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Relativity Space reveals plans to rapidly upgrade 3D-printed Terran 1 rocket
Relativity Space has announced that it will only launch the first version of its small Terran 1 rocket a handful of times before upgrading the vehicle in ways that will aid work on a much larger, fully reusable rocket.
Relativity co-founder and CEO Tim Ellis revealed the news in a recent interview, explaining that while the original Terran 1 rocket is still an integral part of the company’s vision and success, it will mainly serve as a bridge to the larger and more capable Terran R – a rare rocket with the potential to compete head-to-head with SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
“We’ve always envisioned Terran 1 being a development platform,” stated Ellis in an interview with Ars Technica. The Terran 1 rocket, which is thrust into orbit using nine proprietary Aeon-1 engines is designed to carry payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The first launch of Terran 1 is anticipated to take place by the end of 2022, with Ellis stating that Relativity is “definitely launching this year.” Terran 1’s first launch won’t carry payloads, indicating its experimental nature, but it will be serving as the startup’s first orbital launch attempt.
Assuming the rocket’s debut is mostly successful, Terran 1’s second mission will carry a “Venture Class Launch Services” small satellite payload for NASA. The third and final mission for the first version of Terran 1 will also carry payloads, though Relativity has yet to reveal its customer(s).
Once completed, Ellis says Relativity will shift its focus away from the Aeon-1 engine setup on Terran 1’s booster. Instead, they will remove the nine Aeon-1 engines from the vehicle and replace them with a single 135-ton-thrust (~300,000 lbf) Aeon-R engine – seven of which will eventually power Terran R’s reusable booster.
When asked why the startup didn’t simply start with the Aeon-R engine, Ellis noted that developing a booster with nine smaller Aeon-1 engines was “definitely not the optimum choice in hindsight to get to orbit as simply and quickly as possible for the Terran 1 program.” He added, “But it’s been part of our plans to do a much larger reusable rocket for a long time. So we chose to do liquid oxygen and liquid methane engines, as well as the nine-engine configuration on Terran 1 so that we could learn as a company how to do something that complex early on before we had to go build this 20,000-kilogram payload-to-orbit vehicle.”
There are many benefits that come from using the single Aeon-R engine on Terran 1, including reduced cost, processes, and more capable rockets. By scaling down the number of engines from nine Aeon-1s to one Aeon-Rs, they are also scaling down the number of turbopumps, which will reduce labor and cost. The Aeon-R engine, seven of which will power the Terran R rocket, will also produce nearly ~300,000 pounds of thrust. This will provide the company with more capable small launch vehicles.
Ultimately, Relativity’s goal is to launch Terran R, a much larger, more powerful, and (in theory) fully-reusable rocket. Ellis stated that both the first and second stages of Terran R will be reusable, potentially allowing the rocket to directly compete with Falcon 9 – and maybe even the company’s fully-reusable Starship. SpaceX’s workhorse rocket has successfully launched 142 times and the company appears to be more confident in it than ever before. In 2022 alone, SpaceX hopes to launch an average of one Falcon rocket per week.
Despite the fact that SpaceX successfully landed its first Falcon booster in 2015 and reused a booster on a commercial launch in 2017, traditional competitors like Arianespace and ULA have done little to respond and continue to develop new rockets – Vulcan Centaur and Ariane 6 – that are fully expendable, substantially more expensive than SpaceX’s offerings, and still without a clear path to reusability. Alongside Blue Origin’s New Glenn vehicle and Rocket Lab’s Neutron, Relativity’s Terran R rocket may actually be able to compete with Falcon 9.
Ellis further revealed that Terran R already has at least one signed customer, with many others expressing interest behind the scenes. Though the company’s official timeline is incredibly ambitious, Relativity says Terran R could launch as early as 2024, giving the company less than three years to develop the giant rocket from scratch.
It is still unclear how either stage of Terran R will be recovered, nor how the rocket will integrate into the already existing launch facilities being built for Terran 1 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s (CCSFS) LC-16 pad. Nonetheless, Ellis and the entire Relativity team seem determined to deliver on their promises. Ellis didn’t shy away from bold and undeniable claims, either, stating that “we are definitely launching this year.” “I have no doubt about that…at this point, barring an act of nature or something going seriously wrong in stage testing.”
News
Tesla VP explains latest updates in trade secret theft case
Tesla reportedly caught Matthews copying the tech into machines that were sold to competitors, claiming they lied about doing so for three years, and continued to ship it. That is when Tesla chose to sue Matthews in July 2024 in Federal court, demanding over $1 billion in damages due to trade secret theft.
Tesla Vice President Bonne Eggleston explained the latest updates in a trade secret theft case the company has against a former manufacturing equipment supplier, Matthews International.
Back in 2024, Tesla had filed a lawsuit against Matthews International, alleging that the firm stole trade secrets about battery manufacturing and shared those details with some of Tesla’s competitors.
Early last year, a U.S. District Court Judge denied Tesla’s request to block Matthews International from selling its dry battery electrode (DBE) technology across the world. The judge, Edward Davila, said that the patent for the tech was due to Matthews’ “extensive research and development.”
The two companies’ relationship began back in 2019, as Tesla hired Matthews to help build the equipment for its 4680 battery cell. Tesla shared confidential software, designs, and know-how under strict secrecy rules.
Fast forward a few years, and Tesla reportedly caught Matthews copying the tech into machines that were sold to competitors, claiming they lied about doing so for three years, and continued to ship it. That is when Tesla chose to sue Matthews in July 2024 in Federal court, demanding over $1 billion in damages due to trade secret theft.
Now, the latest twist, as this month, a Judge issued a permanent injunction—a court order banning Matthews from using certain stolen Tesla parts or designs in their machines. Matthews is also officially “liable” for damages. The exact amount would still to be calculated later.
Bonne Eggleston, a VP for Tesla, said on X today that Matthews is a supplier who “exploited customer IP through theft or deception,” and has no place in Tesla’s ecosystem:
Buyer beware: Matthews International stole Tesla’s DBE technology and is now subject to an injunction and liable for damages.
During our work with Matthews, we caught them red-handed copying our technology—including proprietary software and sensitive mechanical designs—into… https://t.co/Toc8ilakeM
— Bonne Eggleston (@BonneEggleston) March 10, 2026
Tesla calls this a big win and warns other companies: “Buyer beware—don’t buy from thieves.”
Matthews hit back with a press release claiming victory. They say an arbitrator ruled they can keep selling their own DBE equipment to anyone and rejected Tesla’s request for a total sales ban. They call Tesla’s claims “nonsense” and insist their 20-year-old tech is independent. Both sides are spinning the same narrow ruling: Matthews can sell their version, but they’re blocked from using Tesla’s specific secrets.
What are Tesla’s Current Legal Options
The case isn’t over—it’s moving to the damages phase. Tesla can:
- Push forward in court or arbitration to calculate and collect huge financial penalties (potentially $1 billion+ if willful theft is proven).
- Enforce the permanent injunction with contempt charges, fines, or even jail time if Matthews violates it.
- Challenge Matthews’ new patents that allegedly copy Tesla’s work, asking courts to invalidate them or add Tesla as co-inventor.
- Seek extra damages, lawyer fees, and possibly punitive awards under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act and California law.
Tesla could also refer evidence to federal prosecutors for possible criminal trade-secret charges (rare but serious). Settlement is always possible, but Tesla’s fiery public response suggests they want full accountability.
This isn’t just corporate drama. It shows why trade secrets matter even when Tesla open-sources some patents, confidential know-how shared in trust must stay protected. For the EV industry, it’s a reminder: steal from your biggest customer, and you risk losing everything.
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Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
Tesla Cybercab manufacturing is strikingly close, as the company is still aiming for an April start date. But small and significant features are still being identified for the first time as production units appear all over the country for testing and for regulatory events, like one yesterday in Washington, D.C.
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
This was for everyone, including the disabled, who are widely reliant on ride-sharing platforms, family members, and medical shuttles for transportation of any kind. Cybercab aims to change that, and Tesla evidently put a focus on those riders while developing the vehicle, evident in a small but significant feature revealed during its appearance in the Nation’s Capital.
Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater
Tesla has implemented Braille within the Cybercab to make it easier for blind passengers to utilize the vehicle. On both the ‘Stop/Hazard Lights’ button and the Door Releases, Tesla has placed Braille so that blind passengers can navigate their way through the vehicle:
The hazard lights button will be used as an emergency stop. Smart pic.twitter.com/vkYBioqmKm
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) March 10, 2026
We have braille on the interior door releases as well
— Eric (@EricETesla) March 11, 2026
This is a great addition to the Cybercab, especially as Full Self-Driving has been partially pointed at as a solution for those with disabilities that would keep them from driving themselves from place to place.
It truly is a great addition and just another way that Tesla is showing they are making this massive product inclusive for everyone out there, including those who have not been able to drive due to not having vision.
The Cybercab is set to enter mass production sometime in April, and it will be responsible for launching Tesla’s massive plans for an autonomous ride-sharing program.
Elon Musk
Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Elon Musk teased a massive new project, to be developed jointly by Tesla and xAI, called “Digital Optimus” or “Macrohard,” the first development under Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Musk announced on X that Digital Optimus will “be capable of emulating the function of entire companies.”
Macrohard or Digital Optimus is a joint xAI-Tesla project, coming as part of Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2026
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Essentially, it will be an AI version of a desk worker in many capacities, including accounting, HR tasks, and others.
Musk said:
“Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software. You can think of it as Digital Optimus AI being System 1 (instinctive part of the mind) and Grok being System 2. (thinking part of the mind).”
Its key applications would be used for enterprise automation, simulating entire companies, high-volume repetitive tasks, and potentially, future hybrid use with the Optimus robot, which would handle physical tasks, while Digital Optimus would handle the clerical work.
The creation of a digital AI suite like Digital Optimus would help companies save time and money, as well as become more efficient in their operations through massive scalability. However, there will undoubtedly be concerns from people who are skeptical of a fully-integrated AI workhorse like this one.
From an energy consumption perspective and just a general concern for the human workforce, these types of AI projects are polarizing in nature.
However, Digital Optimus would be a great digital counterpart to Tesla’s physical Optimus robot, as it would be a hyper-efficient addition to any company that is looking for more production for less cost.
Musk maintains that there is no other company on Earth that will be able to do this.
Tesla VP explains latest updates in trade secret theft case
Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
