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SpaceX’s next Crew Dragon astronaut launch slips into April

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NASA, SpaceX, and private customer Axiom Space have decided to slightly delay two of the company’s upcoming Crew Dragon launches, both of which are now scheduled to occur in April.

Originally planned to launch as early as late 2021 and more recently delayed from February 21st to March 30th, Axiom Space’s Ax-1 mission has been pushed back once again and is now working towards a launch no earlier than (NET) 1:13 pm EDT (17:13 UTC) on Sunday, April 3rd. Ax-1 will mark a number of firsts but first and foremost, it will be the first fully private astronaut launch to the International Space Station (ISS) with no space agency-affiliated crew members aboard.

In response, to ensure “appropriate spacing for operations and post-flight data reviews between human spaceflight missions and to allow for multiple consecutive launch attempts based on the orbital mechanics for arrival to the space station,” NASA and SpaceX chose to delay Crew-4 – Dragon’s fourth operational astronaut transport mission – from April 15th to around 6:45 am EDT (10:45 UTC) on April 19th.

According to NASA and Axiom, Ax-1 was delayed to “allow teams to complete final spacecraft processing ahead of the mission,” implying that small delays in preparing Crew Dragon for flight are responsible for the slip. In Ax-1’s case, that’s somewhat understandable.

SpaceX has assigned Crew Dragon C206 (“Endeavour”) to the mission, making it the first time in history a space capsule is scheduled to launch astronauts into orbit for the third. Dragon C206 supported SpaceX’s inaugural astronaut launch – Demo-2 – in May 2020 and safely returned to Earth in August 2020. Fifteen months later, the same capsule carried four Crew-2 astronauts tp orbit, making SpaceX the second entity in spaceflight history to successfully reuse a crewed orbital spacecraft.

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Crew Dragon C206 is fished out of the ocean after a flawless crewed launch and reentry debut. (NASA)
Crew Dragon C206’s second ISS arrival; April 2021. (NASA)

Now, a little over five months after Crew Dragon C206’s second successful reentry and splashdown, the spacecraft is scheduled to launch another four astronauts – this time all private citizens – to the ISS. Possibly explaining some of the launch delays the mission has experienced, that means that Ax-1 – a crewed launch – will be the first time any Dragon 2 capsule flies for the third time. It would be little surprise if combining a reusability pathfinder mission with the safety requirements of crewed spaceflight resulted in a need for more inspections, testing, and analysis than initially expected.

Once the mission launches, Axiom-1’s crew of four – one former NASA astronaut turned private spaceship pilot and three wealthy passengers – will spend around 10 days in orbit and 8 days aboard the space station. For an April 3rd launch, they should thus return to Earth on April 13th, leaving NASA and SpaceX six days to recover Dragon, debrief the crew, analyze data from the mission, and prepare to launch Crew-4.

Falcon 9 B1062 is scheduled to launch Axiom-1 for its fifth mission. (Chance Belloise)
Crew-4 will be Falcon 9 B1067’s fourth launch. (Richard Angle)

Crew-4 will fly out of the same Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A pad, so the latest delay will also give SpaceX 16 days (instead of 12) to inspect the pad, complete any needed refurbishment, integrate Crew-4’s Falcon 9 and Dragon, and roll out the rocket for a static fire test a few days before liftoff

Crew-4 will debut a new Dragon capsule but both it and Ax-1 will use substantially reused Falcon 9 boosters. Axiom-1’s record-breaking Dragon will launch on Falcon 9 B1062, which will itself set a record as the first orbital-class rocket booster to launch humans on its fourth or fifth flight. Flying for the fourth time, Falcon 9 B1067 will launch Crew-4.

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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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Tesla China breaks 8-month slump by selling 71,599 vehicles wholesale in June

Tesla China’s June numbers were released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Tuesday.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla China was able to sell 71,599 vehicles wholesale in June 2025, reversing eight consecutive months of year-over-year declines. The figure marks a 0.83% increase from the 71,599 vehicles sold wholesale in June 2024 and a 16.1% jump compared to the 61,662 vehicles sold wholesale in May. 

Tesla China’s June numbers were released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Tuesday.

Tesla China’s June results in focus

Tesla produces both the Model 3 and Model Y at its Shanghai Gigafactory, which serves as the company’s primary vehicle export hub. Earlier this year, Tesla initiated a changeover for its best-selling vehicle, the Model Y, resulting in a drop in vehicle sales during the first and second quarters.

Tesla’s second-quarter China sales totaled 191,720 units including exports. While these numbers represent a 6.8% year-over-year decline for Tesla China, Q2 did show sequential improvement, rising about 11% from Q1 2025, as noted in a CNEV Post report.

For the first half of the year, Tesla sold 364,474 vehicles wholesale. This represents a 14.6% drop compared to the 426,623 units sold wholesale in the first half of 2024.

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China’s competitive local EV market

Tesla’s position in China is notable, especially as the new Model Y is gaining ground in the country’s BEV segment. That being said, Tesla is also facing competition from impressive local brands such as Xiaomi, whose new YU7 electric SUV is larger and more affordable than the Model Y. 

The momentum of the YU7 is impressive, as the vehicle was able to secure 200,000 firm orders within three minutes and over 240,000 locked-in orders within 18 hours. Xiaomi’s previous model, the SU7 electric sedan, which is aimed at the Tesla Model 3, also remains popular, with June deliveries surpassing 25,000 units for the ninth straight month.

While China’s EV market is getting more competitive, Tesla’s new Model Y is also ramping its production and deliveries. Needless to say, Tesla China’s results for the remaining two quarters of 2025 will be very interesting.

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Tesla reveals it is using AI to make factories more sustainable: here’s how

Tesla is using AI in its Gigafactory Nevada factory to improve HVAC efficiency.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has revealed in its Extended Impact Report for 2024 that it is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable its factories to be more sustainable. One example it used was its achievement of managing “the majority of the HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled” last year.

In a commitment to becoming more efficient and making its production as eco-friendly as possible, Tesla has been working for years to find solutions to reduce energy consumption in its factories.

For example, in 2023, Tesla implemented optimization controls in the plastics and paint shops located at Gigafactory Texas, which increased the efficiency of natural gas consumption. Tesla plans to phase out natural gas use across its factories eventually, but for now, it prioritizes work to reduce emissions from that energy source specifically.

It also uses Hygrometric Control Logic for Air Handling Units at Giafactory Berlin, resulting in 17,000 MWh in energy savings each year. At Gigafactory Nevada, Tesla saves 9.5 GWh of energy through the use of N-Methylpyrrolidone refineries when extracting critical raw material.

Perhaps the most interesting way Tesla is conserving energy is through the use of AI at Gigafactory Nevada, as it describes its use of AI to reduce energy demand:

“In 2023, AI Control for HVAC was expanded from Nevada and Texas to now include our Berlin-Brandenburg and Fremont factories. AI Control policy enables HVAC systems within each factory to work together to process sensor data, model factory dynamics, and apply control actions that safely minimize the energy required to support production. In 2024, this system achieved two milestones: the majority of HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled, reducing fan and thermal energy demand; and the AI algorithm was extended to manage entire chiller plants, creating a closed-loop control system that optimizes both chilled water consumption and the energy required for its generation, all while maintaining factory conditions.”

Tesla utilizes AI Control “primarily on systems that heat or cool critical factory production spaces and equipment.” AI Control communicates with the preexisting standard control logic of each system, and any issues can be resolved by quickly reverting back to standard control. There were none in 2024.

Tesla says that it is utilizing AI to drive impact at its factories, and it has proven to be a valuable tool in reducing energy consumption at one of its facilities.

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Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.

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The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.

Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.

However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.

President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.

How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies

Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.

ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”

Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”

“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”

Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.

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