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SpaceX's next Starship rapidly coming together as Elon Musk shares latest progress

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has offered the first official glimpse of a rarely-seen part of Starship production. (NASASpaceflight/bocachicagal, Elon Musk)

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has shown off a rarely-seen phase of Starship construction, further confirming that the next full-scale rocket ship is rapidly coming together after operator error destroyed its predecessor on April 3rd.

Around 5 am local time (10:00 UTC) on April 5th, Musk shared a photo of a smaller secondary tank’s installation inside Starship SN4’s full-size liquid methane tank. The photo is the first time SpaceX or its CEO has offered a glimpse inside this lesser-known part of Starship production and assembly and simultaneously offers insight into a design that’s been a mystery for months. Over the last few weeks, local residents-turned-unofficial-SpaceX-photographers have captured several photos of an internal Starship header tank design far removed from the nosecone tank Musk has previously discussed.

Those header tanks are a necessity to enable Starship’s ability to quickly, reliably, and safely reignite its Raptor engines for recovery and landing-related burns. For a ship like Starship SN4, those header tanks are a sign that SpaceX may want to use the ship to perform Starship’s most crucial test short of orbit — a ~20 km (12.5 mi) flight test meant to demonstrate a skydiver-style landing maneuver. While that skydiver landing test remains several consecutive milestones distant, Musk’s April 5th photo confirms that Starship SN4 is making significant progress towards final assembly.

SpaceX has begun final work on one of Starship SN4’s three tank domes. Several more sections are also in the late stages of assembly. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal, 04/05/2020)

Known as header tanks, SpaceX’s large Starship launch vehicle upper stage and orbital spacecraft requires smaller, secondary tanks aside from the main liquid oxygen and methane propellant tanks that make up the bulk of its body. In these early stages of prototype development, those tanks serve one main purpose: reserve a small portion of pressurized propellant for Starship landing burns.

While Starship’s main tanks still need to be pressurized at all times to ensure the rocket’s structural integrity, smaller header tanks make it much easier to safely feed Raptor engines fuel during even the most chaotic of aerial maneuvers. For rocket engines, even the slightest introduction of pressurization gas or voids into the combustion process can lead to immediate destruction — a bit like how a tiny air bubble can be almost instantly fatal for humans. Starship header tanks thus ensure that only a fraction of the overall tank volume is in play during the ship’s most critical maneuvers.

The late Starship SN1’s liquid oxygen header tank is pictured here in January 2020. (Elon Musk)
Similar but different, Starship SN4’s liquid methane header tank installation is shown before and during installation. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal, Elon Musk)

Requiring both a fuel and oxidizer, Starships thus need two header tanks. Currently, Starship’s design places the liquid methane header tank directly inside the main methane tank itself. The liquid oxygen header tank, however, is situated in the very tip of Starship’s nose section, a location chosen to optimize the vehicle’s center of gravity for stability during a radical skydiver-style landing maneuver.

Musk’s April 5th photo and caption revealed that SpaceX began installing Starship SN4’s methane header tank just an hour or two after it had flipped the ship’s partially-completed liquid methane tank dome. Thanks to SpaceX’s more efficient use of a common dome design in their Falcon and Starship rockets, that dome also serves as the upper dome of the ship’s larger liquid oxygen tank. After the methane header tank is installed, a funnel-like sump will be the last addition needed to finish the section.

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Workers use a rotating jig to flip Starship SN4’s common liquid oxygen and methane tank dome on April 5th. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

With the majority of Starship SN4 already in work around SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas rocket factory, the ship could be just a week or less away from kicking off the stacking phase of assembly. Stay tuned!

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 confirms Tesla FSD V14.2 will see widespread rollout

Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: Whole Mars Catalog/X

Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will be implementing a wide rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) V14 with the system’s V14.2 update. Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X. 

FSD V14.1.2 earns strong praise from testers

Musk’s comment came as a response to Tesla owner and longtime FSD tester AI DRIVR, who noted that it might be time to release Full Self-Driving to the fleet because V14.1.2 has already become very refined.

“95% of the indecisive lane changes and braking have been fixed in FSD 14.1.2. I haven’t touched my steering wheel in two days. I think it’s time, Tesla AI,” the longtime FSD tester wrote

AI DRIVR’s comment received quite a bit of support from fellow Tesla drivers, some of whom noted that the improvements that were implemented in V14.1.2 are substantial. Others also agreed that it’s time for FSD to see a wide release.

In his reply to the FSD tester, CEO Elon Musk noted that FSD V14’s wide release would happen with V14.2. “14.2 for widespread use,” Musk wrote in his reply

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Mad Max mode makes headlines

One of the key features that was introduced with FSD’s current iteration is Mad Max mode, which allows for higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than the previous “Hurry” mode. Videos and social media posts from FSD testers have shown the system deftly handling complex traffic, merging seamlessly, and maintaining an assertive but safe driving behavior with Mad Max mode engaged.

Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy recently noted in a post on X that Mad Max mode was built to handle congested daytime traffic, making it extremely useful for drivers who tend to find themselves in heavy roads during their daily commutes. With Musk now hinting that FSD V14.2 will go on wide release, it might only be a matter of time before the larger Tesla fleet gets to experience the notable improvements of FSD’s V14 update.

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Multiple Tesla Cybercab units spotted at Giga Texas crash test facility

The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size.

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Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

It appears that Tesla is ramping up its activities surrounding the development and likely initial production of the Cybercab at Giga Texas. This was, at least, hinted at in a recent drone flyover of the massive electric vehicle production facility in Austin. 

Cybercab sightings fuel speculations

As observed by longtime Giga Texas drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, Tesla had several covered Cybercab units outside the facility’s crash testing facility at the time of his recent flyover. The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size. Tegtmeyer also observed during his flyover that production of the Model Y Standard seems to be hitting its pace.

The drone operator noted that the seven covered Cybercabs might be older prototypes being decommissioned or new units awaiting crash tests. Either scenario points to a ramp-up in Cybercab activity at Giga Texas, however. “In either case, this is another datapoint indicating production is getting closer to happening,” Tegtmeyer wrote on X, highlighting that the autonomous two-seaters were quite exciting to see.

Cybercab production targets

This latest sighting follows reports of renewed Cybercab appearances at both the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas. A test unit was recently spotted driving on Giga Texas’ South River Road. Another Cybercab, seen at Tesla’s Fremont Factory, appeared to be manually driven, suggesting that the vehicle’s current prototypes may still be produced with temporary steering controls.

The Tesla Cybercab is designed to be the company’s highest-volume vehicle, with CEO Elon Musk estimating that the autonomous two-seater should see an annual production rate of about 2 million units per year. To accomplish this, Tesla will be building the Cybercab using its “Unboxed” process, which should help the vehicle’s production line achieve outputs that are more akin to consumer electronics production lines.

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Teslas in the Boring Co. Vegas Loop are about to get a big change

Elon Musk has a big update for Teslas that operate within the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop.

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the boring company's vegas loop entrance
(Credit: Sam Morris, LVCVA/Las Vegas News Bureau)

Tesla vehicles operating in the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop are about to get a big change, CEO Elon Musk said.

In Las Vegas, the Boring Company operates the Vegas Loop, an underground tunnel system that uses Teslas to drop people off at various hotspots on the strip. It’s been active for a few years now and is expanding to other resorts, hotels, and destinations.

Currently, there are stops at three resorts: Westgate, the Encore, and Resorts World. However, there will eventually be “over 100 stations and span over 68 miles of tunnel,” the Vegas Loop website says.

The Loop utilizes Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to send passengers to their desired destinations. They are currently driven using the Full Self-Driving suite, but they also have safety drivers in each vehicle to ensure safety.

Tesla Cybertruck rides are crucial for Vegas Loop expansion to airport

Tesla and the Boring Company have been working to remove drivers from the vehicles used in the Loop, but now, it appears there is a set timeline to have them out, according to CEO Elon Musk:

Musk says the Boring Co. will no longer rely on safety drivers within the Teslas for operation. Instead, Tesla will look to remove the safety drivers from the cars within the next month or two, a similar timeline for what Musk believes the Robotaxi platform will look like in Austin.

In Texas, as Robotaxi continues to operate as it has since June, there are still safety monitors within the car who sit in the passenger’s seat. They are there to ensure a safe experience for riders.

When the route takes the vehicle on the highway, safety monitors move into the driver’s seat.

However, Tesla wants to be able to remove safety monitors from its vehicles in Austin by the end of the year, Musk has said recently.

In early September, Musk said that the safety monitors are “just there for the first few months to be extra safe.” He then added that there “should be no safety driver by end of year.”

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