News
SpaceX rocket test-fired for first Starlink launch since in-flight engine failure
Just a month after an automatic launch abort sequence and subsequent in-flight engine failure, the SpaceX Falcon 9 is ready to return to flight. SpaceX’s sixth Starlink V1.0 and seventh overall launch of 60 Starlink satellites – initially expected on April 16th later delayed to April 23rd – will mark the triumphant return of a flight-proven booster.
Early on Thursday, April 16th – a week ahead of the scheduled launch attempt – the flight-proven B1051 Falcon 9 booster fully stacked with the integrated payload of 60 flat-stacked Starlink satellites, rolled out to Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy Space Center. Just over twenty-four hours later on Friday, April 17th, the rocket and payload were raised into the vertical launching position. At noon on Friday, SpaceX teams conducted a wet dress rehearsal fully fueling the first stage booster with propellant – rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX) – before successfully conducting a full-duration, pre-launch ignition of all nine Merlin 1D engines while holding the rocket in place – called a static fire.
Shortly after the test completion, SpaceX confirmed the targeted Thursday, April 23rd launch attempt scheduled for 3:16 pm EDT from LC-39A via the company’s Twitter account. Along with the launch date, SpaceX confirmed that the upcoming Starlink-6 mission (seventh overall) will be the fourth attempted launch and recovery of booster B1051. This booster previously supported launches from three different launchpads in Florida and California. Perhaps most notably, it supported the successful first uncrewed demonstration mission of the Crew Dragon capsule in March of 2019.
SpaceX also confirmed that the protective nosecone encapsulating the satellite payload, called the payload fairing, is also recovered and reused flight-proven hardware. To date, SpaceX has reused fairing halves twice. Both instances have been conducted on internal Starlink missions, one in November 2019 and the most recent on March 18th’s Starlink-5 mission. Both featured fairing halves that were recovered after landing softly in the water of the Atlantic ocean. Ultimately, only the fairing halves of the most recent March 18th Starlink-5 mission were successfully recovered. The recovery attempt during November’s mission was called off due to rough seas.
According to SpaceX, April 23rd’s upcoming Starlink-6 mission will feature fairing halves recovered from the AMOS-17 mission launched in August of 2019. As previously covered by Teslarati, the mission resulted in a fairing half caught in a large net mounted atop one of the company’s fairing recovery vessels, GO Ms. Tree. The other half was scooped up after a gentle water landing. Starlink-6 will be the first time that a fairing half caught in a net is re-used in conjunction with a half recovered from the water. If the fairing halves perform nominally, as expected, it will help SpaceX to push the envelope of flight-proven hardware reuse even further.
Closely mirroring the Starlink-5 mission, SpaceX will once again launch from LC-39A and utilize a slightly altered mission profile. This will allow the Falcon 9’s second stage to deliver the 60 flat-stack satellites to an elliptical, rather than circular, orbit intended to reduce stress during booster re-entry and landing. Although used with previous missions, this particular mission profile has yet to result in a successful booster recovery.
If successful, Starlink-6 will be the first time a booster lands on the autonomous spaceport drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” since this boosters last landing in January 2020 following the successful Starlink-4 mission. As of Sunday morning, April 19th, “Of Course I Still Love You” departed Port Canaveral to travel to the recovery zone some 629km downrange ahead of Thursday’s launch attempt. The crew recovery vessel, GO Quest, followed shortly thereafter. The two fairing recovery vessels GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief are expected to leave port early in the week as the ships are built for speed and will reach the destination much quicker.
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Elon Musk
Delaware Supreme Court reinstates Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla CEO pay package
The unanimous decision criticized the prior total rescission as “improper and inequitable,” arguing that it left Musk uncompensated for six years of transformative leadership at Tesla.
The Delaware Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling, reinstating Elon Musk’s 2018 compensation package originally valued at $56 billion but now worth approximately $139 billion due to Tesla’s soaring stock price.
The unanimous decision criticized the prior total rescission as “improper and inequitable,” arguing that it left Musk uncompensated for six years of transformative leadership at Tesla. Musk quickly celebrated the outcome on X, stating that he felt “vindicated.” He also shared his gratitude to TSLA shareholders.
Delaware Supreme Court makes a decision
In a 49-page ruling Friday, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick’s 2024 decision that voided the 2018 package over alleged board conflicts and inadequate shareholder disclosures. The high court acknowledged varying views on liability but agreed rescission was excessive, stating it “leaves Musk uncompensated for his time and efforts over a period of six years.”
The 2018 plan granted Musk options on about 304 million shares upon hitting aggressive milestones, all of which were achieved ahead of time. Shareholders overwhelmingly approved it initially in 2018 and ratified it once again in 2024 after the Delaware lower court struck it down. The case against Musk’s 2018 pay package was filed by plaintiff Richard Tornetta, who held just nine shares when the compensation plan was approved.
A hard-fought victory
As noted in a Reuters report, Tesla’s win avoids a potential $26 billion earnings hit from replacing the award at current prices. Tesla, now Texas-incorporated, had hedged with interim plans, including a November 2025 shareholder-approved package potentially worth $878 billion tied to Robotaxi and Optimus goals and other extremely aggressive operational milestones.
The saga surrounding Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package ultimately damaged Delaware’s corporate appeal, prompting a number of high-profile firms, such as Dropbox, Roblox, Trade Desk, and Coinbase, to follow Tesla’s exodus out of the state. What added more fuel to the issue was the fact that Tornetta’s legal team, following the lower court’s 2024 decision, demanded a fee request of more than $5.1 billion worth of TSLA stock, which was equal to an hourly rate of over $200,000.
Delaware Supreme Court Elon Musk 2018 Pay Package by Simon Alvarez
News
Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the vehicle being reported across social media this week.
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the autonomous two-seater being reported across social media this week. Based on videos of the vehicle that have been shared online, it appears that Cybercab tests are underway across multiple states.
Recent Cybercab sightings
Reports of Cybercab tests have ramped this week, with a vehicle that looked like a production-ready prototype being spotted at Apple’s Visitor Center in California. The vehicle in this sighting was interesting as it was equipped with a steering wheel. The vehicle also featured some changes to the design of its brake lights.
The Cybercab was also filmed testing at the Fremont factory’s test track, which also seemed to involve a vehicle that looked production-ready. This also seemed to be the case for a Cybercab that was spotted in Austin, Texas, which happened to be undergoing real-world tests. Overall, these sightings suggest that Cybercab testing is fully underway, and the vehicle is really moving towards production.
Production design all but finalized?
Recently, a near-production-ready Cybercab was showcased at Tesla’s Santana Row showroom in San Jose. The vehicle was equipped with frameless windows, dual windshield wipers, powered butterfly door struts, an extended front splitter, an updated lightbar, new wheel covers, and a license plate bracket. Interior updates include redesigned dash/door panels, refined seats with center cupholders, updated carpet, and what appeared to be improved legroom.
There seems to be a pretty good chance that the Cybercab’s design has been all but finalized, at least considering Elon Musk’s comments at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting. During the event, Musk confirmed that the vehicle will enter production around April 2026, and its production targets will be quite ambitious.
News
Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Swedish union Vision has withdrawn its sympathy blockade against Tesla’s planned service center and showroom in Kalmar. As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Vision’s decision to pull the blockade
Vision announced the blockade in early December, stating that it was targeting the administrative handling of Tesla’s facility permits in Kalmar municipality. The sympathy measure was expected to start Monday, but was formally withdrawn via documents sent to the Mediation Institute and Kalmar Municipality last week.
As noted in a Daggers Arbete report, plans for the strike were ultimately pulled after employer group SKR highlighted potential illegality under the Public Employment Act. Vision stressed its continued backing for the Swedish labor model, though Deputy negotiation manager Oskar Pettersson explained that the Vision union and IF Metall made the decision to cancel the planned strike together.
“We will not continue to challenge the regulations,” Petterson said. “The objection was of a technical nature. We made the assessment together with IF Metall that we were not in a position to challenge the legal assessment of whether we could take this particular action against Tesla. Therefore, we chose to revoke the notice itself.”
The SKR’s warning
Petterson also stated that SKR’s technical objection to the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla strike framed the protest as an unauthorized act. “It was a legal assessment of the situation. Both for us and for IF Metall, it is important to be clear that we stand for the Swedish model. But we should not continue to challenge the regulations and risk getting judgments that lead nowhere in the application of the regulations,” he said.
Vision ultimately canceled its planned blockade against Tesla on December 9. With Vision’s withdrawal, few obstacles remain for Tesla’s long-planned Kalmar site. A foreign electrical firm completed work this fall, and Tesla’s Careers page currently lists a full-time service manager position based there, signaling an imminent opening.
Delaware Supreme Court reinstates Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla CEO pay package
Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
