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SpaceX reveals first photos of historic Crew Dragon capsule's astronaut cabin

On March 30th, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley entered SpaceX's first astronaut-ready Crew Dragon spacecraft perhaps less than two months before they will ride it into orbit. (SpaceX)

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SpaceX has published the first photos of the interior of the US-built spacecraft scheduled to launch NASA astronauts for the first time in almost a decade.

Set to lift off on a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than (NET) mid-to-late May, SpaceX is on the cusp of the most important and historic launch in its storied history. If things go as planned, Crew Dragon’s Demo-2 mission could make SpaceX the first company in history to launch humans into orbit with a privately-built rocket and spacecraft. Even more significantly, it will be the United States’ first domestic astronaut launch since Congress and the White House prematurely canceled NASA’s Space Shuttle in 2011.

Since then, the US has relied exclusively on a total of 34 increasingly expensive Russian Soyuz spacecraft launches and is likely to purchase a handful of additional seats for more than $85 million apiece. Thanks to the Commercial Crew Program, despite several years of delays, NASA will soon be able to launch its own astronauts once again. While Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft – at ~$90 million per seat – is expected to cost NASA more than Russia’s price-gouged Soyuz offerings, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will likely be closer to $55 million per seat, potentially saving NASA tens of millions of dollars for each astronaut it launches. Now, photos posted by NASA have revealed the first glimpses inside the cabin of SpaceX’s first astronaut-ready Crew Dragon.

While NASA astronauts have been pictured numerous times before (as shown here in August 2019) inside a near-identical Crew Dragon cabin mockup in Hawthorne, SpaceX’s latest photos show the real deal. (SpaceX)
Same astronauts; real spacecraft. (SpaceX)

Unsurprisingly, the first photos taken inside an astronaut-ready Crew Dragon capsule show that SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California-based simulator is nearly identical where it matters. Over the last ~18 months, NASA astronauts assigned to SpaceX’s first several Crew Dragon launches having been training almost non-stop to learn the ropes of operating and flying in the company’s first human-rated spacecraft. Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, set to support Crew Dragon’s historic astronaut launch debut, have rightfully taken up most of the limelight as they ready for what is technically the spacecraft’s riskiest mission.

Behnken and Hurley test Crew Dragon’s displays and software in the spacecraft simulator, August 2019. (SpaceX)
Six months later, SpaceX has released the first photo of the display and control module installed in an actual Crew Dragon spacecraft. (SpaceX)

SpaceX has offered views inside Crew Dragon during its Demo-1 orbital launch debut in March 2019 but the spacecraft was uncrewed and had no display and control module installed, leaving its interior partially incomplete.

Ripley and Crew Dragon’s Demo-1 capsule interior are pictured in orbit in this NASA webcast screenshot moments before space station astronauts briefly boarded the capsule. (NASA)

Now, NASA says that the Crew Dragon spacecraft assigned to SpaceX’s Demo-2 astronaut launch is “is undergoing final testing and prelaunch processing” a few miles from its Kennedy Space Center launch site. That process is reportedly “kicking off more simulations, final crew training, and flight readiness reviews”, some of which likely involved NASA’s Demo-2 astronauts boarding and inspecting a fully-complete Crew Dragon capsule for the first time.

Meanwhile, back at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A), NASA posted SpaceX’s latest photos of the Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to launch the space agency’s astronauts just two or so months from now. A brand new booster an expendable Falcon 9 upper stage will support the mission, with B1058 scheduled to attempt a landing aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) a handful of minutes after liftoff. Posted on April 2nd, NASA also revealed that the booster has been fitted with the space agency’s ‘worm’ logo, its first official use since it was retired almost three decades ago.

In short, everything is quite literally coming together for SpaceX’s historic astronaut launch debut. NASA maintains that Demo-2 is scheduled to lift off no earlier than “mid-to-late May”, now just 6-8 weeks distant.

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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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Investor's Corner

Tesla enters new stability phase, firm upgrades and adjusts outlook

Dmitriy Pozdnyakov of Freedom Capital upgraded his outlook on Tesla shares from “Sell” to “Hold” on Wednesday, and increased the price target from $338 to $406.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla is entering a new phase of stability in terms of vehicle deliveries, one firm wrote in a new note during the final week of October, backing its position with an upgrade and price target increase on the stock.

Dmitriy Pozdnyakov of Freedom Capital upgraded his outlook on Tesla shares from “Sell” to “Hold” on Wednesday, and increased the price target from $338 to $406.

While most firms are interested in highlighting Tesla’s future growth, which will be catalyzed mostly by the advent of self-driving vehicles, autonomy, and the company’s all-in mentality on AI and robotics, Pozdnyakov is solely focusing on vehicle deliveries.

The analyst wrote in a note to investors that he believes Tesla’s updated vehicle lineup, which includes its new affordable “Standard” trims of the Model 3 and Model Y, is going to stabilize the company’s delivery volumes and return the company to annual growth.

Tesla launches two new affordable models with ‘Standard’ Model 3, Y offerings

Tesla launched the new affordable Model 3 and Model Y “Standard” trims on October 7, which introduced two stripped-down, less premium versions of the all-electric sedan and crossover.

They are both priced at under $40,000, with the Model 3 at $37,990 and the Model Y at $39,990, and while these prices may not necessarily be what consumers were expecting, they are well under what Kelley Blue Book said was the average new car transaction price for September, which swelled above $50,000.

Despite the rollout of these two new models, it is interesting to hear that a Wall Street firm would think that Tesla is going to return to more stable delivery figures and potentially enter a new growth phase.

Many Wall Street firms have been more focused on AI, Robotics, and Tesla’s self-driving project, which are the more prevalent things that will drive investor growth over the next few years.

Wedbush’s Dan Ives, for example, tends to focus on the company’s prowess in AI and self-driving. However, he did touch on vehicle deliveries in the coming years in a recent note.

Ives said in a note on October 2:

“While EV demand is expected to fall with the EV tax credit expiration, this was a great bounce-back quarter for TSLA to lay the groundwork for deliveries moving forward, but there is still work to do to gain further ground from a delivery perspective.”

Tesla has some things to figure out before it can truly consider guaranteed stability from a delivery standpoint. Initially, the next two quarters will be a crucial way to determine demand without the $7,500 EV tax credit. It will also begin to figure out if its new affordable models are attractive enough at their current price point to win over consumers.

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Elon Musk

Tesla preps for a harsh potential reality if Musk comp vote doesn’t go to plan

A successful vote for Tesla would see the compensation package get approved. But there is always the possibility of a rejection, which would likely see Musk leave the company.

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tesla cybertruck elon musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils futuristic Cybertruck in Los Angeles, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)

Tesla could be forced to look for a new CEO in the coming months, as a crucial November 6 Shareholder Meeting vote will determine whether Elon Musk will stick around.

A major vote is coming up at the 2025 Tesla Shareholder Meeting, as investors will determine whether Musk should be given a new compensation plan that would award him up to $1 trillion and more than one-fourth of the total voting power within the company.

Tesla board chair reiterates widely unmentioned point of Musk comp plan

A successful vote for Tesla would see the compensation package get approved. But there is always the possibility of a rejection, which would likely see Musk leave the company.

“My fundamental concern with regard to how much voting control I have at Tesla is if I go ahead and build this enormous robot army, can I just be ousted at some point in the future? That’s my biggest concern,” Musk said at last week’s Earnings Call. “That’s what it comes down to in a nutshell. I don’t feel comfortable wielding that robot army if I don’t have at least a strong influence.”

Tesla Board of Directors Head Robyn Denholm has been on somewhat of a PR tour over the past few days, answering questions about the compensation plan, which is among the biggest issues currently for the company.

Denholm told Bloomberg yesterday that Tesla investors need to be prepared for Musk to abandon ship if the package is not approved, which brings on a new question: Who would take over the CEO role?

That is a question Denholm also answered yesterday, bringing forth the conclusion that Tesla would not look for an outside hire if Musk were to leave the company. Instead, it would promote someone internally.

The way it was reported by Bloomberg and Reuters seems to make it seem as if Tesla is preparing for the worst, as it states the company “is looking at internal CEO candidates,” not preparing to do so.

Of the executives at Tesla who immediately come to mind as ideal candidates for a potential takeover should Musk leave, Tesla China President Tom Zhu and Head of AI Ashok Elluswamy both come to mind. Zhu has monumental executive experience already, as he was appointed to the role of Senior VP of Automotive back in December 2022.

He then returned to China in 2024.

It seems Tesla wants to align its future, with or without Musk, on the same path that it is currently on, and internal candidates might have a better idea of what that looks like and truly means.

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Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) is nearing approval in a new country

As per the official, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system could be enabled in Israel in the near future.

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Credit: @BLKMDL3/X

It appears that Tesla FSD (Supervised) is heading to a new country soon, at least based on comments from Israel’s Transport and Road Safety Minister Miri Regev.

As per the official, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system could be enabled in Israel in the near future.

Israeli drivers are pushing for FSD rollout

While Tesla’s FSD is already operational in markets like the U.S., Canada, and Australia, Israeli owners have long been unable to use the feature due to regulatory barriers. Despite its premium price tag, however, numerous Tesla owners in Israel have noted that the technology’s safety benefits, at least when approved for real-world use in the country, justify its cost. 

It was then no surprise that nearly 1,000 Tesla owners in Israel have already petitioned the government to greenlight FSD’s domestic release in Israel. In a post on X, Regev seemed to confirm that FSD is indeed coming to Israel. “I’ve received the many referrals from Tesla drivers in Israel! Tesla drivers? Soon you won’t need to hold the steering wheel,” she wrote in her post.

FSD’s regulatory support in Israel

Regev stated that her Ministry views promoting innovative technologies as essential to improving both road safety and smart mobility. A working group led by Moshe Ben-Zaken, Director General of the Ministry of Transportation has reportedly been tasked to finalize the approval process, coordinating with regulatory and safety agencies to ensure compliance with international standards.

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In a comment to Geektime, Israel’s Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety noted that Regev is indeed supporting the release of FSD in the country. “Minister Regev sees great importance in promoting innovative technologies, and in particular in the entry of advanced driving systems (FSD) into the Israeli market, as part of the ministry’s policy to encourage innovation, safety, and smart transportation,” the Ministry stated.

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