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SpaceX aims for a burst of December launches despite recent delays
Originally scheduled to launch on December 4, SpaceX’s thirteenth resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been pushed back to no earlier than Friday, December 15 after routine preflight checks identified potential contaminants in the Falcon 9 launch vehicle’s upper stage fuel lines.
The past six weeks have been something of an outlier in an otherwise relentless series of 2017 launches for SpaceX. In early November, defects in payload fairings were discovered at the company’s Hawthorne, CA factory and quickly traced to the Zuma mission’s fairing, at that point already vertical and prepared to launch from Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX chose to pause its launch indefinitely as it investigated the fairings already delivered to its several launch pads and began the process of either repairing or replacing those impacted. The CRS-13 Cargo Dragon mission soon took precedent as Zuma remained on hold.
A panorama of SpaceX’s newly-reactivated Launch Complex 40. Falcon 9 and Dragon can be seen in the center. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
Although CRS-13 does not require a payload fairing and was thus unaffected by SpaceX’s ongoing investigation, the mission was scheduled to be launched from Launch Complex-40, essentially a new pad after ten months of extensive repairs and upgrades. This translated into a few days of additional delays as the SpaceX launch crew thoroughly tested the pad’s new systems and pushed towards static fire of the flight proven Falcon 9 booster, successfully completed on December 6 after an additional handful of days of pad-related delays. This pushed the launch date from the 4th to the 8th, then the 12th and the 13th to accommodate further limited testing in order to ensure pad readiness. However, routine tests revealed a possible fuel line contamination in Falcon 9’s second stage, and SpaceX delayed the mission an additional 48 hours to resolve the problem. CRS-13 is now aiming for launch no earlier than 7:35am/10:35am PST/EST on December 15, but the window is instantaneous and any additional delays would push the launch into late December, at which point Cape Canaveral Air Force Station returns to operational status with the conclusion of winter holidays.
Although LC-40 suffered through its own teething period of bugs and testing while returning to life, there is a certain irony in the fact that a bug in the only wholly new component of CRS-13’s Falcon 9 rocket has been the most recent cause of delay; both the Falcon 9 booster and Cargo Dragon capsule are refurbished, flight-proven hardware, although both the trunk and heat shield of the Dragon were likely replaced with new components. There is something to be said about the logical nature of truly “flight-proven” hardware being more trustworthy than completely new alternatives, but it is far more likely that the upper stage contamination can be largely traced back to the new pad hardware.
A refurbished Dragon perched upon its flight-proven Falcon 9 first stage, separated by the uncooperative second stage. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
Although Teslarati’s launch photographer Tom Cross has been battered about by Zuma and CRS-13 delays, SpaceX has demonstrated an admirable level of patience and caution, risking significant delays to their launch manifest in order to best ensure the safety and reliability of their launch services. While delays are painful in the spaceflight fan business, they are impermanent and secondary to safety and success. SpaceX will undoubtedly return to their regular programming in no time at all, with the West-coast launch of Iridium-4 and first pad rollout of Falcon Heavy up next on the docket. Stay tuned!
Tesla has given its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent, as a new feature seems to show that the company is preparing for frequent border crossings.
Tesla owner and influencer BLKMDL3, also known as Zack, recently took his Tesla to the border of California and Mexico at Tijuana, and at the international crossing, Full Self-Driving showed an interesting message: “Upcoming country border — FSD (Supervised) will become unavailable.”
FSD now shows a new message when approaching an international border crossing.
Stayed engaged the whole way as we crossed the border and worked great in Mexico! pic.twitter.com/bDzyLnyq0g
— Zack (@BLKMDL3) January 26, 2026
Due to regulatory approvals, once a Tesla operating on Full Self-Driving enters a new country, it is required to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to that territory. Even if legal, it seems Tesla will shut off FSD temporarily, confirming it is in a location where operation is approved.
This is something that will be extremely important in Europe, as crossing borders there is like crossing states in the U.S.; it’s pretty frequent compared to life in America, Canada, and Mexico.
Tesla has been working to get FSD approved in Europe for several years, and it has been getting close to being able to offer it to owners on the continent. However, it is still working through a lot of the red tape that is necessary for European regulators to approve use of the system on their continent.
This feature seems to be one that would be extremely useful in Europe, considering the fact that crossing borders into other countries is much more frequent than here in the U.S., and would cater to an area where approvals would differ.
Tesla has been testing FSD in Spain, France, England, and other European countries, and plans to continue expanding this effort. European owners have been fighting for a very long time to utilize the functionality, but the red tape has been the biggest bottleneck in the process.
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Tesla operates Full Self-Driving in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
The first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX’s next Starship launch, Flight 12, is expected in about six weeks. This suggests that the first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
In a post on X, Elon Musk stated that the next Starship launch is in six weeks. He accompanied his announcement with a photo that seemed to have been taken when Starship’s upper stage was just about to separate from the Super Heavy Booster. Musk did not state whether SpaceX will attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster during the upcoming flight.
The upcoming flight will mark the debut of Starship V3. The upgraded design includes the new Raptor V3 engine, which is expected to have nearly twice the thrust of the original Raptor 1, at a fraction of the cost and with significantly reduced weight. The Starship V3 platform is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability.
The Starship V3 Flight 12 launch timeline comes as SpaceX pursues an aggressive development cadence for the fully reusable launch system. Previous iterations of Starship have racked up a mixed but notable string of test flights, including multiple integrated flight tests in 2025.
Interestingly enough, SpaceX has teased an aggressive timeframe for Starship V3’s first flight. Way back in late November, SpaceX noted on X that it will be aiming to launch Starship V3’s maiden flight in the first quarter of 2026. This was despite setbacks like a structural anomaly on the first V3 booster during ground testing.
“Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026,” the company wrote in its post on X.
News
Tesla China rolls out Model 3 insurance subsidy through February
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
Tesla has rolled out a new insurance subsidy for Model 3 buyers in China, adding another incentive as the automaker steps up promotions in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
A limited-time subsidy
The insurance subsidy, which was announced by Tesla China on Weibo, applies to the Model 3 RWD, Long Range RWD, and Long Range AWD variants. Tesla stated that the offer is available to buyers who complete their purchase on or before February 28, as noted in a CNEV Post report. The starting prices for these variants are RMB 235,500, RMB 259,500, and RMB 285,500, respectively.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance, which starts at RMB 339,500, is excluded from the subsidy. The company has previously used insurance incentives at the beginning of the year to address softer seasonal demand in China’s auto market. The program is typically phased out as sales conditions stabilize over the year.
China’s electric vehicle market
The insurance subsidy followed Tesla’s launch of a 7-year low-interest financing plan in China on January 6, which is aimed at improving vehicle affordability amid changing policy conditions. After Tesla introduced the financing program, several automakers, such as Xiaomi, Li Auto, Xpeng, and Voyah, introduced similar long-term financing options.
China’s electric vehicle market has faced additional headwinds entering 2026. Buyers of new energy vehicles are now subject to a 5% purchase tax, compared with the previous full exemption. At the same time, vehicle trade-in subsidies in several cities are expected to expire in mid-November.
Tesla’s overall sales in China declined in 2025, with deliveries totaling 625,698 vehicles, down 4.78% year-over-year. Model 3 deliveries increased 13.33% to 200,361 units, while Model Y deliveries, which were hampered by the changeover to the new Model Y in the first quarter, fell 11.45% to 425,337 units.
Tesla gives its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
