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SpaceX Crew Dragon, Falcon 9 roll out to the pad for historic Inspiration4 launch
On the morning of September 12th, SpaceX rolled the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft that will support the world’s first fully private orbital spaceflight to the launch pad they’ll soon lift off from.
Scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 8pm EDT on Wednesday, September 15th (02:00 UTC 16 Sept), the mission – deemed Inspiration4 by the billionaire funding it – will be both SpaceX and the world’s first crewed orbital spaceflight without a single professional astronaut aboard. Instead, billionaire Shift4 found Jared Isaacman, Ph.D. geologist and science communicator Sian Proctor, engineer Christopher Sembroski (standing in for a friend), and physician’s assistant and childhood cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux will be along for the ride.
Dragon Resilience — the ride to space and home on-orbit for @rookisaacman, @ArceneauxHayley, @ChrisSembroski, and @DrSianProctor pic.twitter.com/vUnti16EZZ— Inspiration4 (@inspiration4x) September 12, 2021

While none of the four crew members are professional astronauts or have any direct spaceflight experience at all, Isaacman – Inspiration4’s commander – is an experienced private pilot and all four have spent the better part of 2021 training full-time to ensure some degree of competency. Of course, Crew Dragon (like its Cargo Dragon 2 variant) is a nominally autonomous spacecraft designed to fly itself to and from the International Space Station – a far more complex task than the three days Inspiration4 is planned to fly free in orbit.
Still, much like all professional NASA and international astronauts to fly on Dragon undergo extensive training, a crew that knows how to operate their spacecraft is far more likely to be able to intervene – and perhaps save the mission and their lives – in the event of a major anomaly. As such, Isaacman, Proctor, Arceneaux, and Sembroski may be far from professional astronauts when they lift off but they also won’t be amateurs.
For Inspiration4, SpaceX will be launching astronauts with a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster and an orbit-proven Dragon capsule for the second time ever. The mission will still mark the first time humans have launched on a twice-flown Falcon booster (B1062) and the once-flown Crew Dragon spacecraft is on pace to reach orbit for the second time in less than five months – smashing the previous orbital capsule turnaround record by more than 40%.
Perhaps most significantly, at the earnest request of SpaceX’s Inspiration4 customer, the mission will also mark the highest orbit and altitude humans have reached – 575 km (357 mi) – in more than 13 years. It will be the seventh-highest Earth orbit ever reached by astronauts after five Space Shuttle missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope and two Gemini spacecraft test flights in the 1960s.
Stay tuned for updates on Inspiration4’s Wednesday launch and SpaceX’s webcast coverage of the historic private spaceflight.
News
Tesla China breaks 8-month slump by selling 71,599 vehicles wholesale in June
Tesla China’s June numbers were released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Tuesday.

Tesla China was able to sell 71,599 vehicles wholesale in June 2025, reversing eight consecutive months of year-over-year declines. The figure marks a 0.83% increase from the 71,599 vehicles sold wholesale in June 2024 and a 16.1% jump compared to the 61,662 vehicles sold wholesale in May.
Tesla China’s June numbers were released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Tuesday.
Tesla China’s June results in focus
Tesla produces both the Model 3 and Model Y at its Shanghai Gigafactory, which serves as the company’s primary vehicle export hub. Earlier this year, Tesla initiated a changeover for its best-selling vehicle, the Model Y, resulting in a drop in vehicle sales during the first and second quarters.
Tesla’s second-quarter China sales totaled 191,720 units including exports. While these numbers represent a 6.8% year-over-year decline for Tesla China, Q2 did show sequential improvement, rising about 11% from Q1 2025, as noted in a CNEV Post report.
For the first half of the year, Tesla sold 364,474 vehicles wholesale. This represents a 14.6% drop compared to the 426,623 units sold wholesale in the first half of 2024.
China’s competitive local EV market
Tesla’s position in China is notable, especially as the new Model Y is gaining ground in the country’s BEV segment. That being said, Tesla is also facing competition from impressive local brands such as Xiaomi, whose new YU7 electric SUV is larger and more affordable than the Model Y.
The momentum of the YU7 is impressive, as the vehicle was able to secure 200,000 firm orders within three minutes and over 240,000 locked-in orders within 18 hours. Xiaomi’s previous model, the SU7 electric sedan, which is aimed at the Tesla Model 3, also remains popular, with June deliveries surpassing 25,000 units for the ninth straight month.
While China’s EV market is getting more competitive, Tesla’s new Model Y is also ramping its production and deliveries. Needless to say, Tesla China’s results for the remaining two quarters of 2025 will be very interesting.
Elon Musk
Tesla reveals it is using AI to make factories more sustainable: here’s how
Tesla is using AI in its Gigafactory Nevada factory to improve HVAC efficiency.

Tesla has revealed in its Extended Impact Report for 2024 that it is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable its factories to be more sustainable. One example it used was its achievement of managing “the majority of the HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled” last year.
In a commitment to becoming more efficient and making its production as eco-friendly as possible, Tesla has been working for years to find solutions to reduce energy consumption in its factories.
For example, in 2023, Tesla implemented optimization controls in the plastics and paint shops located at Gigafactory Texas, which increased the efficiency of natural gas consumption. Tesla plans to phase out natural gas use across its factories eventually, but for now, it prioritizes work to reduce emissions from that energy source specifically.
It also uses Hygrometric Control Logic for Air Handling Units at Giafactory Berlin, resulting in 17,000 MWh in energy savings each year. At Gigafactory Nevada, Tesla saves 9.5 GWh of energy through the use of N-Methylpyrrolidone refineries when extracting critical raw material.
Perhaps the most interesting way Tesla is conserving energy is through the use of AI at Gigafactory Nevada, as it describes its use of AI to reduce energy demand:
“In 2023, AI Control for HVAC was expanded from Nevada and Texas to now include our Berlin-Brandenburg and Fremont factories. AI Control policy enables HVAC systems within each factory to work together to process sensor data, model factory dynamics, and apply control actions that safely minimize the energy required to support production. In 2024, this system achieved two milestones: the majority of HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled, reducing fan and thermal energy demand; and the AI algorithm was extended to manage entire chiller plants, creating a closed-loop control system that optimizes both chilled water consumption and the energy required for its generation, all while maintaining factory conditions.”
Tesla utilizes AI Control “primarily on systems that heat or cool critical factory production spaces and equipment.” AI Control communicates with the preexisting standard control logic of each system, and any issues can be resolved by quickly reverting back to standard control. There were none in 2024.
Tesla says that it is utilizing AI to drive impact at its factories, and it has proven to be a valuable tool in reducing energy consumption at one of its facilities.
Elon Musk
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.

Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.
Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.
However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.
Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!
And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025
President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.
How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies
Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”
BREAKING: CATHIE WOOD SAYS — ELON AND TRUMP FEUD “WILL PASS” 👀 $TSLA
She remains bullish ! pic.twitter.com/w5rW2gfCkx
— TheSonOfWalkley (@TheSonOfWalkley) July 1, 2025
Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”
“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”
Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.
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