Lifestyle
Elon Musk and SpaceX featured in Nat Geo MARS mini-series
National Geographic (“NatGeo”) has launched their MARS mini-series to be aired every Monday evening for a total of six weeks. It’s a fictional drama set in the year 2033 imagining the first human mission to the surface of Mars with a huge focus on the scientific accomplishments necessary to make such a journey reality. Cut in with the drama are interviews with scientists explaining the complexities of the mission being imagined including, of course, our favorite Mars-bound-humanity-game-changer, Elon Musk.
Elon’s role in the first episode was to talk about the “big picture” challenges immediately apparent in a Mars mission:
- The risks of getting to Mars
- The adventure of it all
- The historical significance of launching from Pad 39A
- Why Mars is a goal to begin with
- Why landing on Mars is hard
- The importance of rocket reusability
- How fast we could establish a Mars colony
There’s been critique that the NatGeo series was essentially a big commercial for SpaceX and Elon. While the intention was (probably) not such, I can’t really argue that the impact (outcome?) wasn’t similar to a commercial. Elon wasn’t significantly over-featured versus others, but all of the modern-day rocket footage they used featured Falcon 9 and the SpaceX facilities.
Falcon 9: A big star in NatGeo’s MARS series | Credit: SpaceX
Honestly though, when you’ve been both leading the charge and are arguably the biggest player (i.e., rocket company) in the Mars game, a realistic drama series featuring humanity’s first trip to the red planet is probably going to include you in a major way. And seriously, how awkward would it be pretending otherwise?
Prequels to the NatGeo MARS Series
In the weeks leading up to the premiere of their MARS series debut, NatGeo published plenty of relevant videos in order to keep curious minds, well, curious and in anticipation for the series. There were three videos that stood out most to me:
- “Before MARS”
Featuring twin girls that become significant players in the main MARS series, this video gave a short coming-of-age backstory wherein one of the sisters embraces her interest in space science via a ham radio/wise neighbor experience. I thought it was well done and a sweet tale, but kind of missed the “feels” it was supposed to inspire. Perhaps as the girls’ characters are fleshed out in the coming episodes, it will have more impact.
- “Is it okay to touch Mars?” by Vsauce1 (YouTube channel)
This video wasn’t published by NatGeo, but is was sponsored by them and host Michael Stevens promoted the MARS series throughout while discussing the science behind it. There were plenty of interesting Mars topics not generally discussed such as space “bugs” infecting the Earth and rover scientists living by “Mars time”. I found it to be a good primer for the series.
- “NatGeo Live | Sending Humans to Mars: How will we do it?”
This video featured a panel of three scientists answering questions about the challenges of a Mars mission after showing clips from the series. Automation, 3D printing, and terraforming were the primary featured topics after general discussion of mission requirements. There was disagreement on the topic of terraforming Mars that I thought was very interesting and recommend watching.
Fun Trivia
After watching and reading through most of the material published on this series, there were a few interesting things I noted and wanted to share for fun:
“Flight of Icarus” | Credit: Internet Archive Book Image
- The spaceship carrying the Mars astronauts in the series is called “Daedalus”, named after the Greek god who fathered the infamous waxed-wing god Icarus (great Iron Maiden song, too). In the 1986 movie “Space Camp” (starring Kate Capshaw and Leah Thompson), the space station whose oxygen tank reserves save the kids from certain death in space is also called “Daedalus”. Uh, sorry for the spoiler.
- Mars already has an unofficial flag: A tricolor rectangle of red, green, and blue. Each color represents the stages of terraforming the planet from its current red state, to green from vegetation, and finally to blue like Earth. The colors were also inspired by Kim Stanley Robinson’s trilogy Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars.
- In the “Before Mars” video, ham/amateur radio is a big feature, even allowing one of the girls to communicate with the International Space Station. It actually is possible to communicate with the ISS via ham radio. Astronauts reach out on their free time regularly.
Overall, I thought NatGeo did a great job on the series, intertwining drama with the science to give the viewer an understanding of where we are, where we are going, and why it’s so tough to do it. The series especially shines if you’re looking for a kind of “one-stop” place for all that information in an entertaining way. Unfortunately though, if you’ve been reading about the march towards Mars for some time now, there isn’t much added other than a different perspective and storyline to consider.
I’m looking forward to the coming episodes and, of course, seeing what else Elon has to say along the way. Next up on my playlist: NatGeo’s “Before the Flood” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and featuring our guy Elon.
Onwards.
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybercab just rolled through Miami inside a glass box
Tesla paraded a Cybercab in a glass display at Miami’s F1 Grand Prix event this week.
Tesla set up an “Autonomy Pop-Up” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach from April 29 through May 3, 2026, embedded within the official F1 Miami Grand Prix Fan Fest. The centerpiece was a Cybertruck towing the Cybercab inside a glass display case marked “Future is Autonomous,” rolling through the beachfront crowd.
Miami is on Tesla’s confirmed list of cities for robotaxi expansion in the first half of 2026, making the promotion a strategic promotion that lays groundwork in a target market.
This was not Tesla’s first time using Miami as a showcase city. In December 2025, Tesla hosted “The Future of Autonomy Visualized” at its Miami Design District showroom, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. That event featured the Cybercab prototype and Optimus robots interacting with attendees. The F1 pop-up this week marks Tesla’s return to Miami and follows a pattern Tesla has been running since early 2026. Just two weeks before Miami, Tesla stationed Optimus at the Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 19 and 20, directly on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon, letting tens of thousands of runners and spectators meet the robot for free, generating massive earned media at zero advertising cost.
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year. On the production side, Musk told shareholders that the Cybercab manufacturing process could eventually produce up to 5 million vehicles per year, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds. Scaling robotaxis to 10 million operational units over the next ten years is a key condition of his compensation package, alongside selling 20 million passenger vehicles.
As for the Cybercab’s price, Musk has said buyers will be able to purchase one for under $30,000, with an average operating cost around $0.20 per mile. Whether those numbers hold through full production remains to be seen.
Cybercab at F1 Fan Fest in Miami
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