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Elon Musk gifts SpaceX Starship angel investor a piece of Starhopper history
According to photos posted by the Japanese investor, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has gifted Yusaku Maezawa a significant piece of Starhopper history, a celebration of the rocket prototype’s successful flight tests and a gesture of thanks for Maezawa’s substantial support.
Back in September 2018, Musk revealed that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa had become the first true customer for SpaceX’s next-generation Starship launch vehicle. In fact, Maezawa announced DearMoon, a private spaceflight venture with the aim of sending a dozen or so artists on the first commercial crewed mission around the Moon – all for free.
In a bid to assist Starship development and simultaneously secure rights to the massive spacecraft’s first crewed lunar launch, Maezawa committed what is believed to be several hundred million dollars of his personal fortune to SpaceX. In turn, the Japanese billionaire plans to select roughly a dozen artists from around the world and offering them a free ticket aboard Starship’s first crewed circumlunar launch, traveling once around the Moon and returning to Earth after 10 or so days in space.
Perhaps just a few weeks after the DearMoon announcement and Starship event, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk decided to radically change the Starship program, entirely replacing the vehicle’s main structural material of choice – carbon fiber composites – with stainless steel. The primary goal was to dramatically lower the cost of development and vehicle production and speed things up, but Musk quickly realized that steel could unintuitively be better than carbon fiber in almost every way.
After Musk’s decision, SpaceX pivoted from carbon fiber to steel at a spectacular pace. Barely six months after the design change, a SpaceX team had built up its Boca Chica, Texas facilities from almost nothing, begun to build full-scale steel hardware, and nearly completed the first low-fidelity prototype, known as Starhopper. That vehicle began propellant loading and wet dress rehearsal testing in early-April 2019 and although technical difficulties with its next-generation Raptor engines caused several months of delays, it moved into its first flight test campaign three months later.
Starhopper’s first untethered flight was completed successfully on July 25th, reaching an apogee of ~18 meters (60 ft). A little over one month later, Starhopper lifted off for the second time on a significantly more ambitious ~150m (500 ft) flight test, completed successfully after about 60 seconds in flight. That second test would be Starhopper’s last and SpaceX quickly turned its focus to completing the first full-scale, full-fidelity Starship prototypes, known as Mk1 (TX) and Mk2 (FL).
Throughout this process, Yusaku Maezawa has followed along with SpaceX. Rather than a simple lump-sum agreement, the billionaire’s contract with SpaceX is structured much more specifically, essentially allowing the company to unlock additional funding after certain milestones – like Starhopper’s flight tests – are completed. The arrangement is more of a carrot on a stick than something dead-serious – Maezawa is probably not going to completely withhold funding if SpaceX slightly misses exact targets or suffers anomalies during a complex launch vehicle development program.
In order to complete its two flight tests, Starhopper needed some kind of attitude control system (ACS) to remain stable and SpaceX chose a decidedly SpaceX-y solution, simply bolting on flight-proven Falcon 9 thruster pods. Those pods use high-pressure nitrogen to change Falcon 9’s attitude, correctly point the rocket, and settle its propellant while the rocket is in a vacuum (or freefall). They can also provided limited control authority in atmosphere, which is what SpaceX used them for on Starhopper.
As a gesture of gratitude for Maezawa’s extremely helpful financial support, SpaceX gifted him an entire Starhopper thruster pod. SpaceX often does similar things for major flight milestones, creating commemorative gifts out of retired hardware (rocket tanks, engine bells, grid fins, parachute threads, etc.) that employees are able to purchase. An entire thruster pod is at least a few orders of magnitude above that, a sign of just how grateful SpaceX is to Maezawa.
Of note, in his tweet showing off the thruster pod, Maezawa suggested that “Starship development is going better than expected”, indicating that he may “need to invite a passenger soon” for his planned circumlunar voyage around the Moon. Prior to Starship’s radical shift from carbon fiber to steel, that mission was scheduled no earlier than 2023. In recent months, SpaceX executives have made it clear that they are now targeting Starship Moon landings by 2022, suggesting that the first circumlunar missions – a far easier task than landing – could be possible even sooner than that.
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Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft is heading to jury trial
The ruling keeps alive claims that OpenAI misled the Tesla CEO about its charitable purpose while accepting billions of dollars in funding.
OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft will face a jury trial this spring after a federal judge rejected their efforts to dismiss Elon Musk’s lawsuit, which accuses the artificial intelligence startup of abandoning its original nonprofit mission. The ruling keeps alive claims that OpenAI misled the Tesla CEO about its charitable purpose while accepting billions of dollars in funding.
As noted in a report from Bloomberg News, a federal judge in Oakland, California, ruled that OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft failed to show that Musk’s claims should be dismissed. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that while the evidence remains unclear, Musk has maintained that OpenAI “had a specific charitable purpose and that he attached two fundamental terms to it: that OpenAI be open source and that it would remain a nonprofit — purposes consistent with OpenAI’s charter and mission.”
Judge Gonzalez Rogers also rejected an argument by OpenAI suggesting that Musk’s use of an intermediary to donate $38 million in seed money to the company stripped him of legal standing. “Holding otherwise would significantly reduce the enforcement of a large swath of charitable trusts, contrary to the modern trend,” Judge Gonzalez Rogers wrote.
The judge also declined to dismiss Musk’s fraud allegations, citing internal OpenAI communications from 2017 involving co-founder Greg Brockman. In an email cited by the judge, fellow OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis informed Musk that Brockman would “like to continue with the non-profit structure.”
Just two months later, however, Brockman wrote in a private note that he “cannot say that we are committed to the non-profit. don’t want to say that we’re committed. if three months later we’re doing b-corp then it was a lie.”
Marc Toberoff, a member of Musk’s legal team, said Judge Gonzalez Rogers’s ruling confirms that “there is substantial evidence that OpenAI’s leadership made knowingly false assurances to Mr. Musk about its charitable mission that they never honored in favor of their personal self-enrichment.”
OpenAI, for its part, maintained that Musk’s legal efforts are baseless. In a statement, the AI startup said it is looking forward to the upcoming trial. “Mr. Musk’s lawsuit continues to be baseless and a part of his ongoing pattern of harassment, and we look forward to demonstrating this at trial. We remain focused on empowering the OpenAI Foundation, which is already one of the best-resourced nonprofits ever,” OpenAI stated.
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Tesla arsonist who burned Cybertruck sees end of FAFO journey
The man has now reached the “Find Out” stage.
A Mesa, Arizona man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for setting fire to a Tesla location and vehicle in a politically motivated arson attack, federal prosecutors have stated.
The April 2025 incident destroyed a Tesla Cybertruck, endangered first responders, and triggered mandatory sentencing under federal arson laws.
A five-year sentence
U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa sentenced Ian William Moses, 35, of Mesa, Arizona, to 5 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for maliciously damaging property and vehicles by means of fire. Moses pleaded guilty in October to all five counts brought by a federal grand jury. Restitution will be determined at a hearing scheduled for April 13, 2026.
As per court records, surveillance footage showed Moses arriving at a Tesla store in Mesa shortly before 2 a.m. on April 28, 2025, carrying a gasoline can and backpack. Investigators stated that he placed fire starter logs near the building, poured gasoline on the structure and three vehicles, and ignited the fire. The blaze destroyed a Tesla Cybertruck. Moses fled the scene on a bicycle and was arrested by Mesa police about a quarter mile away, roughly an hour later.
Authorities said Moses was still wearing the same clothing seen on camera at the time of his arrest and was carrying a hand-drawn map marking the dealership’s location. Moses also painted the word “Theif” on the walls of the Tesla location, prompting jokes from social media users and Tesla community members.
The “Finding Out” stage
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine noted that Moses’ sentence reflects the gravity of his crime. He also highlighted that arson is never acceptable.
“Arson can never be an acceptable part of American politics. Mr. Moses’ actions endangered the public and first responders and could have easily turned deadly. This five-year sentence reflects the gravity of these crimes and makes clear that politically fueled attacks on Arizona’s communities and businesses will be met with full accountability.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell echoed the same sentiments, stating that regardless of Moses’ sentiments towards Elon Musk, his actions are not defensible.
“This sentence sends a clear message: violence and intimidation have no place in our community. Setting fire to a business in retaliation for political or personal grievances is not protest, it is a crime. Our community deserves to feel safe, and this sentence underscores that Maricopa County will not tolerate political violence in any form.”
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Tesla says its Texas lithium refinery is now operational and unlike anything in North America
Elon Musk separately described the site as both the most advanced and the largest lithium refinery in the United States.
Tesla has confirmed that its Texas lithium refinery is now operational, marking a major milestone for the company’s U.S. battery supply chain. In a newly released video, Tesla staff detailed how the facility converts raw spodumene ore directly into battery-grade lithium hydroxide, making it the first refinery of its kind in North America.
Elon Musk separately described the site as both the most advanced and the largest lithium refinery in the United States.
A first-of-its-kind lithium refining process
In the video, Tesla staff at the Texas lithium refinery near Corpus Christi explained that the facility processes spodumene, a lithium-rich hard-rock ore, directly into battery-grade lithium hydroxide on site. The approach bypasses intermediate refining steps commonly used elsewhere in the industry.
According to the staff, spodumene is processed through kilns and cooling systems before undergoing alkaline leaching, purification, and crystallization. The resulting lithium hydroxide is suitable for use in batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles. Tesla employees noted that the process is simpler and less expensive than traditional refining methods.
Staff at the facility added that the process eliminates hazardous byproducts typically associated with lithium refining. “Our process is more sustainable than traditional methods and eliminates hazardous byproducts, and instead produces a co-product named anhydrite, used in concrete mixes,” an employee noted.
Musk calls the facility the largest lithium refinery in America
The refinery’s development timeline has been very impressive. The project moved from breaking ground in 2023 to integrated plant startup in 2025 by running feasibility studies, design, and construction in parallel. This compressed schedule enabled the fastest time-to-market for a refinery using this type of technology. This 2026, the facility has become operational.
Elon Musk echoed the significance of the project in posts on X, stating that “the largest Lithium refinery in America is now operational.” In a separate comment, Musk described the site as “the most advanced lithium refinery in the world” and emphasized that the facility is “very clean.”
By bringing large-scale lithium hydroxide production online in Texas, Tesla is positioning itself to reduce reliance on foreign refining capacity while supporting its growth in battery and vehicle production. The refinery also complements Tesla’s nascent domestic battery manufacturing efforts, which could very well be a difference maker in the market.
Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft is heading to jury trial
Tesla arsonist who burned Cybertruck sees end of FAFO journey
