Among Tesla’s collection of “88” marketing references, I’d missed an early and obvious example. That number is, of course, the well-known hate symbol representing “Heil Hitler”—and Musk uses it relentlessly.
A sharp-eyed reader forwarded this from 2017:
The 8.8-Sec 1/4-Mile Tesla Roadster Will Get Even Faster
“This will be the first time that any production car has broken nine seconds in the quarter-mile. …just a question of safety. Rocket tech applied to a car opens up revolutionary possibilities.”
The actual promise of putting rockets on roads, branded 8.8 as if Hitler’s V-weapons program built by Thiel’s slaves has been updated for the highway, is to kill Americans.
Nearly a decade later, that Roadster still doesn’t exist—despite collecting substantial coverage and deposits.
The 8.8 quarter-mile was always fantasy; no production constraints dictated the Nazi numerology. Like the 8/8 “RoboTaxi launch” that never happened, it was a deliberate choice to promote Hitler.
- Charge Plugs: 88
- Model Cost: 88
- Average Speed: 88
- Engine Power: 88
- Voice commands: 88
