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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk & Raptor engine make surprise visit to Florida Starship
While on the East Coast for Falcon Heavy’s third launch, also described as SpaceX’s most difficult launch yet, CEO Elon Musk dropped by the company’s Florida Starship campus and recorded a small acceptance speech for his 2019 Stephen Hawking Medal.
On the very same day, at the very same site, a lone Raptor was effectively displayed for all to see to such an extent that unaffiliated photographers were able to capture impressively detailed photos. Almost the certainly the first time a full-scale Raptor has traveled east of Texas, the engine’s presence at SpaceX’s Florida Starship site is truly surprising in light of the fact that the East Coast campus is solely focused on building orbital-class prototypes. Why, then, is one of SpaceX’s small handful of completed Raptors in Florida?
About a month ago, Elon Musk was announced as the recipient of 2019’s Stephen Hawking Medal of Science Communication. Meant to be awarded in person at a ceremony in Switzerland, Musk was unable to attend the event due to a schedule conflict with Falcon Heavy’s third launch, but the infamously busy CEO managed to film a brief thank you message that was then broadcast in Switzerland.
In what seems to be a coincidence, Musk’s message – either recorded or streamed – was filmed on SpaceX’s Florida Starship development campus, a surprisingly large facility uncovered less than two months ago. The CEO was standing in the sun directly in front of two large segments of the second orbital-class Starship prototype, part of a parallel development process featuring a second Starship prototype (and separate Starhopper) in Texas. Musk’s appearance at Starship Florida is not particularly surprising; if he flew all the way to Florida for Falcon Heavy, might as well tour SpaceX’s newest Florida facilities on the same trip.
Raptor Mystery: Episode II
What is surprising, however, is the presence of what looks like a finished Raptor engine in Florida. Looks can certainly be deceiving but SpaceX’s Florida Starship prototype – while undeniably flying through preliminary assembly – does not appear to be anywhere near flight-readiness. In Boca Chica, a partially separate SpaceX team is working to prepare Starhopper – a partial-fidelity, suborbital prototype – for low-altitude, low-velocity hop tests
Back in May, a mystery Raptor engine – believed to be serial number 04 (SN04 – appeared in South Texas and was soon installed on Starhopper for fit-checks and tests of the engine’s thrust vectoring capabilities. SN04 was soon uninstalled and shipped elsewhere; perhaps to SpaceX’s rapidly-progressing Florida Starship. If the surprise Florida Raptor is, in fact, SN04, then it’s safe to assume that it will remain inert for the time being, serving as a fit-check article and opportunity for training and familiarizing technicians and build engineers. At the moment, Florida’s Starship lies in several large segments, including what appears to be the early stages of its first propellant tank bulkhead(s).
Nevertheless, as partially demonstrated above, SpaceX’s Florida team is wasting no time at all. By all appearances, they are rapidly catching up with Texas, at least as long as Boca Chica’s Starhopper work is excluded. Given the benefit of the doubt, SpaceX Texas would likely be at a similar stage of Starship develop after a similar amount of time (~2-3 months), but much of the Boca Chica workforce has been focused intently on building, upgrading, and testing Starhopper, essentially a flying testbed for Raptor and BFR development.
To an extent, Florida’s orbital Starship prototype looks even more refined than its relatively rugged Texas cousin. Given an additional 1-2 months of nonstop work and a rate of progress similar to the last two months, it’s not out of the question that the Florida prototype will begin to seriously resemble a finished Starship. By all realistic accounts, some of the most difficult work will be found inside and around Starship’s finished aeroshell, though, and the process of outfitting avionics, plumbing the propellant/propulsion sections, and implementing hydraulic/actuation systems will be a huge amount of work.
Even after Starship East is effectively complete, SpaceX will still face the seemingly immense challenge of transporting a massive spacecraft that weighs several dozen tons and measures 9m (30 ft) in diameter and 60m (200 ft) tall from Cocoa to Pad 39A, a full 20-30 miles of public roads and highways. In fact, the easiest method of transporting may involve getting Starship onto a barge in the nearby Indian River and towing it 100+ miles by water to the beach adjacent to Pad 39A. Regardless, neither method is going to be quick or easy and both will put on quite a show for local observers.
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Elon Musk says he’s open to powering Apple’s Siri with xAI’s Grok
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Elon Musk says he’s willing to help Apple overhaul Siri by integrating xAI’s Grok 4.1, igniting widespread excitement and speculations about a potential collaboration between the two tech giants.
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Musk open to an Apple collaboration
Musk’s willingness to team up with Apple surfaced after an X user suggested replacing Siri with Grok 4.1 to modernize the AI assistant. The original post criticized Siri’s limitations and urged Apple to adopt a more advanced AI system. “It’s time for Apple to team up with xAI and actually fix Siri. Replace that outdated, painfully dumb assistant with Grok 4.1. Siri deserves to be Superintelligent,” the X user wrote.
Musk quoted the post, responding with, “I’m down.” Musk’s comment quickly attracted a lot of attention among X’s users, many of whom noted that a Grok update to Siri would be appreciated because Apple’s AI assistant has legitimately become terrible in recent years. Others also noted that Grok, together with Apple’s potential integration of Starlink connectivity, would make iPhones even more compelling.
Grok promises major Siri upgrades
The enthusiasm stems largely from Grok 4.1’s technical strengths, which include stronger reasoning and improved creative output. xAI also designed the model to reduce hallucinations, as noted in a Reality Tea report. Supporters believe these improvements could address Apple’s reported challenges developing its own advanced AI systems, giving Siri the upgrade many users have waited years for.
Reactions ranged from humorous to hopeful, with some users joking that Siri would finally “wake up with a personality” if paired with Grok. Siri, after all, was a trailblazer in voice assistants, but it is currently dominated by rivals in terms of features and capabilities. Grok could change that, provided that Apple is willing to collaborate with Elon Musk’s xAI.
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Tesla’s top-rated Supercharger Network becomes Stellantis’ new key EV asset
The rollout begins in North America early next year before expanding to Japan and South Korea in 2027.
Stellantis will adopt Tesla’s North American Charging System (NACS) across select battery-electric vehicles starting in 2026, giving customers access to more than 28,000 Tesla Superchargers across five countries.
The rollout begins in North America early next year before expanding to Japan and South Korea in 2027, significantly boosting public fast-charging access for Jeep, Dodge, and other Stellantis brands. The move marks one of Stellantis’ largest infrastructure expansions to date.
Stellantis unlocks NACS access
Beginning in early 2026, Stellantis BEVs, including models like the Jeep Wagoneer S and Dodge Charger Daytona, will gain access to Tesla’s Supercharger network across North America. The integration will extend to Japan and South Korea in 2027, with the 2026 Jeep Recon and additional next-generation BEVs joining the list as compatibility expands. Stellantis stated that details on adapters and network onboarding for current models will be released closer to launch, as noted in a press release.
The company emphasizes that adopting NACS aligns with a broader strategy to give customers greater freedom of choice when charging, especially as infrastructure availability becomes a deciding factor for EV buyers. With access to thousands of high-speed stations, Stellantis aims to reduce range anxiety and improve long-distance travel convenience across its global portfolio.
Tesla Supercharger network proves its value
Stellantis’ move also comes as Tesla’s Supercharger system continues to earn top rankings for reliability and user experience. In the 2025 Zapmap survey, drawn from nearly 4,000 BEV drivers across the UK, Tesla Superchargers were named the Best Large EV Charging Network for the second year in a row. The study measured reliability, ease of use, and payment experience across the country’s public charging landscape.
Tesla’s UK network now includes 1,115 open Supercharger devices at 97 public locations, representing roughly 54% of its total footprint and marking a 40% increase in public availability since late 2024. Zapmap highlighted the Supercharger network’s consistently lower pricing compared to other rapid and ultra-rapid providers, alongside its strong uptime and streamlined user experience. These performance metrics further reinforce the value of Stellantis’ decision to integrate NACS across major markets.
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Tesla FSD and Robotaxis are making people aware how bad human drivers are
These observations really show that Tesla’s focus on autonomy would result in safer roads for everyone.
Tesla FSD and the Robotaxi network are becoming so good in their self-driving performance, they are starting to highlight just how bad humans really are at driving.
This could be seen in several observations from the electric vehicle community.
Robotaxis are better than Uber, actually
Tesla’s Robotaxi service is only available in Austin and the Bay Area for now, but those who have used the service have generally been appreciative of its capabilities and performance. Some Robotaxi customers have observed that the service is simply so much more affordable than Uber, and its driving is actually really good.
One veteran Tesla owner, @BLKMDL3, recently noted that the Robotaxi service has become better than Uber simply because FSD now drives better than some human drivers. Apart from the fact that Robotaxis allow riders to easily sync their phones to the rear display, the vehicles generally provide a significantly more comfortable ride than their manually-driven counterparts from Uber.
FSD is changing the narrative, one ride at a time
It appears that FSD V14 really is something special. The update has received wide acclaim from users since it was released, and the positive reactions are still coming. This was highlighted in a recent post from Tesla owner Travis Nicolette, who shared a recent experience with FSD. As per the Tesla owner, he was quite surprised as his car was able to accomplish a U-turn in a way that exceeded human drivers.
Yet another example of FSD’s smooth and safe driving was showcased in a recent video, which showed a safety monitor of a Bay Area Robotaxi falling asleep in the driver’s seat. In any other car, a driver falling asleep at the wheel could easily result in a grave accident, but thanks to FSD, both the safety monitor and the passengers remained safe.
These observations, if any, really show that Tesla’s focus on autonomy would result in safer roads for everyone. As per the IIHS, there were 40,901 deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2023. The NHTSA also estimated that in 2017, 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers. These crashes led to an estimated 50,000 people injured and 800 deaths. FSD could lower all these tragic statistics by a notable margin.
Elon Musk says he’s open to powering Apple’s Siri with xAI’s Grok
Tesla’s top-rated Supercharger Network becomes Stellantis’ new key EV asset
