On Tuesday, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket, the world's most powerful spacecraft, boosted by two Falcon 9 rockets that then made perfect synchronized Earth landings for reuse. Stephen Colbert was super excited. "Here's the kicker — this is the really exciting part — the launch was to show not only that the Falcon was reusable but the Falcon Heavy can carry a large payload," he explained on Tuesday's Late Show. "So to test it, Elon Musk sent up his own Tesla convertible with a dummy astronaut at the wheel, blasting David Bowie's 'Life on Mars.' That's right, this is absolutely true: A giant phallus cranking rock 'n' roll, releasing a red convertible into the dark void — and the award for Most Midlife Crisis goes to Elon Musk."
But Musk also put the words "Don't Panic" on his Tesla's screen, Colbert said, "which as we all know is a reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. We get it, Musk, you're King Nerd. I relinquish my crown."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Tivoli Kopke Porto Gaia Hotel: a foodie haven in Portugal's Douro ValleyThe Week Recommends Luxury city hotel with food from a Michelin-starred chef – and plenty of port
-
A zombie volcano is coming back to life, but there is no need to worry just yetUnder the radar Uturuncu's seismic activity is the result of a hydrothermal system
-
Crossword: May 12, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
