News
SpaceX’s first Crew Dragon NASA astronauts suit up for spacesuit-focused launch rehearsal
While a great deal of work remains before SpaceX and NASA are ready to set a date for Crew Dragon’s inaugural astronaut launch (Demo-2) both teams continue to actively prepare for the milestone mission.
Most recently, NASA has published photos detailing a critical (and literal) dress rehearsal with astronauts Col. Bob Behnken and Col. Doug Hurley, set to become the first astronauts to ride SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to orbit and dock with the International Space Station (ISS). This particular test centered around the process of suiting up in SpaceX’s iconic, custom-built spacesuits and simulated pre-launch procedures in a Crew Dragon simulator located at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, CA headquarters.
A literal dress rehearsal
On Thursday, an official NASA Astronaut account tweeted that SpaceX’s first two Commercial Crew astronauts had recently completed a dress rehearsal test of the spacesuits that they will wear during Crew Dragon’s inaugural crewed launch to the ISS. Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley participated in a full “suit-up & leak checks” rehearsal with their iconic SpaceX-built suits and the same Ground Support Equipment (GSE) hardware that will be used during Demo-2. This dress rehearsal also serves to familiarize the SpaceX and NASA ground support crew with the astronaut suit-up process, and multiple technicians and flight engineers are visible in the background.
The new spacesuits made their press debut last summer at a media event held at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Not only are they uniquely beautiful and modernist, but SpaceX’s spacesuits are also designed first and foremost with functionality in mind. SpaceX hired its own team of seamstresses and focused heavily on integrating 3D printing into suit production, resulting in an end-product that is simultaneously strikingly minimalistic and extremely usable. For example, the helmets Behnken and Hurley are seen wearing use 3D printing to integrate extremely complex life support systems, a built-in microphone and speaker communications array, a seamless multi-hinged visor, and more.
The suits are also designed to allow for easy maneuverability and a seamless user experience within the Dragon capsule. The attached gloves of the suit use conductive leather to allow the astronauts to interact with the Crew Dragon’s primary controls, a set of large touchscreens. Apple iPads will additionally be mounted directly on the thighs of the astronauts to serve as an even more convenient (and redundant) method of interfacing with Dragon’s controls, among other things.
While the suits are designed to be pressurized to support the astronauts in the event of a life-threatening event that may occur aboard Dragon, they are not meant for spacewalks or prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space.
Behnken, Hurley, and other Commercial Crew astronauts have been included in the development of their suits since day one and each flight suit has been carefully tailored to fit each future Crew Dragon astronaut. Having the opportunity to run through a launch day dress rehearsal allows everyone in the process to become familiarized with the specialized procedures that will occur ahead of boarding the Dragon capsule.
Crew Dragon sidesteps the norm
Unlike previous crewed NASA launches, SpaceX plans to have astronauts board Crew Dragon before launch vehicle fueling begins. This new approach to crew loading has become known as “Load-and-Go.” This procedure is extremely familiar to SpaceX, as the company supercools the liquid oxygen and kerosene propellant used by Falcon 9 and Heavy to significantly improve the performance of both rockets.
SpaceX has made the rational argument that boarding astronauts before fueling is actually significantly safer than the traditional method of ingressing astronauts while the rocket is fully fueled. Once inside Crew Dragon, the spacecraft’s SuperDraco abort system would be armed, theoretically protecting its astronauts from any conceivable explosion-related vehicle failure, whereas a fueled rocket failing during ingress could easily kill anyone in close proximity for the boarding procedure.
According to NASA, possible dates for Crew Dragon’s Demo-2 astronaut launch debut are under review. In a mid-July conference call with SpaceX and NASA officials, neither were particularly confident that Demo-2 would be ready to launch before the end of 2019, although they specifically did not rule the possibility out. More likely than not, Crew Dragon Demo-2 will slip into early 2020 as a result of a catastrophic explosion that destroyed Crew Dragon capsule C201 during static fire testing earlier this year.
Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.
SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.
An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.
The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.
SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.
The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.
Tesla has scaled back driver monitoring to be less naggy with the latest version of the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite, which is version 14.3.3.
The latest version is already earning praise from owners, who are reporting that the suite is far less invasive when it comes to keeping drivers from taking their eyes off the road. The first to mention it was notable Tesla community member on X known as Zack, or BLKMDL3.
14.3.3 nags less too https://t.co/IuiWzuYO6O
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2026
Musk confirmed that v14.3.3 was made to nag drivers significantly less, something that Tesla has worked toward in the past and has said with previous versions that it is less likely to push drivers to look ahead, at least after looking away for a few seconds.
This refinement aligns with Tesla’s ongoing push toward unsupervised FSD. The update also brings faster Actual Smart Summon (now up to 8 mph), reliable “Hey Grok” voice commands, richer visualizations, smoother Mad Max acceleration, and an intervention streak counter that rewards consistent use. Reviewers describe the drive as more human-like and confident, with fewer twitches or unnecessary maneuvers.
Musk has repeatedly signaled this direction. In late 2025, he stated that FSD would allow phone use “depending on context of surrounding traffic,” noting safety data would justify relaxing rules so drivers could text in low-risk scenarios like stop-and-go traffic.
We tested this, and even still, the cell phone monitoring really seems to be less active in terms of alerting drivers:
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.1 texting and driving: we tested it
Earlier, ahead of v14, Musk promised the system would “nag the driver much less” once safety metrics improved.
In 2023, he confirmed the steering wheel torque nag would be “gradually reduced, proportionate to improved safety,” shifting reliance to the cabin camera. Subsequent updates like v13.2.9 and v12.4 further loosened monitoring, cracking down on workarounds while easing legitimate distractions.
These steps reflect Tesla’s data-driven approach: FSD’s safety record—reportedly averaging millions of miles per crash—now outpaces human drivers in many scenarios, giving the company confidence to dial back interventions. Reduced nags improve usability and trust, encouraging more drivers to rely on the system rather than disengaging out of frustration.
However, there are certainly still some concerns. In many states, it is illegal to handle a cell phone in any way, requiring the use of hands-free devices. In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to use your cell phone at stop lights, which is definitely a step further than using it while the car is actively in motion.
v14.3.3 represents tangible progress. Making FSD less adversarial and more seamless is definitely a step forward, but drivers need to be aware of the dangers of distracted driving. FSD is extremely capable, but it is in no way fully autonomous, nor does its performance warrant owners to take their attention off the road.
Tesla has officially expanded its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite in Europe once again, as it will now be offered to customer vehicles in Lithuania, marking a significant milestone as the second European Union country to offer the system.
Tesla confirmed FSD’s rollout in Lithuania this morning:
FSD Supervised now rolling out to Teslas in Lithuania 🇱🇹!
Making European roads safer, one by one pic.twitter.com/Uuj0bNG7pP
— Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa (@teslaeurope) May 20, 2026
Tesla showed several clips of Full Self-Driving navigation in Lithuania to mark the announcement, while Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas highlighted the system’s potential to assist with lane-keeping, speed adjustment, and traffic tasks on longer drives, while emphasizing that drivers must stay alert and ready to intervene.
Just a few weeks ago, Tesla officially entered Europe with Full Self-Driving in the Netherlands. The expansion of FSD on the continent is now officially underway.
Full Self-Driving’s European Journey
Europe has long posed one of the toughest regulatory challenges for Tesla’s autonomy ambitions due to stringent safety standards under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) framework, particularly UN Regulation 171 for Driver Control Assistance Systems.
The Netherlands’ RDW authority granted the pioneering approval after over 18 months of rigorous testing, including 1.6 million kilometers on European roads and extensive data submissions.
This approval enables mutual recognition across the EU, allowing other member states to adopt it nationally without full re-testing. Lithuania quickly leveraged this mechanism, becoming the second adopter. Tesla positions FSD Supervised as a tool to incrementally improve road safety, with the company claiming it reduces incidents when used properly.
Bottlenecks slowing broader European deployment include fragmented national regulations, varying levels of regulatory skepticism, and requirements for robust driver monitoring. Some EU officials have raised concerns about performance in adverse conditions like icy roads or speeding scenarios, alongside frustrations over Tesla’s public advocacy approach.
Additional hurdles involve data privacy, liability frameworks, and the need for EU-wide harmonization. While countries like Belgium appear to be fast-tracking adoption, larger markets such as Germany, France, and Italy are expected to follow in the coming months, with potential EU-wide progress targeted for later in 2026.
Tesla Full Self-Driving Across the World
As of May, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is available in approximately ten countries.
In North America, it has been live for years in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Asia-Pacific additions include Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, while China utilizes what Tesla calls “City Autopilot.” In Europe, the Netherlands and now Lithuania join the list, with more countries mulling the possibility of also approving FSD.
Tesla offers FSD via monthly subscriptions (around €99 in Europe) or one-time purchases (with deadlines approaching in many markets), shifting toward recurring revenue models. Today is the final day Europeans will be able to purchase the suite outright.
This expansion underscores Tesla’s push for global autonomy, starting with supervised and building toward greater capabilities. With Lithuania now online, momentum is building across Europe, though regulatory caution will continue shaping the pace. Owners in approved regions report smoother highway and urban driving, but the system remains Level 2, which requires human oversight.
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
Tesla scales back driver monitoring with latest Full Self-Driving release
