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NASA head hints that reusable rocket cos. like SpaceX will enable Moon return
In a series of thoroughly unexpected and impassioned introductory remarks at one of several 2018 Advisory Council meetings, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine bucked at least two decades of norms by all but explicitly stating that reusable rockets built by innovative private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin will enable the true future of space exploration.
Incredibly, over the course his fascinating hour-long prelude, Bridenstine effectively mentioned NASA’s own SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft – under development for the last decade at a cost of at least several tens of billions of dollars – a total of one time each. Instead, heavily emphasizing the absolute necessity that NASA’s next major human exploration project be sustainable, the administrator spoke at length about the foundational roles that international and domestic space agencies and private companies will need to take on in order to make NASA’s on-paper return to the Moon both real, successful, and useful.
Aside from his arguably brave (but spot-on) decision to all but ignore Boeing and Northrop Grumman’s SLS rocket and Lockheed Martin’s Orion spacecraft over the course of an hour spent speaking about the future of NASA’s human exploration of the Moon and on spaceflight more generally, Bridenstine had nothing but praise for recent successes in the American aerospace industry.
Most notably, he spoke about his belief – at least partially stemming from an executive order requiring it – that the only way NASA can seriously succeed and continue to lead the world in the task of human space exploration is to put an extreme focus on sustainability. Judging from his comments on the matter, the new NASA/Federal buzzword of choice is just a different way to describe hardware reusability, although it certainly leaves wiggle room for more than simply avoiding expendable rocket hardware.
“It’s on me to figure out how to [return to the Moon] sustainably. … And this time, when we go, we’re gonna go to stay. So how do we do go sustainably? Well, [we take] advantage of capabilities that didn’t exist in this country even five or ten years ago. We have commercial companies that can do things that weren’t possible even just a few years ago … to help develop this sustainable [Moon exploration] architecture.” – NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, 08/29/2018
While it might not look like much (aside from a “no duh” statement) to anyone unfamiliar with the trials and tribulations of NASA bureaucracy and politicking, this quote – directed at an audience of senior NASA scientists and managers and independent experts – is absolutely extraordinary in the context of NASA’s history and the formulaic eggshells NASA administrators have traditionally been forced to walk on when discussing American rocketry.
Not only is SLS/Orion utterly and conspicuously absent in a response to the “how” of starting a new wave of lunar exploration, but Bridenstine also almost explicitly names Blue Origin and SpaceX as torchbearers of the sort of exceptional technological innovation that might revolutionize humanity’s relationship with space. By referring specifically to “commercial companies that can do things that weren’t possible even just a few years ago”, the only obvious answers in the context of serious human exploration on and around the Moon are Blue Origin and SpaceX, both of which managed their first commercial rocket landings in late 2015.
Bridenstine went even further still, noting that NASA will need not just reusable rockets for this sustainable lunar exploration, but also reusable orbital tugboats (space tugs) to sustainably ferry both humans and cargo to and from Earth and the Moon and reusable lunar landers capable of many trips back and forth from space stations orbiting the moon. At one point, he even used SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s (in)famous and well-worn analogy of commercial airlines to emphasize the insanity of not using reusable rockets:
“We have reusable rockets [now]… Imagine if you flew here across the country to [NASA Ames] in a 737 and when the mission was over, you threw the airplane away. How many of you would have flown here?” – NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, 08/29/2018
At today's NASA Advisory Council (NAC) meeting, Administrator Jim Bridenstine says the next hop to the moon is going to be sustainable – and will require reusable spaceflight hardware. Uses the same airplane analogy @ElonMusk does when it comes to explaining advantages.
— Emre Kelly (@EmreKelly) August 29, 2018
Reusable rockets lead the charge
It may be generous to include Blue Origin side by side with SpaceX, given the fact that its New Shepard rocket is extremely small and very suborbital, but the company does have eyes specifically set lunar landers and outposts (a project called Blue Moon) and is developing a large and reusable orbital-class rocket (New Glenn) set to debut in the early 2020s.
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- Falcon Heavy’s side boosters seconds away from near-simultaneous landings at Landing Zones 1 and 2. (SpaceX)
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- We’re not here just yet, but SpaceX is pushing hard to build BFR and get humanity to Mars as quickly as practicable. (SpaceX)
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- Blue Origin’s aspirational future, the highly reusable BE-4 powered New Glenn rocket. (Blue Origin)
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- Blue Origin’s Blue Moon concept, set to begin experimental lunar landings as early as 2022 or 2023. (Blue Origin)
SpaceX, while focused on Mars colonization, has also expressed a willingness to participate in any sort of lunar exploration that NASA or other international space agencies might have interest in. Currently in the middle of developing its own massive and fully reusable rocket, known as the Big F_____ Rocket (BFR), SpaceX nevertheless already has a flight-tested, highly successfully, and unbeatably cost-effective family of reusable Falcon rockets capable of affordably launching significant mass to the Moon. In fact, both NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are already seriously considering SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle of choice for several critical pieces of a Moon-orbiting space station, expected to launch no earlier than the early to mid-2020s.
Whether or not Bridenstine’s incredible and eloquent statements translate into tangible changes to NASA’s long-term strategy, it’s quite simply refreshing to hear a senior NASA executive – let alone the administrator – speak freely and rationally about the reality of what is needed to enable a truly new era of human spaceflight and exploration.
For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!
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Ex-Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla, Cybercab: “They’re a car company with a driver-assist system”
Krafcik shared his thoughts on Waymo, Tesla, and the Cybercab in an interview with Business Insider.
Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit, is still unchallenged in the robotaxi sector, outpacing Tesla’s Cybercab and FSD system. This is, at least, according to John Krafcik, Waymo’s former CEO.
Krafcik shared his thoughts on Waymo, Tesla, and the Cybercab in an interview with Business Insider.
Still Not a Competitor
Krafcik, who led Waymo until 2021, previously noted that Tesla is just an electric vehicle maker with a “really good driver assistance system.” In his recent comments, the ex-Waymo CEO noted that his position regarding Tesla is still the same.
“Tesla has aspired to compete with Waymo for nearly ten years, but they still don’t. They’re a car company with a driver-assist system. They haven’t delivered a single fully autonomous revenue-generating ride yet, something Waymo is already doing a million times a month,” Krafcik noted.
Tesla is currently aiming to launch a robotaxi service using its Unsupervised FSD system around June 2025. Waymo, for its part, has noted that it is providing over 200,000 rides a week across several U.S. cities.
Cybercab Design Criticism
Tesla’s Cybercab, a sleek, two-seat robotaxi revealed in 2024, failed to impress Krafcik. While the Cybercab looks like a vehicle straight out of a science-fiction story, the former Waymo CEO noted that a company serious about building a safe and accessible robotaxi would not come up with an autonomous car that looks like the Cybercab.
“If a company were serious about building a safe and accessible robotaxi business, it would look nothing like what was shown,” Krafcik noted. He also defended Waymo’s use of multiple sensors on its vehicles. “The cost of a robust sensor set, including lidar, is trivial on a per-mile basis. Even more so for mapping. And the safety benefits measured in human harm reduction are real and verifiable.”
Three to Five-Year Lead
Ultimately, Krafcik noted that Waymo should have an edge in the robotaxi business for at least three to five years. “They are the only company in the world successfully deploying an embodied AI replacement for a licensed human driver that can be integrated into any vehicle — and doing this at scale with third-party data verifying significant performance and safety advantages over human drivers,” he stated.
Tesla stock rebounded over 20 percent in the past five trading days, and, coincidentally, the boost came just after Tim Walz said he gets a boost from watching the automaker’s shares fall.
Although Walz’s pushback against Tesla stock mostly comes from his evident distaste for CEO Elon Musk, who has joined President Donald Trump’s team as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), it seems he might not have realized the EV maker’s shares make up a portion of his state’s pension fund.
This was something Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary mentioned last week after Walz’s comments. However, now that Tesla shares are rising once again, Walz is backtracking by saying that his comment from last week was his attempt at humor.
Walz said:
“I have to be careful about being a smartass. I was making a joke. These people have no sense of humor.”
NEW: Tim Walz says he was totally joking when he celebrated Tesla stock going down, says Elon Musk makes him unhealthy.
The comment came after Walz apparently didn’t realize his own pension plan owns Tesla stock.
“I have to be careful about being a smartass. I was making a… pic.twitter.com/w1QHAYyvco
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 23, 2025
Tesla shares have rebounded nicely since a substantial drop so far this year.
Although the stock is still down about 28 percent this year, things are looking better for the company as it now shifts its focus to the release of several affordable models, the ramp of the new Model Y “Juniper,” the release of the Cybercab and Robotaxi platform in Texas and California, and other potential catalysts like the Optimus robot.
Tesla aiming to produce first “legion” of Optimus robots this 2025
Last week’s All-Hands meeting from Tesla was publicly broadcast on X and seemed to be the response many investors were hoping for as questions started to seep in regarding Musk’s commitment to the company.
While his attention seems to be on solving government spending and eliminating corruption, it is evident Musk is still paying attention to what is going on at Tesla.
Shares are up over 10 percent at 1:05 p.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $274.
News
Tesla is back on top in Norway with new Model Y starting deliveries
Tesla registered over 1,000 Model Ys in Norway this March, more than twice the tally of its closest rival, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz.
Tesla has staged a comeback in Norway’s electric vehicle market with the launch of the new Model Y. With deliveries starting domestically, the new all-electric crossover has reclaimed its spot as Norway’s most registered car this month and year-to-date.
Tesla’s results in Norway this month could be seen in Elbilstatistikk, which closely tracks EV registrations in the country.
New Model Y Boost Tesla in Norway
Data from Elbilstatistikk revealed that Tesla Norway has seen over 1,000 Model Y registrations this March so far, more than twice the tally of its closest rival, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz, which has over 400 registrations. The new Model Y’s comeback also resulted in the all-electric crossover being the county’s top electric vehicle year-to-date, with 2,032 registrations so far.
The new Model Y’s dominant performance in Norway hints at the vehicle’s strong appeal to consumers, especially considering the controversial nature of the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, today. Sentiments against Musk have been notable as of late, resulting in some Tesla owners feeling the brunt of vandalism and abuse incidents in the United States, Canada, and some areas of Europe.
High Hopes for New Model Y
The Model Y comprises a huge portion of Tesla’s global sales. During Tesla’s Q1 2025 All-Hands meeting, Elon Musk highlighted that the Model Y is the company’s most successful vehicle so far. Such comments are accurate considering that the Model Y classic became the world’s best-selling vehicle by volume in both 2023 and 2024. As per Musk during the recent All-Hands meeting, the revamped Model Y should be able to achieve such heights this year as well.
“Model Y became the best-selling vehicle in the world. You know FYI, we do make the best. It’s like, how are we doing in our popularity? Well, we actually literally make the best-selling car on Earth, of any kind. That’s two years in a row. And it’s going to be the best-selling car on Earth again this year,” Musk stated.
Ex-Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla, Cybercab: “They’re a car company with a driver-assist system”
Tesla stock rebounds and Tim Walz backtracks: ‘I was making a joke’
Tesla is back on top in Norway with new Model Y starting deliveries
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