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SpaceX’s Elon Musk set for Starlink launch, Tesla earnings double-header
SpaceX has delayed its latest Starlink launch once more after high winds forced the company to recycle an attempt originally planned for January 27th, setting up SpaceX’s Elon Musk for a Starlink launch and Tesla earnings report on the same day.
Flight-proven Falcon 9 booster B1051 is currently vertical at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) and has been for more than a week. Perched atop an expendable upper stage attached to the top of the booster, SpaceX’s third batch of 60 upgraded Starlink v1.0 satellites are loaded inside the rocket’s airtight payload fairing, patiently awaiting a launch that’s now been delayed a full 9 days by winter weather both in Cape Canaveral and off the Florida coast.
Most recently, bad sea conditions in the Atlantic Ocean forced SpaceX to delay Starlink V1 L3 an extra 24 hours from a January 28th backup window and the batch of communications satellites are now scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 9:09 am EST (14:09 UTC), January 29th. Set to unequivocally reaffirm SpaceX’s position as the owner of the world’s largest private satellite constellation, the mission – should it be a success – will mean that the company has launched its 240th flat-packed Starlink satellite. Additionally, Starlink L3 should feature a number of exciting Falcon 9 recovery events, potentially setting up more than 75% of the rocket’s value for reuse.
Earlier this morning, Teslarati’s own Simon Alvarez offered a glimpse of what to expect from Tesla’s Q4 2019 earnings report, scheduled for 3:30 PM PST (23:30 UTC), January 29th. In short, it looks like Tesla’s highly-anticipated Model Y crossover could find its way to customers much sooner than expected, while additional signs point to another strong quarterly performance that could send the company’s already meteoric stock even higher. As always, CEO Elon Musk is expected to be front and center on the teleconference, which is set to occur just nine hours after SpaceX’s latest 60-satellite Starlink launch.
For SpaceX, the new year has gotten off to a busy start, although Florida’s winter weather has done its best to hamper launch attempts. Beginning with the second launch of Starlink v1.0 satellites (Starlink V1 L2) on January 7th, that Falcon 9 mission was delayed from January 3rd by high seas in the Atlantic Ocean that would have made the booster’s planned drone ship landing extremely risky. In high seas, drone ship decks pitch and buck, creating major uncertainty as Falcon 9 is unable to account for the deck movement.
If the floating landing pad is at the peak or trough of large swells when Falcon 9 is scheduled to land, there is a good chance that the rocket could either hit the deck too hard or cut off its engines before landing, falling a distance equivalent to the height of the swell onto the drone ship. Either scenario would pose a serious risk of damaging or even outright destroying a landing Falcon booster, cutting short any future prospects of reuse.
Most recently, SpaceX performed Crew Dragon’s second-ever launch on a Falcon 9 rocket, intentionally triggering an in-flight abort (IFA) some 90 seconds after launch to test the spacecraft’s ability to keep astronauts safe in even a near-worst-case scenario. That particular launch was also delayed a number of days by high seas in the region the spacecraft was expected to splash down in, conditions that would have severely hampered critical recovery work.
Now a little over a week after Crew Dragon’s successful January 20th Falcon 9 launch, SpaceX’s third launch of the year has been delayed repeatedly by both weather in the recovery area and weather at the launch pad. Originally expected to launch as early as January 20th, a slight Crew Dragon launch delay pushed it to the 21st, where it was then delayed again by high seas to January 24th, and a third time to January 27th. On January 27th, SpaceX got just 40 minutes away from liftoff before it scrubbed the attempt due to high upper-level winds above the launch pad.
Finally, on January 28th, SpaceX announced that bad weather in the recovery area had forced it to skip a backup window scheduled later that day, slipping another 24 hours to 9:09 am EST on January 29th. With any luck, this will be the last in an unusually long series of weather-related delays for the Starlink mission. Aside from Falcon 9 B1051’s third launch and (hopefully) landing, Starlink V1 L3 will also mark the second time ever that twin Falcon fairing recovery ships Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief will attempt to simultaneously catch both halves of a payload fairing — more than worth the wait.
Tune in to SpaceX’s official webcast around 8:55 am EST (13:55 UTC) tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan 29) to watch the company’s third launch of 2020 live.
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Tesla has reportedly pushed the unveiling of the Roadster once again, but there are also evidently new details about the event that the company plans to show off.
The Information reported this morning that Tesla will now unveil, for the second time, the next-generation Roadster in August, a further delay from the multiple timeline that the company had previously stated.
The report has not been confirmed or denied by Tesla at any capacity.
It also states the unveiling event will take place in Texas, the same place that Tesla executives revealed in May would be the place of manufacture for the company’s highly-anticipated supercar, which boasts a top speed of over 250 MPH and 650 miles of range, according to its website.
Tesla is also expected to showcase the SpaceX package, which will be used for faster acceleration and potentially hovering capabilities, at the unveiling event, the report states. Musk has always planned for this to happen, but now it seems it is more realistic than ever
The report also states the Roadster unveiling is planned for August pic.twitter.com/By26XZIJzU
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 5, 2026
The Roadster has had its unveiling date and manufacturing date pushed back on many occasions. It was set to start production in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic crippled supply chain operations, forcing Tesla to push its timeline back considerably.
However, COVID has been over for some time, and Tesla has still not managed to successfully schedule and execute an unveiling event, which is something fans and enthusiasts, as well as those who have put down a $50,000 deposit, have been waiting for.
The vehicle was close to completion last year, but Musk truly wanted Lars Moravy and Franz von Holzhausen to push the limits of the Roadster. In July of last year, Moravy said:
“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind-blowing; We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.”
It is important to note two things: Tesla has not confirmed these details, and the company has regularly pushed these dates back. Until Tesla sends out formal invitations with a concrete date, taking any unveiling event reports with a grain of salt is a good idea.
Tesla is offering a tasty Supercharging incentive on certain Model 3 trims, but the company has officially put a concrete end date on it, so those interested should act fast.
Tesla is offering Free Supercharging for One Year on the Model 3 Premium and Performance trims, the top two offerings of the all-electric sedan. There are three trims of the Model 3 that will have the Free Supercharging offer attached:
- Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive – $42,490
- Premium All-Wheel-Drive – $47,490
- Performance – $54,990
Tesla has now announced that this offer will expire on June 15, giving potential buyers about ten days to take advantage of the incentive.
This could be an additional incentive for car buyers to transition to electric vehicles. Many states are showing gas prices well over $4 per gallon, with the national average currently sitting at $4.22, according to AAA.
A free year of Supercharging miles would allow people to charge and travel for free, other than routine maintenance, which is already incredibly cheap compared to a gas car.
🚨 Tesla is now showing that it’s Free Supercharging offer for Model 3 Premium and Performance trims ends June 15 pic.twitter.com/VCLeddNSj8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 5, 2026
At Tesla Superchargers, peak rates, meaning prices between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., average between $0.45 and $0.60. One year of driving at an average of 12,000 miles would cost between $1,000 and $1,500 at $0.50 per kWh. It’s a pretty good deal.
Supercharging prices have also increased recently:
Many of the Superchargers in my area just had their peak rates increased from $0.44 per kWh to $0.49, $0.52, and $0.54 per kWh
If you’re looking to save on your commute/travel for the next year, this Model 3 Free Supercharging incentive might not be a bad idea https://t.co/YDwwl4xxHk pic.twitter.com/DleURW7eqa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 5, 2026
Tesla has used Free Supercharging to move units in the past, and it’s a great strategy for those who plan to use the car for longer commutes, cross-country drives, or do not have reliable access to home charging.
It should be noted that Tesla recommends that Supercharging be used at a minimum to preserve the life of the battery, as fast-charging is more stressful on the cells.
However, some people might not have an option, so the Free Supercharging incentive could truly be a great reason for many people to charge their cars.
The Supercharging incentive is short-term, and it is pretty rare that Tesla utilizes it, so once this offer is gone, we probably will not see it on the Model 3 for some time.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna revealed that the Italian automaker’s future will not involve self-driving, a point that echoes that of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s — sort of.
You might be thinking, “Are you insane? Musk has been so incredibly hellbent on delivering self-driving vehicles to the public, so much so that he has even hinted that Tesla won’t need the ever-popular and widely-requested Model Y L in the U.S.”
However, when it comes to electric supercars with high-performance specs and lofty price tags, Vigna’s stance is exactly what Musk wants for Tesla’s own hypercar project, the Tesla Roadster.
🚨 Tesla Roadster vs. Ferrari Luce
Price – $250,000 vs. $640,000
Horsepower – 1,000+ vs. 1,035
0-60 MPH – 1.1s OR 1.9s vs. 2.4s
Top Speed – 250+ MPH vs. 194 MPH
Range – 620 miles vs. 280 miles https://t.co/uEgswwVLeD pic.twitter.com/XcP58ZRO6Z— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 5, 2026
In a new interview with Australian media outlet Drive, Vigna made it clear that Ferrari’s ambitions for the future do not involve autonomy, simply because the company’s cars are not designed for anything but manual, spirited driving.
He said:
“We will not make fully autonomous cars — loud and clear. We want the people to have fun, not the [computer] chips. We want to have a steering wheel and a man or a woman behind the steering wheel. Otherwise, why do you buy a Ferrari?”
This seems to be a reasonable assertion. Ferraris are not made for daily commutes, cross-country road trips, or bumper-to-bumper traffic. They’re made for fast, spirited driving, and many of their buyers will only put a few thousand miles on them throughout their lifetime. True, exciting, fun driving is meant to be done manually.
That is not to say Full Self-Driving or other semi-autonomous suites are not “fun,” but they are meant to take the stress out of driving. They are made for the daily commutes, the rush hour traffic, and the parking lots and garages. It’s made to take the stress out of driving.
Tesla Full Self-Driving attempts 150-mile stress test: the good and the bad
Musk had stated in an interview in early 2026 that the Roadster would also be geared toward fun, manually-controlled driving. On the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis, Musk said about the Roadster:
“This is not a…safety is not the main goal. If you buy a Ferrari, safety is not the number one goal. I say, if safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster…We’ll aspire not to kill anyone in this car. It’ll be the best of the last of the human-driven cars. The best of the last.”
There are cars out there that simply are meant to be driven by humans, and Ferraris and Roadsters are a few of them. Ferrari has no true advantage in developing self-driving; their cars sell at low volumes with high price tags, and their performance specs and engineering are all geared toward spirited driving.
Tesla Roadster unveiling gets pushed again, but new event details emerge
Tesla Model 3 has a tasty Supercharging incentive, but it’s ending soon
