They are saying “unmodified car” like this adds any value. Sure the “unmodified” qualifier adds a lot of value for a record attempt of a production car, like speed records, or track records. So we often hear this phrase in media. But here they are using it like this is a requirement here as well:) Nobody cares if it is unmodified, nobody claims it is unmodified. Most people fully expect modifications to prepare it for a space launch, which is obviously not what the car was designed for.

Wait. Another great video, Dave. But I HAVE to ask - These people actually TRIED to debunk a publicity stunt? A publicity stunt. Come on!

for a group that screams at everyone to do your own research, they really don't do much of their own do they

At the time of the launch, I wanted to try and verify this was actually happening. What I did was look closely at the globe in the background, and tried to figure out where we were - at the time I tried this, the background showed the area around the Indian ocean. I then went looking for weather satellite images from various other sources on the internet, and found an Indonesian TV channel that had hour-by-hour images of the cloud patterns for the weather of that day, taken by some geostationary satellite. The images from the Tesla launch and the weather satellite used by the Indonesian TV station matched very closely - I could see the same cloud spiral and patterns above the same areas. So these were two quite independent sources that matched up - it would be pretty hard for SpaceX to create a hoax that also involved all weather satellites in use to show the same cloud patterns.

Amazing to see that Jism is still on the go! You might have thought that as every time he tries to debunk the globe earth, he ends up proving it! 😂😂😂

Your dog was totally not in the mood to be awake for the video xD.

The quality of your debunking is awesome. I respect your ability to find footage that specifically negates the flerf claims. I have no idea how you find time to do that.

3:34 I very much doubt the tires would explode when you add essentially 14.7psi to them.

I like how you don't just TOTALLY DISREGARD the opposition but rather explain it plainly. We have TOO MUCH FIGHTING as is, so it's nice to see someone with a different opinion explaining it without being a dick!! You're awesome!!

Yeah, rear view mirrors do come off pretty often. Wouldn't want that rattling around in the compartment as it launches. And taking it off does give a better view. Love the wheel details though. I mean they must have watched that video of the pre-flight uncovering and skipped right by that part to get the shot of the right front tire in their mime. Incompetent, or deceitful. You decide.

vibrations and numerous forces during take off would have undoubtedly jarred the rear view mirror into some obscure position. That may have ended up in such a position to cause unwanted glare which ruins what would have been a very nice shot. The visors would almost certainly ended up in some funky positions that would have looked awful on a publicity shot. sure could have perhaps glued them in a set position but why run the risk, just remove them . simple’s!

The "shakey shakey during liftoff makes the mirror a dangerous object" was the 1st thing I thought of and is so obvious, too. Seriously, these flat Earth folks are just so sad.

But Dave the problem is... you use logic 🙃🙂

6:00 Ah yes, they removed the small planar mirror to prevent reflections of the earth, but of course didn't have to worry about the massive reflective compound surfaces all over the thing.

Oh boy, oh boy, isn't it the best time ever when you come home from work, hungry, and the first thing you see on youtube is another Dave McKeegan video?!!!

Dave I can't get enough of your channel. Big fan!

In addition, anything that had ever held fluids was also most likely removed because of out-gassing in a vacuum. Even oils not designed for vacuum operation will out-gas and coat optics in space.

The mirrors were removed for the second reason you listed. They would have 100% fallen off during the launch and once that fairing opens it would have jettisoned said debris into space. Something that size isn’t trackable by NASA or any agency either, it’s the same reason we have to be extra careful not to drop small items while out on EVA around the space station.

Thanks Dave and Rusty,

"You can tell it's real because it looks so fake" 😭

So they removed the mirror so you couldn't see something behind the car and had a rear facing camera?

The third option for the rear view mirror is that it was sealed and bringing it into space would have caused a pressure differential similar to the tires.

your dog is totally at peace with you. he was in lala land while dad was laying down some logic. thank you for the content.

I imagine they think the entire industry of satellites is somehow fake. Companies paying a hundred million dollars or so for a satellite and launch are really supposed to be balloons, lol.

The whole premise is ridiculous. If you're adding the globe in cg, you would need to create a CG car to render the reflections in anyway and then composite them over the real car, in which case, it's easier to just create a fully CG scene. No modified car required. 😂

what year is it

I just watched a video that took this car as one possible reason, why no alien has shown up on earth. When they see someone using a convertibel in space, they may think: "No, those guys are not clever, we better move on to the next system!"

Just a point of note, that roadster was not fElons, it was the car promised to Marc Tarpenning, and Elon yeeted it to spite him. -EDIT- My mistake, it was in fact Martin Eberhard's roadster that fElon yeeted into space.

One small correction, the Bowie song playing was “Starman”, not “Space Oddity”

The batteries and hydraulic systems would have too be removed fir safety.

2 reason for the mirror and the visors: First, everything on the windscreen is usually designed to harmlessly break off. This is good given the alternative is implantation. Second: the mirror contains a sealed cavity, forming a prism, so you can put it in anti blinding mode at night. The visors usually have their upholstery ultrasonically welded together, giving a quick, cheap, dirtproof and neat seam. As such they are also sealed cavities. This could have been solved by drilling holes in them, but that wouldn't solve the massive vibration and acceleration problems. Removing them seems way easier and less intrusive than other solutions, especially given that this was done on one of Elongated Muskrats famous whims.

Flerfs have no concept of reflection, they think rocks can't reflect light after all

The flerfers pushing this particular conspiracy should get together with that Thunderf00t guy. They seem like they'd get along well.

Did you get your monthly payment yet like the people from Australia? I am missing mine since a long long time ago

Slightly unrelated but I’ve just heard about the Ocean Globe Race on the news and the fact they have to use sextants to navigate and no GPS. Worth a video on how they could achieve this on a flat earth maybe.

I actually learned something today. I didnt know it was for test flight. Also,for some reason i though it's toy car and not full scale car. Everything makes sense now. Cheers.

Saw a flat earther showing a glitch in the Livestream as proof. Saying "why'd the earth glitch and not the car?" I'm not even a professional, and I can tell the specific glitch happening is showing the data differences between two frames in the video. Common in livestream video of any kind. So: 1) The earth only glitches because it's the only part of the image moving or changing. 2) The car DOES glitch. The shadows move and change slightly. Just much less, because it's centered and stabilized in frame. The difference between frames for the car is minimal.

The mirror is attached by a mastic that might not have been able to withstand the launch g-load and remain attached. Why is the Earth the only flat object yet every other body is a sphere except asteriods.

Appreciate the video! Love your work!!

It would be impossible for me to do what Jeran and Witsit do and face my family and friends. Either they’re easily fooled or (more likely) they are con artists. Either is embarrassing.

I watched it live and even as it was broadcasting flerfs were trying to debunk it as greenscreen. I took screenshots and highlighted parts that show a) it can't be greenscreen, and b) no lens distortion to make the Earth look curved.

How do all the added space miles affect the resale value?

Short and sweet! Another great video from Dave.

The tires wouldn't have exploded. I'm kind of disappointed in your statement. Tires are pressurized to 2atm, which is actually 3atm because it's measured in relation to the atmosphere on the surface. In space they'd experience true 3atm. Go to a gas station and pump your tires to 3atm. They won't explode. Not with 4atm, not with 5atm either.

I do so love 2001 a Space Odyssey(1968) when I see the scene at the start with the hairy proto humans hitting each other the head with animal bones I shout look "Flat earthers"

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't a rear-view mirror attached to the glass by means of a suction cup? As in: for exactly the same reason they let the air out of the tires so they would not explode in a vacuum, the mirror would not stay attached through the means of the vacuum which the suction cup provides?

The starman lanuch was epic to be honest.. best footage ever from space.

Jeran thinks it's fake? Interesting.

My favorite flat Earth dismissal of the Roadster is when they see footage of the rocket fairings separate and sunlight suddenly fills the camera, they think it's a glitch. No, that's the camera going from a dark interior to a bright environment as the fairings get blown away.

You should ask your opponents to explain the David Taylor model basin. 😉

They are wrong so many times and not moved by it. Impressive.

It's obvious they removed them to maximise the camera view through the windscreen...& you're in space ffs so the only thing 'behind' you would be the Earth or the Moon 😂

Flat earthers asking for a space lunch with multiple cameras on, capturing footage from various angles, then bitching about it when they get what they asked for…

The mirror may have been removed because the Sun's rays reflecting in the mirror may have been hot enough to melt parts of the car's interior. The shades may have been removed because, as you say, there are some pretty strong vibrations during lift off and they may have flipped down and looked a bit annoying once the car was free in space.

How was the "driver" secured into the car?

"I don't understand how its possible so it's fake" -every flat earther ever

Hello Dave. I am not sure about your claim with the tires in space exploding. The rear tires of a Tesla Roadster have are filled up to 40 psi (2.75 bar). The atmosphere itself provides 14.5 psi (1 bar). So we have a difference of 25.5 psi (1.75 bar). In space it is the full pressure (40 psi in our example). Tires can be pressured up to three, four or five times the normal pressure until exploding (or slipping of the rim). So we had 120 psi minus the atmospheric pressure of 14.5, 105.5 in total.

Does anyone know how much Jaren pulls in from his pontificating? I’m trying to understand just how much money it takes to tow the line

AFAIK about everything that could move or break was removed, the rest was glued firmly. There was no time to qualify the car for space in a proper manner. So, the tires: yes they likely could handle the pressure, but either you spend a few hundreds of thousands on testing that (vacuum chamber, solar light heating, etc.) to be sure (the launch costed likely in the hundred millions range, and failing it because a tire explodes despites "it should handle it" and fragments break a vital part of the rocket is not something one wants), or you just cut the valves. They choose. That logic was applied everywhere.

They took off unnecessary items to reduce the weight, and altered it for safety and space travel, therefore the video is fake? Thank you for doing the thinking through that these two flerfs should have done themselves.

Tesla in space is stupid, not fake.

Is it still up there? Would be interested to see the damage/fading from the sun.

You definitely nailed the reasons, both for aesthetic reasons and also in case they worked loose and damaged something critical.

Witsit never gets it.

Of course they didnt launch an operable ev. Too heavy. Pull batteries, brakes, motors, anything heavy

put an object that is reflective almost all sides, and some stupid comes and tells they removed a mirror because it would reflect something. what a great discovery.

... and then the Tesla ran over a Martian child.

It's a shame they didn't send the car up with Musk in the drivers seat & Jeran and Witless as passengers.

3:37 Correction: The tyres wouldnt have exploded in space. Google says the rear tyres are normally at 40psi so the pressure difference on Earth is 40-14=26 psi. In space that would increase to 40-0=40psi. This is equivalent to over inflating the tyres to 54psi on Earth. Apparently the tyres could withstand that but they let some air out anyway.

They have also complained that the rear facing camera should show the top of the rocket, not the Earth, not understanding that the Roadster is mounted at an angle rather than pointing in the same direction as the rocket. A thirty second Google search would have shown this to them but that's too much to ask.

Not that they aren't already scraping the bottom of the barrel... but this realllllllly feels like scraping at the bottom of the barrel for something.

I wondered if they were inspired by the opening scene from Heavy Metal, that car does not have a rear view mirror nor visors. They should have played "Radar Riders" by Riggs.

There is an awful lot of time and energy being expended debunking flat earthers. All you need to do is give them a sweetie, pat them on the head, and say, "don't worry, mummy will explain it to you when you grow up."

I have a question, it is stated that temperature in space is - 450f. I have witnessed many experiments where objects being put in those temperatures that they almost immediately shows signs of cold/freezing. Why is there no signs of cold/freezing visible on the vehicle??

For the missing rear mirror: Stunt cars usually have those, but especially the sun screens removed as well, so they don't come loose and hurt the driver. So, your second guess seems quite likely.

Another possibility for the removed windshield accessories is that they may have been held to the glass only with adhesive. (Not sure on the visors, but many rear view mirrors on cars are simply glued to the windshield). In space, the much harsher solar radiation would destroy the visually "exposed" adhesive and the parts would have fallen off anyway, and to reduce a small bit of space junk they have control over, opted not to keep them on. The windshield itself is also glued onto the car frame, but windows always have that blacked out border to protect it.

Thanks Dave.

Occam's razor... anybody with common sense would and/or should jump to the conclusion that the visors in the mirror would be removed because they could easily become detached... flailing around etc...

They probably shaved whatever weight they could off of it for logistics purposes.

You know the flat earthers are getting desperate when they resort to grasping at strays like this!

How much is the fine for littering interstellar space?

Have you seen Back To The Future II? They also removed a rear view mirror from Biff’s 1955 car in one scene in a garage where old Biff meets young Biff. The scene was a split screen shot with camera looking at the actor sitting in the car through the windshield with the camera on the hood of the car. The mirror was removed because it was distracting in that shot, partly blocking the performance. Probably the same reason here.

The simple answer is mundane. The airbags were removed as they'd get set off. Afaik the loom across the top of the windscreen means someone given this job would unplug that branch of the wiring harness, remove the things on it from the body (shades + mirror) then slap the cover back on.