Does it have to though? It would still be a PR miracle even if it was just a non-functional showpiece. I would even say that sending a battery pack up there jus

Does it have to though? It would still be a PR miracle even if it was just a non-functional showpiece. I would even say that sending a battery pack up there just for the meme of being able to remotely drive it around is not worth the potential risk of compromising the mission (IIRC the Roadster had most of its electronics stripped out before launch as well.)