News
NASA selects Blue Origin to land Astronauts on the Moon
NASA has awarded Blue Origin $3.4 billion dollars for its Human Landing System (HLS), Blue Moon. Blue Moon will launch atop their brand new rocket, New Glenn, and will support landing capabilities for Artemis V, currently scheduled no earlier than 2029.
NASA had originally only selected SpaceX to land their HLS variant, Starship, to land on the Moon and had awarded them $2.89 billion dollars.
However, it was met with multiple complaints, including a lawsuit from Blue Origin, which they subsequently lost. In the following months, NASA opened up a 2nd competition for another HLS in which teams from Blue Origin and Dynetics competed. Blue Origin’s Vice President John Couluris said they will also provide “well North of” the $3.4 billion dollar contract, bringing the total cost to ~$7 billion dollars.
We selected @BlueOrigin to develop the human landing system for the #Artemis V mission. This component for deep space transportation will help us in our goal of sending astronauts to the surface of the Moon and returning them home safely: https://t.co/KMq5fUn0ll pic.twitter.com/mpfUjWr6OX
— NASA (@NASA) May 19, 2023
The Blue Origin national team is comprised of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics. The Blue Moon lander will first perform an uncrewed demonstration landing no earlier than 2028 and, if all goes well, will then move forward with the Artemis V crewed landing on the Moon. The lander is also capable of flying in a cargo-only version.
To get to the Moon, Blue Origin will launch New Glenn with the unfueled lander in a 7-meter fairing into orbit, where it will meet with a fuel depot to fill the lander with propellant. Blue Moon would then proceed to NRHO (Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit) to dock with Gateway, where Astronauts that arrived aboard Orion will then board Blue Moon lunar lander and proceed to land on the Moon.
Vice President John Couluris also indicated Blue Origin will perform two pathfinder landings at the Moon’s south pole prior to the Uncrewed demonstration landing. Seen below is a test of the BE-7 lunar lander engine.
Last week, our BE-7 team conducted another successful Thrust Chamber Assembly (TCA) test at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Test Stand 116. Our tests on an upgraded TCA bring our cumulative test time to more than 4000 seconds, and we are on track in our engine development path. pic.twitter.com/LYdXfcInxl
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 28, 2023
Once Blue Moon leaves the Lunar surface, it will dock once again at Gateway for the Crew to disembark and board Orion again for their trip back to Earth. The Blue Moon lander would then stay in NRHO and be capable of multiple landings on the Moon, only needing to refuel for future landings.
As of now, the HLS landers for future Artemis missions are the SpaceX Starship, which will land Astronauts on the Moon for Artemis III and Artemis IV, followed by Blue Origin landing Astronauts for Artemis V. NASA is most likely to use those landing systems for Artemis VI and beyond until a new HLS is announced in the future.
Questions or comments? Shoot me an email @ rangle1555@gmail.com, or Tweet me @RDAnglePhoto.
News
Tesla extends FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe by three months
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Tesla appears to be doubling down on its European Full Self-Driving (Supervised) push, with the company extending its demo ride-along program by three months until the end of March 2026. The update seems to have been implemented due to overwhelming demand.
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Extended FSD demonstrations
Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager Ivan Komušanac shared on LinkedIn that the company is offering ride-along experiences in Germany, France and Italy while working toward FSD (Supervised) approval in Europe.
He noted that this provides a great feedback opportunity from the general public, encouraging participants to record and share their experiences. For those unable to book in December, Komušanac teased more slots as “Christmas presents.”
Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt highlighted the extension on X, stating that dates now run from December 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, in multiple cities including Stuttgart-Weinstadt, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf in Germany. This suggests that the FSD ride-along program in Europe has officially been extended until the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Building momentum for European approval
Replies to Merritt’s posts buzzed with excitement, with users like @AuzyMale noting that Cologne and Düsseldorf are already fully booked. This sentiment was echoed by numerous other Tesla enthusiasts on social media. Calls for the program’s expansion to other European territories have also started gaining steam, with some X users suggesting Switzerland and Finland as the next locations for FSD ride-alongs.
Ultimately, the Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager’s post aligns with the company’s broader FSD efforts in Europe. As per recent reports, Tesla recently demonstrated FSD’s capabilities for Rome officials. Reporters from media outlets in France and Germany have also published positive reviews of FSD’s capabilities on real-world roads.
News
Tesla’s six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L sold out for January 2026
Estimated delivery dates for new Tesla Model Y L orders now extend all the way into February 2026.
The Tesla Model Y L seems to be in high demand in China, with estimated delivery dates for new orders now extending all the way into February 2026.
This suggests that the Model Y L has been officially sold out from the rest of 2025 to January 2026.
Model Y L estimated delivery dates
The Model Y L’s updated delivery dates mark an extension from the vehicle’s previous 4-8 week estimated wait time. A detailed chart shared by Tesla data tracker @Tslachan on X shows the progressions of the Model Y L’s estimated delivery dates since its launch earlier this year.
Following its launch in September, the vehicle was given an initial October 2025 estimated delivery date. The wait times for the vehicle were continually updated over the years, until the middle of November, when the Model Y L had an estimated delivery date of 4-8 weeks. This remained until now, when Tesla China simply listed February 2026 as the estimated delivery date for new Model Y L orders.
Model Y demand in China
Tesla Model Y demand in China seems to be very healthy, even beyond the Model Y L. New delivery dates show the company has already sold out its allocation of the all-electric crossover for 2025. The Model Y has been the most popular vehicle in the world in both of the last two years, outpacing incredibly popular vehicles like the Toyota RAV4. In China, the EV market is substantially more saturated, with more competitors than in any other market.
Tesla has been particularly kind to the Chinese market, as it has launched trim levels for the Model Y in the country that are not available anywhere else, such as the Model Y L. Demand has been strong for the Model Y in China, with the vehicle ranking among the country’s top 5 New Energy Vehicles. Interestingly enough, vehicles that beat the Model Y in volume like the BYD Seagull are notably more affordable. Compared to vehicles that are comparably priced, the Model Y remains a strong seller in China.
Elon Musk
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang commends Tesla’s Elon Musk for early belief
“And when I announced DGX-1, nobody in the world wanted it. I had no purchase orders, not one. Nobody wanted to buy it. Nobody wanted to be part of it, except for Elon.”
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Wednesday and commended Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his early belief in what is now the most valuable company in the world.
Huang and Musk are widely regarded as two of the greatest tech entrepreneurs of the modern era, with the two working in conjunction as NVIDIA’s chips are present in Tesla vehicles, particularly utilized for self-driving technology and data collection.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang regrets not investing more in Elon Musk’s xAI
Both CEOs defied all odds and created companies from virtually nothing. Musk joined Tesla in the early 2000s before the company had even established any plans to build a vehicle. Jensen created NVIDIA in the booth of a Denny’s restaurant, which has been memorialized with a plaque.
On the JRE episode, Rogan asked about Jensen’s relationship with Elon, to which the NVIDIA CEO said that Musk was there when nobody else was:
“I was lucky because I had known Elon Musk, and I helped him build the first computer for Model 3, the Model S, and when he wanted to start working on an autonomous vehicle. I helped him build the computer that went into the Model S AV system, his full self-driving system. We were basically the FSD computer version 1, and so we were already working together.
And when I announced DGX-1, nobody in the world wanted it. I had no purchase orders, not one. Nobody wanted to buy it. Nobody wanted to be part of it, except for Elon.
He goes ‘You know what, I have a company that could really use this.’ I said, Wow, my first customer. And he goes, it’s an AI company, and it’s a nonprofit and and we could really use one of these supercomputers. I boxed one up, I drove it up to San Francisco, and I delivered it to the Elon in 2016.”
The first DGX-1 AI supercomputer was delivered personally to Musk when he was with OpenAI, which provided crucial early compute power for AI research, accelerating breakthroughs in machine learning that underpin modern tools like ChatGPT.
Tesla’s Nvidia purchases could reach $4 billion this year: Musk
The long-term alliance between NVIDIA and Tesla has driven over $2 trillion in the company’s market value since 2016.
Tesla extends FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe by three months
Tesla’s six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L sold out for January 2026
