The Dispute Index

Roger Connor

Roger Connor is a curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. His research covers vertical flight, remotely piloted aircraft and the history of aviation technology.

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What DI has documented

DI has documented statements by Roger Connor on Aviation Safety and Consumer Protection. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.

Topics in this coverage

Statements by Roger Connor

Roger Connor

Role at the time: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum curator, speaking to CNN

Challenged the characterization

Statement summary

Connor distinguishes short airborne hops from sustained flight by a practical road vehicle.

“We’re not talking about sustained flight ... We are literally talking about hopping.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)CNN interviews Roger Connor before Tesla's Roadster demonstrationRoger Connor interview paragraphs, including the final quotation
Why we used this label

Reference point: Musk's description of the Roadster as a flying car. Before the demonstration, Connor says a street-legal car like the Roadster would be hopping rather than sustaining flight, which disputes the flying description. Closest competing label: Denied; it loses because he relabels what the vehicle would do rather than saying it cannot leave the ground.

Read statementElon Musk calls Tesla's Roadster a flying car; Roger Connor questions sustained-flight claims before the demo

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.