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Elon Musk taunts Boeing on claim they’ll beat SpaceX to Mars

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The space-race to Mars is heating up, as Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg seemingly calls out SpaceX CEO Elon Musk by saying his company will send the first human to the red planet.

Not one to back down from an opportunity to fire back with some sass, Musk invited the challenge, tweeting back with a simple two-words: “Do it”.

This isn’t the first time we’re learning of Boeing’s ambitious plan to colonize Mars and go toe-to-toe with the serial tech entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX and a list of industry disrupting ventures.

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Boeing’s CEO said in 2016, at the “Whats Next” tech conference in Chicago, that the first human to land on Mars will travel on a Boeing rocket. “I’m convinced that the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding on a Boeing rocket,” said Muilenburg, according to Bloomberg.

Speaking to CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday morning, Muilenburg furthered his claim that Boeing will send the first human to Mar using a “next generation rocket” that its building with NASA.

“Eventually we’re going to go Mars and I firmly believe the first person that sets foot on Mars will get there on a Boeing rocket,” said Muilenburg. “We’re working on that next generation rocket right now with our NASA customers called ‘Space Launch System,’”

According to Fortune, Muilenburg touched on the company’s plans to test the new rocket in 2019. “This is a rocket that’s about 36 stories tall, we’re in the final assembly right now, down near New Orleans. And we’re going to take a first test flight in 2019 and we’re going to do a slingshot mission around the moon.”

RELATED: Why Elon Musk and SpaceX won’t be stopped along the road to Mars

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The legacy aerospace company that once served as the primary contractor for the U.S. government’s NASA program has continued to shed business to newcomer SpaceX. Prompted by a cooling in diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia, NASA shifted contracts that once relied on soviet-era spacecrafts to both Boeing and SpaceX. Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts in 2014 to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.

But as the young space company led by Musk continued to make advancements in rocket technology, namely the ability to self-land rockets after flight and hold to a rapid launch cadence through the reuse of previously flown rockets, SpaceX continued to strip lucrative government contracts away from Boeing. Earlier this year, SpaceX was awarded a $96.5 million contract with the U.S. Air Force, beating out Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s joint venture, United Launch Alliance, for a chance to assist on future space missions.

Additional successes by SpaceX in the construction of carbon fiber liquid oxygen tanks to be used in the company’s “Mars engine“, further validates the company’s push to fulfill Musk’s plans to build a civilization on Mars.

Musk presented an update to his Interplanetary Transport System that included a look at SpaceX’s BFR rocket: a massive space transport rocket that intends to house 100 Mars-bound travelers for as long as six months in individual cabins, but also facilitate rapid earth-to-earth travel.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla gets bold Robotaxi prediction from Wall Street firm

Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) received a bold Robotaxi prediction from Morgan Stanley, which anticipates a dramatic increase in the size of the company’s autonomous ride-hailing suite in the coming years.

Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.

Percoco dug into the Robotaxi fleet and its expansion in the coming years in his latest note, released on Tuesday. The firm expects Tesla to increase the Robotaxi fleet size to 1,000 vehicles in 2026. However, that’s small-scale compared to what they expect from Tesla in a decade.

Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale

By 2035, Morgan Stanley believes there will be one million Robotaxis on the road across multiple cities, a major jump and a considerable fleet size. We assume this means the fleet of vehicles Tesla will operate internally, and not including passenger-owned vehicles that could be added through software updates.

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He also listed three specific catalysts that investors should pay attention to, as these will represent the company being on track to achieve its Robotaxi dreams:

  1. Opening Robotaxi to the public without a Safety Monitor. Timing is unclear, but it appears that Tesla is getting closer by the day.
  2. Improvement in safety metrics without the Safety Monitor. Tesla’s ability to improve its safety metrics as it scales miles driven without the Safety Monitor is imperative as it looks to scale in new states and cities in 2026.
  3. Cybercab start of production, targeted for April 2026. Tesla’s Cybercab is a purpose-built vehicle (no steering wheel or pedals, only two seats) that is expected to be produced through its state-of-the-art unboxed manufacturing process, offering further cost reductions and thus accelerating adoption over time.

Robotaxi stands to be one of Tesla’s most significant revenue contributors, especially as the company plans to continue expanding its ride-hailing service across the world in the coming years.

Its current deployment strategy is controlled and conservative to avoid any drastic and potentially program-ruining incidents.

So far, the program, which is active in Austin and the California Bay Area, has been widely successful.

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Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment

This suggests that the addition of the Model Y L to Tesla China’s lineup will not result in a case of cannibalization, but a possible case of “premiumization” instead.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s domestic sales in China held steady in November with around 73,000 units delivered, but a closer look at the Model Y L’s numbers hints at an emerging shift towards pricier variants that could very well be boosting average selling prices and margins. 

This suggests that the addition of the Model Y L to Tesla China’s lineup will not result in a case of cannibalization, but a possible case of “premiumization” instead.

Tesla China’s November domestic numbers

Data from the a Passenger Car Association (CPCA) indicated that Tesla China saw domestic deliveries of about 73,000 vehicles in November 2025. This number included 34,000 standard Model Y units, 26,000 Model 3 units, and 13,000 Model Y L units, as per industry watchers. 

This means that the Model Y L accounted for roughly 27% of Tesla China’s total Model Y sales, despite the variant carrying a ~28% premium over the base RWD Model Y that is estimated to have dominated last year’s mix.

As per industry watcher @TSLAFanMtl, this suggests that Tesla China’s sales have moved towards more premium variants this year. Thus, direct year-over-year sales comparisons might miss the bigger picture. This is true even for the regular Model Y, as another premium trim, the Long Range RWD variant, was also added to the lineup this 2025. 

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November 2025 momentum

While Tesla China’s overall sales this year have seen challenges, the Model Y and Model 3 have remained strong sellers in the country. This is especially impressive as the Model Y and Model 3 are premium-priced vehicles, and they compete in the world’s most competitive electric vehicle market. Tesla China is also yet to roll out the latest capabilities of FSD in China, which means that its vehicles in the country could not tap into their latest capabilities yet. 

Aggregated results from November suggest that the Tesla Model Y took the crown as China’s #1 best-selling SUV during the month, with roughly 34,000 deliveries. With the Model Y L, this number is even higher. The Tesla Model 3 also had a stellar month, seeing 25,700 deliveries during November 2025.

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Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award

To commemorate the accolade, the official Cybertruck account celebrated the milestone on X.

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Credit: IIHS/YouTube

The Tesla Cybertruck has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest honor, earning a Top Safety Pick+ rating for 2025 models built after April 2025. 

The full-size electric pickup truck’s safety rating is partly due to the vehicle’s strong performance in updated crash tests, superior front crash prevention, and effective headlights, among other factors. To commemorate the accolade, the official Cybertruck account celebrated the milestone on X.

Cybertruck’s IIHS rating

As per the IIHS, beginning with 2025 Cybertruck models built after April 2025, changes were made to the front underbody structure and footwell to improve occupant safety in driver-side and passenger-side small overlap front crashes. The moderate overlap front test earned a good rating, and the updated side impact test also received stellar marks.

The Cybertruck’s front crash prevention earned a good rating in pedestrian scenarios, with the standard Collision Avoidance Assist avoiding collisions in day and night tests across child, adult crossing, and parallel paths. Headlights with high-beam assist compensated for limitations, contributing to the top award.

Safest and most autonomous pickup

The Cybertruck is one of only two full-size pickups to receive the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick + rating. It is also the only one equipped with advanced self-driving features via Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system. Thanks to FSD, the Cybertruck can navigate inner city streets and highways on its own with minimal supervision, adding a layer of safety beyond passive crash protection.

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Community reactions poured in, with users praising the vehicle’s safety rating amidst skepticism from critics. Tesla itself highlighted this by starting its X post with a short clip of a Cybertruck critic who predicted that the vehicle will likely not pass safety tests. The only question now is, of course, if the vehicle’s Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS will help the Cybertruck improve its sales. 

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