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SpaceX fans are launching a novel effort to invest in the company [Interview]
Spaced Ventures Founder and CEO Aaron Burnett found his calling when he saw the Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters landing in perfect unison during the spacecraft’s maiden voyage. SpaceX sought to inspire people with Falcon Heavy and its spacefaring Tesla Roadster, and for Burnett, the rocket’s flight definitely did.
“That thing, that image, essentially broke my brain wide open. That’s why I got involved and started doing what we’re doing today,” he said during a conversation with Teslarati.
Spaced Ventures is, to put it simply, an equity crowdfunding platform that pools money from individual investors to buy shares in privately held aerospace companies. The company is currently attempting its most ambitious initiative yet — securing enough pledges to get SpaceX’s attention and have its community members become investors in the private space company.
Aaron Burnett, Founder and CEO of Spaced Ventures
If the initiative succeeds, Spaced Ventures will become one of the few firms that were able to get individual shareholders into SpaceX. Achieving such a feat is not easy, as Elon Musk has openly expressed his reservations about taking SpaceX public in the past. SpaceX may be spinning off some of its divisions like Starlink and making those public, but for now, investing in the private space company is still an incredibly tricky endeavor.
During his conversation with Teslarati, Burnett, whose experience included leading growth for startups and a Fortune 500 company, explained that Spaced Ventures’ attempt to invest in SpaceX was the result of the community’s wishes. The Spaced Ventures community is closing in on 13,000 users, and with this growth, the company’s leadership opted to ask the community a question.
“If we could get a big space company to do a crowdfunding round, which one would you want?”
Burnett had a feeling that SpaceX would be one of the community’s top choices, but Spaced Ventures also provided other options, such as Axiom Space and Relativity Space. The choices in the survey featured aerospace companies with lofty goals, but as the results came in, it became highly evident that Spaced Ventures’ users overwhelmingly wanted to invest in SpaceX.
About 82% of the users polled wished to invest in Elon Musk’s private space company. “It was quite decisive. We could have guessed that that would happen. But this was a very nice, decisive moment for us where we said, ‘Okay, we’ll just do that,’” Burnett said.
And with that, Spaced Ventures started gathering pledges for its SpaceX initiative. The equity crowdfunding platform is looking to secure pledges worth $25 million from its users before it approaches SpaceX, and so far, it appears that Spaced Ventures may indeed have a shot. As of writing, 1,102 community members have pledged a total of $17,657,964 for the private space company.
That’s not a small amount by any means, and it’s quite impressive considering that pledges could be as low as $100. But this is only half the story, as some community members pledged amounts that were so notable that Burnett and his team had to double-check. When Spaced Ventures did, the aspiring SpaceX investors clarified that if given a chance, they would actually be investing more.
“I think what really surprised us is there are some individuals that wanna put a million or more. I’m like, ‘Ah, this seems ridiculous.’ So I call or (contact them) by email and say, ‘Wanna verify before we go to SpaceX. This is real. It’s not a joke.’ And several of them have responded that not only were they very serious, but they would increase it beyond that if we would allow that number to go bigger.
“Those individuals surprised me. Just the general interest, I think is quite crazy to me— how much people are really passionate about it— so much that they would put significant amounts of money to essentially say, ‘Hey, SpaceX, let us in any way, shape, or form you can,’” Burnett remarked.
Ultimately, it is no surprise that Spaced Ventures’ users are willing to go all-in on SpaceX. The private space company has already proven itself over the years, and its projects, such as Starship, have the potential to practically transform humanity into a spacefaring civilization. With this in mind, the idea of SpaceX eventually hitting a valuation well into the trillions of dollars is not too farfetched.
For now, Spaced Ventures continues to accept pledges from interested parties. When $25 million has been pledged, the equity crowdfunding platform would approach SpaceX and ask the private aerospace company if the amount can be invested. It’s almost like a bet of sorts, but one that could definitely have notable returns if it is successful.
Those interested in joining Spaced Ventures’ SpaceX initiative can click here.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads-up.
After launching in Austin, Texas, last week, Tesla is looking to expand the Cybercab to new parts of the United States in an effort that will see the driverless, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less vehicle chauffeur people around as part of the Robotaxi ride-hailing service.
However, the expansion will go far beyond the United States, and CEO Elon Musk revealed he hopes Europe will be the next market where Cybercab will be operational.
Musk has publicly expressed hope that Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi will reach Europe in the near future.
On September 8, Tesla’s Chief Executive quoted a German rider who had just completed a trip in Austin, Texas, and wrote that he hoped the vehicle would not take years to arrive in Germany. Musk replied with a short but notable message: “Hopefully soon in Europe too.”
Hopefully soon in Europe too https://t.co/vqQ69bLJuN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 8, 2026
The comment arrived only days after Tesla opened Cybercab ride-hailing to the public in Austin. The two-seat vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and relies entirely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Early passengers have described the rides as quiet, smooth, and more stylish than competing robotaxis such as Waymo.
Austin is currently the only city where members of the public can hail a Cybercab through Tesla’s Robotaxi app. The initial fleet is small; Texas registration records show only a few dozen of the purpose-built vehicles on the road.
Tesla set to open Cybercab rides to the public, with no steering wheel or pedals
Tesla has also been operating a larger number of conventional Model Y robotaxis in the same area, but the Cybercab itself represents the company’s first dedicated, controls-free taxi design.
Europe presents a different regulatory picture. The European Union does not permit manufacturers to self-certify vehicles the way Tesla did in the United States.
Type-approval rules and a small-series limit of 1,500 automated vehicles per type per year apply across the bloc.
Supervised Full Self-Driving has gained provisional approval in several member states through national recognition of Dutch certification, yet unsupervised robotaxi operation remains a separate and more distant step. Tesla has not announced a European launch city, date, or approval pathway for the Cybercab.
Musk himself has previously cautioned that the company does not control European regulators. In an earnings call earlier in 2026, he noted that even supervised FSD took an “immense amount of time” to clear and that unsupervised service would be “somewhat at the mercy of the governments in Europe and the EU.”
The latest social-media remark therefore functions more as an expression of intent than a timetable.
If the Cybercab eventually reaches European streets, it would mark a significant expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions beyond the United States. For now, the vehicle remains an Austin-only experience, and the gap between Musk’s hope and actual deployment will be decided by regulators rather than by engineering alone.
Tesla Cybercab might have just rolled out to the public as it entered the company’s Robotaxi suite in Austin this past week. However, the vehicle might already be on its way to becoming even better, as the company is asking riders to describe what they’d like to see improved with the Cybercab.
Tesla sent a rider experience survey to Cybercab passengers only days after paid rides began in Austin. The questionnaire asks how satisfied riders were with the overall trip. Then it requests star ratings for availability and wait time, door functionality, vehicle touchscreen, mobile app experience, seat comfort, interior space, ride comfort, cleanliness, and cargo space.
A later section asks which features riders would most like to have and allows selection of up to three items from a list that includes heated seats, ventilated seats, fully reclining seats, a tray table, a wireless phone charger, a better sound system, and more storage. Respondents may also choose none of these or write in another idea. The survey closes with a recommendation score from zero to ten.
Tesla just sent out a Cybercab rider experience survey so you can give feedback to the team. pic.twitter.com/YsU5OYdAjW
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 8, 2026
This rapid request for input illustrates Tesla’s habit of treating early users as collaborators rather than mere customers. The company has long refined vehicles through software updates and hardware changes informed by real-world use across its passenger cars.
Collecting structured opinions so soon after commercial service started shows the same mindset applied to a purpose-built autonomous taxi. The questions themselves reveal an openness to cabin changes even after the first vehicles reached public streets, which is no surprise.
Tesla has always hoped to cater a great experience to anyone in its vehicles, which is why so many fan-requested features have made it into its vehicles.
Replies already circulating online favor reclining seats, tray tables, wireless charging, improved audio, and extra room when seats fold back.
Tesla Cybercabs narrowly miss deadly Amazon cargo plane crash
Those preferences point toward comfort upgrades that Tesla can implement in later production batches or through cabin revisions. Because the Cybercab is designed around software first principles, many requested amenities can arrive faster than in traditional automakers.
Tesla’s willingness to survey riders immediately after launch therefore makes near-term cabin and experience improvements likely as the team reviews responses and iterates toward a more refined robotaxi people will choose daily.
Tesla Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill revealed the company has made several changes to the all-electric pickup, which he calls a “living thing, constantly evolving and improving.”
Cybertruck is manufactured at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas just outside of Austin, and over the past few years, Tesla has continued to make small changes to the pickup to improve everything from cost, reliability, serviceablility, and manufacturability.
“The finish line isn’t getting to production. A product is a living thing, constantly evolving and improving,” Morrill added.
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Some of those changes are yet to be revealed, but perhaps the most notable one was the change Tesla made to the aero shield that sits underneath the truck. In the past, it was aluminum, but now the Cybertruck is using a self-reinforcing polypropylene.
Morrill said that the polypropylene is “stretched into fibers and then laminated into the form,” and is much more durable, much lighter, and significantly cheaper than aluminum when it is manufactured this way.
It also enabled some improvements in the geometry of the Cybertruck, improving the manufacturing around the bolts and edges, in addition to minor form changes. These all benefitted the Cybertruck in more ways than one: specifically with durability and improved drag.
I was surprised by how interested people were to find out we made a relatively benign change to the Cybertruck aero shield, a part of the car most people never even see. So I’ll share some more details.
Here are two photos, the left is one of the latest trucks off the… pic.twitter.com/F5cZo2CZKf
— Wes (@wmorrill3) September 7, 2026
Typically, Teslas are not necessarily identified by model year because these changes are fluid and occur when the company sees fit to implement them. It is not like other automotive companies, which usually make sweeping manufacturing changes when building a new model year.
Instead, Teslas are recognized by their “generation” or “era.” For example, those with a newer Model Y might refer to their car as a “Juniper.” This is the same with Model 3, as many refer to the new body style as the “Highland.”
Tesla’s manufacturing changes are proof of the company’s constant need to improve its products and move things forward with its vehicles. There is no need to drag one’s feet and wait until next year if the product can be made better right now, and that’s precisely what Tesla did with the Cybertruck.
Elon Musk hints at Tesla Cybercab’s next market
Tesla Cybercab improvements are already on the minds of company engineers
