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SpaceX schedules first Falcon Heavy launch in two years in early October

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For the first time in more than two years, SpaceX has a firm launch date for its next Falcon Heavy mission: October 9th, 2021.

Revealed on September 7th as part of a US Space Systems Command presentation at the 2021 Small Payload Ride Share Symposium, October 9th now appears to be the military’s official target date for SpaceX’s fourth Falcon Heavy launch ever. Currently the most powerful and capable commercial rocket in operation and likely to remain so – perhaps alongside Starship – for years to come, Falcon Heavy debuted in February 2018, successfully delivering a mock payload into interplanetary space.

After another 14 months of work, SpaceX then debuted Falcon Heavy Block 5 – an upgraded version of the rocket that took advantage of all of Block 5’s reusability, reliability, and performance improvements. Just two months after Falcon Heavy Block 5’s inaugural April 2019 launch, SpaceX launched the rocket for the third time, supporting a US Air Force rideshare mission, reusing both of Flight 2’s side boosters, and giving the US military a firsthand demonstration of the rocket’s capabilities. However, Falcon Heavy has not flown once since then.

For mostly unknown reasons, Falcon Heavy’s fourth launch – a US military mission known as USSF-44 (formerly AFSPC-44) – has gradually slipped from a late-2020 target to Q1, Q2, Q3, and finally Q4 (October) 2021. SpaceX only began qualifying USSF-44’s Falcon Heavy boosters at its McGregor, Texas test facilities in late September 2020, a few weeks after delays from late-2020 to February 2021 and June 2021 were quietly announced. At that point, the US was deep into the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic’s local peak.

Only in May 2021 did the US military finally directly address major USSF-44 and USSF-52 delays, blaming them on “payload readiness.” Given that the Space Force never blamed SpaceX or rocket availability for what is likely to be a full year of launch delays, the implication is that likely satellite manufacturers Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Maxar, or Boeing have run into major technical issues. It’s also possible that those payload-side delays have been caused by a combination of supply chain issues and constraints brought on by the ongoing global pandemic.

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Meanwhile, USSF-44’s all-new Falcon Heavy rocket appears to have been at Cape Canaveral and more or less ready for flight since Q2 2021 and SpaceX has been hard at work qualifying at least two more Falcon Heavy center cores for at least two additional missions scheduled in H1 2022.

Scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) October 9th, Falcon Heavy #4 will likely roll out to Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A around 5-7 days prior for a crucial static fire test and pad shakedown. SpaceX is currently scheduled to launch Crew Dragon’s all-private Inspiration4 mission as early as September 14th, giving the company around three weeks to modify Pad 39A and its transporter/erector, gather all four USSF-44 Falcon Heavy stages, and assemble the rocket. Another Crew Dragon mission is then scheduled to launch as early as October 31st, again leaving SpaceX less than three weeks to reconfigure Pad 39A.

Successfully completing that back-to-back-to-back Dragon-FH-Dragon manifest on schedule will be a significant challenge and delays are probably more likely than not. Nevertheless, Falcon Heavy will likely roll out to the launch pad for the first time in more than two years less than a month from today.

(SpaceX)

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla to ramp to 500 Robotaxis in Austin, 1,000 in Bay Area, by end of 2025: Musk

This was, at least, as per recent comments from CEO Elon Musk during his appearance on the All-In podcast.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Robotaxi pilot is still in its early stages, but it seems like the program in Austin and the Bay Area will see a notable update soon. This was, at least, as per recent comments from CEO Elon Musk during his appearance on the All-In podcast. 

Robotaxi expansion

While discussing Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions, Elon Musk shared some tidbits about the company’s targets for the autonomous ride-hailing program. As per Musk, Tesla is pushing to increase its Robotaxi fleet size in Austin to 500 units. The Robotaxi fleet in the Bay Area will also be increased to 1,000 units. These expansions are expected to be accomplished by the end of the year.

“We’re scaling up the number of cars to, what happens if you have a thousand cars? Probably we’ll have a thousands cars or more in the Bay Area by the end of this year, probably 500 or more in the greater Austin area,” Musk said in the podcast. 

Considering that there are only two months left in the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla’s Robotaxi team will likely be extremely busy during the next eight weeks. A successful expansion of the Robotaxi pilot in Austin and the Bay Area will also bode well for the company’s ride-hailing program, which has been pretty conservative as of late.

Musk’s Robotaxi comments

Elon Musk has been pretty clear in the past that Tesla’s FSD and Robotaxi network would play a huge role in the company’s future valuation and potential. Thus, during the third quarter earnings call, Musk highlighted that Tesla will also be transitioning to a system with no safety monitors in Austin by the end of the year. 

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“We are expecting to have no safety drivers in at least large parts of Austin by the end of this year. So within a few months, we expect to have no safety drivers at all in at least parts of Austin. We’re obviously being very cautious about the deployment,” Musk said during the Q3 2025 earnings call.

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Neuralink’s first patient could receive an upgrade: Elon Musk

Musk stated that Arbaugh could also be the first Neuralink patient to receive an upgrade.

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Credit: Neuralink

Neuralink’s first human patient might be in line for a very interesting development in the future.

Based on recent comments from Elon Musk, Neuralink seems to be considering an “upgrade” for its first human patient, allowing him to perform even more sophisticated tasks using only his mind. 

Elon Musk’s recent comments

Musk’s update came as a reply to an X post that featured some details about the current activities of Noland Arbaugh, the first person in the world to receive a Neuralink implant. Since receiving his implant, Arbaugh has been able to take back his life, and he now games, attends class, and even works as a paid speaker. 

In his response, Musk stated that Arbaugh could also be the first Neuralink patient to receive an upgrade. “Noland might be the first to receive a Neuralink upgrade and/or dual Neuralink implant to further augment his abilities. It won’t be long before a Neuralink recipient can beat most and eventually all humans at fast reaction video games,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

Noland’s recent update

Noland actually provided a quick update about his life with his Neuralink implant, which he fondly named Eve, on X. He noted that his direct involvement with Neuralink has lessened as more participants have joined the company’s human trials. And despite a recent pressure sore setback, he remains optimistic and teased “big news” coming for his two-year update in early 2026.

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Beyond his recovery, Arbaugh stated that Neuralink has made everyday goals achievable again. He is currently studying neuroscience, taking chemistry, biology, and pre-calculus and maintaining good grades, something he said would have been impossible without Neuralink.

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Tesla Cybercab almost looks production ready in new photos

Tesla’s AI team recently posted an image of the Cybercab going Animal Style at an In-and-Out drive-through.

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Credit: Tesla AI/X

Tesla’s AI team recently posted an image of the Cybercab going Animal Style at an In-and-Out drive-through. But while the Cybercab’s passengers were quite funny, the photos themselves suggest that some of the Cybercab’s components may already be production-ready.

Cybercab goes Animal Style

Seemingly as a fun Halloween post, the Tesla AI team shared a photo of a Cybercab, complete with passengers who were in costume, at an In-and-Out drive through. Based on the photos that were shared on X, it appeared that the Cybrcab was being accompanied by a Tesla Model Y Premium. The Tesla AI team shared a lighthearted caption to the image, writing “Animal Style,” a reference to a popular secret menu item for the fast food chain.

In a way, the Tesla AI team’s Halloween post was a lighthearted reference to the popularity of In-and-Out among Tesla owners. This is partly because of the Tesla Supercharger network, which has numerous locations that are close to In-and-Out sites. Elon Musk has also jokingly confirmed in the past that driving prototype Teslas through an In-and-Out is a tradition and a fun milestone marker.

Apparent production-ready Cybercab sections

While the Tesla AI team’s photos provided some lighthearted fun to the EV community, some industry watchers pointed out that the Cybercab in the photos looked production ready, or at least some parts of it seem to be. This is especially noticeable in the Cybercab’s front end, which looks very refined and well-built. 

The front end of the Cybercab on the In-and-Out photo even had a license plate mount, and previous sightings revealed that the door of the vehicle had been updated since it was unveiled last year.

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With this in mind, speculations are abounding that the Cybercab might indeed be ready for initial production soon. The installation of production equipment in Giga Texas has been ongoing for several months now, and tests of the Cybercab in both the Giga Texas complex and on public roads have also ramped. 

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