He said the destination is “mars orbit”. So if it gets there, it should be hanging out waiting for humanity to get there.

I wonder how long the battery pack on the tesla will run the radio.

But! The underbelly of the car would be a solar panel =p Crank the radio up to 11! (Which is funny because Tesla’s volume actually goes to 11)

So actually, they'd for sure have to disable the heater on the battery, and I dunno, can the battery operate enough power to power the stereo when it's negative crazy low temp in space?

Somewhere between a few days and a few weeks. Vampire drain on Tesla's vehicles is already pretty bad (up to several percent a day) without tossing 'em into space where the battery heater has to run all the time.

If they're planning on Mars orbit, and not a Mars flyby there's a propulsion system.

edit: Unless by Mars orbit, he means, a solar orbit similar to the orbit of Mars. Which actually probably is what he means. It's just the right blend of technically correct, but slightly misleading.

Even if it gets to Mars there's no way to put it into orbit. It'll either hit the planet or go shooting past.

I guess in theory you could use aerocapture to avoid leaving if you aimed it just right, but without thrusters that would eventually mean hitting the planet.

At least it makes a tiny bit more sense than sending a car with an internal combustion engine to a planet with no oxygen in its atmosphere. It sends a very clear message: you're not gonna be driving that gas-guzzling SUV on Mars. Electric is the future.

The next mission might actually carry a Tesla rover to the surface. Then maybe a large battery-backed solar array so the rover doesn't need to worry about its energy budget anymore. The "silly" mission could even help Tesla/SpaceX gain important insights about how their batteries fare in space. Never underestimate Elon Musk, even when he seems to be having too much fun.