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SpaceX installs Starship Mk1 rocket’s flaps for the second time in build-up to flight debut
A little over a month after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk presented an update on Starship in Boca Chica, Texas and technicians dressed the rocket up for the show, SpaceX has begun to install Starship Mk1’s flaps for the second time.
This time, with any luck, those flaps are here to stay until Starship Mk1’s inaugural launch debut, an ambitious flight test with a target altitude of 20 km (12 mi).
Around the second half of September, SpaceX technicians appeared to begin working around the clock to fully assemble Starship, outfitting the exterior with the beginnings of plumbing, power lines, and avionics harnesses, stacking the Mk1 prototype’s two halves, and installing the vehicle’s large fore and aft flaps. During SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s September 28th Starship update, what looked to be the largely finished Starship Mk1 served as the main backdrop – an undeniably impressive one, at that.
As would soon become clear, SpaceX’s September 2019 Starship Mk1 integration was actually more of a mock-assembly – all the parts involved appear to genuinely be real flight hardware, but almost all of it was only temporarily attached to Starship to give the partial appearance of a finished ship. By October 1st, technicians began removing Starship Mk1’s four flaps, flap shrouds, and leg shrouds, finally culminating in the separation of the rocket prototype’s upper and lower halves.
The fact that neither Musk or SpaceX spokespersons noted that Starship wasn’t actually complete is at least a little unsavory, although it’s admittedly unsurprising given CEO Elon Musk’s known affinity for grand gestures and events. On a positive note, Starship’s mock-assembly likely served as an excellent learning experience for the Boca Chica team and thankfully only seems to have caused a week or two of delay.
Rapid progress in Boca Chica
Despite the mild disruption of dressing Starship Mk1 up for Musk’s presentation, SpaceX Boca Chica has made a huge amount of progress in the five weeks since. Barely three weeks after the rocket’s forward flaps (canards) were removed, SpaceX technicians began the reinstallation process with one major visible difference: a massive motorcycle-sized actuator.
On the first round of installations-for-show, Starship Mk1’s flaps featured no such mechanism, confirming suspicions that much of the hardware installed at the last second was not quite finished or was only being installed for Musk (and practice). The appearance of a previously unseen actuator mechanism on the first reinstalled canard suggests that this time around, SpaceX is installing Starship’s flaps with their final purpose of controlling Starship’s free-fall in mind.
Instead of copying Falcon 9’s proven method of vertical launch and vertical landing, SpaceX is taking a more radical approach with Starship that will see the spacecraft reenter Earth’s atmosphere belly-first, slow its forward speed to near-zero, and fall directly down for approximately 25 km (15.5 mi), using its flaps like a skydiver’s limbs. Perhaps just a few hundred meters above the ground, Starship will finally perform an aggressive flip maneuver, igniting its Raptors while sideways, swerving to neutralize that horizontal velocity, and finally landing on six small legs.
In this sense, although they certainly look the part, Starship’s aerodynamic control surfaces are very explicitly not wings and are instead meant to interact with the atmosphere at an almost 90-degree angle of attack (AoA). In line with that strategy, they only have to actuate with a single degree of freedom, drastically simplifying Starship’s control surfaces.
Similar to Starship Mk1’s newly filled-out canard actuators, SpaceX technicians have installed two massive hinges/mounts for Starship’s larger after flaps. Aft flap installation will likely start as soon as SpaceX technicians have installed the bulk of Starship Mk1’s external plumbing and wiring, a milestone that appears to be fast approaching.
Starship Mk1’s lower half was unexpectedly moved about a mile to SpaceX’s nearby launch facilities prior to the installation of its nose section, meaning that SpaceX will likely have to transport the nose to the launch pad for final mating. It’s unclear what tests SpaceX specifically plans to kick off Starship Mk1’s pre-flight preparations with, but it’s safe to assume that the most imminent milestone is a wet dress rehearsal (WDR), possibly preceded by a tank proof test.
The latter procedure would be designed to prove that Starship Mk1’s pressure vessel is both leakproof and structurally sound and would nominally involve filling the spacecraft’s tanks with a neutral fluid (likely water or liquid nitrogen). A WDR would see SpaceX load Starship as if preparing for launch (requiring liquid oxygen, methane, nitrogen, and helium) but stopping just prior to the engine ignition and liftoff that would otherwise follow. Although unlikely, a WDR could result in a massive fire or explosion if Starship were to lose structural integrity during the test, which is why the aforementioned neutral testing is typically performed first when handling brand new launch vehicles.
Finally, assuming Starship Mk1 successfully passes the above tests, SpaceX will use the vehicle to perform Raptor’s first triple-engine static fire test. That static fire will likely be the final major test activity before SpaceX readies Starship Mk1 for its 20-km flight debut, which will serve as a more or less full-fidelity test of Starship’s exotic skydiver-like landing.
Regardless of how exactly Starship Mk1’s imminent test campaign will play out, SpaceX has road closures scheduled on November 7th, 8th, and 12th. Right now, it’s anyone’s guess what is planned for Thursday and Friday, but it could potentially involve a tank proof test, launch pad checkouts, propellant loading, or something more benign, like transporting Starship’s nose section to the pad for final installation. Stay tuned!
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Elon Musk said the Tesla Cybercab will perform “a majority of all passenger miles” where it is allowed to operate and that point is “obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.”
Musk used the point to double down on the company’s decision to ax the cult-favorite Cybertruck, as its production space will be removed and transitioned into additional Cybercab lines. The move has catalyzed a polarizing conversation on whether its right or wrong.
Whatever side you are on — it’s happening.
Dodge ended the Viper.
Audi retired the R8.
Mitsubishi said goodbye to the Lancer Evo.
Ford bid farewell to the Bronco (at one point).
Chevrolet sunset the Camaro.Tesla is ending the Cybertruck. I’m pissed. I’m upset.
Fans of those five automakers mentioned did the same thing. It happens. It sucks. I don’t like it.
But I still love Tesla. I love my Model Y. I hoped to be in a Cybertruck in a little under two years.
I won’t be. But I still won’t put my family in anything else. Too safe. Too advanced. Too much better than everything else.
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Regardless, Musk seems to be getting to the point that he is done talking about the choice. At some point, you have to think that this was truly a difficult decision for him and the company as well, and this is not something he took lightly. In fact, he’s probably a little bit disappointed with it, too.
But the point remains that the Cybertruck is gone. Musk’s focus is purely on developing an autonomous platform that the world will utilize for transportation, and he’s telling you that anyone “with eyes and a brain” can see it:
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is betting that all of its passengers in the future will be okay with not owning their own personal cars and will be fine with ride-hailing for the rest of their lives. Every dinner, every errand, every trip to the airport and transportation thereafter, will all be operated by ride-sharing, and in Tesla’s perfect world, it will happen in a Cybercab.
As of now, Cybercab is only active in Austin, but it has been spotted all over the country with a driver behind the wheel in those prototypes. In Austin, the car has no steering wheel or pedals for people to control the vehicle.
The Cybertruck dilemma is one that has truly come across the entire Tesla community and while it seems to be a great idea to keep it because people love it, the business side of things is steering Musk and Tesla in another direction.
Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.
After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.
Tesla has stopped taking orders for the Cybertruck Premium AWD.
The Cyberbeast is now the only trim you can order, and its price went up $7,500 to $109,990.
Estimated deliveries have also slipped to March–June 2027 as the Giga Texas line heads toward its mid-2027 wind-down. https://t.co/o28epA0ZQl
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.
Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.
Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.
Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.
Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.
Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing
Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.
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Tesla exec hints at a wild fix for Robotaxi’s biggest weather problem
Tesla VP Lars Moravy says focused lasers could keep robotaxi cameras clear instead of wipers.
Tesla may one day use lasers instead of wiper blades to keep its robotaxi cameras clear. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, floated the idea in a new episode of Jay Leno’s Garage released Monday, where he and design chief Franz von Holzhausen walked Leno through the Model Y L.
“If you fire them in a focused area, you can clean the sheet of water and create a barrier,” Moravy said. “When you think about autonomy, it might be a good solution to only clean the area where the camera is.” He added that clearing an entire windshield would take too many lasers to be practical.
🚨 Jay Leno has released a new episode breaking down the Model Y L. You can watch it here: https://t.co/umMp85UEaB — TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 9, 2026
The comment brings back one of Tesla’s stranger patents. The company filed for “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” in May 2019, and the U.S. Patent Office granted it in September 2021. An updated divisional version was granted on March 31, 2026. The system detects debris on the glass, identifies what it is, and pulses the laser at a calibrated rate so the beam never penetrates deeper than the glass itself. The filing names windshields, side windows, camera lenses and solar panels as possible targets.
Lasers were once rumored for the Cybertruck, which appeared at its November 2019 unveiling with no wipers at all. Tesla eventually settled on a single oversized blade, and Elon Musk admitted the wiper was the part of the truck that troubled him the most. That production line is now scheduled to shut down around mid 2027 to make room for more Cybercab output.
What has changed since then is who is in the vehicle. A privately owned car has a driver who can notice a smeared windshield and do something about it. A Cybercab heading to its next pickup has nobody on board to check. Tesla has been chipping away at that problem with conventional hardware. Model Y Robotaxis in Austin were spotted with washers on their side repeater cameras in January, and a lens cleaning patent granted in May describes a fluid and wiper assembly for vehicle cameras and Optimus’ eyes. A laser would remove the fluid and the blades, both of which need regular replacement across a fleet.
The same episode gave Leno his first ride on Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The Model Y L pulled over on its own when an ambulance approached with its sirens on. “We got it on self-driving mode! I’m not touching anything,” Leno said. Moravy and von Holzhausen also explained that owners remain responsible while using FSD (Supervised), while Tesla takes responsibility for Robotaxi rides because it acts as the operator. Tesla launched the Model Y L in the U.S. in July at $61,990.
Moravy gave no timeline, and he described the laser setup as something Tesla is considering rather than a confirmed feature. The fleet it would serve keeps getting bigger, though. Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio on Monday, its eighth city, and expanded its Austin service area to roughly 443 square miles on the same day. Several of those markets, including Houston, Miami and Tampa, see heavy seasonal rain.
Elon Musk says Tesla Cybercab future is ‘obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain’
Tesla slims Cybertruck offerings to only its most expensive trim
