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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy payload fairing spotted ahead of its maiden launch
By now, we know Elon Musk wasn’t joking when he announced that the maiden flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket would feature his very own Tesla Roadster as its first payload. Just recently, images of the electric car being installed inside the payload fairing of the massive rocket emerged online. Now, a new picture has been shared on Twitter, seemingly depicting the FH’s completed fairing as it was being transported inside a hangar in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The image tweeted by Emiliano C. Diaz de Leon, who snapped the photo during a bus tour of the facility. According to Diaz de Leon, he and his family were fortunate enough to get a good glimpse of the Falcon Heavy’s payload fairing when the space center’s bus tours stopped by the SpaceX hangar. It was then that he was able to snap a photo of the Falcon Heavy’s second stage.
[Credit: @ECDiazdeLeon via Twitter]
Falcon Heavy is SpaceX’s most ambitious rocket to date, designed to carry heavy payloads. Its maiden mission, sending the SpaceX founder’s Tesla Roadster to space, is expected to be conducted sometime around January 2018. Other details of the upcoming launch, however, such as its official time and the rocket’s designated pad, have not been released.
Elon Musk’s Midnight Cherry Roadster inside Falcon Heavy ready for its Mars-bound journey. [Full gallery]
In true Elon Musk fashion, several interesting items would be sent with the Tesla Roadster to space. According to the SpaceX CEO, the electric sports car would be accompanied on its final journey by a copy of Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” a towel, a sign that reads “Don’t Panic,” and a track that plays David Bowie’s iconic chart-topping track, “Space Oddity.” These items, together with the Roadster, would likely be sent to deep space, where it would hopefully enter Mars orbit.
https://twitter.com/ECDiazdeLeon/status/945692630062690304
With the most recent sighting of the Falcon Heavy’s payload fairing in mind, all signs seem to be pointing to the idea that SpaceX is already assembling both stages of its largest and most ambitious rocket. As revealed in a series of image updates by Elon Musk, the majority of the Falcon Heavy is already at Cape Canaveral, FL, and all three of its first stages have been mated together. Considering that the payload fairing has been spotted as well, the Falcon Heavy might be ready for some real testing soon.
The Falcon Heavy holds the potential to be a true game-changer in the commercial space industry, with its first stage being made up of 27 Merlin engines from three Falcon 9 cores. According to SpaceX, the configuration will allow the rocket to generate more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, the same thrust as fifteen 747 jumbo jets at full throttle. The Falcon Heavy is also capable of transporting more than 140,000 pounds of cargo, which is more than twice the payload capacity of the Delta IV Heavy rocket, the FH’s closest competitor.
SpaceX initially unveiled the Falcon Heavy back in 2011, with a tentative 2013 maiden launch date. Due to a series of issues with several Falcon 9 rockets, however, the debut of the Falcon Heavy was continually pushed back. Nevertheless, despite being several years late from its initial 2013 estimate, the Falcon Heavy’s imminent launch this January 2018 definitely seems to be well worth the wait.
News
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.
This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
News
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X goes down as users report major outage Friday morning
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Elon Musk’s X experienced an outage Friday morning, leaving large numbers of users unable to access the social media platform.
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Downdetector reports
Users attempting to open X were met with messages such as “Something went wrong. Try reloading,” often followed by an endless spinning icon that prevented access, according to a report from Variety. Downdetector data showed that reports of problems surged rapidly throughout the morning.
As of 10:52 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users had reported issues with X. The data indicated that 56% of complaints were tied to the mobile app, while 33% were related to the website and roughly 10% cited server connection problems. The disruption appeared to begin around 10:10 a.m. ET, briefly eased around 10:35 a.m., and then returned minutes later.
Previous disruptions
Friday’s outage was not an isolated incident. X has experienced multiple high-profile service interruptions over the past two years. In November, tens of thousands of users reported widespread errors, including “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages. Cloudflare-related error messages were also reported.
In March 2025, the platform endured several brief outages spanning roughly 45 minutes, with more than 21,000 reports in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., according to Downdetector. Earlier disruptions included an outage in August 2024 and impairments to key platform features in July 2023.
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
