News
Elon Musk taunts Boeing on claim they’ll beat SpaceX to Mars
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”.
Do it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2017
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.
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
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.
Elon Musk
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets.
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets. The company also completed deployment of its first-generation Direct to Cell constellation, launching over 650 satellites in just 18 months to enable cellular connectivity.
SpaceX highlighted Starlink’s impressive 2025 progress in an extensive report.
Key achievements from Starlink’s 2025 Progress
Starlink connected over 4.6 million new customers with high-speed internet while bringing service to 35 more regions worldwide in 2025. Starlink is now connecting 9.2 million people worldwide. The service achieved this just weeks after hitting its 8 million customer milestone.
Starlink is now available in 155 markets, including areas that are unreachable by traditional ISPs. As per SpaceX, Starlink has also provided over 21 million airline passengers and 20 million cruise passengers with reliable high-speed internet connectivity during their travels.
Starlink Direct to Cell
Starlink’s Direct to Cell constellation, more than 650 satellites strong, has already connected over 12 million people at least once, marking a breakthrough in global mobile coverage.
Starlink Direct to Cell is currently rolled out to 22 countries and 6 continents, with over 6 million monthly customers. Starlink Direct to Cell also has 27 MNO partners to date.
“This year, SpaceX completed deployment of the first generation of the Starlink Direct to Cell constellation, with more than 650 satellites launched to low-Earth orbit in just 18 months. Starlink Direct to Cell has connected more than 12 million people, and counting, at least once, providing life-saving connectivity when people need it most,” SpaceX wrote.
News
Tesla Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
Tesla’s Giga Nevada has reached an impressive milestone, producing its 6 millionth drive unit as 2925 came to a close.
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
6 million drive units
The achievement was shared by the official Tesla Manufacturing account on social media platform X. “Congratulations to the Giga Nevada team for producing their 6 millionth Drive Unit!” Tesla wrote.
The photo showed numerous factory workers assembled on the production floor, proudly holding golden balloons that spelled out “6000000″ in front of drive unit assembly stations. Elon Musk gave credit to the Giga Nevada team, writing, “Congrats on 6M drive units!” in a post on X.
Giga Nevada’s essential role
Giga Nevada produces drive units, battery packs, and energy products. The facility has been a cornerstone of Tesla’s scaling since opening, and it was the crucial facility that ultimately enabled Tesla to ramp the Model 3 and Model Y. Even today, it serves as Tesla’s core hub for battery and drivetrain components for vehicles that are produced in the United States.
Giga Nevada is expected to support Tesla’s ambitious 2026 targets, including the launch of vehicles like the Tesla Semi and the Cybercab. Tesla will have a very busy 2026, and based on Giga Nevada’s activities so far, it appears that the facility will be equally busy as well.
News
Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network had its biggest year ever in 2025, delivering a record 6.7 TWh of electricity to vehicles worldwide.
To celebrate its busy year, the official @TeslaCharging account shared an infographic showing the Supercharger Network’s growth from near-zero in 2012 to this year’s impressive milestone.
Record 6.7 TWh delivered in 2025
The bar chart shows steady Supercharger energy delivery increases since 2012. Based on the graphic, the Supercharger Network started small in the mid-2010s and accelerated sharply after 2019, when the Model 3 was going mainstream.
Each year from 2020 onward showed significantly more energy delivery, with 2025’s four quarters combining for the highest total yet at 6.7 TWh.
This energy powered millions of charging sessions across Tesla’s growing fleet of vehicles worldwide. The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets. This makes the Supercharger Network loved not just by Tesla owners but EV drivers as a whole.
Resilience after Supercharger team changes
2025’s record energy delivery comes despite earlier 2024 layoffs on the Supercharger team, which sparked concerns about the system’s expansion pace. Max de Zegher, Tesla Director of Charging North America, also highlighted that “Outside China, Superchargers delivered more energy than all other fast chargers combined.”
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted the achievement as proof of continued momentum post-layoffs. At the time of the Supercharger team’s layoffs in 2024, numerous critics were claiming that Elon Musk was halting the network’s expansion altogether, and that the team only remained because the adults in the room convinced the juvenile CEO to relent.
Such a scenario, at least based on the graphic posted by the Tesla Charging team on X, seems highly implausible.
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Tesla Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
