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SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster into Mars orbit
While it initially appeared to be an Ambien-induced Twitter troll from the famous CEO, Elon Musk has announced that the inaugural launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, now aiming for January 2018, will carry his personal cherry red Tesla Roadster as cargo.
Musk’s classic embellishments and hyperbole triggered some understandable skepticism, claiming that the Tesla would head to Mars while playing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” and would remain in deep space for “a billion years” if it survived the launch.
Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2017
While the Mars and “Space Oddity” aspects have yet to be verified, SpaceX’s head of new product introduction, Joy Dunn, subtweeted Musk’s original announcement, assuaging any doubts about the claim’s legitimacy. Much remains unknown, but the information from Dunn and Musk points to a humorous heavy payload being placed into a high Earth orbit, if not on a trajectory to Mars, and will feature plenty of camera coverage in space.
@beeberunner @nextspaceflight oh this is legit and of course there will be cameras!
— Darby Dunn (@RocketJoy) December 2, 2017
In all fairness, sending a Roadster to Mars would be par for the course for Musk and SpaceX, who in a frankly underappreciated turn of events sent a massive wheel of cheese into orbit with the first launch of a Dragon spacecraft.
SpaceX intends to attempt recovery of all three first stages of the first Falcon Heavy, with the two side boosters landing at Cape Canaveral’s LZ-1, and the center core landing aboard the Of Course I Still Love You droneship. The attempted recovery of all three cores would appear to preclude the possibility of a Mars mission, as it is understood that Falcon Heavy’s payload to Mars in its fully reusable configuration would be ~4000kg. Sending a 1500kg Roadster, especially one stripped of its battery, is still within the realm of possibility, but the burden would be on Falcon 9’s second stage to survive the several month long coast period between Earth and Mars.
Elon Musk with a comical grin while sitting in his red Tesla Roadster. (SFGate)
In the meantime, we can speculate with all due haste as to what the first space-faring Tesla Roadster (confirmed to be Roadster 1.0) will carry on its exceptional journey.
One can imagine that the footage garnered along the way would be all the advertising material Tesla could ever possibly need for the indefinite future, particularly for the company’s next generation Roadster.
Many giddy Twitter and Reddit users almost immediately let loose a stream of potential ridiculous slogans: “the first production car to orbit Mars,” “new Tesla Roadster upgrade has a range of 54 million kilometers,” “Fastest production car,” etcetera. Comic relief aside, the sheer shock value of orbital sunrise or even Mars from the cockpit of a Tesla Roadster certainly can’t be denied outright, even if the absurdity is rather high.
Time will tell if SpaceX has chosen to risk a more productive use of Falcon Heavy’s inaugural launch, perhaps as soon as next month. While it was later removed at the request of SpaceX, a photo taken Thursday by California-based space journalist Sandy Mazza showed Falcon Heavy’s second stage and all three first stage boosters preparing for launch inside the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) at LC-39A. The public will almost undoubtedly get its first view of an integrated Falcon Heavy within the next few weeks, certainly before Christmas if things go as planned.
Tesla has extended its Bay Area ride-hailing service to include pickups and drop-offs at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The update, shared via the company’s official channels on July 21, allows users in the region to request rides directly to and from one of California’s busiest airports.
The expansion builds on Tesla’s secured limousine permit for SFO operations. Public records show the permit became effective March 20, 2026, and remains active through January 31, 2027. Tesla vehicles operating the service now display authorized limousine permits issued by the City and County of San Francisco.
Our Bay Area rideshare service now goes to SFO ✈️
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s ride-hailing program in California relies on Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology. Human safety drivers remain present in compliance with state regulations, distinguishing the service from fully driverless operations.
The Bay Area geofence covers a broad area spanning north of San Francisco to south of San Jose, offering extensive connectivity across the region.
UPDATE: Elon Musk reveals why Tesla didn’t say ‘Robotaxi’ upon California launch
This SFO addition follows earlier progress at other Bay Area airports. Tesla previously expanded service to San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) in late 2025. The company had engaged with SFO, SJC, and Oakland International Airport officials as early as September 2025 to secure necessary approvals for passenger transport.
The service provides a new option for travelers seeking electric, app-based transportation integrated with Tesla’s ecosystem. Rides are booked through Tesla’s dedicated ride-hailing application, which handles matching, routing, and payments. Pricing follows standard ride-hailing models, with potential adjustments based on distance, time, and demand.
Tesla’s California ride-hailing program launched in July 2025 with an initial invite-only rollout in the Bay Area. It started alongside operations in Austin, Texas, marking the company’s second major U.S. market.
The Bay Area remains a primary focus in California, with service centered on high-demand corridors connecting residential, commercial, and now major transportation hubs. This latest airport integration represents a practical step in Tesla’s broader mobility ambitions within the state.
Tesla has officially revealed its 2026 Summer Update, which comes with a variety of crazy new features, including Navigation fixes that owners have been wanting for months.
Tesla routinely releases a larger update with the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter updates, where it ships a variety of new features, bug fixes, and other additions to customer cars.
The 2026 Spring Update featured things like “Hey Grok” voice assistance, a redesigned self-driving app, Unreal Engine visual upgrades, and more.
🚨 TESLA’S SUMMER UPDATE FOR 2026 IS HERE:
Featuring:
✅ Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
✅ Caraoke with Scoring
✅ Automatic Navigation
✅ Preferred Routes
✅ Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
✅ Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
✅ Rear Display Lock
✅ Other Improvements
🔌… https://t.co/C9IW3egEhH— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s Summer Release has about ten new features; we’ll show you each and detail them below:
New Grok Voice Commands
“Grok can now make phone calls, search and play music, adjust climate, open the glovebox, and answer questions about your Tesla.”
Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
“View and share self-driving stats from the mobile app.”
Caraoke With Scoring
“Caraoke now scores your singing while in Park. High scores are saved to your Tesla profile.”
Automatic Navigation
“Automatic Navigation now adapts to your routine.
In addition to Home, Work, and upcoming calendar events, your vehicle can now suggest and route to places you visit regularly – like a school drop-off on the way to work, or the gym on the way home.”
Preferred Routes
“For a more personalized experience, navigation now prioritizes routes that you’ve taken before”
Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
“Set your desired Arrival Energy from your phone.”
Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
“Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: https://github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”
Rear Display Lock
“Kids can watch content on the rear screen, but only the front row can control it through the rear screen app.”
Other Improvements
- Find Superchargers by name when searching for a destination
- Add Apple Music songs to queue from search and artist page
- Set your preferred zoom level for the Self-Driving visualization
- Intro animations for new Model 3 and Y
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you, as the company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, finally shed some light on the reason they are putting a satellite internet terminal on its ride-hailing-geared vehicle.
On Monday, Tesla officially confirmed that it would integrate Starlink V5 terminals into Cybercab vehicles, something many Tesla fans had figured the company would do, as the vehicle is primarily geared toward giving rides without any passenger intervention.
Starlink V5 directly integrated in Cybercab pic.twitter.com/FxzTtzjB6I
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 20, 2026
The ability to access the internet would allow riders to work or play in the car with their devices. It seemed like a more-than-reasonable feature to add to the Cybercab, which made its way off the production lines for the first time earlier this year.
Tesla reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration
However, the move is not for the rider, as Elluswamy confirmed on Monday night. Instead, it’s actually for Tesla to be able to have a constant connection to the cars in the Robotaxi fleet so it can troubleshoot issues, contact riders, or resolve other issues.
Elluswamy said:
“It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.”
It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) July 20, 2026
Many initially assumed the option of constant connectivity would be enabled on the Cybercab for passenger entertainment or work. With the Cybercab, passengers won’t be doing anything but enjoying the ride, so it seemed more than logical that they would be hanging out with Starlink internet access as an amenity.
However, Tesla’s primary concern with Robotaxi is safety, and nailing these first unsupervised rides is a crucial step to setting a good narrative on how effective driverless transportation can be.
Being able to get in touch with passengers or a vehicle if something is wrong is a crucial part of the overall experience, and preventative measures are being taken by Tesla to ensure a smooth process, even in the worst-case.
Tesla expands ridesharing service in California to new hotspot
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
