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SpaceX's next launch ready to go just weeks after in-flight engine failure
Just weeks after SpaceX suffered its first in-flight rocket engine failure since 2012, the company has scheduled its next launch on April 16th.
Set to lift off no earlier than (NET) 5:31 pm EDT (21:31 UTC) from NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A), the mission will be SpaceX’s seventh dedicated launch of 60 Starlink satellites. Known as Starlink-6 in reference to the sixth launch of finalized Starlink v1.0 spacecraft, a successful mission could leave SpaceX with some ~410 operational satellites in orbit – significantly more than twice as big as the next largest constellation.
More importantly, Starlink-6 will mark a sort of return-to-flight for Falcon 9 after booster B1048 suffered an in-flight engine failure and missed its landing attempt on March 18th. While the booster was able to sacrifice itself to ensure that the overall Starlink-5 mission was a success, any in-flight failure is still a significant event in aerospace. To that end, very little is known about the Starlink-5 anomaly, aside from announcements that both NASA and the US Air Force will be paying close attention to the results of SpaceX’s internal investigation. Starlink-6’s imminent launch is now the latest piece of that puzzle, shedding some welcome light on the situation.
Unsurprisingly, an in-flight Falcon 9 engine failure more than piqued the curiosities of high-profile SpaceX customers like NASA and the US Air Force (and Space Force), both of which have some of the company’s most important launches ever scheduled within the next few months. Most notably, NASA noted on March 25th that the space agency and SpaceX “are holding the current mid-to-late May [target for Crew Dragon’s inaugural astronaut launch] and [will] adjust the date based on review of the [engine failure] data, if appropriate.”
At time of comment, a few aspects of the unfortunate Starlink-5 engine failure were already positioned in SpaceX’s favor. Critically, it was the first time that a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster launched on its fifth orbital-class mission, meaning that the very same booster – B1048 – had already launched four times prior. In aerospace parlance, the mission thus served as a pathfinder for SpaceX’s reusable rocketry technology, venturing into new territory. Since it began internal Starlink launches, SpaceX has used those opportunities to take its most recent reusability leaps without risking customer payloads in the process.
At least for now, neither NASA or the USAF have plans to fly their most valuable payloads on flight-proven Falcon boosters. While that may change over the next several years, it means that SpaceX’s Starlink-5 anomaly and missions like Crew Dragon Demo-2 and GPS III SV03 – both set to fly on new boosters – share much less commonality. Of course, this assumes that B1048’s March 18th engine failure is directly related to the booster’s exceptionally flight-proven nature. Were SpaceX’s investigation to conclude that the fault had nothing to do with multi-launch wear and tear, it would likely ground Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy indefinitely.
Instead, SpaceX – knowing full-well the potential consequences of two consecutive in-flight failures – has decided to attempt another orbital-class Starlink launch and booster landing less than a month after Starlink-5. To be clear, while SpaceX could choose to throw caution to the wind on an internal launch, it’s doubtful that it would haphazardly take such a substantial risk. Instead, Starlink-6’s April 16th launch date strongly suggests that SpaceX is already reasonably confident that it’s both determined the likely culprit of last month’s engine failure and identified ways to prevent its reoccurrence.
Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.
The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.
The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”
Looking forward to the long weekend pic.twitter.com/URzH6zOUdn
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 1, 2026
Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.
With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.
However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.
Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:
This looks like a Model Y L https://t.co/TpnBwrLmH9
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 2, 2026
This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.
Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.
Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.
Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.
It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.
As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.
The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.
It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.
Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements
While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.
This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.
Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.
The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:
🚨 If you’re a Tesla investor, this is one interview you don’t want to skip. The full video posted below.
Jeff Lutz @thejefflutz and I sat down with Tesla VP of Engineering Lars Moravy, and it was packed with insights!
A few of the biggest takeaways:
• Cybercab is expected to… pic.twitter.com/fhYSr2dCqP
— Herbert Ong (@herbertong) July 1, 2026
Investor's Corner
Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) beat Wall Street expectations of 406,000 vehicles delivered in Q2 by reporting 480,126 deliveries for the three months ending in June.
Tesla reported it delivered 467,762 Model 3 and Model Y units, while 12,364 Model S, Model X, and Cybertrucks switched hands during the quarter. The Model S and Model X were officially sunset this past quarter and will no longer be part of the company’s Production & Delivery reports moving forward.
🚨 BREAKING: Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles in Q2, ANNIHILATING Wall Street expectations of 406,000. Production was reported at 451,758.
Deliveries:
Model 3/Y: 467,762
Other Models: 12,364Production:
Model 3/Y: 442,936
Other Models: 8,822 https://t.co/TTHwQAsKt8 pic.twitter.com/7qI4Zj6FE5— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 2, 2026
The quarter is a pleasant surprise and a good rebound from Q1, when Tesla slightly missed the Wall Street consensus of 365,645 cars by reporting 358,023 deliveries for the first three motnhs of the year.
Energy storage deployments also provided some strength in Tesla’s delivery report, hitting 13.5 GWh for Q2. This is a particular division of Tesla’s business that has been overwhelmingly robust over the past few years, truly being a strong point of the company’s overall model.
For the year, Tesla analysts still predict deliveries to trend in the 1.69 million unit region, a modest 3 to 5 percent increase from the 1.64 million cars the company delivered last year. Tesla will likely return to more sequential and noticeable year-over-year growth as the Cybercab project starts to ramp up considerably in the next few years.
Tesla has some other potential catalysts to spur vehicle deliveries, too. Not only is it expecting Cybercab to truly start making a change in the next few years, but other vehicles could be entering the company’s lineup.
Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing
The slightly longer Model Y L has been a highly speculated release candidate in the U.S. It has already done incredibly well in China, and U.S. buyers have been wanting slightly more interior space than the Model Y. Now that the Model X is gone, it is more needed than ever.
Q2 highlights a pretty stable automotive division within Tesla, and no true concerns arise from these figures, especially considering it managed to beat expectations convincingly.
Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.
Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how
