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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.
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Tesla FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions
Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives.
A Tesla owner has successfully completed a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States on Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised. The trip was accomplished with zero interventions.
Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives.
FSD Coast-to-Coast
The coast-to-coast feat was accomplished by Tesla owner Davis Moss, who drives a stealth gray Model 3 with AI4 hardware. Based on data from the FSD database and a community tracker, the last 10,638.8 miles Moss drove in his Model 3 were completed using FSD 100% of the time. His vehicle is equipped with FSD v14.2.1.25, which was installed 12 days ago.
As per Moss in a celebratory post on X, his Model 3 was able to complete a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States in 2 days and 20 hours. His trip started at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, CA, and it ended in Myrtle Beach, SC. Overall, his trip spanned 2,732.4 miles.
“This was accomplished with Tesla FSD V14.2 with absolutely 0 disengagements of any kind even for all parking including at Tesla Superchargers,” Moss stated in his post. He also added in later comments that there were zero close calls during the trip.
Tesla community celebrates
The FSD milestone trip was widely lauded by members of the Tesla community, especially since a coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions has been cited by Elon Musk as a target since October 2016, when Autopilot 2.0 was unveiled. At the time, Musk initially estimated that a coast-to-coast drive across the United States should be possible by the end of 2017. Considering Moss’ feat in his Model 3, it appears that Elon Musk’s estimate was not impossible at all. It was just late.
Musk himself celebrated the milestone on X, and so did Tesla VP of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy, who wrote “World’s first fully autonomous coast-to-coast drive, done with Tesla self-driving v14. Congrats and thank you @DavidMoss!” in a post on X. The official Tesla North America account also celebrated the feat, writing “First Tesla to drive itself from coast to coast w/ FSD Supervised. 0 interventions, all FSD” on X.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row
The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla.
Elon Musk has announced that the Tesla Model Y has become the world’s best-selling car by volume for the third consecutive year, capping 2025 with another dominant performance.
The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla.
Three years in a row
Musk posted on X: “Tesla Model Y is now officially the world’s best-selling car for the third year in a row!” The CEO’s comment echoed an update that Tesla included in its 2025 recap, which highlighted, among other things, the Model Y’s incredible streak.
The Model Y has held the title since 2023, outperforming traditional leaders like the Toyota RAV4 and Corolla thanks to its bang-for-the-buck nature and its stellar combination of practicality, performance, and tech. The Model Y is also lauded as one of the safest vehicles on the road, making it an ideal choice for families in key markets such as China.
An impressive 2025
The Model Y’s sales feat in 2025 is especially impressive considering the introduction of the vehicle’s new variant. Tesla’s changeover to the new Model Y across its global factories resulted in sales being paused for some time in the first quarter. As per Tesla’s Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report, “the changeover of Model Y lines across all four of our factories led to the loss of several weeks of production in Q1.”
This suggests that the Model Y’s sales remained strong in 2025 to the point where it could still claim the title of the world’s best-selling vehicle by volume, even with its sales being throttled during the first quarter of the year. It would then be interesting to see just how far the Model Y can go in 2026, especially considering the rollout of new variants like the six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L, the affordable Model Y Standard, and the top-tier Model Y Performance.
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Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development.
Tesla has released an epic year-in-review video for 2025, recapping some of its major achievements from refreshed models to autonomy breakthroughs and production ramps.
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development while looking ahead to an even bigger 2026.
Tesla’s 2025 highlights recap
Tesla has had a busy 2025, as highlighted in the recap video. The video opened with Elon Musk explaining the company’s pursuit of sustainable abundance. A number of milestones were then highlighted, such as the rollout of FSD v14, Optimus’ numerous demos, the opening of the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, LA, the completion of the world’s first autonomous car delivery, and the launch of the Robotaxi network in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tesla also highlighted several of its accomplishments over the year. As per the company, the Model Y was the year’s best-selling vehicle globally again, and Teslas became more affordable than ever thanks to the Model 3 and Model Y Standard. Other key models were also rolled out, such as the refreshed Model S and X, as well as the new Model Y, the new Model Y Performance, and the six-seat, extended wheelbase Model Y L.
The Megablock was also unveiled during the year, and the Supercharger Network grew by 18%. Over 1 million Powerwalls were also installed during the year, and the Cybertruck became the first EV truck to get both an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and an NHTSA 5-Star safety rating.
Cybercab production confirmed
Interestingly enough, Tesla also confirmed in its 2025 recap video that the production of the Cybercab has started. This bodes well for the vehicle, as it could result in the vehicle really being mass-produced in the first half of 2026. Elon Musk confirmed during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that Cybercab production should earnestly start around April 2026.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab will be Tesla’s highest-volume vehicle yet, with the company aiming for an annual production rate of about 2 million units. “If you’ve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesn’t look like a normal car manufacturing line,” Musk said earlier this year. “It looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line. In fact, the line will move so fast that actually people can’t even get close to it.”
Tesla FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions
Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row
