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Elon Musk says SpaceX might refly Starship after historic landing

Starship SN15 is still standing. (SPadre - @SpacePadreIsle)

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Update: CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX “might try to refly SN15 soon” after it became the first Starship to ace a high-altitude launch and survive the landing. In other words, SpaceX might be about to kick off what’s bound to be a long and fruitful future of Starship reusability.

Less than six months after high-altitude flight testing began, SpaceX has successfully landed a full-size Starship prototype in one piece, giving the company its first real opportunity to inspect a flown vehicle with flaps, a nose, and three Raptor engines.

That spectacular success will simultaneously give SpaceX a wealth of data from any onboard cameras and data recorders, as well as the physical condition of Starship itself – including three Raptor engines with several minutes of flight time. While SpaceX likely already managed to determine a great deal from over-the-air telemetry and wreckage taken from Starships SN8 through SN11, it now has a virtually unharmed, full-scale, full-fidelity prototype to truly compare and contrast with more theoretical engineering and flight performance models.

Perhaps most importantly, though, SN15’s success also raises the question: what’s next for SpaceX and its Starship program?

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The reality is that things could go any number of directions depending on Starship SN15’s condition and just how successful SpaceX determines the flight really was. If Starship SN15 and its tanks, flaps, and Raptors are all in impeccable condition, it’s not impossible to imagine that SpaceX could do what it did after Starship SN8’s near-total success and scrap Starship prototypes SN17, SN18, and SN19 before work really begins. While unlikely, SN15 could even fly a second time in that scenario.

For all intents and purposes, Starship SN16 is complete. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

Starship SN16 is already more or less complete could easily be ready to roll to the launch pad within the next week. Odds are good that SpaceX will use SN16 to (hopefully) replicate Starship SN15’s spectacular success and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the vehicle’s current design has fixed the issues that doomed SN8 through SN11. With SpaceX’s Starship program, though, just about anything is possible – especially at a point that CEO Elon Musk appears to be seriously considering a giant tower with arms as a replacement for landing legs.

Meanwhile, Musk himself confirmed that SpaceX is working towards a goal of launching Starship into orbit for the first time by July 2021. Beginning with Starship SN20, those initial orbital flight tests will use Starship prototypes with still more upgrades beyond the “hundreds of improvements” present on SN15. It’s unclear how significant the upgrades needed to move from SN15’s design to an orbit-capable Starship are but at minimum, SpaceX will need to outfit orbital ships with a full heat shield and three new vacuum-optimized Raptors on top of the three sea-level engines already flown on SN8 through SN15.

Musk has implied that recovering a Starship prototype from orbit could take several failed attempts before the first success. Along those lines, SpaceX has its work cut out for it given that Starship will be the heaviest orbital spacecraft ever launched by a large margin. Unlike the ~100 metric ton (220,000 lb) Space Shuttle orbiter, though, SpaceX won’t be gambling the lives of astronauts on Starship’s initial orbital flight tests, leaving far more room for uncertainty and risk-taking.

Beyond Starship itself, SpaceX has yet to complete or test a flightworthy Super Heavy booster prototype and the company’s orbital-class Starship launch facilities are far from complete. Many parts of Super Heavy boosters BN2 and BN3 have been completed and are waiting for integration to begin and SpaceX has made a huge amount of progress on said orbital launch site over the last six months, but months of work almost certainly remain before either crucial component will be ready for orbital launch attempts.

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For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens to Starship SN15 and SN16.

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Cybertruck

Tesla confirms date when new Cybertruck trim will go up in price

Tesla has officially revealed that this price will only be available until February 28, as the company has placed a banner atop the Design Configurator on its website reflecting this.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has confirmed the date when its newest Cybertruck trim level will increase in price, after CEO Elon Musk noted that the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the all-electric pickup would only be priced at its near-bargain level for ten days.

Last week, Tesla launched the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck. Priced at $59,990, the Cybertruck featured many excellent features and has seemingly brought some demand to the pickup, which has been underwhelming in terms of sales figures over the past couple of years.

Tesla launches new Cybertruck trim with more features than ever for a low price

When Tesla launched it, many fans and current owners mulled the possibility of ordering it. However,Β  Musk came out and said just hours after launching the pickup that Tesla would only keep it at the $59,990 price level for ten days.

What it would be priced at subsequently was totally dependent on how much demand Tesla felt for the new trim level, which is labeled as a “Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive” configuration.

Tesla has officially revealed that this price will only be available until February 28, as the company has placed a banner atop the Design Configurator on its website reflecting this:

Many fans and owners have criticized Tesla’s decision to unveil a trim this way, and then price it at something, only to change that price a few days later based on how well it sells.

It seems the most ideal increase in price would be somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000, but it truly depends on how many orders Tesla sees for this new trim level. The next step up in configuration is the Premium All-Wheel-Drive, which is priced at $79,990.

The difference between the Dual Motor AWD Cybertruck and the Premium AWD configuration comes down to towing, interior quality, and general features. The base package is only capable of towing up to 7,500 pounds, while the Premium can handle 11,000 pounds. Additionally, the seats in the Premium build are Vegan Leather, while the base trim gets the textile seats.

It also has only 7 speakers compared to the 15 that the Premium trim has. Additionally, the base model does not have an adjustable ride height, although it does have a coil spring with an adaptive damping suspension package.

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Cybertruck

Tesla set to activate long-awaited Cybertruck feature

Tesla will officially activate the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature on Cybertruck soon, as the company has officially added the feature to its list of features by trim on its website.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is set to activate a long-awaited Cybertruck feature, and no matter when you bought your all-electric pickup, it has the hardware capable of achieving what it is designed to do.

Tesla simply has to flip the switch, and it plans to do so in the near future.

Tesla will officially activate the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature on Cybertruck soon, according toΒ Not a Tesla App, as the company has officially added the feature to its list of features by trim on its website.

Tesla rolls out Active Road Noise Reduction for new Model S and Model X

The ANC feature suddenly appeared on the spec sheet for the Premium All-Wheel-Drive and Cyberbeast trims, which are the two configurations that have been delivered since November 2023.

However, those trims have both had the ANC disabled, and although they are found in the Model S and Model X, and are active in those vehicles, Tesla is planning to activate them.

In Tesla’s Service Toolbox, it wrote:

β€œANC software is not enabled on Cybertruck even though the hardware is installed.”

Tesla has utilized an ANC system in the Model S and Model X since 2021. The system uses microphones embedded in the front seat headrests to detect low-frequency road noise entering the cabin. It then generates anti-noise through phase-inverted sound waves to cancel out or reduce that noise, creating quieter zones, particularly around the vehicle’s front occupants.

The Model S and Model X utilize six microphones to achieve this noise cancellation, while the Cybertruck has just four.

Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD estimated delivery slips to early fall 2026

As previously mentioned, this will be activated through a software update, as the hardware is already available within Cybertruck and can simply be activated at Tesla’s leisure.

The delays in activating the system are likely due to Tesla Cybertruck’s unique design, which is unlike anything before. In the Model S and Model X, Tesla did not have to do too much, but the Cybertruck has heavier all-terrain tires and potentially issues from the aluminum castings that make up the vehicle’s chassis, which are probably presenting some challenges.

Unfortunately, this feature will not be available on the new Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive configuration, which was released last week.

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Tesla Model S and X customization options begin to thin as their closure nears

Tesla’s Online Design Studio for both vehicles now shows the first color option to be listed as “Sold Out,” as Lunar Silver is officially no longer available for the Model S or Model X. This color is exclusive to these cars and not available on the Model S or Model X.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Model S and Model X customization options are beginning to thin for the first time as the closure of the two “sentimental” vehicles nears.

We are officially seeing the first options disappear as Tesla begins to work toward ending production of the two cars and the options that are available to those vehicles specifically.

Tesla’s Online Design Studio for both vehicles now shows the first color option to be listed as “Sold Out,” as Lunar Silver is officially no longer available for the Model S or Model X. This color is exclusive to these cars and not available on the Model S or Model X.

Tesla is making way for the Optimus humanoid robot project at the Fremont Factory, where the Model S and Model X are produced. The two cars are low-volume models and do not contribute more than a few percent to Tesla’s yearly delivery figures.

With CEO Elon Musk confirming that the Model S and Model X would officially be phased out at the end of the quarter, some of the options are being thinned out.

This is an expected move considering Tesla’s plans for the two vehicles, as it will make for an easier process of transitioning that portion of the Fremont plant to cater to Optimus manufacturing. Additionally, this is likely one of the least popular colors, and Tesla is choosing to only keep around what it is seeing routine demand for.

During the Q4 Earnings Call in January, Musk confirmed the end of the Model S and Model X:

β€œIt is time to bring the Model S and Model X programs to an end with an honorable discharge. It is time to bring the S/X programs to an end. It’s part of our overall shift to an autonomous future.”

Fremont will now build one million Optimus units per year as production is ramped.

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