News
SpaceX installs Raptor Vacuum engine on first orbital-class Starship
Update: Providing the best views yet of the Raptor Vacuum installation process, SpaceX began installing one of Starship S20’s six engines (one of at least two recently trucked to the launch site) on Monday morning.
It remains to be seen exactly how many engines will be installed on Ship 20 or how many will be ignited during its first static fire test but barring the delivery of more Raptors, signs currently point to an initial test of two engines – one sea-level-optimized Raptor Center (RC) and one Raptor Vacuum with a much larger nozzle. Whenever Ship 20 does fire up those engines, it will be the first static fire of a RVac engine installed on a Starship and the first simultaneous, side-by-side static fire of two different Raptor variants. Since publishing time, SpaceX has cancelled a Tuesday road closure, pushing Starship S20’s first static fire attempt to no earlier than (NET) Wednesday evening.
For the third time in two months, SpaceX has begun installing Raptor engines on its first orbital-class Starship prototype – hopefully for good.
In no uncertain terms, Starship 20’s (S20) path to what could be its last Raptor installations has been about as windy and mysterious as they come. Starship 20 (S20) left the Starbase factory floor for the first time in early August – all six Raptors installed in another program first – for a brief fit check and photo op. After spending about an hour installed on top of Super Heavy Booster 4 (B4), Ship 20 was removed and returned to the build site, where teams removed all six engines and finished wiring and plumbing the vehicle.
Days before the ship’s long-anticipated trip to Starbase’s suborbital launch site for qualification testing, the mount SpaceX prepared for the process quickly had hydraulic rams – used to safely simulate Raptor thrust – were abruptly removed. Starship S20 was then installed on the Pad B mount, where SpaceX proceeded to reinstall six Raptors. Weeks later, after slow heat shield repairs neared completion, SpaceX again removed Ship 20’s Raptors and reinstalled the hydraulic rams it had removed – unused – the month prior. Finally, on September 30th, some seven weeks after the prototype arrived at the suborbital launch site, SpaceX put Starship S20 through its first major test – a lengthy ‘cryoproof’.
Now, ten days after completing a seemingly flawless cryoproof test on its first try, SpaceX has once again trucked multiple Raptors – at least one sea level and one vacuum engine – from the Starbase build site to Starship S20’s suborbital test stand. From the outside looking in, it’s hard not to view the contradictory path S20 took to its first tests – and is still taking to its first static fire(s) – as an unusually visible sign of some kind of internal tug of war or major communication failure between different SpaceX groups or executives.
It’s impossible to determine anything specific beyond the apparent fact that several of the steps taken from Ship 20’s first factory departure to its first cryoproof and static fire tests could have probably been deleted entirely with no harm done and many dozens of hours of work saved. At the end of the day, Starship S20 completed cryoproof testing without issue on the first try and is now seemingly on track to begin its first static fire test campaign later this month.
At the moment, SpaceX has three possible static fire test windows scheduled from 5pm to midnight CDT on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (Oct 12-14). A similar Monday window was canceled days ago on October 7th, suggesting that more cancellations are probably on the horizon. For now, there’s a chance that Starship S20 – with anywhere from two to all six Raptor engines installed – will fire up for the first time before next weekend. It’s hard to say how exactly SpaceX will proceed. It’s not inconceivable that SpaceX will install all six engines and gradually ramp up to a full six-engine static fire over several tests.
Given that SpaceX has already static fired three Raptor Center (RC) engines on multiple Starship and Super Heavy prototypes, odds are good that Starship S20’s test campaign will be similar – beginning with a three-Raptor static fire, in other words. SpaceX could then add one, two, or all three Raptor Vacuum engines into the fray for one or more additional tests with 4-6 engines total. It’s also possible that suborbital launch mount and pad limitations will prevent more than three engines from firing at once, in which case SpaceX would presumably perform two separate tests of Ship 20’s Raptor Center and Raptor Vacuum engines.
Given that two Raptor variants have never been static fired simultaneously on the same vehicle, it’s hard to imagine that SpaceX won’t also want to perform one or several combined static fires with Raptor Vacuum and Raptor Center engines on Ship 20.
Tesla Cybercab stands to gain from new rules that the Trump Administration is aiming to enforce on autonomous vehicles. On Thursday, NHTSA, under the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Transportation, commenced rulemaking on the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
This effort aims to eliminate the mandate for manual brake pedals in vehicles that are designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems. This would impact the Tesla Cybercab, which the company has stated would operate without a steering wheel or pedals.
Tesla Cybercab launch is imminent after latest sighting at Giga Texas
The Trump Administration is looking to revise FMVSS No. 135, which requires standard braking systems on light-duty vehicles.
Currently, the regulation requires light-duty cars to use traditional manual braking systems that allow operators to slow the vehicle. With the advent of self-driving in the U.S., these regulations need updating, and these are the changes that could come to FMVSS No. 135:
- Removes requirements for hand- or foot-operated brake controls for vehicles designed never to be operated by a human. Existing rules still apply to AVs that retain manual controls.
- All subject vehicles must still meet the same stopping distance performance criteria via alternative testing procedures.
- While this update ensures AVs can physically stop when commanded, NHTSA is separately developing safety performance requirements for AVs in real-world driving scenarios.
- NHTSA will continue to use its broad defect enforcement authority to investigate unsafe ADS behavior and oversee recalls.
As autonomy becomes a greater part of passenger travel, these types of rule adjustments will be more than reasonable. It will give manufacturers the ability to self-certify their vehicles and avoid any red tape that could ultimately delay the deployment of these vehicles.
Administrators are also incredibly excited about the opportunity to play a role in the advancement of self-driving vehicles.
“We are at the cusp of the greatest technological revolution in vehicle technology since the innovation of the Model T,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said. “If we want America to lead the way, we have to reimagine our regulatory framework. That’s why under Secretary Sean Duffy’s AV Framework, NHTSA is tearing down pointless barriers to innovative designs while strengthening the fundamental safety requirements that matter and holding AV developers accountable for safe performance.”
The Cybercab entered mass production at Gigafactory Texas in April. Tesla ultimately plans to push the vehicle into its Robotaxi fleet, potentially when frameworks like these are established.
Tesla plans to boost production at its Gigafactory Berlin plant in Germany following a sharp rebound in sales and demand in Europe after a softer 2025.
The plans put Tesla in a better position to compete with strengthening companies in Europe and potentially other markets; demand indicators show Tesla is much better off than in 2025.
Last year was a tough year for Tesla in terms of overall demand in Europe. The company produced over 200,000 vehicles at the German plant last year, a soft figure compared to the 375,000 vehicles Tesla lists as its current capacity at the factory.
🚨 Tesla said this morning it will ramp up production at Gigafactory Berlin to a volume of 7,500 vehicles per week.
This is a 20 percent boost in production. Tesla will hire 1,000 new employees to help with the increase.$TSLA pic.twitter.com/kravKfRO5n
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 25, 2026
Tesla’s overall European sales dropped significantly last year due to a variety of factors. However, sales are rebounding, and demand is strong once again, and only getting stronger. Tesla is now planning to bump production of Model Y vehicles at Giga Berlin upward by about 20 percent. It will also bring 1,000 new jobs to the plant.
Tesla confirmed the details of its planned production expansion in Germany this morning. It is a strategy to keep up with strengthening demand.
In Q1, Tesla saw a record 61,000 vehicles produced at Giga Berlin. European registrations rebounded sharply, with Model Y seeing 117 percent increases in March 2026 compared to last year. Germany alone saw stark increases, with a quadrupling in registrations to 9,252 units.
This trend continued in other key European markets, including France, Denmark and Sweden. Tesla registrations were up over 46 percent in some of these markets, and Model Y continued its trend as a top BEV in the market.
Demand has been recovering strongly in 2026, giving Tesla a reason to expand production efforts at the factory. These increases signal management’s confidence in sustained or growing European pull for Berlin-built vehicles.
Tesla is being sued by the family of the woman who was killed in a Texas crash involving a Model 3. The driver, who is also being sued, claimed the vehicle was operating on Autopilot mode, but Tesla executives have come out challenging that claim, stating that the driver of the vehicle overrode the system.
The lawsuit was filed by 76-year-old Martha Avila’s daughter and her husband, who allege a “design defect” involving a Tesla and a failure to warn. The suit alleges negligence against Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler.
Butler “stated he was operating with an automated driving assistance system engaged at the time of the crash,” the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. He showed no signs of intoxication and was cooperative, the Sheriff’s Office said, according to NBC News.
Just after reports of the crash and numerous headlines that immediately blamed Tesla’s Autopilot suite, both Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Head of AI Ashok Elluswamy challenged that. Musk said the crash made “no sense” given that Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving do not travel at the speeds the door cameras captured the car traveling at, which Tesla says was 73 MPH.
Tesla finally clarifies fatal Texas crash, confirms driver manually overrode acceleration
Elluswamy also revealed that Tesla data showed Butler overrode the system by pressing the accelerator to 100%, and that the pedal was compressed fully even after the car had crashed. Tesla has not released this data to the public, likely because it is communicating with agencies like the NHTSA on an investigation.
The suit uses a Washington Post analysis of government data that “identified at least 17 fatal incidents linked to Tesla Autopilot.”
This is far from the first time an accident has been blamed on Autopilot. A fatal crash in Texas was blamed on Autopilot several years ago, but when Tesla released data to the NTSB, which was investigating the crash, Autopilot was not available where the crash occurred, and Autosteer was never enabled, meaning the car was manually controlled at the time of the accident.
“Application of the accelerator pedal was found to be as high as 98.8 percent,” the NTSB said in their findings. The highest recorded speed in the five seconds leading up to the impact was 67 miles per hour. The area where the crash occurred is residential, and Texas State laws… pic.twitter.com/XGD97NHVZ2
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 18, 2026
More information on the accident will be released as Tesla works with agencies to find the cause of the crash. From personal experience, it is hard to imagine Tesla Autopilot or FSD operating in this manner. It drives sometimes too cautiously in residential areas in parking lots, at least in my experience. Speeding happens, but at this rate in this type of area, it is hard to believe.
We look forward to more details being released with time.
Tesla Cybercab stands to gain from new Trump autonomy rules
Tesla plans production boost at Giga Berlin following rebound in Europe
