News
What to expect from Tesla’s solar roof event on October 28
Tesla Motors, Inc. has sent invitations to a product reveal on Friday, October 28, 2016 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The product announcement is a formality, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on September 22: “Aiming for Oct 28 unveil in SF Bay Area of new Tesla/SolarCity solar roof with integrated Powerwall 2.0 battery and Tesla charger.”
Tesla is in the process of buying SolarCity in a deal worth $2.6 billion. The proposed Tesla/ SolarCity merger vote goes to the shareholders on Nov. 17. Friday’s upcoming announcement offers Tesla an opportune platform as it attempts to persuade shareholders that the merger has sound financial merit. Should the two companies join into one consolidated brand, the Tesla label would prevail, according to Motley Fool, with roof systems marketed alongside vehicles and energy storage products.
How can Musk’s vision for photovoltaic units integrated into the roof itself change the industry?
Traditional rooftop solar panels are attached to roofs using metal mounting systems. But Musk’s plans for an actual roof that’s integrated with a series of solar panels is a step into a new dimension of decentralized renewable energy systems. That means that re-roofing, which is generally required about every 20 years, could migrate into a common pattern of homeowners switching to the solar roof option. While likely more expensive than a conventional roof-mounted panel, the Tesla solar roof will offer homeowners the incentives of savings in power production, endurance of the product, and overt symbolism of a sustainable lifestyle. The latter may have a profound effect on the highly-desired millennial market.
Musk has emphasized that the new solar roof product is “a fundamental part of achieving a differentiated product strategy.” The solar roof concept incorporates Tesla’s Powerwall, with 6.4 kWh storage capacity, sufficient to power most homes during the evening using electricity generated by solar panels during the day. The Powerwall can also act as a backup electrical system in the event of a power outage. Multiple batteries may be installed together for homes with greater energy needs. The upcoming Powerwall 2.0 will simplify the process of installation and feature a charger for Tesla automobiles.
A typical Powerwall system includes solar panels, an inverter for converting electricity between direct current and alternating current, a meter for measuring battery charge, and, in backup applications, a secondary circuit that powers key appliances. Each element interacts with the other.
- Panels convert sunlight into electricity that charges Powerwall and powers the home during the day.
- The home battery is charged with electricity generated by solar panels.
- The inverter converts direct current electricity from solar panels, the grid, and Powerwall into the alternating current used by a home’s lights, appliances, and devices.
A Tesla/ SolarCity partnership also has the gravitas to succeed where others have failed. Research and development around building integrated solar has been underway by various companies for years, including some systems that moved into the development stage. However, cost factors as well as inefficient electricity generation have tabled many of these efforts. Recently, Dow Chemical ceased production of its solar shingles, citing a lack of sales, according to Fortune.
Among many partnerships, Tesla is now providing batteries for Swell Energy as part of its all-in-one home management energy system. It also recently announced its pledge with Panasonic to produce solar cells at a manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York should the Tesla/ SolarCity merger reach stockholder approval.
Already, the Tesla Powerwall unit is in demand in areas where grid reliability is an issue. Recent power outages in Australia saw demand for the Powerall increase by 30x. This newest announcement comes on the heels of an October 19 frenzy of speculation about another Tesla mystery product, which turned out to be Tesla’s autonomous driving hardware.
Tune in on October 28 to see the live product unveiling via webcast on Tesla’s website or Follow Us on @Twitter to see behind the scenes action from the event.
SpaceX has announced a new target date for the thirteenth test flight of Starship: Monday, July 20, with the launch window opening at 6:45 p.m ET/5:45 p.m. CT.
This is the first rescheduling attempt of Starship’s 13th test flight. It was set to launch last night, but SpaceX scrubbed the launch attempt.
🚨 SpaceX is now looking at Monday, July 20th at 6:45 p.m ET/5:45 p.m. CT for the 13th test flight of Starship pic.twitter.com/7s8aMJV5Ge
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 17, 2026
CEO Elon Musk revealed that some of the engines on Starship did not start, which automatically triggers a launch abort. Two of the Raptor engines will be removed and replaced.
To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed & replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2026
SpaceX officially announced the new launch window this morning.
Starship’s 13th test launch comes with a few new objectives, but SpaceX does not plan to attempt a catch of the booster, which it has done several times in the past.
For Starship’s Upper Stage, there are some adjustments to ensure engine reusability that will be assessed during the ascent, and 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites are also set to make their way into space. SpaceX also plans to attempt an in-space relight of a single Raptor engine, which is a critical demonstration for future orbital deorbit, refueling, and deep space maneuvers.
Ultimately, it will splash down in the Indian Ocean.
The continuous tests help SpaceX advance the Starship program toward eventual full reusability, operational Starlink V3 deployment, and future missions, which include NASA’s Artemis program.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship Flight 13 aborted at Zero and Musk just told us what broke
Four Raptor engines failed to ignite at T-zero, forcing SpaceX to scrub Starship Flight 13 Thursday.
SpaceX scrubbed the Starship Flight 13 launch attempt Thursday evening at the last possible moment, after four of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite during the startup sequence. The 90-minute window had opened at 6:45 p.m. EDT from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, and the countdown had proceeded without issue all day, with more than 11.5 million pounds of liquid methane and liquid oxygen being fully loaded into the rocket before the automated abort triggered. SpaceX’s launch directors posted on X, “Standing down from today’s flight test attempt,” and shut down the livestream shortly after.
Musk confirmed the root cause within hours. “Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort,” he wrote on X. “To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed and replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week.” SpaceX engineers began draining propellant tanks immediately and Booster 20 was rolled back to its hangar for inspection.
The timing adds a layer of significance that did not exist during any of the previous 12 Starship flights. This is the first time SpaceX has attempted to launch Starship since the company made its stock market debut in June, listing under ticker SPCX at $135 per share. Public investors are now watching every Starship outcome in real time, and a last-second abort carries more visibility than it would have six months ago.
Flight 13 was designed to be one of the most consequential tests in the program’s history. It was set to carry 20 Starlink V3 satellites, the first operational payload Starship has ever attempted to deploy. Six of those satellites carried external cameras to photograph Starship’s heat shield from the outside during flight, which would act as a self-inspection approach SpaceX has never attempted before. The mission also needed to complete a Raptor engine relight in space, a step SpaceX skipped on Flight 12 in May after losing an engine during ascent. That Flight 12 booster also flipped 90 degrees off course during its boostback burn when five engines failed to reignite.
SpaceX has not announced an official next launch date. Musk’s “early next week” window points to July 21 or 22 at the earliest, pending the engine swap and a return to the pad.
Elon Musk flew under the radar with his recent purchase of a $1 billion energy company, according to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) documents.
Transaction number 202612350 listed Tesla and SpaceX frontman Elon Musk as the acquiring party and CF APR Super Holdings LLC as the seller, with New APR Energy, LLC as the acquired entity. The deal, which closed without public announcement, came to light on May 14.
BREAKING: Elon Musk acquires Jacksonville power company APR Energy in a deal valued at more than $1,000,000,000.00.
— Polymarket Money (@PolymarketMoney) July 15, 2026
Analysts inferred the deal’s scale from minority stakeholder disclosures, including one report of a 5 percent interest sold for approximately $50.4 million. Fortress Investment Group had purchased APR’s assets in late 2024, rebranded the operation as New APR Energy, and subsequently transferred ownership to Musk.
APR Energy specializes in rapidly deployable power infrastructure. The company maintains one of the world’s largest fleets of mobile gas and diesel turbines, with more than 1.1 gigawatts of generation capacity. Its modular units, which are often trailer-mounted, enable turnkey installations ranging from 20 MW to over 500 MW.
APR provides full engineering, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance services for behind-the-meter power plants, serving everything from data centers, utilities, and industrial clients.
The firm has expanded aggressively to meet surging demand, recently adding turbines and deploying over 100 MW for a major AI hyperscaler. Its solutions bridge critical gaps where grid interconnections face delays of two to five years, according to Yahoo.
The acquisition means something more for Musk. As he continues to expand projects in artificial intelligence, especially xAI, his AI venture, there is a greater need to supply energy-intensive supercomputing clusters, including the Colossus project, with what they need: reliable and high-capacity power.
Ownership of APR provides immediate access to flexible generation assets that can be deployed adjacent to data centers, reducing dependence on a strained infrastructure. It also complements Tesla’s energy storage business, so Musk will be able to pull from his own entities to address the rapid scaling demands of AI training and compute.
SpaceX announces new Starship 13 test flight target date
SpaceX Starship Flight 13 aborted at Zero and Musk just told us what broke
