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Watch SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission launch four private astronauts live [webcast]
Update: SpaceX, Falcon 9, Crew Dragon, the crew, and the weather remain on track for the company’s historic Inspiration4 mission, which is set to become the first dedicated orbital space tourism launch in history.
SpaceX has begun more than four hours of live coverage for the mission, which remains on track to launch no earlier than just before 8:03 pm EDT (00:03 UTC). Tune in below to watch the launch live!
In less than 12 hours, SpaceX will kick off a more than four-hour webcast covering Crew Dragon’s historic Inspiration4 mission – set to be the world’s first all-private orbital astronaut launch and the highest private citizens have ever flown.
Safely tucked inside a once-flown orbital Dragon capsule and riding on a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster, the latter a first for SpaceX, Inspiration4’s approximately five-hour launch window is scheduled to open just before 8:03 pm EDT on Wednesday, September 15th (00:03 UTC 16 Sept). Barring weather or technical delays (or clouds in general), a liftoff ~35 minutes after sunset could produce spectacular views for anyone watching from the ground as Falcon 9 and its immense exhaust plume ascend back into sunlight.
No matter the view, though, Inspiration4 will be a milestone both for SpaceX, spaceflight, and orbital tourism as a whole.
The mission will both be SpaceX’s first private astronaut launch of any kind and the first all-private orbital astronaut launch in history. In a single mission, SpaceX will singlehandedly boost the number of private astronauts that have reached orbit by 50% – a feat only eight other people have achieved. If all goes according to plan, it will also be the first time ever that private citizens have successfully flown to orbit and back on or in a flight-proven rocket or flight-proven spacecraft.
According to SpaceX, Falcon 9 will launch Crew Dragon to an apogee of around 575 km (~357 mi) – more than a third higher than the ISS, the highest humans have flown since 2009, and the highest altitude ever reached by private astronauts. With Inspiration4, SpaceX will also launch astronauts on a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster and simultaneously operate three Dragon spacecraft in orbit for the first time ever, pushing the company’s own technical abilities forward.
Despite the myriad impressive firsts Inspiration4 is set to mark, one thing is certain: it won’t be the last time private astronauts head to (real) space on a SpaceX spacecraft. Already, SpaceX has contracts from Axiom Space for four dedicated private launches to the International Space Station in 2022 and 2023, each carrying up to four private astronauts. Space Adventures – responsible for organizing all eight other non-SpaceX private orbital astronaut launches in history – also has plans to launch a private crew of four to unprecedented heights, though it’s unclear if the mission has secured any customers.
I asked about future non-government missions for SpaceX:
Reed says “the Dragon manifest is getting busier by the minute” with “a growing backlog of commercial astronaut missions.”— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) September 14, 2021
Reed says SpaceX is “gearing up” to be able to fly 4-6 Dragon missions per year at minimum.— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) September 14, 2021
In an official Q&A held on Tuesday, Benji Reed – SpaceX director of Dragon mission management – said that the company’s “Dragon manifest is getting busier by the minute” with “a growing backlog of commercial astronaut mission.” Reed also expects SpaceX to soon be capable of a minimum of 4-6 Dragon launches annually. Axiom-1, the first fully private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), is scheduled to launch no earlier than January 2022.
As for Inspiration4, Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor, Haley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski will spend a bit less than three days in orbit and are expected to perform a few small science experiments, take plenty of photos, and host a couple live events over the course of the mission. They’ll also get to take advantage of Crew Dragon’s ‘cupola’ – designed specifically by SpaceX for Inspiration4 and set to be the largest window ever flown in space. A small camera inside the nosecone that will protect that window during ascent and reentry will hopefully allow the crew to take self-portraits with Earth as a spectacular backdrop.
If all goes according to plan, Dragon will reenter and return its private astronauts to Earth around 7pm EDT on Saturday, September 18th. SpaceX is expected to provide live coverage of Inspiration4’s launch and reentry and the launch webcast will begin around 4pm EDT (20:00 UTC), four hours before liftoff.
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Wedbush’s Dan Ives sees ‘monster year’ ahead for Tesla amid AI push
In a post on X, the analyst stated that the electric vehicle maker could hit a $3 trillion market cap by the end of 2026 in a bullish scenario.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives is doubling down on Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) long-term upside. In a post on X, the analyst stated that the electric vehicle maker could hit a $3 trillion market cap by the end of 2026 in a bullish scenario, thanks to the company’s efforts to develop and push its artificial intelligence programs.
An aggressive valuation upside
Ives, Wedbush’s global head of tech research, stated in his post that Tesla is entering a pivotal period as its autonomy and robotics ambitions move closer to commercialization. He expects Tesla’s market cap to reach $2 trillion in 2026, representing roughly 33% upside from current levels, with a bull case up to a $3 trillion market cap by year-end.
Overall, Ives noted that 2026 could become a “monster year” for TSLA. “Heading into 2026, this marks a monster year ahead for Tesla/Musk as the autonomous and robotics chapter begins. We believe Tesla hits a $2 trillion market cap in 2026 and in a bull case scenario $3 trillion by end of 2026… as the AI chapter takes hold at TSLA,” the analyst wrote.
Ives also reiterated his “Outperform” rating on TSLA stock, as well as his $600 per share price target.
Unsupervised Full-Self Driving tests
Fueling optimism is Tesla’s recent autonomous vehicle testing in Austin, Texas. Over the weekend, at least two Tesla Model Ys were spotted driving on public roads without a safety monitor or any other occupants. CEO Elon Musk later confirmed the footage of one of the vehicles on X, writing in a post that “testing is underway with no occupant in the car.”
It remains unclear whether the vehicle was supported by chase cars or remote monitoring, and Tesla has not disclosed how many vehicles are involved. That being said, Elon Musk stated a week ago that Tesla would be removing its Safety Monitors from its vehicles “within the next three weeks.” Based on the driverless vehicles’ sightings so far, it appears that Musk’s estimate may be right on the mark, at least for now.
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Production-ready Tesla Cybercab hits showroom floor in San Jose
Tesla has implemented subtle but significant updates to both the Cybercab’s exterior and interior elements.
Tesla has showcased what appears to be a near-production-ready Cybercab at its Santana Row showroom in San Jose, California, giving visitors the closest look yet at the autonomous two-seater’s refined design.
Based on photos of the near-production-ready vehicle, the electric vehicle maker has implemented subtle but significant updates to both the Cybercab’s exterior and interior elements, making the vehicle look more polished and seemingly more comfortable than its prototypes from last year.
Exterior and interior refinements
The updated Cybercab, whose photos were initially shared by Tesla advocate Nic Cruz Patane, now features a new frameless window design, an extended bottom splitter on the front bumper, and a slightly updated rear hatch. It also includes a production-spec front lightbar with integrated headlights, new wheel covers, and a license plate bracket.
Notably, the vehicle now has two windshield wipers instead of the prototype’s single unit, along with powered door struts, seemingly for smoother opening of its butterfly doors. Inside, the Cybercab now sports what appears to be a redesigned dash and door panels, updated carpet material, and slightly refined seat cushions with new center cupholders. Its legroom seems to have gotten slightly larger as well.
Cybercab sightings
Sightings of the updated Cybercab have been abundant in recent months. At the end of October, the Tesla AI team teased some of the autonomous two-seater’s updates after it showed a photo of the vehicle being driven through an In-N-Out drive-through by employees in Halloween costumes. The photos of the Cybercab were fun, but they were significant, with longtime Tesla watchers noting that the company has a tradition of driving its prototypes through the fast food chain’s drive-throughs.
Even at the time, Tesla enthusiasts noticed that the Cybercab had received some design changes, such as segmented DRLs and headlamps, actual turn signals, and a splitter that’s a lot sharper. Larger door openings, which now seem to have been teasing the vehicle’s updated cabin, were also observed at the time.
Investor's Corner
Tesla analyst realizes one big thing about the stock: deliveries are losing importance
Tesla analyst Dan Levy of Barclays realized one big thing about the stock moving into 2026: vehicle deliveries are losing importance.
As a new era of Tesla seems to be on the horizon, the concern about vehicle deliveries and annual growth seems to be fading, at least according to many investors.
Even CEO Elon Musk has implied at times that the automotive side, as a whole, will only make up a small percentage of Tesla’s total valuation, as Optimus and AI begin to shine with importance.
He said in April:
“The future of the company is fundamentally based on large-scale autonomous cars and large-scale and large volume, vast numbers of autonomous humanoid robots.”
Almost all of Tesla’s value long-term will be from AI & robots, both vehicle & humanoid
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 11, 2023
Levy wrote in a note to investors that Tesla’s Q4 delivery figures “likely won’t matter for the stock.” Barclays said in the note that it expects deliveries to be “soft” for the quarter.
In years past, Tesla analysts, investors, and fans were focused on automotive growth.
Cars were truly the biggest thing the stock had to offer: Tesla was a growing automotive company with a lot of prowess in AI and software, but deliveries held the most impact, along with vehicle pricing. These types of things had huge impacts on the stock years ago.
In fact, several large swings occurred because of Tesla either beating or missing delivery estimates:
- January 3, 2022: +13.53%, record deliveries at the time
- January 3, 2023: -12.24%, missed deliveries
- July 2, 2024: +10.20%, beat delivery expectations
- October 3, 2022: -8.61%, sharp miss due to Shanghai factory shutdown
- July 2, 2020: +7.95%, topped low COVID-era expectations with sizeable beat on deliveries
It has become more apparent over the past few quarters that delivery estimates have significantly less focus from investors, who are instead looking for progress in AI, Optimus, Cybercab, and other projects.
These things are the future of the company, and although Tesla will always sell cars, the stock is more impacted by the software the vehicle is running, and not necessarily the vehicle itself.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives sees ‘monster year’ ahead for Tesla amid AI push
Production-ready Tesla Cybercab hits showroom floor in San Jose
