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SpaceX prepares new Starship tank for explosive test after rapid construction
Over the last few weeks, SpaceX’s South Texas Starship team has been making progress at a pace unprecedented even for the famously agile rocket company and is moving full speed ahead to kick off a new series of explosive tests as early as this morning.
Ever since SpaceX’s original Starship Mk1 prototype spectacularly failed during a November 2019 pressure test, the company has been rapidly rearranging and modifying the development schedule for its next-generation full-reusable rocket. Be it a side effect or coincidence, SpaceX effectively began closing its Florida Starship factory a week after Mk1’s demise and even shipped some of its Florida-built Starship hardware to Texas in recent weeks. However, most of the Florida workforce (up to 80%) was reportedly redirected elsewhere in the company, avoiding layoffs.
Some portion may have even moved to Texas and joined SpaceX’s Starship Boca Chica facilities. Given just how aggressively SpaceX has been expanding its local facilities and preparing new hardware for the next round of improved Starship prototypes, it seems quite likely that the South Texas outpost did indeed receive an influx of skilled workers. Most recently, the company has demonstrated its rapidly growing expertise in the bizarre art of building steel rockets en plein air by fabricating and integrating new tank domes and steel rings and then shipping the curious contraption to its nearby launch site in a matter of weeks from start to finish.
Although it’s difficult to determine the chronology of every single part of the mysterious new tank, it’s fairly safe to say that work on its structure began less than a week before SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted a surprise update, indicating on December 27th that he was in Boca Chica, Texas working all night on “Starship tank dome production”.
In simple terms, the business half of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship upper stage and Super Heavy boosters are comprised of three main parts, shared by almost all launch vehicles. Both are rocket stages that must be as light as physically possible while supporting thousands of tons worth of supercool liquid oxygen and methane propellant. The majority of a simple rocket is ultimately a duo of cylindrical tanks capped by tank domes – also known as bulkheads. The bottom bulkhead of boosters and upper stages also serves as a mounting point for an engine section, where the vehicle’s rocket engines are attached to the rocket body in order to transfer their thrust throughout the rest of the structure.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that Starship tank domes have turned out to be “the most difficult part of [the rocket’s] primary structure” to manufacture, thus explaining why he was apparently assisting the Boca Chica team all night on December 27th.
Starship Mk1 exploded on November 20th, 2019 during a nonflammable propellant loading test, a failure that unofficial videos have compellingly linked to the weld joint connecting the rocket’s upper tank dome to its cylindrical tank. That section of the rocket began leaking cryogenic propellant moments before the entire upper dome tore off the rest of the vehicle and launched hundreds of feet into the air.
All hail Baby Tank
In an apparent response to the unsatisfactory results of Starship Mk1’s manufacturing methods, SpaceX has rapidly initiated an already-planned upgrade of its Starship facilities and manufacturing methods in South Texas, taking delivery of a wealth of new tools over the last several weeks. Most recently, SpaceX’s latest step towards demonstrating that it has substantially improved manufacturing quality arrived in the form of a single propellant tank – the same diameter as Starship Mk1 but much shorter than any possible flight hardware.
Quickly nicknamed Bopper (short for Baby Starhopper) by locals and close followers, the miniature Starship test article came together at a truly spectacular pace. Comprised of two single-weld steel rings and two brand new tank domes, it appears that all four of the components were nothing more than parts and steel stock less than three weeks ago. The first sign of activity came around December 19th, when technicians began placing pressed steel sections onto a bulkhead (dome) assembly jig – used to precisely hold the pieces in the right shape and place as they are welded together.
Incredibly, aside from taking less than three weeks to go from miscellaneous parts to an assembled Starship tank delivered to the test site, SpaceX technicians appeared to finish stacking and welding its two halves (each a ring and a dome) perhaps a handful of hours before it was lifted onto a transporter and driven to the launch pad.
Even for SpaceX, moving a prototype from factory to test site hours after its primary structure was welded together represents an almost unfathomably fast pace of work – truly unfathomable in traditional aerospace. Whether or not such a pace of work is smart, sustainable, or worth it remains to be seen, but SpaceX is nevertheless on track to pressure test its new mini Starship tank as early as this morning, potentially resulting in another spectacular overpressure event (i.e. explosion).
If the tank survives up to or beyond the pressures SpaceX has designed it to, it’s safe to say that the next full-scale Starship prototype could come together far sooner than almost anyone might have expected.
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Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk details massive FSD update set for September release
“This will substantially reduce the need for driver attention, but some complex intersections, heavy weather or unusual events will still require attention.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk detailed the changes that are expected to come with a massive Full Self-Driving (FSD) update, which is set to roll out sometime in September, he revealed earlier this week.
Tesla has been refining its FSD suite for years, but it has never been as good as it is now. The focus is to get the suite to a point where interventions are no longer needed and drivers simply become passengers, as they will not be responsible for paying attention to the road.
Elon Musk teases crazy new Tesla FSD model: here’s when it’s coming
That version of FSD will come eventually, but not next month. However, there are dramatic improvements that will come with next month’s FSD update that will roll out to the public, Musk said:
“The FSD software update next month will be a major step-change improvement for rare conditions.”
The FSD software update next month will be a major step-change improvement for rare conditions
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 8, 2025
Additionally, he provided specific details on what would change, hinting that the need for a driver to pay attention will be “substantially reduced,” but there are some “complex intersections, heavy weather, or unusual events” that will still require drivers to assume responsibility for the car:
“This will substantially reduce the need for driver attention, but some complex intersections, heavy weather or unusual events will still require attention.”
This will substantially reduce the need for driver attention, but some complex intersections, heavy weather or unusual events will still require attention.
Note, the Austin robotaxi FSD build is ~6 months more advanced than what is available in cars in America and there are…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 8, 2025
We have been teased about these types of updates before, but usually they involve some kind of mention of FSD being ready for unsupervised driving “by the end of the year.” Musk did not mention that here.
There is also the fact that Tesla has another FSD build in Austin for the Robotaxi suite that is more advanced than what is available to the public. It has performed well, Musk says, making claims that there are times when it feels “eerily human.”
Tesla Q2 2025 vehicle safety report proves FSD makes driving almost 10X safer
The improvements in FSD capabilities in subsequent releases are usually very evident. As Tesla continues to refine the suite for the public, it gains more confidence and becomes smarter through the collection of data and the use of neural networks.
The only thing left to wait for is the release itself, and we are hopeful it will roll out to the public in September, as Musk says.
News
Tesla Model Y L’s impressive specs surface in China’s recent MIIT filing
The Tesla Model Y L is expected to launch later this year.
The specs of the upcoming Tesla Model Y L has appeared in new Chinese regulatory filings, revealing key specifications including a six-seat layout and an extended range of up to 751 kilometers. The variant is expected to launch later this year alongside a new long-range Model 3 variant rated at 830 kilometers.
The updates were listed on the China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) latest batch of new energy vehicle models that are eligible for vehicle purchase tax exemptions.
Model Y L to debut with larger battery, six-seat layout
Listed under the model code TSL6500BEVBA0, the Model Y L will feature dual motors producing 142 kW at the front and 198 kW at the rear. It will be powered by a 465-kilogram 82.0-kWh lithium-ion battery from LG Energy Solution, with a pack energy density of 176 Wh/kg, as noted in a CNEV Post report. The long-range crossover achieves 751 km on the lenient CLTC cycle, making it Tesla’s highest-range Model Y to date in China despite its curb weight of 2,088 kg.
The “L” designation is believed to refer to the vehicle’s larger size and seating configuration, as the new variant is listed with six seats. It builds on Tesla’s strategy to diversify offerings in the Model Y lineup, which currently includes both RWD and AWD five-seat versions.
Model 3+ breaks record with 830 km CLTC range
Alongside the Model Y L, Tesla China also registered a new rear-wheel-drive Model 3, which was designated with the model code TSL7000BEVBR1. The vehicle boasts either 800 or 830 km of range on the CLTC cycle, depending on its trim. This marks the highest range yet for any Tesla vehicle in China.
The variant will use a 448-kilogram, 78.4-kWh LG-supplied battery with an energy density of 175 Wh/kg and a peak motor output of 225 kW. The vehicle’s curb weight is listed at 1,760 kg. The model was previously identified in filings as “Model 3+,” hinting at a possible tier above the existing long-range variant, which tops out at 753 km CLTC.
News
Elon Musk explains why Tesla stepped back from Project Dojo
The update was initially reported by Bloomberg News, which cited people reportedly familiar with the matter.
Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla is stepping back from its Dojo supercomputer initiative and focusing instead on the company’s in-house AI5 and AI6 chips.
The update was initially reported by Bloomberg News, which cited people reportedly familiar with the matter.
Project Dojo Ends
As per Bloomberg, Peter Bannon, who led Project Dojo, will be departing Tesla following Elon Musk’s decision to shut down the initiative. The publication claimed that Tesla’s Project Dojo team has lost about 20 members recently, and the remaining members of the initiative would be reassigned to other data center and compute projects within Tesla.
Dojo was expected to help Tesla train its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. With this change, Tesla will reportedly be increasing its reliance on external partners for its training hardware. These partners reportedly include Nvidia, AMD, and Samsung, among other companies.
Musk Explains Dojo Shutdown
In a series of posts on X, Elon Musk explained that it doesn’t make much sense for Tesla to divide its resources to scale two different chip designs. And since the company is putting in a lot of effort in its AI5 and AI6 chips–which would be used not for training but in actual products like Optimus and the Cybercab–it was time for Project Dojo to take a bow.
“It doesn’t make sense for Tesla to divide its resources and scale two quite different AI chip designs. The Tesla AI5, AI6 and subsequent chips will be excellent for inference and at least pretty good for training. All effort is focused on that.
“In a supercomputer cluster, it would make sense to put many AI5/AI6 chips on a board, whether for inference or training, simply to reduce network cabling complexity & cost by a few orders of magnitude. One could call that Dojo 3, I suppose. The difference in real-world performance between AI4 and AI5 is far more than any chip version I’ve ever heard of by a lot. It’s real good,” Musk wrote in his post.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk details massive FSD update set for September release
Tesla Model Y L’s impressive specs surface in China’s recent MIIT filing
Elon Musk explains why Tesla stepped back from Project Dojo
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