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SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft put through its paces at orbital space station
SpaceX’s first human-proven Crew Dragon spacecraft is being put through its paces in orbit by NASA and even Roscosmos astronauts, according to senior agency leader.
Promoted to lead NASA’s Human Spaceflight Office (HEOMD) days ago, former Commercial Crew Program (CCP) manager Kathy Lueders primarily spoke about her new job – guiding the Artemis Moon landing program – but did manage to answer some questions about her former post. Successfully launched on May 30th, SpaceX’s inaugural Crew Dragon astronaut mission also marked NASA’s first domestic astronaut launch since June 2011, an achievement that unsurprisingly helped catapult Lueders up the ranks just a few weeks later.
Thus far, SpaceX’s first crewed launch is arguably the crowning achievement of both the company and the commercial spaceflight industry it’s largely come to represent. The mission isn’t over yet, however, and International Space Station (ISS) astronauts are reportedly hard at work as they continue to test the historic Crew Dragon spacecraft and push it to a whole new genre of limits.
According to Lueders and backed up by a different NASA executive about a week prior, “Crew Dragon has been doing great” over the ~20 days it’s spent docked to the ISS. NASA and its orbiting astronauts have already done a significant amount of work to verify that the spacecraft is in good health and capable of serving as a lifeboat – at a moment’s notice – for the space station’s crew. In the coming weeks, it’s likely that Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Chris Cassidy, and (maybe) a Russian cosmonaut will explicitly rehearse such an emergency, testing Crew Dragon’s ability to depart the ISS in a matter of minutes.
As part of that work, Lueders says NASA astronauts are waking Dragon up and performing checkouts weekly before returning the spacecraft to a mysterious “sleep mode”. In the coming weeks, NASA will further test Crew Dragon by boarding four of the space station’s five current astronauts, including one of two Russian cosmonauts.
SpaceX hasn’t crossed the finish line just yet, though. Lueders also shed additional light on that critical section of Crew Dragon’s astronaut launch debut, confirming that NASA still plans to have the spacecraft return to Earth with Behnken and Hurley in early August. Two opposing goals will continue to tug at that date. On one hand, having both astronauts on the ISS as long as possible helps NASA maximize the efficient use and maintenance of the ultra-expensive orbital laboratory. However, the sooner Crew Dragon is able to complete its first crewed reentry, splashdown, and recovery; the sooner SpaceX and NASA and can fully debrief from the mission, analyze the recovered hardware, and complete paperwork for SpaceX’s next astronaut launch.
Known as Crew-1, SpaceX will send three NASA astronauts and one JAXA (Japanese) astronaut to the ISS for a full six months (~180 days), beginning what could be years of operational Crew Dragon astronaut ferry missions. Crew-1 is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) August 30th but that date is heavily contingent upon post-Demo-2 reviews and is mainly a placeholder. For now, Crew Dragon C206 is in good health and thus has at least another month and a half to look forward to at the International Space Station.
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Elon Musk
California snubs Tesla in its newly passed EV incentive that favors Rivian and Lucid
California passed a $135 million EV incentive that rewards Rivian and Lucid while sidelining Tesla
California just drew a line in the EV incentive sand to put Tesla on the wrong side of it. The state recently passed a $135 million program offering first-time electric vehicle buyers a direct incentive with no application required, but the rules were written in a way that leaves Tesla at a structural disadvantage compared to Rivian and Lucid.
The program caps eligible vehicles at $50,000 for new EVs and $25,000 for used ones. That pricing threshold rules out a significant portion of Tesla’s lineup, though some lower-priced Model 3 and Model Y configurations would still qualify. California-based automakers are exempt from the price cap entirely, regardless of what their vehicles cost. Rivian, headquartered in Irvine, and Lucid, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, both benefit from that exemption. Rivian’s R2 starts at roughly $45,000 but has versions above the cap. Lucid’s Air and Gravity start at $70,990 and $79,990 respectively, well above any threshold a non-California company would face.
California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law
Tesla built its reputation and a significant portion of its early market share in California, where EV adoption has consistently led the nation. The company operates its original factory in Fremont, California, and the state was home to Tesla’s headquarters for most of its existence. That changed in 2021 when Tesla moved its corporate headquarters to Austin, Texas. Since then, the relationship between the company and California Governor Gavin Newsom has been openly adversarial, with Musk and Newsom trading public criticism on multiple occasions.
California’s EV incentive landscape has shifted repeatedly in recent years, and Tesla has previously lost eligibility for state-level programs as its vehicles exceeded income-adjusted price thresholds. The federal $7,500 EV tax credit, which Tesla models have qualified for and lost depending on policy cycles, is no longer available after it expired without renewal, making state-level programs more meaningful to buyers than they have been in years.
The practical impact for buyers is more nuanced than the headline suggests. California residents purchasing a Tesla under $50,000 for the first time can still access the incentive. But the exemption written for California-based manufacturers is a structural advantage that rewards where a company plants its headquarters flag rather than where it builds its products, and Tesla moved that flag to Texas.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s newest logo confirms everything about what it’s become
SpaceX officially absorbed xAI under the SpaceXAI brand, completing the largest private merger in history.
SpaceX made its corporate transformation official in May 2026 when Elon Musk posted on X that xAI would cease to exist as a standalone company. “xAI will be dissolved as a separate company, so it will just be SpaceXAI, the AI products from SpaceX,” he wrote.
A new SpaceXAI logo was announced today, visually embedding the xAI letters inside the SpaceX identity, which can be seen as a deliberate design choice that signals the merger is not a partnership but a full absorption and XAi a core function of the same company. The same way Starlink is not a separate brand but a SpaceX product. The announcement closed the loop on a process that began February 2, 2026, when SpaceX acquired xAI in the largest private merger in history, valued at $1.25 trillion. SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion.
We are now @SpaceXAI. pic.twitter.com/ema66xDWC9
— SpaceXAI (@SpaceXAI) July 6, 2026
The reason SpaceX bought xAI was stated plainly by Musk at the time of the deal: to build orbital data centers. SpaceX had simultaneously filed with the FCC to launch up to one million satellites designed to function as AI compute nodes in low Earth orbit, escaping what Musk described as the energy constraints limiting AI development on Earth.
xAI provided the AI software stack, with Grok, the X platform, and the Colossus supercomputer infrastructure in Memphis with over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs, while SpaceX provided the rockets, Starlink, and the capital base to fund it. The two companies needed each other. xAI was burning $2.5 billion in losses on $250 million in revenue. SpaceX was generating an estimated $8 billion in profit on $15 billion in revenue and needed an AI narrative to command the valuation it was targeting for its IPO.
What SpaceX has done, regardless of how the orbital AI vision ultimately plays out, is walk into a public market as something no company has been before: a rocket manufacturer, satellite internet provider, AI software company, social media platform, and supercomputer operator under one ticker. Whether that combination is worth $2 trillion depends entirely on which of those businesses you believe in most.
Tesla brought its innovative Cybercab robotaxi to the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Annual Convention in Austin, Texas, on July 3 at the JW Marriott Austin.
The hands-on demonstration highlighted the vehicle’s thoughtful design for blind and visually impaired users, underscoring Tesla’s commitment to inclusive autonomous mobility. Attendees, many using white canes or accompanied by service dogs, experienced the steering-wheel-free Cybercab firsthand.
Cybercab at the National Federation of the Blind’s Annual Convention in Austin for a hands-on experience of its accessibility features for blind or visually impaired customers⁰⁰For example:⁰– Braille lettering on physical controls
– Space for service animals & assistive… pic.twitter.com/8wrJcDHkw7— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) July 6, 2026
The showcase emphasized practical features tailored to the needs of the blind community. Braille lettering appears on physical controls, including door releases and emergency buttons, allowing users to navigate interfaces independently through touch. Generous interior space accommodates service animals and assistive devices such as canes, guide dogs, or mobility aids without compromising comfort.
Wheelchair-height seating facilitates easier transfers for users with additional mobility challenges. Photos from the event captured blind attendees approaching the vehicle confidently, service dogs relaxing inside, and hands exploring Braille-equipped handles.
Tesla Robotaxi’s official account detailed these elements, noting the Cybercab’s focus on accessibility, especially noting the Braille lettering and additional space for service animals.
How Tesla Will Transform Mobility for the Blind
Autonomous vehicles like the Cybercab promise revolutionary independence for the roughly 2.2 million visually impaired Americans. Traditional barriers—reliance on sighted drivers, costly paratransit, or limited public transit—often restrict spontaneous travel. Tesla Full Self-Driving aims to eliminate the need for a human operator, enabling on-demand, door-to-door rides via simple app hailing with voice guidance.
Users gain freedom to work, socialize, shop, or attend events anytime without scheduling hassles or safety concerns. This reduces isolation, boosts employment opportunities, and enhances quality of life, turning mobility from a dependency into true personal autonomy.
The NFB demonstration not only gathered valuable feedback but also generated excitement about a future where technology levels the playing field. By prioritizing inclusive design, Tesla advances a vision of transportation that serves everyone, potentially reshaping daily life for blind individuals and setting a standard for the autonomous industry.
As Cybercab deployment scales, these accessibility innovations could mark a significant step toward equitable mobility.
California snubs Tesla in its newly passed EV incentive that favors Rivian and Lucid
SpaceX’s newest logo confirms everything about what it’s become
