News
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says Starship (BFS) hop tests could start in early 2019
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken to Twitter to share an unexpected wealth of detail about the “radical” and largely unpublicized design changes the company’s Starship and Super Heavy (BFS & BFB) have undergone in 2018.
Beside information ranging from discussions of metallurgy to overall design philosophy and comparisons, the eccentric CEO also offered the most concrete target yet for the beginning of prototype spaceship (BFS/Starship) hop tests in South Texas – “March/April [2019]”.
I will do a full technical presentation of Starship after the test vehicle we’re building in Texas flies, so hopefully March/April
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2018
On one hand, this expeditious new testing schedule – acknowledged by Musk himself to be “much sooner than expected” – is a thrilling prospect, given that it implies that a nearly full-scale prototype of Starship (or something vaguely approximating the spacecraft) could take its first baby steps into the air as early as the first quarter of 2019. On the other hand, however, this is an almost bafflingly large schedule change considering that SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell asserted that a prototype of BFS (now Starship) could begin “hopping” by late 2019, speaking in September 2018.
Shotwell: think we’ll be “hopping” the second stage of BFR (the BFS) late next year. #DARPA60
— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) September 6, 2018
Schedules (especially aerospace program schedules) do certainly tend to be chaotic and jumpy, but it’s almost inconceivable that any given project – regardless of the scope or scale – could wind up reaching completion nine months earlier than previously forecasted without suffering one or several dramatic compromises, typically involving lower-fidelity testing and prototypes or watered-down deliverables. It’s unclear if BFR has suffered the same fate, but – to put it lightly – the South Texas sight greeting the eyes of close followers of SpaceX’s BFR program is downright unbelievable.
BFWhat?!
Given the very recent and conspicuous additions of triangular appendages that look precisely like rudimentary fins and an obvious nose cone assembly, the only possible conclusion to draw from photos of SpaceX’s Boca Chica facilities taken in the last week or two is that the company (and/or contractors) are busy building something related to Starship. At least in these early stages, the… thing being built could be best described as what might come to mind if you asked an imaginative kid to build a full-scale sculpture of Tintin’s spaceship on a budget of maybe $500,000.
You got something to show us in Texas? pic.twitter.com/vBF0WwwIfF
— Robotbeat🗽 ➐ (@Robotbeat) December 22, 2018
More likely than not, this could be a case of things being more than they seem. To most, it may almost look like an elaborate prank, but that assumes that we know the full story and have a decent working understanding of aerospace prototyping. For the vast majority of us, that is simply not the case – what looks like a spade is probably not a spade.
At the end of the day, the most basic of observations – that this purported ‘Starship prototype’ will begin hop tests with extraordinarily powerful Raptor engines installed as few as three months from now – suggest that this spooky metal contraption will be used to conduct the most basic of Starship tests. As such, it will probably never travel much faster than Falcon 9’s Grasshopper and F9R predecessors, which tended to gently accelerate from the ground to as high as a kilometer or two before slowly heading back down for a powered landing.
- What now seem to be extremely rough fin outlines were welded to the main steel cylinder like giant metal straws. (bocachicagal – NASASpaceflight)
- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (bocachicagal – NASASpaceflight)
- SpaceX recovery technicians work on Falcon 9 with similar cherry-picker lifts, offering a sense of scale of the new Starship water tower. (Pauline Acalin)
- A conspicuous nosecone appears to have arisen inside SpaceX’s new Boca Chica tent, adjacent to what looks like a water tower with tube legs. (bocachicagal – NASASpaceflight)
- (bocachicagal – NASASpaceflight)
Given that SpaceX has already refined this complex and challenging task to a reliable science with Falcon 9 and Merlin 1D, it’s unclear why a very similar test campaign would be of serious value to the company without simultaneously testing full-fidelity control surfaces (fins), exotic new stainless steel propellant tank technologies, and more. Perhaps SpaceX just really wants to ensure that Starship will be capable of landing and taking off from an unprepared and angled surface of the type it could (will?) experience on Mars. Maybe the company simply wants to have a bare-minimum flying platform capable of testing and refining multi-engine configurations of Raptor.

All that can be said for sure at the moment is that the public simply does not have the full story to explain the moderately shocking activity going on in Boca Chica. Musk did state that he would provide another technical update on the status of Starship and the BFR program as a whole in the first half of 2019, but only after the first Starship hopper flights have begun. It would seem that those on the sidelines will simply have to wallow in confusion and wild speculation for another ~3-4 months at minimum, hopefully only going moderately insane as a result.
In the meantime, copious thanks are owed to NASASpaceflight members bocachicagal and Nomadd for their relentless and thorough coverage of SpaceX’s activities in the obscure far south of the Texan coast, as well as their courteous permission for media outlets like Teslarati to republish their photos. Cheers!
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!
News
Tesla Model X shocks everyone by crushing every other used car in America
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
The Tesla Model X was the fastest-selling used vehicle in the United States in the first quarter of the year, crushing every other used car in America.
iSeeCars data for the first quarter shows that the Model X was the fastest-selling used car, lasting just 25.6 days on the market on average, two days better than that of the second-place Lexus RX 350h. The Cybertruck, Model Y, and Model S, in seventh, ninth, and thirteenth place, respectively, also made the list.
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
Tesla brings closure to flagship ‘sentimental’ models, Musk confirms
Bringing closure to these two vehicles signaled the end of the road for the cars that have effectively built Tesla’s reputation for luxury and high-end passenger vehicles.
Relying on the sales of its mass market Model Y and Model 3, as well as leaning on the success of future products like the Cybercab, is the angle Tesla has chosen to take.
Teslas are also performing extremely well as a whole on the resale market. iSeeCars data shows that, “while the average price of a 1- to 5-year-old non-Tesla EV fell 10.3% in Q1 2026 year-over-year, the average price of a used Tesla was essentially flat at 0.1% lower across the same period. Traditional gas car prices dropped 2.8% during this same period.”
Additionally, market share for gas cars has dropped nearly 3 percent since the same quarter last year. Tesla has remained level, while the non-Tesla EV market share has increased 30 percent, mostly due to more models available.
Nevertheless, those non-Tesla EVs have seen their value drop by over 10 percent, while Tesla’s values have remained level.
Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said:
“Used electric vehicles without a Tesla badge have lost more than 10% of their value in the past year. This compares to stable values for Teslas and hybrids, and a modest 2.8% drop for traditional gasoline vehicles.”
Teslas, as well as non-luxury hybrids, are displaying the strongest resistance in the face of faltering demand, the publication says. But the more impressive performance is that of the Model X alone.
Tesla’s decision to stop production of the Model X may have played some part in the vehicle’s pristine performance in Q1. With the car already placed at a premium price point, used models are already more appealing to consumers. Perhaps second-hand versions were more than enough for those who wanted a Model X, and only a Model X.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck’s head-scratching trim sold terribly, recall documents reveal
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
After Tesla decided to build a Rear-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck trim back in 2025, which was void of many features and only featured a small discount.
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
The recall deals with a potentially separating wheel stud and potentially impacts 173 Cybertruck units with the 18-inch steel wheels. The Cybertruck RWD was the only trim level to feature these, and the 173 potentially impacted units represent a portion of the population of pickups. Therefore, it’s not the entire number of RWD Cybertruck sold, but it could show how little interest it gathered.
The NHTSA document states:
“On affected vehicles, higher severity road perturbations and cornering may strain the stud hole in the wheel rotor, causing cracks to form. If cracking propagates with continued use and strain, the wheel stud could eventually separate from the wheel hub.”
Only 5 percent are expected to be impacted, meaning less than 10 units will have the issue if the NHTSA and Tesla estimates are correct. Nevertheless, the true story here is how terribly the RWD Cybertruck sold.
Tesla ended production and stopped offering the RWD Cybertruck to customers last September. For just $10,000 less than the All-Wheel-Drive trim, Tesla offered the RWD Cybertruck with just one motor, textile seats instead of leather, only 7 speakers instead of 15, no Rear Touchscreen, no Powered Tonneau Cover for the truck bed, and no 120v/240v outlets.
For just $10,000 more, at $79,990, owners could have received all of those premium features, as well as a more capable All-Wheel-Drive powertrain that featured Adaptive Air Suspension. The discount simply was not worth the sacrifices.
Orders were few and far between, and sources told us that when it was offered, sales were extremely tempered because customers could not see the value in this trim level.
Even Tesla’s most loyal supporters thought the offering was kind of a joke, and the $10,000 extra was simply worth it.
News
Tesla Semi sends clear message to Diesel rivals with latest move
The truck is being built at a dedicated facility in Sparks, Nevada, just next to its Gigafactory Nevada facility.
Tesla has officially launched Semi production at what will be a mind-boggling rate of approximately 50,000 units per year.
The truck is being built at a dedicated facility in Sparks, Nevada, just next to its Gigafactory Nevada facility.
The company finally announced on April 29 that the first Tesla Semi truck has rolled off its new high-volume production line at the factory. This marks the transition from limited pilot builds to scaled manufacturing for the Class 8 all-electric heavy-duty truck, nearly nine years after its dramatic 2017 unveiling.
🚨 Tesla Semi mass production is underway in Nevada!
HUGE! https://t.co/ohgQIiI2bK pic.twitter.com/23GvWr8D27
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 29, 2026
Tesla initially promised high-volume deliveries by 2019–2020, but battery supply constraints and prioritization for passenger vehicles delayed progress. The new 1.7-million-square-foot factory, purpose-built next to Gigafactory Nevada’s 4680 cell production lines, resolves those bottlenecks through deep vertical integration.
The Semi uses Tesla’s structural battery packs with cylindrical 4680 cells manufactured on-site. This integration enables efficient supply, reduced logistics costs, and the potential for high output. The factory is designed for an eventual annual capacity of approximately 50,000 trucks, positioning Tesla to address growing demand in long-haul freight electrification.
Tesla is using a redesigned Cybertruck battery cell to mitigate Semi challenges
Operating economics favor the Semi through dramatically lower fuel and maintenance costs compared to traditional diesel rigs, and companies involved in a pilot program for the Semi with Tesla have shown that.
Electricity is far cheaper than diesel on a per-mile basis, while the electric powertrain features fewer moving parts, reducing service intervals and lifetime expenses. Early deployments with customers like PepsiCo and others have validated these advantages in real-world service.
The Nevada factory’s ramp-up is targeted for full volume output before the end of June 2026, aligning with broader Tesla production goals for 2026. This includes parallel efforts on other new vehicles while expanding the Megacharger infrastructure to support widespread adoption.
By localizing battery and truck production, Tesla gains advantages in cost, quality control, and scalability that many competitors sourcing cells externally lack. The start of high-volume Semi production represents a pivotal step in Tesla’s strategy to electrify heavy transportation, potentially accelerating the shift toward zero-emission freight across North America and beyond.
As output increases, the Semi could reshape long-haul logistics with its combination of performance, efficiency, and sustainability.




