News
SpaceX kicks off 2023 with second largest rideshare launch
After rounding out 2022 with the world’s last orbital launch, SpaceX has kicked off 2023 with the new year’s first orbital launch – also the second-largest rideshare mission in history.
At 9:56 am EST (14:56 UTC), a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on Transporter-6, the sixth dedicated launch under the company’s Smallsat Rideshare Program. SpaceX says Transporter-6 deployed 114 payloads for dozens of paying customers, making it the second-largest rideshare mission ever launched. In addition, marking the latest apogee of a growing cottage industry largely enabled by SpaceX’s affordable and regular rideshare launch services, Transporter-6 carried an unprecedented number of ‘space tugs’ developed by five separate companies.
The update that's rolling out to the fleet makes full use of the front and rear steering travel to minimize turning circle. In this case a reduction of 1.6 feet just over the air— Wes (@wmorrill3) April 16, 2024
At a minimum, Transporter-6’s expansive payload roster included Launcher’s first Orbiter space tug, Epic Aerospace’s first CHIMERA space tug, Momentus Space’s second Vigoride space tug, and two D-Orbit ION space tugs. While their capabilities vary significantly, all of the space tags or transfer vehicles manifested on the mission have a similar purpose: transporting satellites launched as rideshare payloads from their rocket’s one-size-fits-all parking orbit to an orbit more optimized for each spacecraft’s mission.
In theory, that concept could eventually take the shape of a service that lets operators send their satellites to a wide variety of orbits and still take advantage of the savings enabled by rideshare launches – particularly from SpaceX. But that time has not quite come. At the moment, only a few providers have successfully demonstrated space tugs with propulsion systems, and most of those proven options only allow for small orbit tweaks. One tug built by Spaceflight has partially demonstrated the ability to climb from ~300 kilometers to more than 1000 kilometers. Rocket Lab’s Electron kick stage is arguably the most successful in low Earth orbit, and the company has also shown that Photon – an upgraded version of that kick stage – can send payloads to high Earth orbits or even the Moon.
Future tugs could enable routine changes on the order of hundreds or even thousands of kilometers for multiple payloads per flight. Many prospective providers – including Momentus and Epic – hope to follow up their simpler prototypes (and follow in Rocket Lab’s footsteps) with tugs capable of carrying satellites to high Earth orbits, the Moon, and deep space.
SpaceX’s Transporter missions and the space tugs that frequent them all serve the same purpose: getting satellites where they need to go for a diverse range of customers. And Transporter-6 deployed a number of interesting payloads. In partnership with Nanoavionics, French startup Gama launched its first solar sail prototype in the hopes of one day lowering the cost of deep space propulsion and exploration. Momentus will get a second opportunity to demonstrate its Vigoride tug, which is powered by an exotic water plasma propulsion system. Spire launched the first prototypes of an upgraded satellite bus. Orbital Sidekick launched its first Earth observation satellite. Lynk Global launched an in-space cell tower to test the ability to broadcast 5G from space to the ground. Australian startup Skykraft launched its first batch of Block 2 air traffic management satellites and will deploy them with its own free-flying “Deployer 1” – essentially a space tug without propulsion. Planet launched dozens of new SuperDove Earth-imaging satellites. And Ukrainian startup EOS launched Agrisat-1, the country’s first commercial satellite.
Following Transporter-6, SpaceX’s Smallsat Rideshare Program has launched approximately 566 payloads in less than two years. In addition, SpaceX has launched more than 3600 of its own Starlink satellites since November 2019 for a total of well over 4000 satellites launched in a little over three years.
Prior to the end of 2022, SpaceX had never launched a rocket later than December 23rd or earlier than January 6th. That odd gap finally fell at the end of SpaceX’s record-breaking 2022 performance, which saw the company ace 61 Falcon launches in a single calendar year. Transporter-6 will be SpaceX and the world’s first launch of 2023. Never one to stand still, CEO Elon Musk has set SpaceX a target of “up to 100 launches” in the new year.
Rewatch SpaceX and the world’s first orbital launch (and rocket landing) of 2023 below.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk shares insights on SpaceX and Tesla’s potential scale
In a pair of recent posts on X, Musk argued that both companies operate in domains where growth is not linear, but exponential.
Elon Musk outlined why he believes Tesla and SpaceX ultimately dwarf their competitors, pointing to autonomy, robotics, and space-based energy as forces that fundamentally reshape economic scale.
In a pair of recent posts on X, Musk argued that both companies operate in domains where growth is not linear, but exponential.
Space-based energy
In a response to a user on X who observed that SpaceX has a larger valuation than all six US defense companies combined, Musk explained that space-based industries will eventually surpass the total economic value of Earth. He noted that space allows humanity to harness roughly 100,000 times more energy than Earth currently uses, while still consuming less than a millionth of the Sun’s total energy output.
That level of available energy should enable the emergence and development of industries that are simply not possible within Earth’s physical and environmental constraints. Continuous solar exposure in space, as per Musk’s comment, removes limitations imposed by atmosphere, weather, and land availability.
Autonomy and robots
In a follow-up post, Elon Musk explaned that “due to autonomy, Tesla is worth more than the rest of the auto industry.” Musk added that this assessment does not yet account for Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot. As per the CEO, once Optimus reaches scaled production, it could increase Earth’s gross domestic product by an order of magnitude, ultimately paving the way for sustainable abundance.
Even before the advent of Optimus, however, Tesla’s autonomous driving system already gives vehicles the option to become revenue-generating assets through services like the Tesla Robotaxi network. Tesla’s autonomous efforts seem to be on the verge of paying off, as services like the Robotaxi network have already been launched in its initial stages in Austin and the Bay Area.
News
Tesla Cybercab undergoes winter testing as Elon Musk reiterates production start date
CEO Elon Musk confirmed the timeline in a recent post on X, while Tesla’s official social media accounts separately revealed that Cybercab prototypes are now undergoing winter testing in Alaska.
Tesla has reiterated that production of its fully autonomous Cybercab is set to begin in April, even as the company continues expanding real-world testing of the vehicle.
CEO Elon Musk confirmed the timeline in a recent post on X, while Tesla’s official social media accounts separately revealed that Cybercab prototypes are now undergoing winter testing in Alaska.
Musk confirms April Cybercab initial production
In a post on X, Musk reiterated that Cybercab production is scheduled to begin in April, reiterating his guidance about the vehicle’s manufacturing timeline. Around the same time, Tesla shared images showing the Cybercab undergoing cold-weather testing in Alaska. Interestingly enough, the Cybercab prototypes being tested in Alaska seemed to be equipped with snow tires.
Winter testing in Alaska suggests Tesla is preparing the Cybercab for deployment across a wide range of climates in the United States. Cold temperatures, snow, ice, and reduced traction present some of the most demanding scenarios for autonomous systems, making Alaska a logical proving ground for a vehicle designed to operate without a human driver.
Taken together, Musk’s production update and Tesla’s testing post indicate that while the Cybercab is nearing the start of manufacturing, validation efforts are still actively ramping to ensure reliability in real-world environments.
What early Cybercab production might look like
Musk has previously cautioned that the start of Cybercab manufacturing will be slow, reflecting the challenges of launching an all-new vehicle platform. In a recent comment, Musk said initial production typically follows an S-curve, with early output constrained by how many new parts and processes are involved.
According to Musk, both Cybercab and Optimus fall into this category, as “almost everything is new.” As a result, early production rates are expected to be very deliberate before eventually accelerating rapidly as manufacturing processes mature.
“Initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve. The speed of production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are. For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Tesla will increase its Full Self-Driving subscription price, meaning it will eventually be more than the current $99 per month price tag it has right now.
Already stating that the ability to purchase the suite outright will be removed, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this week that the Full Self-Driving subscription price would increase when its capabilities improve:
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD).”
This was an expected change, especially as Tesla has been hinting for some time that it is approaching a feature-complete version of Full Self-Driving that will no longer require driver supervision. However, with the increase, some are concerned that they may be priced out.
$99 per month is already a tough ask for some. While Full Self-Driving is definitely worth it just due to the capabilities, not every driver is ready to add potentially 50 percent to their car payment each month to have it.
While Tesla has not revealed any target price for FSD, it does seem that it will go up to at least $150.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Additionally, the ability to purchase the suite outright is also being eliminated on February 14, which gives owners another reason to be slightly concerned about whether they will be able to afford to continue paying for Full Self-Driving in any capacity.
Some owners have requested a tiered program, which would allow people to pay for the capabilities they want at a discounted price.
Unsupervised FSD would be the most expensive, and although the company started removing Autopilot from some vehicles, it seems a Supervised FSD suite would still attract people to pay between $49 and $99 per month, as it is very useful.
Tesla will likely release pricing for the Unsupervised suite when it is available, but price increases could still come to the Supervised version as things improve.
This is not the first time Musk has hinted that the price would change with capability improvements, either. He’s been saying it for some time. In 2020, he even said the value of FSD would “probably be somewhere in excess of $100,000.”
The FSD price will continue to rise as the software gets closer to full self-driving capability with regulatory approval. It that point, the value of FSD is probably somewhere in excess of $100,000.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2020
Elon Musk shares insights on SpaceX and Tesla’s potential scale
Tesla Cybercab undergoes winter testing as Elon Musk reiterates production start date
