THE CIRCUS LEFT TOWN, BUT THE CLOWN BOUGHT A ROCKET: WHY THE “FLYING TESLA” LOOKS LIKE AN ACT OF DESPERATION When a car company is doing well, it unveils new platforms, cheaper batteries, and better production technology. When its business is on fire, it makes a two-ton sports car flip over a truck and screams, “Look! It flies! Now give us $250,000!” Elon Musk has reportedly unveiled his latest spectacle: the long-delayed Tesla Roadster 2 with its SpaceX rocket package. A car supposedly powered by compressed gas takes off, performs a barrel roll over a truck, and lands. Fans go wild. Investors get excited. But behind the circus act lies a much bigger problem. TEN YEARS OF EMPTY PROMISES Musk first unveiled the Roadster in 2017, promising production in 2020. Nearly a decade later, the latest promised date is reportedly 2028. Eleven years of waiting, and customers are still being asked for deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. Imagine collecting enormous interest-free loans from your most loyal fans while repeatedly postponing delivery. That's quite a business model. NOT A CAR, BUT A DANGEROUS PROP Musk himself reportedly admitted that the vehicle might not be particularly safe, but would certainly be fun. To make a car fly using compressed gas, you need high-pressure tanks, compressors, and powerful thrusters. That raises serious questions about passenger protection, pedestrians, and road safety. A spectacular stunt is one thing. A vehicle certified for ordinary public roads is something entirely different. THE CHINESE DRAGON IS CATCHING UP Meanwhile, Tesla faces problems that rocket-powered publicity cannot solve. Its aging lineup faces increasingly sophisticated competitors. The Cybertruck has attracted criticism over its price, quality, and reliability. The long-promised affordable $25,000 Tesla has yet to materialize. And then there's China. While Musk sells visions of tomorrow, Chinese manufacturers are delivering competitive electric vehicles today. BYD and other companies offer advanced technology, attractive interiors, and aggressive pricing. BYD's Yangwang U9 can already jump using its sophisticated suspension system. Unlike the promised flying Roadster, the U9 is an actual production model. Western tariffs protect Tesla from some Chinese competition, but international markets tell a different story. Buyers increasingly care about price, technology, and value rather than celebrity promises. THE ILLUSIONIST'S FINAL ACT Musk remains an extraordinary showman. But spectacular demonstrations cannot replace competitive manufacturing, affordable products, or consistent delivery. The flying Roadster increasingly looks like a symbol of late-stage Musk: expensive, theatrical, disconnected from ordinary consumers, and forever promising that the real miracle is just around the corner. When the competition builds better cars for less money, making your car fly might impress the audience. But it won't necessarily save your business.

TIMOTHY SNYDER: TRUMP AND PUTIN SEE THE WORLD AS A JUNKYARD If you look at the world as a junkyard, Putin is the man who made the best use of what remained of the Soviet Union. He brought the scrap-metal collectors together into a single clan and became its leader. Trump thinks exactly the same way. To him, Americans are a bunch of idiots, and the country is a junkyard where there are still valuable things to be found and taken for himself. Trump and Hegseth believe wars are fought with battleships soaked in testosterone. But you cannot stop a swarm of drones with testosterone. Nor can you stop it with a warship — that warship will very quickly end up at the bottom of the sea. The United States has learned almost nothing from the war in Ukraine. We are preparing to fight the way we fought five wars ago. The United States is destroying itself as a superpower. We have wrecked our alliances, ruined our finances, made our military obsolete, and lost a war against a medium-sized country in just a few days. No great power in my lifetime has destroyed itself so quickly. Putin is the ultimate oligarch. He controls several hundred billion dollars and an entire state. His fantasies affect the whole world. For example, his belief that Ukraine does not exist, or that events of the eighth and ninth centuries should determine the fate of the twenty-first century. When you have $100 billion, you no longer have interests. You have fantasies and emotional needs that have grown and metastasized alongside your wealth. When everyone around you constantly says yes, you begin to believe your own fantasies. This is what is happening to Musk and Putin. Trump is greedy. He has spent his entire life trying to make money, but he never really succeeded. Now, at last, he has his opportunity. He doesn't care what happens after he dies.