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SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission is inspiring the world–despite White House snub (Op-Ed)
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.
Polaris Dawn Flight Day 3 Update
Early Thursday morning at 7:58 a.m. ET, the Polaris Dawn crew successfully completed the world’s first spacewalk – also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA) – from Dragon at 732.2 km above Earth.
Shortly after arriving in space on… pic.twitter.com/ASEH6G3sR9— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 12, 2024
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.
We are incredibly thankful to the legendary composer John Williams for helping us share this music moment with the world, featuring his iconic Rey’s Theme played in space pic.twitter.com/rfz1Henzms— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 13, 2024
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.
Polaris Dawn Flight Day 4 Update
After an exciting and historic spacewalk on Thursday, September 12, the crew spent the majority of their Flight Day 4 focused on science and research. Polaris Dawn partnered with 31 institutions from across the world to create a robust and… pic.twitter.com/BIArfsrDts— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 14, 2024
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.
Copying @POTUS @JoeBiden @VP @KamalaHarris @BarackObama @MichelleObama @BillClinton @HillaryClinton as they are unaware of an American rocket company @SpaceX connecting a violinist in space with musicians around the world @PolarisProgram will make you smile ? https://t.co/WzKhuV9QTn— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) September 13, 2024
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.
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Tesla has adjusted the functionality of a crucial climate feature as Winter weather has started to arrive throughout some parts of the United States. The new feature was highly requested by owners.
Tesla has a Cabin Overheat Protection feature that helps keep the temperature regulated if it reaches a certain threshold. Inversely, it can be used in cold weather as well, which will automatically warm the cabin if it sinks to a temperature that is too low for the owner’s comfort.
This is a great way to keep the cabin either warmed up just enough or cooled down just enough so that it never gets too hot or too cold. Extreme temperatures could damage certain parts of the vehicle or damage personal belongings that are kept inside the car.
Overheat protection is a great thing to have in hot climates like Arizona or Texas, especially with the Premium trims of the Model 3 and Model Y, which feature a glass roof.
Many owners appreciate the feature, but they argue that using it at home will utilize too much energy, especially during extreme temperatures. For a while, many Tesla fans have requested an option to disable this feature when the car is parked at home, which the company recently added, according to Not a Tesla App.
The feature is part of Software Version 2025.44.3, and the release notes state:
“You can now choose Exclude Home when Cabin Overheat Protection or No A/C is enabled.”
Tesla has been great at listening to what owners want with new features, and this is one that will reserve some charge and prevent unnecessary utilization of available power, especially as the car is parked at home. If owners want to condition the cabin or get the car ready for operation with a comfortable interior, they can utilize the Tesla app to adjust the climate.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed today on the social media platform X that legacy automakers, such as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, do not want to license the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, at least not without a long list of their own terms.
“I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy,” Musk said on X. “When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless.”
I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy …
When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless. 🤷♂️
🦕 🦕
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2025
Musk made the remark in response to a note we wrote about earlier today from Melius Research, in which analyst Rob Wertheimer said, “Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is,” in terms of autonomy and self-driving development.
Wertheimer believes there are hundreds of billions of dollars in value headed toward Tesla’s way because of its prowess with FSD.
A few years ago, Musk first remarked that Tesla was in early talks with one legacy automaker regarding licensing Full Self-Driving for its vehicles. Tesla never confirmed which company it was, but given Musk’s ongoing talks with Ford CEO Jim Farley at the time, it seemed the Detroit-based automaker was the likely suspect.
Tesla’s Elon Musk reiterates FSD licensing offer for other automakers
Ford has been perhaps the most aggressive legacy automaker in terms of its EV efforts, but it recently scaled back its electric offensive due to profitability issues and weak demand. It simply was not making enough vehicles, nor selling the volume needed to turn a profit.
Musk truly believes that many of the companies that turn their backs on FSD now will suffer in the future, especially considering the increased chance it could be a parallel to what has happened with EV efforts for many of these companies.
Unfortunately, they got started too late and are now playing catch-up with Tesla, XPeng, BYD, and the other dominating forces in EVs across the globe.
Tesla is backtracking on a strange adjustment it made to its in-car Navigation feature after numerous complaints from owners convinced the company to make a change.
Tesla’s in-car Navigation is catered to its vehicles, as it routes Supercharging stops and preps your vehicle for charging with preconditioning. It is also very intuitive, and features other things like weather radar and a detailed map outlining points of interest.
However, a recent change to the Navigation by Tesla did not go unnoticed, and owners were really upset about it.
For trips that required multiple Supercharger stops, Tesla decided to implement a naming change, which did not show the city or state of each charging stop. Instead, it just showed the business where the Supercharger was located, giving many owners an unwelcome surprise.
However, Tesla’s Director of Supercharging, Max de Zegher, admitted the update was a “big mistake on our end,” and made a change that rolled out within 24 hours:
The naming change should have happened at once, instead of in 2 sequential steps. That was a big miss on our end. We do listen to the community and we do course-correct fast. The accelerated fix rolled out last night. The Tesla App is updated and most in-car touchscreens should…
— Max (@MdeZegher) November 20, 2025
The lack of a name for the city where a Supercharging stop would be made caused some confusion for owners in the short term. Some drivers argued that it was more difficult to make stops at some familiar locations that were special to them. Others were not too keen on not knowing where they were going to be along their trip.
Tesla was quick to scramble to resolve this issue, and it did a great job of rolling it out in an expedited manner, as de Zegher said that most in-car touch screens would notice the fix within one day of the change being rolled out.
Additionally, there will be even more improvements in December, as Tesla plans to show the common name/amenity below the site name as well, which will give people a better idea of what to expect when they arrive at a Supercharger.
Tesla adjusts crucial feature as winter weather arrives
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sends rivals dire warning about Full Self-Driving
