

News
SpaceX and NASA are go for the 12th Cargo Dragon launch on Monday
Just under 24 hours ahead of the launch of CRS-12, NASA and SpaceX provided information about the mission earlier this morning during a pre-launch press conference.
NASA confirmed once more that tomorrow’s launch attempt will be the only slot available until August 19th or 20th, due to a planned EVA (extra vehicular activity) that will involve the launch of cubesats around the ISS. As a result of safety restrictions, cargo and crew spacecraft are not allowed to approach the International Space Station while crew are outside, nor while satellites launched from the station have yet to have their orbits characterized. The United Launch Alliance has a launch planned for August 18th or 19th, with SpaceX able to make a second attempt after ULA’s launch, if necessary.

CRS-12’s Dragon and Falcon 9 1039 horizontal at LC-39A ahead of a launch attempt on Monday.
(NASASpaceflight /u/Craig_VG)
Revealed by NASASpaceflight.com in an article posted yesterday, “some but not all of the Block 5 upgrades, including some incremental upgrades like increased engine thrust, will debut…on the CRS-12 launch”. Hans Koenigsmann, the Vice President of Mission Assurance at SpaceX, was not aware of specific differences between past launches, but did not deny that there would be some level of incremental improvements present for the launch of CRS-12. Interestingly, Gebhardt also reported that Falcon 9 Block 5, intended to be a highly reusable “final” version of the vehicle, is expected to take flight for the first time during SpaceX’s first Commercial Crew Demo-1 launch as soon as February 2018.
Koenigsmann further confirmed that the launch of CRS-12 would make use of reused landing legs, although their origin is unknown. As far as he was aware, the legs are the only reused hardware that will be present during the launch.
The lack of backup attempts for CRS-12’s launch means that more focus is being placed on weather conditions at the launch site. As of several days ago, weather forecasts were looking negative for the launch and suggesting a 70% or greater chance of conditions that would prevent a launch attempt. However, this has flipped around over the last 24 hours, and the probably of weather violations is now only 30%. The Air Force’s 45th Space Wing did release a report today indicating that conditions after the launch may make safing the landed first stage more difficult for SpaceX, with an increased potential for rain and lightning.

If all goes well, core 1039 will attempt a landing tomorrow afternoon at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). (SpaceX)
Also discussed briefly during the press conference, necessary modifications to the LC-39A pad are still set to occur this fall ahead of Falcon Heavy’s inaugural launch before the end of the year. LC-40 is also progressing nicely and while Koenigsmann stated that SpaceX had not as of yet decided on the first mission to fly from the reactivated pad, it is currently expected to be SES-11 sometime early in the fourth quarter of 2017. SES-11 has also been hinted to be launching aboard a reused Falcon 9 first stage, and would make for a fitting return to operational status for the pad.
In other news, CRS-13, which will fly with a refurbished Dragon spacecraft, is now set to launch no earlier than December 2017. Previously aiming for a November launch, it has almost certainly been pushed back as a result of Orbital-ATK choosing to slightly delay their next launch of their Cygnus spacecraft until November. This extra time will allow OATK to accommodate more cubesat payloads during that launch, and the delays of Cygnus’ OA-7 mission or Dragon’s CRS-13 launch are anticipated to be the result of technical issues.
Catch the first launch attempt of CRS-12 live tomorrow at the link below! The expected moment of liftoff is approximately 12:31 p.m. EST, 9:31 a.m. PST.
Elon Musk
Tesla Board Chair slams Wall Street Journal over alleged CEO search report
Denholm’s comments were posted by Tesla on its official account on social media platform X.

Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm has issued a stern correction to The Wall Street Journal after the publication posted a report alleging that the electric vehicle maker’s Board of Directors opened a search for a new CEO to replace Elon Musk.
Denholm’s comments were posted by Tesla on its official account on social media platform X.
The WSJ’s Allegations
Citing people reportedly familiar with the discussions, the WSJ alleged that Tesla Board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Elon Musk’s successor. The publication also alleged that tensions had been mounting at Tesla due to the company’s dropping sales and profits, as well as the time Musk has been spending with DOGE.
The publication also alleged that Elon Musk had met with the Tesla Board about the matter, and that members told the CEO that he needed to spend more time on Tesla. Musk was reportedly instructed to state his intentions publicly as well. The CEO did not push back against the Board, the WSJ claimed.
Elon Musk did announce that he is stepping back from his day-to-day role at the Department of Government Efficiency during the Tesla Q1 2025 earnings call. Musk’s announcement was embraced by Tesla investors and analysts, many of whom felt that the CEO’s renewed focus on the EV maker could push the company to greater heights.
Tesla and Musk’s Response
In response to The Wall Street Journal’s report, Tesla’s official account on X shared a comment from its Board Chair. In her comment, Denham noted that the WSJ‘s report was “absolutely false.” She also highlighted that Tesla had communicated this fact to the publication before the report was published, but the Journal ran the story anyway.
“Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company. This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published). The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead,” Denholm stated.
Elon Musk himself commented on the matter, stating that the publication showed an “extremely bad breach of ethics” since the report did not even include the Tesla Board of Directors’ denial of the allegations. “It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors!” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is now a remote DOGE worker: White House Chief of Staff
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is no longer working from the West Wing.

In a conversation with the New York Post, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles stated that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is no longer working from the West Wing.
As per the Chief of Staff, Musk is still working for DOGE—as a remote worker, at least.
Remote Musk
In her conversation with the publication, Wiles stated that she still talks with Musk. And while the CEO is now working remotely, his contributions still have the same net effect.
“Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect,” Wiles stated, adding that “it really doesn’t matter much” that the CEO “hasn’t been here physically.” She also noted that Musk’s team will not be leaving.
“He’s not out of it altogether. He’s just not physically present as much as he was. The people that are doing this work are here doing good things and paying attention to the details. He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not,” Wiles stated.
Back to Tesla
Musk has been a frequent presence in the White House during the Trump administration’s first 100 days in office. But during the Q1 2025 Tesla earnings call, Musk stated that he would be spending substantially less time with DOGE and substantially more time with Tesla. Musk did emphasize, however, that DOGE’s work is extremely valuable and critical.
“I think I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the President would like me to do so and as long as it is useful. But starting next month, I’ll be allocating probably more of my time to Tesla and now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” Musk stated.
Elon Musk
Tariff reprieve might be ‘Tesla-friendly,’ but it’s also an encouragement to others
Tesla stands to benefit from the tariff reprieve, but it has some work cut out for it as well.

After Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick made adjustments to the automotive tariff program that was initially announced, many quickly pointed to the reprieve as “Tesla-friendly.”
While that may be the case right now, it was also a nudge of encouragement to other companies, Tesla included, to source parts from the U.S. in an effort to strengthen domestic manufacturing. Many companies are close, and it will only take a handful of improvements to save themselves from tariffs on their cars as well.
Yesterday, Sec. Lutnick confirmed that cars manufactured with at least 85 percent of domestic content will face zero tariffs. Additionally, U.S. automakers would receive credit up to 15 percent of the value of vehicles to offset the cost of imported parts.
Big Tesla win? Sec Lutnick says cars with 85% domestic content will face zero tariffs
“This is ‘finish your cars in America and you win’,” Lutnick said.
Many were quick to point out that only three vehicles currently qualify for this zero-tariff threshold: all three are Teslas.
However, according to Kelley Blue Book’s most recent study that revealed who makes the most American cars, there are a lot of vehicles that are extremely close to also qualifying for these tariff reductions.
Tesla has three vehicles that are within five percent, while Ford, Honda, Jeep, Chevrolet, GMC, and Volkswagen have many within just ten percent of the threshold.
Tesla completely dominates Kogod School’s 2024 Made in America Auto Index
It is within reach for many.
Right now, it is easy to see why some people might think this is a benefit for Tesla and Tesla only.
But it’s not, because Tesla has its Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X just a few percentage points outside of that 85 percent cutoff. They, too, will feel the effects of the broader strategy that the Trump administration is using to prioritize domestic manufacturing and employment. More building in America means more jobs for Americans.

Credit: Tesla
However, other companies that are very close to the 85 percent cutoff are only a few components away from also saving themselves the hassle of the tariffs.
Ford has the following vehicles within just five percent of the 85 percent threshold:
- Ford Mustang GT automatic (80%)
- Ford Mustang GT 5.0 (80%)
- Ford Mustang GT Coupe Premium (80%)
Honda has several within ten percent:
- Honda Passport All-Wheel-Drive (76.5%)
- Honda Passport Trailsport (76.5)
Jeep has two cars:
- Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (76%)
- Jeep Wrangler Sahara (76%)
Volkswagen has one with the ID.4 AWD 82-kWh (75.5%). GMC has two at 75.5% with the Canyon AT4 Crew Cab 4WD and the Canyon Denali Crew Cab 4WD.
Chevrolet has several:
- Chevrolet Colorado 2.7-liter (75.5%)
- Chevrolet Colorado LT Crew Cab 2WD 2.7-liter (75.5%)
- Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Crew Cab 4WD 2.7-liter (75.5%)
These companies are close to reaching the 85% threshold, but adjustments need to be made to work toward that number.
Anything from seats to fabric to glass can be swapped out for American-made products, making these cars more domestically sourced and thus qualifying them for the zero-tariff boundary.
Frank DuBois of American University said that manufacturers like to see stability in their relationships with suppliers and major trade partners. He said that Trump’s tariff plan could cause “a period of real instability,” but it will only be temporary.
Now is the time to push American manufacturing forward, solidifying a future with more U.S.-made vehicles and creating more domestic jobs. Tesla will also need to scramble to make adjustments to its vehicles that are below 85%.
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