Link: https://electrek.co/2026/10/15/obrist-hyperhybrid-gas-engine-tesla-bankruptcy/

Now, I'm not saying that it's a dumber idea than putting rocket thrusters on a car...

I can't believe they weren't a total complete absolute bigly success.

I have no idea who their market was... Literally, I cannot fathom a person into cars, ICEs, and Teslas. You can be into two of those things—though being into cars and Teslas is a stretch—but not all three. It's impossible.

Car enthusiast: Thinks Teslas are disasterous at basic car things. But understands being an EV is at least something it has going for it.

ICE enthusiast: Always prefers reduction of unnecessary tech and likes the traditional rawness. But understands electric motors definitely do outperform in many things these days.

Tech enthusiast: Prefers the gadgetry above all else. Little concern for the vehicle part, and ICEs are for meatheads.

Then there's all the modern cars out there covering all of these people already. Maxxing out the 2/3 things, making them a perfect choice.

I think the problem was that they didn't put rocket motors on them.

Well duh. Who on Earth was going to pay stupid money to buy a car from the most (in)famously overpriced electric car brand just to put an ICE in there??

It'd genuinely be like buying an IPhone just to immediately put Android on it. Like it defies the premise of buying the thing in the first place.

• People who like ICE cars would surely just buy a fancy ICE car for that price.

• People who like electric cars wouldn't be putting an ICE in there in the first place, and would also probably just buy a better electric for that price.

• And the people specifically into Teslas wouldn't want to rip their brand new car apart to install an ICE, because part of the brand of Tesla IS the electrification.

You say that, but I've seen stupider things work on stupid people.

Well neither did Elon, as thrusters are manouvering devices and no rocket engines :D

Cold gas thrusters are very much a type of rocket motor. Not all rocket motors use combustion.

FWIW, it was a janky range extender rather than a full combustion drivetrain. Effectively turning the Model 3 into a plug-in (series) hybrid.

It's not the worst idea in itself - EREVs are very much a thing that meets some people's needs. But trying to retrofit an existing Model 3 into one seems difficult, complicated, unreliable, and most importantly, expensive. All to make it happen on a brand that heavily markets that they are electric only. On top of that, they chose the cheaper "affordable" model instead of the luxury model, meaning would-be consumers are going to be much more price-conscious.

If it wouldn't expose their incompetence in a competitive (and well-established) marketplace, it wouldn't surprise me to see Musk pivot to fossil.

Further evidence that Teslas are cars for people who hate driving.

It definitely was the worst idea. If you want an EREV, you can just buy one.

Oh, you’re technically right, I thought rocket engine was specifically combustion propellant types :)

It was a dumb idea because range anxiety was a complete fabrication of the auto media. IRL, Tesla owners didn't need more range. No demand = no money.

That's right. That's why I said rocket motor, not rocket engine.

They're not really a thing in Europe, but they're popular in China. In Europe people prefer hybrids.

Right, I feel like the only person who would buy this is someone who has never had an EV, wants one, but is also scared of range anxiety. This person would also have to be willing to spend a huge amount of money on an unreliable, poorly built car. I don't think that person exists.

Anyone who has owned an EV will tell you how much range is not a big deal. The only time I think about it is when I'm planning a road trip, but I don't think most people are doing that often.

According the their original article apparently the plan wasn't to pay for a full price car then do an expensive modification - but was supposed to be cheaper to manufacturer them that way in the first place.

Not sure wtf they were thinking, since that's now how the real world works. Like Tesla would ever be like "Oh here you go, here's a partially finished car from our assembly line. Go ahead and do what you want with it and resell it."

Strange, my company that turns smartphones into VHS machines is doing fantastic.

Many manufacturers sell chassises to other companies to make heavy modifications, such as Coach builders

Unironically, this could work

The BMW i3? No thanks.

There are lots of others. The best one is probably Chevy Volt. Maybe the newest Prius Prime.

VHS machines

It's called a VCR my dude 😅

Ah yes, the generalized machine is a VCR, but I only deal with the VHS format of VCRs.