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Merlin 1D's kerolox exhaust is a blindingly bright, opaque yellow-orange. (Tom Cross) Merlin 1D's kerolox exhaust is a blindingly bright, opaque yellow-orange. (Tom Cross)

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tests engines for first launch and landing of the new decade

Falcon 9 B1049 lifts off for the first time at SpaceX's LC-40 pad in September 2018. (Teslarati)

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SpaceX has successfully fired up a Falcon 9 rocket for the first time in 2020, setting the company up for the first of potentially dozens of Starlink launches over the next 12 months.

On the afternoon of January 4th, SpaceX loaded Falcon 9 with hundreds of tons of liquid oxygen, refined kerosene (RP-1), nitrogen, and helium and ultimately ignited all nine of the booster’s Merlin 1D engines, briefly producing some 7600 kN (1.7 million lbf) of thrust in a routine test known as a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) and static fire. As is tradition, SpaceX confirmed that the test looked successful just a handful of minutes after it was completed and verified that the rocket is now scheduled to launch 60 new Starlink satellites as early as 9:19 pm ET, January 6th (02:19 UTC, Jan 7).

Set to lift off from its LC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) launch pad, SpaceX’s first launch of the new year and decade hints at what is expected to follow over the course of 2020. In simple terms, the company’s ambitions have never been higher and anywhere from 36 to 38 orbital launches are scheduled between now and 2021 – some 65% of which will likely be internal Starlink missions.

If SpaceX manages to launch even half as many Starlink missions as it says it wants to this year, the company will be heading into 2021 with an operational internet satellite constellation nearly a thousand spacecraft strong – almost enough to ensure uninterrupted global coverage. Already, if SpaceX’s January 6th launch – known as Starlink V1 L2 (the second launch of v1.0 satellites) – goes as planned, the company will almost certainly become the owner of the world’s largest commercial satellite constellation less than eight months after it began launching its unique flat-packed spacecraft.

By designing and shaping the spacecraft for efficient packing, SpaceX’s can launch in incredible number of Starlink satellites on a single Falcon 9. (SpaceX)

In a classic SpaceX move, the company’s Starlink satellite bus is a radical departure from all other commercial spacecraft, opting for a table-like rectangular shape that is extremely flat. While the rectangular shape – likely chosen for the extreme ease of manufacturing it should allow – significantly decreases packing efficiency, Starlink’s flat design and unique deployment mechanism means that SpaceX can fit an unprecedented 60 satellites (each weighing more than 250 kg or 550 lb) into a single lightly-modified Falcon 9 payload fairing.

Ultimately, SpaceX also design its Starlink satellites to be dramatically more robust than any comparable commercial spacecraft, meaning that they are meant to tolerate the violent acoustic launch environment without foam sound suppression panels that otherwise take up space inside Falcon 9’s fairing. Additionally, they are meant to survive the odd collision during their bizarre deployment, in which Falcon 9’s upper stage spins itself like a fan and releases the entire 60-satellite stack at once. Further, this means that Starlink satellites can be transported from their Washington state factory to Cape Canaveral, Florida far more easily and cheaply than almost any other spacecraft of a similar size and weight.

Falcon 9’s second fourth flight

It’s a mouthful, but SpaceX’s Starlink-2 mission will technically mark Falcon 9’s second fourth flight, meaning that it will be the second time a single Falcon 9 booster launches (and optimally lands) for the fourth time. Thrice-flown Falcon 9 booster B1049 has been assigned to support the launch.

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The fourth completed Falcon 9 Block 5 booster, B1049 debuted on September 10th, 2018 on the Telstar 18V satellite launch, followed by a second flight (Iridium-8) in January 2019 and its third and most recent launch in May 2019. B1049’s most recent mission happened to be the very first dedicated Starlink launch, placing 60 Starlink v0.9 spacecraft in orbit in a sort of massive beta test of SpaceX’s cutting-edge satellite technology and design.

In support of Starlink V1 L1, the first launch of finalized Starlink v1.0 satellites, Falcon 9 booster B1048 became the first SpaceX rocket to successfully launch and land four times in November 2019, safely returning to shore aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) a few days later. With (hopefully) two (and soon three) recovered boosters with four flights each under their belts, SpaceX will have a relative wealth of data it can then use to plot the way forward to fifth flights of boosters and beyond – halfway to the minimum Block 5 design goal of 10 launches apiece.

Teslarati photographer Richard Angle (@RDanglePhoto) will be on-site to capture SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 launch and booster recovery of the 2020s. Stay tuned for more details and photos as the launch nears!

Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Elon Musk

Tesla Roadster owners to get “Flying Stunt Mode” and looping track access

Musk says Roadster owners can command the unveiling stunts autonomously, with a Texas looping track.

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Elon Musk says owners of the new Tesla Roadster will be able to ask the car to perform the stunts Tesla showed at its unveiling, with the car doing the driving itself. Musk made the comment Saturday in a reply on X to tech blogger Robert Scoble, and he added a promise of a looping track at Tesla’s Texas headquarters.

Scoble had argued that the person in the Roadster is not really driving it. In his description, the driver operates a computer that tells another computer what to do, with steering, braking and acceleration all handled by wire. Musk answered, “True. You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient. Also, we will have a wild looping track (crazier even than Hot Wheels) at our Texas HQ where you can test out your Roadster.”

At the October 15 event outside Waco, the car drove up a curved ramp until it was upside down, flew off on cold gas thrusters, flipped and landed. It also hovered over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Semi, Model Y and Model 3 while moving. As we noted in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations, Musk said at the event that the car “literally is just going to puff itself up” to perform the maneuvers whenever an owner wants. Saturday’s reply adds that the car would run them on its own.

Tesla has described some of the hardware that would make that possible. The Roadster uses steer by wire with a yoke, and its cold gas thrusters rely on electric actuators for small adjustments in flight. A fan system under the car creates suction, which Tesla says is strong enough to hold it upside down, a setup we covered in our look at the Roadster’s fan system and thrusters.

Musk did not say when an autonomous stunt feature might arrive, how it would work, or what he means by sentient. He also gave no size, location or opening date for the Texas track. Production is planned for Giga Texas in 2027 or 2028, and Tesla says the car is not approved for public road use. The Rocket version, the one built to fly, is invite only.

The comment follows a week of Musk teasing the event, including his claim that the demo would be a banger, which we covered before the stream. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, and shareholders can submit and vote on questions through the Say portal until 4 p.m. EDT on October 20, according to our earnings Q&A preview. A question about autonomous Roadster stunts and the Texas track would be a quick way to get specifics from management.

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Elon Musk

How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts

Musk told users to ask Grok Bot to scrub their phone numbers from spam lists.

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Elon Musk has a new use case for Grok Bot, and it is the spam call. On Thursday he replied to an X user named Arash with a short instruction: “Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!” Arash had said he got tired of the calls, had an AI bot find his number on listing sites and file removal requests, and packaged the process as a free skill for others.

The skill is called Spam-Call Scrubber, which is described to find a phone number on people search sites and data brokers, submits the opt outs, completes the confirmation emails those sites send back, and rechecks on a schedule the user picks. Using it requires the Grok Bot app. The pitch is time saved, since most broker opt outs sit behind separate forms on separate sites.



Musk said Grok Bot now gives each bot its own email address, and that it can detect scam emails. On Thursday he also said SpaceX would make users whole if the bot botches a purchase or leaks a card, then told users to shop away from Amazon after the retailer blocked the agent, as Teslarati reported. The terms of service we reviewed at the time put responsibility for what an agent does on the user.

For Tesla owners, Grok Bot is not just a phone app. Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles on September 22, and we argued earlier this week that the Cybercab’s real advantage may be the errands it runs during a ride. Every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet has it enabled. The more routine tasks like this one become, the more a rider has reason to hand over something personal in the back seat.

The new Spam-Call Scrubber skill can be downloaded for free and works on sites that honor removal requests, while noting that listings can reappear, and illegal robocallers do not check any registry. Whether Spam-Call Scrubber cuts anyone’s call volume is something the first wave of users will find out, and Musk’s endorsement guarantees that wave is coming.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla’s flying Roadster just revealed something bigger than the car

Analysts say the Roadster demo puts a Tesla and SpaceX merger back on the table.

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Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)
Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)

The Roadster unveiling near Waco ended Thursday night, and by Friday morning much of the investor reaction had less to do with the car than with who owns the rocket technology inside it.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event “puts the Tesla/SpaceX relationship on the table in a tangible way,” pointing to the propulsion, pressure vessel and control hardware sitting on a Tesla product. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management called the demo “a ridiculous display of engineering” with “no commercial value” beyond embarrassing traditional automakers, though he said it showed Musk wants the two companies together.

The more specific forecast came a day earlier from Barclays. Analyst Dan Levy told clients a deal could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting, which must happen by December 6, and that an announcement in late October or early November could make shareholder approval harder. Barclays expects SpaceX to be the buyer in an all stock deal, with Tesla holders receiving SpaceX shares at a premium, based on market values of roughly $2.1 trillion for SpaceX and $1.5 trillion for Tesla. If nothing lands around the meeting, the bank still sees an announcement within 6 to 12 months.

The Roadster demo just added more weight to merger speculations. Tesla’s demo used cold gas thrusters and pressure tanks of the kind SpaceX uses on Falcon 9, and Musk described the car as a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX engineers, as we mentioned in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations.


Musk has not publicly addressed a deal since the event, as far as we have seen. His most direct answer remains the one he gave at the All In Summit, when he said that with so much collaboration, “who can imagine what action one might take” without ruling anything out. Ives has held to a 2027 timeline since his March note, and Musk pushed back on the China piece of the speculation when ARK floated a year end announcement in August.

The next test is Tesla’s third quarter earnings call on October 21. However, we recall in July that Musk told analysts, “we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call,” so a clear answer wouldn’t be expected.

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