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As of October 2025, the dream of a rocket-powered hypercar from Chinese appliance giant Dreame is officially dead. A report from Car News China reveals that Dreame is shutting down its automotive division and liquidating the ambitious “Starry Sky” project. The company, best known for its robotic vacuum cleaners, will not produce a single production car—let alone the Nebula Next 01 Jet Edition that promised a 0-to-60 mph time of 0.9 seconds using dual solid-fuel rocket boosters.
The Nebula Next 01 Jet Edition was unveiled earlier this year at CES 2025, generating massive buzz with its jaw-dropping performance claims. Dreame marketing materials boasted a sulfide-based all-solid-state battery with an energy density exceeding 450 Wh/kg—far beyond current lithium-ion technology. But according to internal sources cited by Car News China, the vehicle displayed at CES was little more than a static model. It reportedly lacked a functional chassis and had to be moved by remote control. The “rocket car” was actually purchased from a Shanghai model-building company and then superficially modified with non-functional thrusters and chassis elements, designed purely for visual impact.
The automotive division, which at its peak employed around 1,000 people, has now been reduced to just a few dozen staff tasked with wrapping up operations. Dreame’s CEO, Yu Hao, has redirected the company’s focus back to its core strengths: vacuum cleaners, robotic lawnmowers, electric two-wheelers, and the “Magic Atom” robotics business. The retreat from automotive is a stark reminder that flashy claims and viral marketing are far easier to generate than actual engineering and production.
Industry analysts note that Dreame’s failure mirrors the struggles of several Chinese EV startups that launched with ambitious promises but lacked the capital, manufacturing expertise, or regulatory approvals to deliver. While Dreame’s vacuum and robot businesses have been profitable, entering the hypercar space required a completely different set of competencies—from battery chemistry to crash safety certification. “The automotive sector is brutal, especially for newcomers,” said Lin Wei, an automotive analyst at Shanghai-based consultancy AutoForesight. “Even established EV makers like NIO and XPeng burn billions before turning a profit. Dreame’s decision to pull out is pragmatic, but the damage to its credibility may linger.”
Dreame’s short-lived hypercar adventure also raises questions about the credibility of performance claims made at consumer electronics shows. The CES display featured a vehicle that could not drive under its own power, yet the company continued to pitch the rocket booster system as a near-production reality. Chinese media outlet China Economy reported that the project was primarily driven by fundraising and marketing, with actual R&D taking a back seat from the start.
For now, Dreame is focusing on what it does best: cleaning homes. The company recently launched a new series of robotic vacuum cleaners with enhanced AI navigation and a robotic lawnmower line that competes directly with Husqvarna. It also announced a partnership with a European robotics firm to develop service robots for commercial use. Whether consumers will forgive the hypercar fiasco remains to be seen, but Dreame’s core customer base—homeowners looking for smart cleaning solutions—is unlikely to be directly affected.
In the broader context, Dreame’s exit from the automotive sector is a cautionary tale for any company that tries to leap from home appliances to high-performance electric vehicles. The gap between a vacuum cleaner’s suction motor and a rocket booster’s propulsion system is not just technological—it’s cultural, financial, and regulatory. As one former Dreame engineer put it to Car News China, “We were good at making things that spin. We had no idea how to make things that fly.”
