News
SpaceX plans huge expansion for Floridan Falcon refurbishment facilities
According to an environmental assessment published in April 2018, SpaceX aims to build a dedicated facility for storing, refurbishing and decommissioning Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters and payload fairings “immediately” after construction approvals are granted.
New Falcon 9 and Heavy refurbishment/storage center will be built in Florida
This facility would give SpaceX some 50 acres of land and 130,000 square feet (12,300 m^2) of floor space for the sole purpose of refurbishing and storing flight-proven Falcon 9 and Heavy boosters, as well as the rockets’ payload fairings after successful recoveries begin. If additional storage space proved necessary (and it probably will), another 100,000 ft^2 (9300 m^2) building would be constructed.
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- Falcon Heavy rolls out from SpaceX’s largest current booster storage and preparation facility, LC-39A. (SpaceX)
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- The first-ever Falcon Heavy (sans payload and fairing) shown inside Pad 39A’s horizontal integration facility (HIF). (SpaceX)
As of today, SpaceX likely has room to store 6-8 Falcon boosters at or near their Florida launch pads, with the bulk of that storage coming from the company’s 50,000 ft^2 (4500 m^2) LC-39A horizontal integration facility (HIF), capable of housing four rocket boosters. As such, an additional 150,000+ ft^2 could nearly quadruple SpaceX’s booster storage and refurbishment capabilities, all while locating that expansion on a single, easily-accessible lot within close reach of both LC-40 and LC-39A launch pads.
Put more simply, the addition of this new Kennedy Space Center facility would hugely benefit SpaceX’s ability to launch, land, and re-launch its reusable rockets as rapidly as possible, and would enable the simultaneous storage and refurbishment of as many as 16-20 Falcon 9/Heavy boosters and at least a dozen payload fairing halves. If even more capacity is required, nearly half of lot SpaceX wants to lease would be untouched and give the company another 30 acres of land to expand into as launch cadence ramps or BFR prepares for its first launches from Florida.
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- An overview of SpaceX’s prospective KSC facility and nearby landmarks. (SpaceX)
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- A SpaceX render of what the complex might look like once completed. (SpaceX)
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- As described in the environmental assessment, more than half of the lot would be free for future expansion. (SpaceX)
60+ annual launches, rocket ‘gardens’, and a wacky control tower
According to comments in the April 2018 assessment, the readiness of these new storage and refurbishment facilities could potentially pave the way for – as early as 2020 – more than 60 annual Falcon 9 and Heavy launches from the company’s two Florida launch pads a number which doesn’t even include SpaceX’s California launch site, nor its prospective Texas launch facilities. In order to support ambitious Florida-specific launch rates, SpaceX also intends to construct a 300-foot tall Launch and Landing Control Center (LLCC) pulled straight from a Bond villain’s lair on the new property.
The [LLCC] is envisioned to be world-class, architecturally distinctive, and equipped for satellite, cargo, and crew missions.
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- SpaceX’s proposed Launch and Landing Control Center (LLCC). The Bond villain is strong with this one… (SpaceX)
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- Satellite imagery from Google Maps shows the currently-abandoned site of SpaceX’s prospective Florida expansion. (Google Maps)
Distinctive is certainly a good way to describe the proposed control center. Not to be outdone, SpaceX also included plans for its own private rocket garden, essentially an elegant graveyard for decommissioned or uniquely historic Falcon 9 and Heavy rocket boosters and fairings, as well as Dragon spacecraft. Perhaps there will be room for pathfinder Mars rockets and spaceships in the future… With any luck, both the control center and proposed rocket garden are intended to be at least partially open to the public, something that would undoubtedly be a huge hit while also awkwardly competing with Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Center, which features its own rocket garden less than a mile away.
Although BFR and Mars were never mentioned specifically, something SpaceX appears to have been quite stringent about over the last several months, the environmental assessment also briefly mentioned future uses for the same facility that might include “new launch vehicle” developments, perhaps requiring a four-lane expansion of the adjacent Robert’s Road somewhere down the line.
BFR heads to orbit in an updated overview of the Mars rocket. (SpaceX)
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Elon Musk
SpaceX Board has set a Mars bonus for Elon Musk
SpaceX has given Elon Musk the goal to put one million people on Mars.
SpaceX’s board approved a compensation plan for Elon Musk that ties his pay directly to colonizing Mars and building data centers in outer space. The details surfaced this week after Reuters reviewed SpaceX’s confidential registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, making it one of the first concrete looks inside the company’s financials ahead of a public offering.
The pay package will reportedly award Musk 200 million super-voting restricted shares if the company hits a market valuation milestone, with the most ambitious targets going further. To unlock the full award, SpaceX would need to reach a $7.5 trillion valuation and help establish a permanent human settlement on Mars with at least one million residents. Additional incentives are tied to developing space-based computing infrastructure capable of delivering at least 100 terawatts of processing power.
SpaceX wins its first MARS contract but it comes with a catch
Long before SpaceX filed anything with the SEC, Elon Musk had already spent years framing Mars colonization as an insurance policy against human extinction. The philosophy traces back to at least 2001, when Musk first began researching Mars missions independently, before SpaceX even existed. By 2002 he had founded the company with Mars as the stated long-term goal.
In a 2017 presentation at the International Astronautical Congress, Musk outlined the specific vision that still underpins SpaceX’s architecture today. He described a self-sustaining city on Mars requiring roughly one million people to become viable, the same number now written into his compensation package.
SpaceX’s Starship, still in active development, was designed from the ground up to support the eventual colonization of Mars. Musk has stated publicly that getting the cost per ton to Mars below $100,000 is necessary to make mass migration economically feasible. Everything from Starship’s payload capacity to its full reusability targets flows from that single constraint. One can say that Musk’s latest compensation package has put a formal valuation on Mars for the first time.
SpaceX is targeting an IPO around June 28, Musk’s birthday, at a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion. Between the Mars rover contract, the Golden Dome software group, Space Force satellite launches, and now a pay structure built around interplanetary colonization, SpaceX has become the single most consequential contractor in American space and defense. The IPO will put a public price tag on all of it for the first time.
Earlier this week, we wrote a story on how Tesla is launching a new Supercharging Queue system to mitigate problems between drivers when there is a wait to charge.
Rather than potentially having people end up in a physical conflict, Tesla’s approach is to determine who is next to charge based on geographic data.
Tesla launches solution to end Supercharger fights once and for all
But some companies, notably Tesla’s biggest rival in China, BYD, are taking a different approach, focusing on charging speeds rather than how they will manage delays.
BYD’s approach, especially with its tests of ultra-fast “Flash Charging” technology, is to eliminate the length of a charging session. At the heart of this strategy is BYD’s second-generation Blade Battery paired with 1,500-kW Flash Chargers.
Real-world FLASH Charging in action.
⚡ 10% → 70% in 5 minutes
⚡ 10% → 97% in 9 minutesIntroducing BYD’s 2nd Generation Blade Battery + FLASH Charging Technology.
20,000 stations will bring faster, safer, and smarter EV charging across China by the end of 2026. pic.twitter.com/uzQC8q1xGf
— BYD (@BYDCompany) March 9, 2026
Unveiled earlier this year, the system charges compatible vehicles from 10 percent to 70 percent state of charge in just five minutes and from 10 percent to 97 percent in nine minutes.
Real-world demonstrations on models like the Yangwang U7 and Denza Z9 GT have shown the tech delivering roughly 250 miles (400 kilometers) of range in just five minutes. This would essentially match or beat the time it takes to fill a gas tank.
Sometimes, gas pumps get congested, and there are lines. You rarely see conflicts at pumps because filling up a tank rarely takes more than five minutes.
Tesla’s fastest Supercharger build currently is the v4, which can deliver up to 325 kW for Cybertruck and 250 kW for other models, but there are “true” sites that are capable of up to 500 kW. This enables speeds of up to 1,000 miles per hour, or 1,400 miles for 350 kW-capable vehicles.
The breakthrough stems from BYD’s vertically integrated ecosystem: a new 1,000-volt architecture, 10C charging rates, and proprietary silicon-carbide chips that minimize internal resistance while protecting battery health.
The company plans to install 20,000 Flash Charging stations across China by the end of 2026, with thousands already operational and global expansion eyed for Europe and beyond later this year.
Early rollout targets popular models, including upgrades to high-volume sellers like the Seal and Sealion series, bringing five-minute charging to mainstream prices around 100,000 yuan (about $14,000).
This approach contrasts sharply with Tesla’s software solution. Tesla’s Virtual Queue uses geofencing and the app to assign turns at crowded sites, addressing driver disputes and idle time. It’s a clever fix for today’s network realities.
Yet, BYD’s philosophy is simpler: make charging so fast that waits barely exist. A five-minute stop becomes as convenient as a gas-station visit, reducing station dwell time, easing grid strain, and lowering range anxiety for long trips.
For consumers, the difference is potentially tangible. They’ll spend more time driving and less time parked. It is just another way Tesla and BYD are pushing one another to improve the overall experience of EV ownership.
News
Tesla wins big as NHTSA drops three-year, 120k unit probe against Model Y
In all, 120,089 Model Ys were impacted, but in two cases, drivers reported the complete detachment of the steering wheel from the steering column while the vehicle was in motion. NHTSA’s initial review revealed that the vehicles had been delivered without the critical retaining bolt that secures the steering wheel to the splined steering column.
A probe into over 120,000 2023 Tesla Model Y units has been closed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The probe ends without the agency requiring any action from Tesla.
The probe, designated PE23-003, opened in March 2023 and stemmed from just two consumer complaints involving low-mileage Model Y SUVs.
In all, 120,089 Model Ys were impacted, but in two cases, drivers reported the complete detachment of the steering wheel from the steering column while the vehicle was in motion. NHTSA’s initial review revealed that the vehicles had been delivered without the critical retaining bolt that secures the steering wheel to the splined steering column.
NHTSA has ended a probe into over 120,000 Tesla Model Y vehicles after claims that the steering wheel could detach from the steering column due to a missing retaining bolt
There is no action needed by Tesla pic.twitter.com/YpAO3bKugA
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 28, 2026
Factory records showed each car had undergone an “end-of-line” repair at Tesla’s facility, during which the steering wheel was removed and reinstalled. The bolt was apparently omitted after the repair, leaving only a friction fit between the wheel and column to hold it in place temporarily.
According to NHTSA documents, this friction fit maintained the connection during initial low-mileage driving until forces during normal operation caused the wheel to detach. Both vehicles that were impacted were repaired under warranty with no injuries reported, and no additional incidents surfaced during the agency’s three-year review.
After analyzing manufacturing processes, complaint data, and field reports, NHTSA concluded the issue was isolated to those two post-repair vehicles rather than indicative of a systemic defect in Tesla’s production or quality control.
The closure means the agency has determined no recall or further enforcement is warranted for this specific missing-bolt condition.
This outcome marks the second NHTSA investigation into Tesla closed without action this month, as a recent probe into the company’s “Actually Smart Summon” feature was also resolved in April.
The two resolutions provide some relief for Tesla amid the continuous and somewhat unfair regulatory scrutiny of its vehicles, including open inquiries into driver assistance systems.
Importantly, the closed probe does not involve or affect Tesla’s separate May 2023 voluntary recall of certain 2022-2023 Model Y vehicles. That recall addressed a different issue—steering-wheel fasteners that were installed but not torqued to specification—prompted by a service technician’s observation of a loose wheel during unrelated repairs.
Tesla identified a small number of related warranty claims and proactively addressed the matter without NHTSA mandate.
The Model Y remains one of the world’s best-selling vehicles, and Tesla continues to refine its lineup, including the recent “Juniper” refresh. While federal oversight of the electric vehicle pioneer remains intense, this decision underscores that isolated manufacturing anomalies do not always translate into broader safety defects requiring recalls.
SpaceX Board has set a Mars bonus for Elon Musk
Tesla’s biggest rivals fights charging wait times with a modern approach
