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SpaceX simulates lifting Starship with launch tower ‘arms’
SpaceX has taken Starbase’s rocket-catching launch tower ‘arms’ to new heights during the latest series of proof tests.
That process began in earnest on January 4th, when SpaceX lifted, opened, and swung the tower’s building-sized arms for the first time. Four days later, SpaceX performed a variation on the first round of tests, again slowly lifting the assembly up the side of the launch tower and opening and closing the arms. The most notable difference was the addition of several tandem swing tests, which hinted at more applied tests that were soon to come. SpaceX also performed some basic tests with a third Starship fueling arm higher up on the tower, very slowly swinging it towards where Starship would be standing.
On Sunday afternoon, a third major round of testing kicked off. This set of tests was considerably more focused than the prior two, suggesting that it was more of a simulation of the main purpose of the arms.
Instead of lifting a few dozen feet and performing basic actuation and coordination tests, SpaceX simply lifted the arm assembly up along the tower’s exterior and didn’t stop. There were a few temporary pauses but the arms ultimately reached the approximate height they’d need to reach to stack a Starship on top of a Super Heavy booster. In fact, despite being (in)famous for being partially designed to catch boosters and ships out of mid-air, the main purpose of the arms – and likely the only reason they exist at all – is to safely, accurately, and precisely lift, install, and stack Starships and Super Heavy boosters.
SpaceX could obviously use a giant crawler or tower crane to accomplish a similar feat but cranes – especially large and tall ones – are extremely sensitive to wind conditions and effectively become very unsafe to operate in anything more than a brisk breeze. To put it lightly, even the average weather on the South Texas Gulf Coast is anything but conducive to the routine and reliable operation of giant cranes, which is exactly what SpaceX would need to avoid near-future Starship launch and recovery operations being constantly delayed by weather.
On January 9th, SpaceX appeared to test exactly that function. Before the day’s testing began, workers installed a large steel bar believed to be a weight simulator between the arms. Just like a booster would, the simulator sat – one end resting on both arms – on two small steel appendages identical to those present on all recent Super Heavy prototypes. On top of serving as a hardpoint for cranes, the downward-facing end of the L-shaped structures are capped with a small steel tip designed to take the whole weight of a Super Heavy. Those two minuscule steel caps – each no more than a foot wide – are what SpaceX (or at least CEO Elon Musk) wants Super Heavy to ‘land’ on to be “caught” by the launch tower’s arms.
More importantly, those caps – covering heavy-duty bearings – are also what the arms will ‘grab’ and manipulate to carefully position Super Heavy boosters for launch mount installation. To do so, each arm has a pair of parallel screw rods that can move together to shift the booster closer to or further away from the launch tower or move in opposite directions to slightly rotate it.
Once the arms reached the top of the tower, SpaceX performed several swing tests, mirroring the kind of movements they would use to carefully lift Starship, swing it over top of Super Heavy, and mate the two stages. Ultimately, the tower seemed to complete the simulation without any showstopping issues. Up next, it’s possible that SpaceX will add weights to the simulator bar to fully simulate the 100-200 ton masses of Starship and Super Heavy. Eventually, SpaceX may also use Starship S20 and Super Heavy B4 to fully qualify the arms by actually lifting, stacking, and removing both stages.
Elon Musk
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets.
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets. The company also completed deployment of its first-generation Direct to Cell constellation, launching over 650 satellites in just 18 months to enable cellular connectivity.
SpaceX highlighted Starlink’s impressive 2025 progress in an extensive report.
Key achievements from Starlink’s 2025 Progress
Starlink connected over 4.6 million new customers with high-speed internet while bringing service to 35 more regions worldwide in 2025. Starlink is now connecting 9.2 million people worldwide. The service achieved this just weeks after hitting its 8 million customer milestone.
Starlink is now available in 155 markets, including areas that are unreachable by traditional ISPs. As per SpaceX, Starlink has also provided over 21 million airline passengers and 20 million cruise passengers with reliable high-speed internet connectivity during their travels.
Starlink Direct to Cell
Starlink’s Direct to Cell constellation, more than 650 satellites strong, has already connected over 12 million people at least once, marking a breakthrough in global mobile coverage.
Starlink Direct to Cell is currently rolled out to 22 countries and 6 continents, with over 6 million monthly customers. Starlink Direct to Cell also has 27 MNO partners to date.
“This year, SpaceX completed deployment of the first generation of the Starlink Direct to Cell constellation, with more than 650 satellites launched to low-Earth orbit in just 18 months. Starlink Direct to Cell has connected more than 12 million people, and counting, at least once, providing life-saving connectivity when people need it most,” SpaceX wrote.
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Tesla Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
Tesla’s Giga Nevada has reached an impressive milestone, producing its 6 millionth drive unit as 2925 came to a close.
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
6 million drive units
The achievement was shared by the official Tesla Manufacturing account on social media platform X. “Congratulations to the Giga Nevada team for producing their 6 millionth Drive Unit!” Tesla wrote.
The photo showed numerous factory workers assembled on the production floor, proudly holding golden balloons that spelled out “6000000″ in front of drive unit assembly stations. Elon Musk gave credit to the Giga Nevada team, writing, “Congrats on 6M drive units!” in a post on X.
Giga Nevada’s essential role
Giga Nevada produces drive units, battery packs, and energy products. The facility has been a cornerstone of Tesla’s scaling since opening, and it was the crucial facility that ultimately enabled Tesla to ramp the Model 3 and Model Y. Even today, it serves as Tesla’s core hub for battery and drivetrain components for vehicles that are produced in the United States.
Giga Nevada is expected to support Tesla’s ambitious 2026 targets, including the launch of vehicles like the Tesla Semi and the Cybercab. Tesla will have a very busy 2026, and based on Giga Nevada’s activities so far, it appears that the facility will be equally busy as well.
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Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network had its biggest year ever in 2025, delivering a record 6.7 TWh of electricity to vehicles worldwide.
To celebrate its busy year, the official @TeslaCharging account shared an infographic showing the Supercharger Network’s growth from near-zero in 2012 to this year’s impressive milestone.
Record 6.7 TWh delivered in 2025
The bar chart shows steady Supercharger energy delivery increases since 2012. Based on the graphic, the Supercharger Network started small in the mid-2010s and accelerated sharply after 2019, when the Model 3 was going mainstream.
Each year from 2020 onward showed significantly more energy delivery, with 2025’s four quarters combining for the highest total yet at 6.7 TWh.
This energy powered millions of charging sessions across Tesla’s growing fleet of vehicles worldwide. The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets. This makes the Supercharger Network loved not just by Tesla owners but EV drivers as a whole.
Resilience after Supercharger team changes
2025’s record energy delivery comes despite earlier 2024 layoffs on the Supercharger team, which sparked concerns about the system’s expansion pace. Max de Zegher, Tesla Director of Charging North America, also highlighted that “Outside China, Superchargers delivered more energy than all other fast chargers combined.”
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted the achievement as proof of continued momentum post-layoffs. At the time of the Supercharger team’s layoffs in 2024, numerous critics were claiming that Elon Musk was halting the network’s expansion altogether, and that the team only remained because the adults in the room convinced the juvenile CEO to relent.
Such a scenario, at least based on the graphic posted by the Tesla Charging team on X, seems highly implausible.
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Tesla Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
