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SpaceX’s Mr Steven spotted practicing Falcon 9 fairing catches with upgraded net

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SpaceX’s fairing recovery vessel Mr Steven was spotted on Monday, August 13 conducting the first fairing recovery tests to involve actually craning a fairing half onto the huge, upgraded net, and doing so repeatedly in a short period of time. That practice will likely prove invaluable by allowing SpaceX to better understand the characteristics of Mr Steven’s fairing-catching net, rigging winches, and general operational behavior.

As SpaceX gradually approaches their next Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the company is also preparing for Mr Steven’s next fairing recovery attempt, itself the second operational use of the vessel’s massively upgraded arms and net. Known as SAOCOM-1A, the Argentinian space agency’s Earth-imaging satellite is expected to launch no earlier than late September according to local South American media. Mr Steven’s late-July upgraded net debut was largely foiled by unpredictable winds in the region the fairing was parasailing, with that uncertainty preventing the fairing from getting close enough to its targeted landing position for Mr Steven to catch it out of the air.

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By all appearances, SpaceX is working hard to better understand how Mr Steven’s huge new net behaves when interacting with a Falcon fairing half, a reasonable goal in order to ensure that the first successful fairing catch is not foiled by something as simple as the half sliding down the net and cracking on Mr Steven’s deck. SpaceX’s fairings are incredibly fragile and are liable to irreparable crack at the slightest hint of off-nominal forces, meaning that all recovery efforts need to be extremely gentle if SpaceX ever hopes to recover and reuse those fairings halves multiples times, if at all.

Still, even managing to reuse just one fairing half once for several launches (say, all California launches) would make a huge difference to the bottlenecked production line in SpaceX’s Hawthorne rocket and spacecraft factory, which is working around the clock to ramp up production of the upgraded Fairing 2.0 while also winding down the old Fairing 1.0 manufacturing apparatus. Intriguingly, it appears that SpaceX’s launch activity is likely to drop precipitously over the next several months, with no launches currently scheduled from the company’s two Florida pads in September or October – apparently due to a lack of payload availability rather than anything SpaceX-related.

Vandenberg will thus be the focus of SpaceX’s launch activities in September and October, hopefully supporting at least two missions. The first, SAOCOM-1A, is an Argentinian Earth observation satellite targeting a launch window in late September, reportedly delayed from September 5 to give SpaceX additional time to prepare Falcon 9. According to NASASpaceflight.com, SpaceX intends to refly Falcon 9 B1048 for this mission, giving the company just 6-8 weeks to refurbish the rocket and prepare it for the usual preflight static fire several days before launch. SAOCOM-1A will also likely mark the debut of SpaceX’s West Coast rocket landing zone, known as LZ-2.

While not yet solid, Iridium CEO Matt Desch acknowledged on August 13th that the company’s 8th and final SpaceX launch – Iridium NEXT-8 – would have its satellites ready no earlier than October, likely making it SpaceX’s subsequent payload after SAOCOM-1A. On the opposite coast, SpaceX’s next launch will be Telstar 18V – companion to 19V – on a new Falcon 9 Block 5 booster, currently scheduled for no earlier than 11:33 PM EDT, August 23. That Falcon 9 is already at Pad 40 preparing for a preflight static fire late this week or early next.


For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Elon Musk strikes down reports on SpaceX IPO rumors

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Credit: Grok

Elon Musk has firmly denied recent media reports suggesting that SpaceX has reduced its target valuation for an upcoming initial public offering.

The denial came directly from the SpaceX and Tesla frontman on his social media platform X, where he responded with a single word, “False,” to a post from ZeroHedge that cited Bloomberg sources.

This swift rebuttal underscores Musk’s ongoing effort to manage speculation surrounding one of the most anticipated market debuts in recent history.

According to the disputed reports, SpaceX had lowered its IPO valuation goal to at least $1.8 trillion from previous ambitions exceeding $2 trillion.

The claims emerged amid growing anticipation for the company’s confidential S-1 filing, which positions it for a potential public listing as early as June.

Some had pointed to strong revenue growth, particularly from the Starlink satellite internet service, which contributed heavily to the firm’s 2025 figures of $18.7 billion. Yet challenges persist in other areas, including substantial investments and losses tied to ambitious projects like Starship development and artificial intelligence initiatives, which plan to make life multiplanetary eventually.

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Musk’s response highlights a pattern in which he actively counters what he views as inaccurate portrayals of his companies’ trajectories.

SpaceX, already valued privately at extraordinary levels, stands as a cornerstone of Musk’s empire alongside Tesla and xAI. The entrepreneur has long emphasized the transformative potential of reusable rockets and global broadband access, factors that fuel investor enthusiasm despite operational hurdles.

By rejecting the valuation downgrade narrative, Musk signals confidence in SpaceX’s fundamentals and its readiness for public markets on terms favorable to its long-term vision. People have been waiting a very long time to invest in SpaceX, and the valuation, as well as the introductory share price, is not going to need adjusting.

They’ll have plenty of suitors.

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SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for

This episode reflects broader dynamics in the technology sector, where rumors often swirl around high-profile entities. Musk’s direct engagement with media narratives serves to maintain transparency and control the narrative around his ventures.

As SpaceX prepares for greater scrutiny in public markets, the founder’s denial reinforces optimism about its prospects. Supporters argue that the company’s innovative edge positions it for enduring success, far beyond short-term valuation debates. With the denial now public, attention turns to forthcoming regulatory filings that could provide clearer insights into SpaceX’s strategy and financial health.

The coming weeks promise to reveal more about how SpaceX will transition into a publicly traded powerhouse.

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Tesla’s Robotaxi dreams just took a massive step toward reality

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s dreams of operating a fully autonomous ride-hailing platform just took a massive step toward reality, as two separate events have indicated the company is perhaps closer than ever to achieving self-driving as a product.

On Thursday, Tesla was granted authorization by the State of Texas to operate driverless vehicles in a commercial manner. On May 28, Senate Bill 2807, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, took effect after being passed back on September 1, 2025.

The bill establishes a statewide regulatory framework requiring authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles for companies to operate automated vehicles commercially on Texas roads.

This covers driverless, or SAE Level 4+, operations for passenger transport, meaning Robotaxi, or freight.

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Tesla and other companies can self-certify their vehicles and tech as long as they:

  • Operate in compliance with Texas traffic laws
  • Maintain proper registration, title, and insurance
  • Use compliant automated driving systems
  • Record onboard activity and handle system failures and glitches safely.

The new authorization, which was first reported by James Stephenson on X, allows companies to utilize their own processes to determine if their vehicles are ready to operate without drivers.

It is a rule that expedites the entire approval process, keeping agencies out of a usually long, lengthy, and frustrating task that is essential to technological advancements. It essentially means Tesla can launch commercial Robotaxi operations at this point.

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On the very same day, Tesla continued the momentum as CEO Elon Musk shared a video of Cybercab units autonomously driving off the property at Gigafactory Texas. This is a major step in the story of the Cybercab.

Mass production of the Cybercab started at Giga Texas in April, and it is already heading out of the factory on its own.

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These two major events mark a drastic step forward in Tesla’s progress toward Cybercab and the permissions it needs to operate a self-driving ride-hailing service. Tesla is now able to operate autonomously under Texas law by self-certifying, and with the potentially imminent rollout of Cybercab, Tesla’s autonomous dreams are starting to take serious shape.

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Elon Musk

The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building

Tesla and SpaceX may be closer to merging than Wall Street or either company is admitting.

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Elon Musk has reportedly discussed merging Tesla and SpaceX with people close to him, according to CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the conversation. Tesla employees have long expected such a transaction and the topic is openly discussed internally, according to internal sources. With SpaceX is days away from kicking off its Wall Street roadshow for what could be the largest IPO in market history, this would be the first time the company will have public market currency to execute a stock-for-stock deal with Tesla.

The financial logic for a merger would make sense. A combined SpaceX and Tesla would create a conglomerate spanning rockets, satellites, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy storage valued at roughly $3.35 trillion to $3.6 trillion based on SpaceX’s IPO target range and Tesla’s current market capitalization. The two companies are already more intertwined than most people realize. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which subsequently merged with SpaceX. Past transactions also include Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.

Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI

Musk himself signaled where this was heading in November 2025 when he posted on X, “My companies are, surprisingly in some ways, trending towards convergence.” Tesla and SpaceX announced a joint semiconductor fabrication facility in Austin called Terafab on the Gigafactory Texas campus, covering two advanced chip factories, with one serving Tesla’s AI needs for vehicles and Optimus robots, the other targeting space-based data centers under SpaceX’s infrastructure vision.

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Wedbush analyst Dan Ives places the probability of a merger at 80% to 90% with a target completion in the first half of 2027. The mechanics of a deal became possible the moment SpaceX filed its S-1. Legal experts said a merger likely would not spark antitrust issues but would raise concerns among shareholders in each company, with questions around which company would be the parent, how a stock swap would take place, and who determines the appropriate price. Musk holds about 20% of Tesla’s equity but controls 85.1% of SpaceX’s voting power through a super-voting share class, meaning he would largely be negotiating the terms with himself.

Elon Musk explains why he cannot be fired from SpaceX

Not everyone is convinced the timing is imminent. Traders on Kalshi place only 33% odds that a merger will happen before May 2027. The more immediate concern for Tesla shareholders is whether the SpaceX IPO pulls capital and Musk’s attention away from Tesla before any merger consolidates the upside for both.

What is clear is that the structural groundwork is already being laid. The Terafab announcement, the xAI merger, the shared supply chain, the cross-company balance sheet transactions, and now the IPO all point in the same direction. Whether the merger follows in 2027 or later, the two companies are already operating more like divisions of a single entity than independent competitors.

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