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SpaceX Starship’s Raptor engine test facilities are about to get a big upgrade, says Elon Musk
According to CEO Elon Musk, SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy rockets are about to get a new test stand that will enable additional and more useful static fire tests of their Raptor engines.
These modifications could reportedly lead to a simplified engine design and will generally expand SpaceX’s ability to rapidly acceptance-test a huge number of Raptors – a necessity given that each Starship/Super Heavy pair will need up to 43 engines.
Musk’s additional insight came by way of a tweet response to an article published today on NASASpaceflight.com, discussing SpaceX’s recently-unearthed plans to reactivate a test stand that hasn’t seen use in almost half a decade. Known as the tripod stand, the large concrete structure was originally built in the 1990s by Beal Aerospace, a now-defunct spaceflight startup, and came under SpaceX ownership when the company bought the McGregor, Texas facilities in 2003.
SpaceX repurposed the stand to static fire Falcon 9 boosters for a number of years, eventually replacing it with a ground-level installation in 2015 that has since been used to test more than 60 Falcon 9 (and Heavy) boosters. It’s not a huge surprise that SpaceX decided to make the change, given that the tripod stand necessarily placed Falcon boosters several hundred feet off the ground, making what was already a challenge even more arduous (and dangerous) for workers.
NASASpaceflight.com also notes that the stand produced far more noise pollution, encouraging SpaceX to move the replacement stand partially underground.
After four years of inactivity, NASASpaceflight.com photos show that SpaceX is well into the process of refurbishing McGregor’s tripod stand. This time, Musk says it will be modified to support vertical Raptor engine testing, likely requiring a new custom mount and new liquid methane and oxygen propellant farms.
By far the most interesting detail to come out of this development is Musk’s indication that moving Raptor static fires to a vertical stand could actually allow SpaceX to simplify the engine’s design by creating more flight-like test conditions (and thus better data). At the moment, all Raptor acceptance testing is done on a separate test stand located elsewhere at SpaceX’s McGregor facilities. Those stands are horizontal, an engineering decision likely motivated by their relatively cheap and fast construction thanks to sidestepping the need for large, water-cooled thrust diverters.
SpaceX does all of its Merlin Vacuum, Merlin 1D, Falcon 9 booster, and upper stage static fire testing on vertical stands at its McGregor facilities, with Raptor’s horizontal stands being the only exception to the rule. As such, it was likely just a matter of time before SpaceX replaced the horizontal Raptor facilities with vertical stands. Given that SpaceX plans to modify an entirely separate stand to support vertical testing, it’s likely that the company will modify the existing stands to support vertical testing as soon as the tripod stand is up and running.
For Falcon 9 and Heavy, SpaceX has relied on a total of five main engine/vehicle test stands: two for Merlin 1D, one for MVac, one for boosters, and one for upper stages. SpaceX builds engines and rockets in Hawthorne, tests every engine separately in Texas, returns them to Hawthorne, installs them on their respective booster/upper stage, and tests those stages in McGregor before they are shipped to their launch site.
Although that sounds undeniably arduous, the four stands pictured above (plus the F9 booster stand further up) have managed to support the entirety of SpaceX’s 82 launches. A new upper stage test stand is being built, but it has yet to be completed and is only necessary because Falcon 9 upper stages are expendable. According to SpaceX planning documents, Starship and Super Heavy will only perform static fire testing at the launch site. As such, something like the cluster of four Merlin stands above could very likely support the production and testing of 100-200+ Raptor engines annually, enough to build numerous boosters and ships.
SpaceX moves fast, so stay tuned for updates as work continues on the tripod stand and paves the way for even more significant changes at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas test facilities.
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Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network had its biggest year ever in 2025, delivering a record 6.7 TWh of electricity to vehicles worldwide.
To celebrate its busy year, the official @TeslaCharging account shared an infographic showing the Supercharger Network’s growth from near-zero in 2012 to this year’s impressive milestone.
Record 6.7 TWh delivered in 2025
The bar chart shows steady Supercharger energy delivery increases since 2012. Based on the graphic, the Supercharger Network started small in the mid-2010s and accelerated sharply after 2019, when the Model 3 was going mainstream.
Each year from 2020 onward showed significantly more energy delivery, with 2025’s four quarters combining for the highest total yet at 6.7 TWh.
This energy powered millions of charging sessions across Tesla’s growing fleet of vehicles worldwide. The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets. This makes the Supercharger Network loved not just by Tesla owners but EV drivers as a whole.
Resilience after Supercharger team changes
2025’s record energy delivery comes despite earlier 2024 layoffs on the Supercharger team, which sparked concerns about the system’s expansion pace. Max de Zegher, Tesla Director of Charging North America, also highlighted that “Outside China, Superchargers delivered more energy than all other fast chargers combined.”
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted the achievement as proof of continued momentum post-layoffs. At the time of the Supercharger team’s layoffs in 2024, numerous critics were claiming that Elon Musk was halting the network’s expansion altogether, and that the team only remained because the adults in the room convinced the juvenile CEO to relent.
Such a scenario, at least based on the graphic posted by the Tesla Charging team on X, seems highly implausible.
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Tesla targets production increase at Giga Berlin in 2026
Plant manager André Thierig confirmed the facility’s stable outlook to the DPA, noting that Giga Berlin implemented no layoffs or shutdowns amid challenging market conditions.
Tesla is looking positively toward 2026 with plans for further growth at its Grünheide factory in Germany, following steady quarterly increases throughout 2025.
Plant manager André Thierig confirmed the facility’s stable outlook to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), noting that Giga Berlin implemented no layoffs or shutdowns despite challenging market conditions.
Giga Berlin’s steady progress
Thierig stated that Giga Berlin’s production actually rose in every quarter of 2025 as planned, stating: “This gives us a positive outlook for the new year, and we expect further growth.” The factory currently supplies over 30 markets, with Canada recently being added due to cost advantages.
Giga Berlin’s expansion is still underway, with the first partial approval for capacity growth being secured. Preparations for a second partial approval are underway, though the implementation of more production capacity would still depend on decisions from Tesla’s US leadership.
Over the year, updates to Giga Berlin’s infrastructure were also initiated. These include the relocation of the Fangschleuse train station and the construction of a new road. Tesla is also planning to start battery cell production in Germany starting 2027, targeting up to 8 GWh annually.
Resilience amid market challenges
Despite a 48% drop in German registrations, Tesla maintained Giga Berlin’s stability. Thierig highlighted this, stating that “We were able to secure jobs here and were never affected by production shutdowns or job cuts like other industrial sites in Germany.”
Thierig also spoke positively towards the German government’s plans to support households, especially those with low and middle incomes, in the purchase and leasing of electric vehicles this 2026. “In our opinion, it is important that the announcement is implemented very quickly so that consumers really know exactly what is coming and when,” the Giga Berlin manager noted.
Giga Berlin currently employs around 11,000 workers, and it produces about 5,000 Model Y vehicles per week, as noted in an Ecomento report. The facility produces the Model Y Premium variants, the Model Y Standard, and the Model Y Performance.
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Tesla revamped Semi spotted, insane 1.2 MW charging video releases
These developments highlight Tesla’s ongoing refinements to the vehicle’s design and infrastructure.
Tesla is gearing up for high-volume Semi production in 2026, with the Class 8 all-electric truck’s revamped variant being spotted in the wild recently. Official footage from Tesla also showed the Semi achieving an impressive 1.2 MW charging rate on a charger.
These developments highlight Tesla’s ongoing refinements to the vehicle’s design and infrastructure.
Revamped Tesla Semi sighting
Tesla Semi advocate @HinrichsZane, who has been chronicling the progress of the vehicle’s Nevada factory, recently captured exclusive drone footage of the refreshed Class 8 truck at a Megacharger stall near Giga Nevada. The white unit features a full-width front light bar similar to the Model Y and the Cybercab, shorter side windows, a cleared fairing area likely for an additional camera, and diamond plate traction strips on the steps.
Overall, the revamped Semi looks ready for production and release. The sighting marks one of the first real-life views of the Class 8 all-electric truck’s updated design, with most improvements, such as potential 4680 cells and enhanced internals, being hidden from view.
1.2 MW charging speed and a new connector
The official Tesla Semi account on X also shared an official video of Tesla engineers hitting 1.2 MW sustained charging on a Megacharger, demonstrating the vehicle’s capability for extremely rapid charging. Tesla Semi program lead Dan Priestley confirmed in a later post on X that the test occurred at a dedicated site, noting that chargers at the Semi factory in Nevada are also 1.2 MW capable.
The short video featured a revamped design for the Semi’s charging port, which seems more sleek and akin to the NACS port found in Tesla’s other vehicles. It also showed the Tesla engineers cheering as the vehicle achieved 1.2 MW during its charging session. Dan Priestley explained the Semi’s updated charging plug in a post on X.
“The connector on the prior Semi was an early version (v2.4) of MCS. Not ‘proprietary’ as anyone could have used it. We couldn’t wait for final design to have >1MW capability, so we ran with what had been developed thus far. New Semi has latest MCS that is set to be standard,” the executive wrote in a post on X.
Check out the Tesla Semi’s sighting at the Nevada factory in the video below.
Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
Tesla targets production increase at Giga Berlin in 2026
