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SpaceX Crew Dragon tests SuperDraco rocket engines in new slow-mo video
SpaceX has released a rare video from one of its slow-motion engineering cameras, showing off a Crew Dragon capsule performing a static fire test of its eight SuperDraco rocket engines. With this test now complete, SpaceX and NASA can focus on determining when the same Dragon will be ready to fly a crucial abort test.
After a week or two of delays, on November 13th, SpaceX successfully fired up Crew Dragon capsule C205’s eight SuperDraco abort engines and two Draco maneuvering thrusters in a ground simulation of a flight test planned for the same capsule. Crew Dragon’s eight SuperDraco thrusters are capable of producing a combined thrust of more than 130,000 lbf (570 kN), almost as much thrust as an original SpaceX Merlin 1D engine used on Falcon 9s in the early 2010s.
November 13th’s static fire was required only after Crew Dragon C201 catastrophically exploded just prior to an almost identical test on April 20th, 2019. The historic spacecraft had completed its first orbital launch, ISS rendezvous, docking, reentry, and splashdown less than six weeks prior to that attempted static fire. Although it performed to perfection during that uncrewed Demo-1 spaceflight, it apparently carried an unknown design flaw during that flawless launch.
That flaw became apparent after the spacecraft exploded around 10 seconds prior to a planned static fire of its SuperDraco engines, a test meant to verify vehicle health before SpaceX planned to launch the capsule again to support its In-Flight Abort (IFA). According to a joint SpaceX-NASA investigation, the source of that failure was the flawed decision to use titanium in a pressurized liquid nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) environment, a choice that ultimately resulted in an exotic titanium fire and violent explosion.
SpaceX decided to prevent the issue from recurring by replacing the actuating, titanium check valves with single-use burst disks, meaning that Crew Dragon’s SuperDraco engines will now only be capable of a single ignition each. That limitation is no longer relevant after SpaceX chose years ago to end work on propulsively landing Dragon spacecraft (a la Falcon boosters), thus presumably making burst disks the simplest, cheapest, and fastest change for SpaceX and NASA to re-certify.
Thanks to the speed with which SpaceX was able to respond to Crew Dragon’s April 2019 explosion, the company was able to shuffle its fleet of in-process spacecraft, reassign capsule C205 to Dragon’s IFA test, modify the vehicle to account for necessary changes, ship it to Florida, and static-fire the completed spacecraft a little over six months later. With that static fire test now fully complete and NASA and SpaceX deep into the process of carefully inspecting capsule C205 and poring over the data produced, it’s finally reasonable to start thinking seriously about Crew Dragon’s next flight milestone.
Known as the spacecraft’s In-Flight Abort (IFA) test, that milestone will see capsule C205 launch atop a Falcon 9 booster and upper stage and attempt to escape the rocket after reaching supersonic speeds. That point of maximum aerodynamic and thermal stress during launch – known as Max Q – is one of the most challenging abort scenarios Crew Dragon could face. If C205 is able to successfully perform that in-flight abort, it will verify that the spacecraft is capable of carrying its astronauts to safety at almost any point in flight, from the launch pad all the way to Earth orbit.
NASA and SpaceX will likely announce the IFA launch date within the next week or two and odds remain good that Crew Dragon will be able to fly again before the end of 2019.
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Tesla Europe rolls out FSD ride-alongs in the Netherlands’ holiday campaign
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
Tesla Europe has announced that its “Future Holidays” campaign will feature Full Self-Driving (Supervised) ride-along experiences in the Netherlands.
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
The Holiday program was announced by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on X. “Come get in the spirit with us. Featuring Caraoke, FSD Supervised ride-along experiences, holiday light shows with our S3XY lineup & more,” the company wrote in its post on X.
Per the program’s official website, fun activities will include Caraoke sessions and light shows with the S3XY vehicle lineup. It appears that Optimus will also be making an appearance at the events. Tesla even noted that the humanoid robot will be in “full party spirit,” so things might indeed be quite fun.
“This season, we’re introducing you to the fun of the future. Register for our holiday events to meet our robots, see if you can spot the Bot to win prizes, and check out our selection of exclusive merchandise and limited-edition gifts. Discover Tesla activities near you and discover what makes the future so festive,” Tesla wrote on its official website.
-->This announcement aligns with Tesla’s accelerating FSD efforts in Europe, where supervised ride-alongs could help demonstrate the tech to regulators and customers. The Netherlands, with its urban traffic and progressive EV policies, could serve as an ideal and valuable testing ground for FSD.
Tesla is currently hard at work pushing for the rollout of FSD to several European countries. Tesla has received approval to operate 19 FSD test vehicles on Spain’s roads, though this number could increase as the program develops. As per the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Tesla would be able to operate its FSD fleet on any national route across Spain. Recent job openings also hint at Tesla starting FSD tests in Austria. Apart from this, the company is also holding FSD demonstrations in Germany, France, and Italy.
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Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.
Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October.
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.
Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.
The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.
This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.
-->For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Tesla Europe rolls out FSD ride-alongs in the Netherlands’ holiday campaign
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
