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SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launches delayed by military satellite issues
SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launches will have to wait several more months after issues unrelated to the rocket forced the US military to delay two upcoming missions.
In an official email sent to outlet Via Satellite on May 19th, the director of the US Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) revealed that the Space Force’s first SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch – known as USSF-44 – was pushed from July to October 2021 “to accommodate payload readiness.” Translated, the common military euphemism likely implies that the mission’s main geostationary satellite payload ran into significant delays in the last year or so and may have also been responsible for an earlier launch delay from April to July 2021.
Possibly connected to USSF-52’s delays, US SMC Colonel Robert Bongiovi indicated in a separate medium that SpaceX’s fifth Falcon Heavy launch and second mission for the US Space Force had also been hit by delays, originally slipping from June to October 2021 and now from October 2021 to sometime in January 2022.
That leaves just one Falcon Heavy launch now scheduled for 2021. Set to debut two new recoverable side boosters and the first intentionally expendable center core, all Falcon Heavy USSF-44 hardware was likely ready to go at SpaceX’s Florida launch facilities by April. Unfortunately, SpaceX – seemingly on time or only slightly behind schedule for Q2 2021 launch – will now have to sit on that Falcon Heavy hardware for the better part of half a year.
The latest of at least four new Falcon Heavy boosters, expendable Falcon Heavy center core B1066 wrapped up testing at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas development facilities in March and likely shipped to Florida a few weeks later. B1066 followed Falcon Heavy side boosters B1064 and B1065, which completed their own static fire acceptance testing in Texas in late 2020 and early 2021. Given that B1066 will be intentionally expended after its first flight, at least one other Falcon Heavy center core (and probably two or more) is also in work to support SpaceX’s USSF-52 launch sometime next year.
That second new center core – likely B1068 or B1069 – has yet to ship from SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California factory to Texas. If the company was in any rush, significant USSF-44 and USSF-52 payload delays have removed practically all production schedule pressure, giving SpaceX at least 3-5 extra months to test and ship any incomplete boosters, upper stages, or fairings for both missions and prepare for several others.
Barring major delays, SpaceX now has as many as five Falcon Heavy launches scheduled in 2022. USSF-52 is likely up first early in the year, followed by ViaSat’s second ViaSat-3 launch as early as Q1. The rocket is then firmly scheduled to launch NASA’s Psyche asteroid exploration mission in August 2022 and the Space Force’s geostationary USSF-67 satellite(s) in Q4. Finally, one of Inmarsat’s two next-generation I-6 satellites could also launch on Falcon Heavy sometime in 2022, though a specific schedule has yet to be set.
All told, Falcon Heavy has an extremely busy future ahead despite what is now likely to be a more than 28-month gap between the rocket’s third and fourth launch.
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Tesla earns top honors at MotorTrend’s SDV Innovator Awards
MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla emerged as one of the most recognized automakers at MotorTrend’s 2026 Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) Innovator Awards.
As could be seen in a press release from the publication, two key Tesla employees were honored for their work on AI, autonomy, and vehicle software. MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla leaders and engineers recognized
The fourth annual SDV Innovator Awards celebrate pioneers and experts who are pushing the automotive industry deeper into software-driven development. Among the most notable honorees for this year was Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of AI Software, who received a Pioneer Award for his role in advancing artificial intelligence and autonomy across the company’s vehicle lineup.
Tesla also secured recognition in the Expert category, with Lawson Fulton, a staff Autopilot machine learning engineer, honored for his contributions to Tesla’s driver-assistance and autonomous systems.
Tesla’s software-first strategy
While automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Rivian also received recognition, Tesla’s multiple awards stood out given the company’s outsized role in popularizing software-defined vehicles over the past decade. From frequent OTA updates to its data-driven approach to autonomy, Tesla has consistently treated vehicles as evolving software platforms rather than static products.
This has made Tesla’s vehicles very unique in their respective sectors, as they are arguably the only cars that objectively get better over time. This is especially true for vehicles that are loaded with the company’s Full Self-Driving system, which are getting progressively more intelligent and autonomous over time. The majority of Tesla’s updates to its vehicles are free as well, which is very much appreciated by customers worldwide.
Elon Musk
Judge clears path for Elon Musk’s OpenAI lawsuit to go before a jury
The decision maintains Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure violated early assurances made to him as a co-founder.
A U.S. judge has ruled that Elon Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its founding nonprofit mission can proceed to a jury trial.
The decision maintains Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure violated early assurances made to him as a co-founder. These claims are directly opposed by OpenAI.
Judge says disputed facts warrant a trial
At a hearing in Oakland, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that there was “plenty of evidence” suggesting that OpenAI leaders had promised that the organization’s original nonprofit structure would be maintained. She ruled that those disputed facts should be evaluated by a jury at a trial in March rather than decided by the court at this stage, as noted in a Reuters report.
Musk helped co-found OpenAI in 2015 but left the organization in 2018. In his lawsuit, he argued that he contributed roughly $38 million, or about 60% of OpenAI’s early funding, based on assurances that the company would remain a nonprofit dedicated to the public benefit. He is seeking unspecified monetary damages tied to what he describes as “ill-gotten gains.”
OpenAI, however, has repeatedly rejected Musk’s allegations. The company has stated that Musk’s claims were baseless and part of a pattern of harassment.
Rivalries and Microsoft ties
The case unfolds against the backdrop of intensifying competition in generative artificial intelligence. Musk now runs xAI, whose Grok chatbot competes directly with OpenAI’s flagship ChatGPT. OpenAI has argued that Musk is a frustrated commercial rival who is simply attempting to slow down a market leader.
The lawsuit also names Microsoft as a defendant, citing its multibillion-dollar partnerships with OpenAI. Microsoft has urged the court to dismiss the claims against it, arguing there is no evidence it aided or abetted any alleged misconduct. Lawyers for OpenAI have also pushed for the case to be thrown out, claiming that Musk failed to show sufficient factual basis for claims such as fraud and breach of contract.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers, however, declined to end the case at this stage, noting that a jury would also need to consider whether Musk filed the lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations. Still, the dispute between Elon Musk and OpenAI is now headed for a high-profile jury trial in the coming months.
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Tesla Giga Shanghai celebrates 5 million electric drive unit milestone
The milestone was celebrated by the company in a post on its official Weibo account.
Tesla China has reached another manufacturing milestone at Gigafactory Shanghai, rolling out the facility’s 5 millionth locally produced drive unit.
The milestone was celebrated by the company in a post on its official Weibo account. In its post, the Giga Shanghai team could be seen posing with the 5 millionth drive unit.
Giga Shanghai’s major benchmark
The milestone drive unit was produced at Gigafactory Shanghai, which produces the Model Y and the Model 3. In a release, Tesla China noted that its three-in-one integrated electric drive system combines the motor, gearbox, and inverter into a single compact assembly. This forms a powerful “heart” for the company’s electric cars.
Tesla China also noted that its drive units’ integrated design improves energy conversion efficiency while reducing overall weight and complexity, benefits that translate into stronger performance, improved handling, and longer service life for its vehicles.
The new milestone builds on earlier achievements at the same site. In July 2024, Tesla announced that its 10 millionth electric drive system globally had rolled off the line at the Shanghai plant, making it the first self-produced Tesla component to reach that volume.
More recently, the factory also produced its 4 millionth China-made vehicle, a Model Y L. The factory has also continued hitting global production milestones, rolling out Tesla’s 9 millionth EV worldwide late last year, with the landmark vehicle being a Tesla Model Y.
Tesla China’s role
Construction of Giga Shanghai began in January 2019, with production starting by the end of that year. This made it the first wholly foreign-owned automotive manufacturing project in China. The facility began delivering Model 3 vehicles locally in early 2020 and added Model Y production in 2021. The plant is now capable of producing about 1 million vehicles annually.
Throughout 2025, Giga Shanghai delivered 851,732 vehicles, representing a 7.08% year-on-year decline, according to data compiled by CNEVPost. Even so, recent months showed renewed momentum.
In December alone, Tesla China recorded wholesale sales of 97,171 vehicles, including domestic deliveries and exports, making it the company’s second-best monthly total on record, per data from the China Passenger Car Association. Retail sales during December reached roughly 94,000 units, up about 13% year over year.
Tesla earns top honors at MotorTrend’s SDV Innovator Awards
Judge clears path for Elon Musk’s OpenAI lawsuit to go before a jury
