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SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission is inspiring the world–despite White House snub (Op-Ed)

Credit: SpaceX/X

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1 year ago

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Objectively speaking, SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission has the makings of a historic, perfectly inspiring and positive mission. It featured the first commercial spacewalk, it heralded the farthest that humans have traveled in 50 years, and its crew members included two American women who now had traveled the farthest from the Earth ever. It is a mission of milestones, and it has captured the hearts of people all over the world. 

This was particularly the case in the mission’s third and fourth days. On Day 3, Mission Commander Jared Isaacson and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis successfully conducted the first-ever commercial spacewalk, testing SpaceX’s EVA suits in the process. Videos of the spacewalk, which were broadcast using Starlink technology, were awe-inspiring. Needless to say, the images of Isaacman and Gillis outside Crew Dragon will be etched in history. 

On Day 4, the crew members of the Polaris Dawn mission treated the Earth to the Harmony of Resilience, a stunning performance that featured crew member Gillis playing her violin inside Crew Dragon. The performance was accompanied by videos of several orchestras across the globe playing a piece from legendary composer John Williams with the SpaceX employee. It was a rather small demonstration compared to the previous day’s spacewalk and the multitudes of experiments that the crew would and has performed during their five-day mission, but it was something that encouraged hope nonetheless.

There is no doubt that Polaris Dawn is inspiring the world. It is uniting it towards a positive cause too, with the mission’s official website directing visitors to donate to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, a facility with the bold goal of finding cures for kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Yet a look at social media today would show that a growing number of users are noticing something quite strange. Inasmuch as the Polars Dawn mission is capturing the hearts of people across the world, it seems to be earning a snub from the White House. 

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This was highlighted by Elon Musk’s mother, Maye, who ended up tagging several key politicians such as U.S. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and former first ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton in a post on social media platform X. Maye Musk’s post urged the officials to acknowledge the mission, as it would most certainly make them smile. Alas, a look at the officials’ current social media feeds shows that none have akncolwedged the mission as of writing. 

This is quite unfortunate, considering that the Polaris Dawn mission is as American as one could be. It features American citizens traveling the farthest into space in decades, using an American spacecraft that was developed and built by an American company using American labor. It was also launched by an American company that now dominates the world’s launch sector. The Polaris Dawn mission, and SpaceX in general, is doing something that no commercial company has in the past, and one cannot help but think that in any other place or time, such a mission would likely get at least a small acknowledgment from the U.S.’ top government officials. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily

“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet,” Musk said.

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55 minutes ago

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February 28, 2026

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Credit: Grok

Elon Musk recently hinted that he believes Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily if they continue to hold onto their shares, and he reiterated that in a new interview that the company released on its social accounts this week.

Musk is one of the most successful CEOs in the modern era and has mammothed competitors on the Forbes Net Worth List over the past year as his holdings in his various companies have continued to swell.

Tesla investors, especially those who have been holding shares for several years, have also felt substantial gains in their portfolios. Over the past five years, the stock is up over 78 percent. Since February 2019, nearly seven years ago to the day, the stock is up over 1,800 percent.

Musk said in the interview:

“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.”

It’s no secret Musk has been extremely bullish on his own companies, but Tesla in particular, because it is publicly traded.

However, the company has so many amazing projects that have an opportunity to revolutionize their respective industries. There is certainly a path to major growth on Wall Street for Tesla through its various future projects, including Optimus, Cybercab, Semi, and Unsupervised FSD.

  • Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot): Musk has discussed its potential for tasks like childcare, walking dogs, or assisting elderly parents, positioning it as a massive long-term driver of company value.
  • Cybercab (Tesla’s robotaxi/autonomous ride-hailing vehicle): a fully autonomous vehicle geared specifically for Tesla’s ride-sharing ambitions.
  • Semi (Tesla’s electric truck, with mentions of expansion, like in Europe): brings Tesla into the commercial logistics sector.
  • Unsupervised FSD (Full Self-Driving software achieving full autonomy without human supervision): turns every Tesla owner’s vehicle into a fully-autonomous vehicle upon release

These projects specifically are some of the highest-growth pillars Tesla has ever attempted to develop, especially in Musk’s eyes, as he has said Optimus will be the best-selling product of all-time.

Many analysts agree, but the bullish ones, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, are perhaps the one who believes Tesla has incredible potential on Wall Street, predicting a $2,600 price target for 2030, but this is not even including Optimus.

She told Bloomberg last March that she believes that the project will present a potential additive if Tesla can scale faster than anticipated.

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Cybertruck

Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

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23 hours ago

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February 27, 2026

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.

The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.

Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.

That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.

Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says

Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.

It features:

  • Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
  • Powered tonneau cover
  • Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
  • Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
  • Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
  • Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
  • 6’ x 4’ composite bed
  • Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
  • Powered frunk

Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt

Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

Published

23 hours ago

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February 27, 2026

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Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.

Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.

In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms. 

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“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified. 

His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.

SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable. 

Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight. 

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The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars. 

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