[SAI_Peregrinus]

The Roadster is the PR payload. The real payload is the set of all the sensors & transmitters in the rocket. They'll be getting a lot of engineering data whether it is a successful launch or not.

[crispyambulance]

Yeah, of course, the main thing is to test the rocket and that's valuable by itself.

But still, couldn't there be SOMETHING more useful to mankind than a giant paperweight to send into orbit around Mars?