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SpaceX has announced that BFR's first crewed lunar voyage will be funded by billionaire Yasuka Maezawa and will include as many as 10 additional passengers. (SpaceX) SpaceX has announced that BFR's first crewed lunar voyage will be funded by billionaire Yasuka Maezawa and will include as many as 10 additional passengers. (SpaceX)

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SpaceX to give BFR update and announce a private Moon mission on Monday

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SpaceX is set for a surprise event that is expected to revolve the announcement of a newly-contracted launch planned to send a private individual around the Moon with BFR, potentially queuing up a true race (back) to the Moon between SpaceX and NASA sometime in the early to mid-2020s.

Alongside the official announcement and a fascinating render revealing a dramatically-updated iteration of BFR’s spaceship upper stage, CEO Elon Musk cryptically hinted on Twitter that the private customer could be Japanese, as well as confirming that the spaceship as shown was indicative of a new BFR design.

Most importantly, at least for anyone eager to learn more, SpaceX will be hosting an official webcast of the announcement, NET 6:00 pm PDT on Monday, September 17th (01:00 UTC, Sept 18). Given the extreme rarity of streamed SpaceX updates unrelated to launches, as well as the fact that all of those updates have been presented by Elon Musk, it’s safe to expect that this particular update will be no different.

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With any luck, this announcement may actually be the BFR update Musk teased on Twitter in mid-July, and his quoted “in a month or so” ETA meshes well with an actual update roughly two months later, Musk-time accounted for. It’s also possible that this newly-announced space tourism contract is directly related to a similar announcement made in 2017 that would have instead launched “two private customers” around the Moon with Falcon Heavy and Crew Dragon – SpaceX’s official press release noted that both of those customers had “paid a significant deposit”.

 

Prior to Falcon Heavy’s launch debut in February 2018, Musk offered a new perspective on human missions with Falcon Heavy, stating that SpaceX had made an internal decision to skip over a human-rated Falcon Heavy and head directly for BFR, citing his feeling that development of the next-gen rocket was proceeding quite smoothly.

“What we decided internally is to focus our future efforts on BFR. If that ends up taking longer than expected, then we’ll return to the idea of sending a Crew Dragon on Falcon Heavy around the Moon. But right now it looks like BFR development is moving quickly and it will not be necessary to qualify Falcon Heavy for crewed spaceflight.” – Elon Musk, 5 February 2018

Discussed last week, the render SpaceX published alongside this fresh announcement featured a new variant of BFR, suggesting that the company is still iterating on the spaceship’s design. This helps to explain a roughly 6-12 months schedule delay for prototype spaceship hop tests and a full BFR’s first orbital mission, slipping slightly from NET H1 2019 (hops) and 2020 (orbit) to late-2019 and 2021, respectively.

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SpaceX has announced that BFR’s first lunar voyage will include a private, paying individual. (SpaceX)

Still, it’s believed that SpaceX is already building composite propellant tank and structural prototypes in a temporary tent set up at Port of Los Angeles, evidenced by massive stacks of boxes of materials (some empty and some not) necessary for composite manufacturing (prepreg, resin, industrial HVAC, etc.). Raptor, the critical propulsion system that will power both booster and spaceship, was said by Tom Mueller – VP of Propulsion Engineering – to have all but completed prototype Raptor testing, with eyes now on building and testing engines optimized for flight. Located in the Port of LA, a dedicated BFR factory is in the early stages of construction, and completion of the first phase (a smaller factory floor) could happen sometime between Q2 and Q4 2019.

Catch the event live at the webcast below and stay tuned for Teslarati’s on-site coverage.


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!

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla reveals some crazy Supercharging (and Diner) stats from Q3

In an update posted by Tesla’s Charging account on X, it revealed several interesting tidbits about Supercharger growth.

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tesla diner in los angeles during daytime
Credit: Matt Hartman

Tesla has revealed some pretty crazy Supercharging statistics from the third quarter, and there was also a very interesting tidbit regarding the Diner it opened in Los Angeles, as well.

In an update posted by Tesla’s Charging account on X, it revealed several interesting tidbits about Supercharger growth, as well as usage and environmental offset, all occurring in the third quarter:

  • 4,000 new Supercharger stalls opened, up 18% year-over-year
  • 1.8 TWh of energy delivered to vehicles, up 29% year-over-year
  • 842 million liters of gasoline saved, equivalent to 2 billion kilograms of CO2 offset
  • 54 million quarterly charging sessions, up 31% year-over-year

The most useful and impressive statistics here are the 4,000 new Supercharger stalls opened in the third quarter, and the environmental impact of gasoline saved. More chargers are crucial to keep up with the increase of EVs on the road, even non-Teslas, as many OEMs have access to the company’s network.

Additionally, the environmental impact of using fewer gallons of gasoline for passenger transportation reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. This is still something that Tesla strives for to this day, as Elon Musk detailed in the Master Plan.

On a lighter note, Tesla also detailed the number of Tesla Burgers it sold at its Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles in Q3. It’s a pretty impressive number:

  • 50,000 Tesla Burgers sold, up 100% tastiness

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner first opened in late July, so it has been in operation for a little over two months so far.

Tesla Supercharger Diner officially opens: menu, prices, features, and more

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In the roughly 70 days the Diner has been in operation, Tesla has managed to sell about 715 burgers each day. This is incredibly impressive considering the company’s focus on localized, sustainably sourced ingredients and how it stacks up against a fast food franchise like McDonald’s.

The average McDonald’s franchise sells approximately 14,000 burgers per month, Grok says. Tesla would have outpaced that by a considerable margin if its statistics are accurate. It’s pretty impressive.

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Tesla’s Supercharger presence is felt in many countries across the world, with over 70,000 stalls available. While many EV owners charge at home, the expansion of the Supercharger Network is a necessary thing to have for commuters, road trips, and longer travel.

Tesla has done a great job of being inclusive to other EV makers as well.

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Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might

Here are five reasons Tesla might be in better shape without the tax credit being available.

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tesla
(Credit: Tesla)

The $7,500 EV tax credit has officially expired, as it came to its closure at midnight on September 30. Many are wondering what will happen to the EV makers in the United States that had a huge competitive advantage over their competitors, a $7,500 discount that could be applied at the point of sale.

Tesla stands to thrive from the lack of tax credit, and although it is hard to believe, brighter days could be ahead for the company, starting with Q4, which began today.

Here are five reasons Tesla might be in better shape without the tax credit being available:

No Tax Credit Means Price Cuts

Tesla has to adjust its pricing strategy now that the $7,500 tax credit is gone, and when it lost the previous tax credit after reaching its cap in 2019, it used a more affordable model to surge sales. At the time, that more affordable model was the Model 3.

Tesla boosted deliveries by over 50 percent that year without any tax credit by simply offering a cheaper model. The credit, in a way, distorts the market, and companies, while attempting to innovate, are able to offer the discount with the help of the government.

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Tesla price cuts push EV market toward affordability with broader influence

Companies will now have to weigh what they can discount their vehicles by to keep profits reasonable, but also stoke demand.

Ultimately, Tesla has the ability to use manufacturing and technological efficiencies to increase affordability. It has more control to fluctuate pricing, and price cuts could be on the way.

The Playing Field Becomes Fairer

Companies like Ford and General Motors have also reaped the benefits of the tax credit, but their situation is much different than Tesla’s.

Ford and GM are not profitable on their EV projects, so the EV tax credit has been relied upon to mask high production costs and dealer markups, which have widely impacted their demand. Ford is among the more popular brands that have dipped their toes into the EV market, but they have been forced to adjust their strategy on several occasions due to a lack of profits.

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Tesla’s vehicles have been profitable for some time, and the company has been able to make money from its offerings faster. Cybertruck was profitable after just one year of production.

Tesla Cybertruck achieves positive gross margin for first time

Removing subsidies will expose the financial weaknesses of those domestic competitors, and we will likely see those companies scale back their EV efforts in the coming months and years. This will help Tesla more than having access to the tax credit would, which is something CEO Elon Musk has said for years:

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Tesla’s Maturity Shows and Investor Confidence Will Boost

Tesla was once dismissed as a subsidy-dependent startup, but that narrative truly died years ago, as it continued to perform well against competitors even after losing the tax credit.

Musk has said himself that the cancellation of these subsidies “will only help Tesla,” as it will highlight the company’s ability to be self-sufficient.

Elon Musk reiterates call for all subsidies on all industries to be removed

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Using things like manufacturing efficiencies and vertical integration, Tesla has been less dependent than others on help to build its cars. If anything, investors will likely see the next few months as a make-or-break period for companies building EVs.

Subsidies Sometimes Can Inhibit True Innovation

Some companies can tend to become complacent when government subsidies are offered on their products. Instead of making things better and trying to find new ways to make cars more affordable, some can lean on the help they’re getting.

After subsidies ended for Tesla in 2019, the company achieved two major breakthroughs: the Cybertruck and its energy storage projects scaled to gigawatt-hours. The argument is not that Tesla becomes complacent with the tax credits, but the company is going to feel more pressure to fight for innovation now that its back is up against the wall.

It already offers a better product from a tech standpoint, so affordability could truly be the next major change we see.

Affordable Models Will Be Even More Sought After

Tesla will launch its affordable models this quarter, and with no more tax credit to lean on, these new cars will be what many consumers go for.

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If Tesla can launch a model that is close to $30,000 without a tax credit, the company stands to regain a significant portion of its market share from competitors that have eroded it over the past few years. This will undercut the vast majority of electric cars that are currently offered.

  • 2025 Nissan Leaf S Trim – $28,140
  • 2025 Fiat 500e Base Trim – $32,500
  • 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV – $33,600

Those are the three most affordable EVs available in the U.S. right now, and those prices are without the EV tax credit. If Tesla can get close to $30,000, it will truly make a mark and there might not be all that much of a change in its yearly delivery figures.

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Tesla makes first move to counter loss of $7500 EV tax credit

Essentially, Tesla is reducing the price of a vehicle for those who choose to lease the vehicle by $6,500.

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has made its first move to counter the loss of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit by offering a $6,500 lease credit, which it is offering internally.

Essentially, Tesla is reducing the price of a vehicle for those who choose to lease the vehicle by $6,500, which is a bit of a double-edged sword. However, it appears the company had this strategy ready to fire with the expiration of the EV tax credit, which occurred last night.

Tesla makes a big change to reflect new IRS EV tax credit rules

Tesla is offering the lease credit automatically, it says on its website, as the monthly payment amount already reflects the $6,500 discount. The company said in its terms:

“Monthly lease payment already includes the $6,500 Tesla lease credit, which is subject to change or end at any time. Order does not guarantee eligibility.”

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The lease credit offer mostly offsets the loss of the tax credit, although, from a financial standpoint, it seems Tesla will take a bit of a hit in its profit margins. It will be interesting to see how long the company maintains the lease incentive because of its pressure on profits.

Lease pricing for the Model 3 and Model Y was also adjusted by Tesla after the expiration of the tax credit at midnight. The company increased these prices by up to 11 percent, as the Model Y’s payment range increased from $479 to $529 to between $529 and $599.

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Model 3 prices came up from between $349 and $699 to $429 and $759.

These are with default options, including $3,000 down, a 36-month lease period, and 10,000 miles per year.

How Tesla’s sales will respond to the removal of the tax credit is one of the more discussed topics in the community over the past few months.

EV tax credit rule adjustment provides short-term win, but long-term warning

It was relatively evident that the Trump Administration planned to get rid of any subsidies for electric vehicles, something that Tesla CEO Elon Musk supported.

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However, the true impact likely will not be seen until Q1 2026, as the credit will still be applied to any order placed before September 30. Leases do not apply to this condition, as deliveries had to be completed by yesterday to apply. Deliveries made after September 30 must be financed or paid for in cash.

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