Toyota Motor is venturing into space exploration with plans to develop and produce orbital rockets, Chairman Akio Toyoda announced Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Toyota is investing over $40 million in Interstellar Technologies Inc., a Japanese spaceflight startup known for its MOMO suborbital rockets. Interstellar aims to develop larger rockets, ZERO and DECA, for satellite deployment. Toyoda emphasized that mobility's future shouldn't be limited to Earth or a single-car company, referencing Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Toyota plans to apply its mass production expertise to rocket manufacturing in collaboration with Interstellar Technologies.
