News
SpaceX starts stacking Starship’s first orbital-class Super Heavy booster
By all appearances, SpaceX has begun the process of stacking what could become the first Super Heavy booster capable of supporting orbital Starship test flights.
Known as booster number 3 (BN3), numerous sections of the 70-meter-tall (230 ft) steel rocket have been spotted at SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas factory over the last six or so weeks – adding up to a substantial portion of what is now expected to be the first flightworthy Super Heavy. Earlier this year, SpaceX stacked Super Heavy BN1 to its full height but late design changes effectively rendered the prototype largely irrelevant and turned it into more of a manufacturing pathfinder and source of practice than anything else.
As a result, BN1 never even left the high bay it was built in before SpaceX workers cut the booster into scrap. As of May, while a handful of parts for booster number 2 have been spotted, signs indicate that BN2 will be turned into a small test tank to qualify Super Heavy’s complex and unproven thrust dome and engine section.
That leaves Super Heavy BN3. According to NASASpaceflight.com, SpaceX has nominally assigned booster BN3 to support Starship SN20 on its inaugural space launch attempt. Just last week, SpaceX filed an application with the FCC for permission to communicate with Starship and Super Heavy during that “orbital test flight” – paperwork that included a six-month launch window scheduled to open no earlier than June 20th.
If approved by the FCC and – far more importantly – the FAA, Starship’s first “orbital test flight” will circumnavigate three-quarters of the world in approximately 90 minutes, launching from Boca Chica and ending – if all goes well – with Starship SN20 gently splashing down near Kauai, Hawai’i. From the sparse documentation SpaceX included in the public application, it’s ambiguous if there will be an attempt to recover Super Heavy booster BN3 or if the test flight will actually be orbital, given that Starship SN20 wont complete a full orbit.
Technically speaking, although a Starship capable of safely launching from Texas to Hawai’i is almost unequivocally capable of reaching orbit, the safest possible “orbital” flight test for such a massive spacecraft would stop just shy of orbit. A guaranteed free-return reentry would make it almost impossible for Starship to reach orbit, fail to deorbit after its first ~90 minutes in space, and end up posing a risk to populated areas – like, say, the now-infamous boosters of China’s Long March 5B rocket. Regardless, it’s clear that the specifics of Starship’s first spaceflight attempt are still very much up in the air and liable to change over the next few weeks.
What isn’t up in the air is the fact that SpaceX will need to all but fully assemble and test Super Heavy booster BN3 and Starship SN20 before any potential space shot. Along those lines, SpaceX still has a huge amount of work to do. Per Twitter user Brendan Lewis’ accounting, SpaceX has at least six BN3 sections – amounting to 22 rings and two of three tank domes – either completed or awaiting integration. The process of stacking BN3 began sometime in the last 7-10 days when SpaceX joined two four-ring sections – including the booster’s common dome, likely pictured above.
SpaceX has mostly completed BN3’s engine section, including a thrust dome with plumbing cutouts for a full 28 Raptor engines. Most recently, what looks like a Super Heavy fuel manifold appeared in Boca Chica. That manifold will attach to the end of a supersized Super Heavy transfer tube – also spotted in work – used to route methane through the liquid oxygen tank to fuel its Raptor engines. Fueling 28 large, high-performance Raptors is no mean feat and requires a rat’s nest of plumbing to feed them more than 15 metric tons (~30,000 lb) of propellant every second at full throttle.
Put simply, a majority of Super Heavy booster BN3’s hardware appears to be ready or almost ready for integration. The eight rings now stacked represent approximately 20% of the rocket’s full height, leaving another 30 or so rings – 54m (~180 ft) – to go. Given how long BN1 assembly took SpaceX, the company has its work cut out for it to fully integrate BN3 by June 20th, and the first operational Super Heavy prototype will almost certainly need to complete several major tests before being cleared for flight. As such, an inaugural space launch attempt in June or July is wildly implausible, but it’s far from out of the question that Starship and Super Heavy could be ready for their first “orbital test flight” before summer turns to fall.
News
Tesla just unlocked sales to 50,000+ government agencies
It marks a significant step in expanding Tesla’s presence in the public sector, where procurement processes have traditionally slowed electric vehicle adoption.
Tesla just unlocked sales to over 50,000 government agencies by entering a new agreement with Sourcewell, a purchasing cooperative.
Tesla entered a new master purchasing agreement with Sourcewell, the largest government purchasing cooperative in the U.S. This will enable streamlined sales of its EVs to more than 50,000 U.S. public entities. Tesla entered Designated Contract 0813525-TES, and the agreement covers Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, and potentially other vehicles the company could release.
It marks a significant step in expanding Tesla’s presence in the public sector, where procurement processes have traditionally slowed electric vehicle adoption.
The deal allows eligible agencies, including cities, school districts, state governments, and higher-education institutions, to purchase Tesla vehicles directly through Sourcewell without conducting their own lengthy competitive bidding or request-for-proposal (RFP) processes.
Pricing is pre-negotiated and capped, providing transparency and predictability. Agencies simply register for a Sourcewell account online or by phone and place orders under the existing contract. This cooperative model aggregates demand across thousands of members, reducing administrative costs and time while ensuring compliance with public procurement rules.
For Tesla, the agreement removes major barriers to government fleet sales. Public-sector procurement cycles often stretch 12 to 18 months due to bidding requirements and committee reviews.
Tesla buyers in the U.S. military can get $1,000 off Cybertruck purchases
By securing the master contract, Tesla gains immediate, simplified access to a massive customer base that previously faced friction in adopting EVs. The company highlighted in its announcement that the partnership will help these 50,000-plus agencies “save thousands of $$$ in operating costs for their vehicle fleet over time” through lower maintenance, energy efficiency, and the elimination of tailpipe emissions.
The initial four-year term runs through November 13, 2029, with options for up to three one-year extensions, offering long-term stability for both parties.
Sourcewell’s role is central to execution. As a cooperative purchasing organization, it negotiates and manages vendor contracts on behalf of its members, then makes them available nationwide. Participating entities contact Tesla’s dedicated fleet team or Sourcewell representatives to complete purchases, bypassing redundant paperwork.
This structure accelerates fleet electrification while maintaining fiscal accountability—agencies receive pre-vetted pricing and terms without reinventing the wheel for each vehicle order.
The partnership positions Tesla to capture a larger share of the public fleet market, where total cost of ownership often favors electric vehicles once procurement hurdles are removed.
For government buyers, it translates to faster deployment of sustainable fleets, reduced long-term expenses, and alignment with environmental mandates. As more agencies transition, the contract could contribute to broader EV infrastructure growth and taxpayer savings across the country.
Elon Musk
How much of SpaceX will Elon Musk own after IPO will surprise you
SpaceX’s IPO filing confirms Musk will maintain his voting power to make key decisions for the company.
Elon Musk will retain dominant voting control of SpaceX after it goes public, according to the company’s IPO prospectus that was filed with the SEC. The filing reveals a dual-class equity structure giving Class B shareholders 10 votes each, concentrating power with Musk and a handful of other insiders, while Class A shares sold to public investors carry one vote.
Musk holds approximately 42% of SpaceX’s equity and controls roughly 79% of its votes through super-voting shares. He will simultaneously serve as CEO, CTO, and chairman of the nine-member board after the listing. Beyond that, the filing includes provisions that may limit shareholders’ influence over board elections and legal actions, forcing disputes into arbitration and restricting where they can be brought.
The case for Musk holding this level of control is grounded in SpaceX’s actual history. The company’s most important bets, from reusable rockets to a global satellite internet constellation, were decisions that ran against conventional aerospace thinking and would likely have faced resistance from a board accountable to investor gains. Fully reusable rockets were considered economically irrational by established industry players for years. Starlink, which now generates over $4 billion in annual operating profit, was widely dismissed as financially unviable when it was proposed. The argument for concentrated founder control seems straightforward, and the decisions that built SpaceX into what it is today required someone willing to ignore consensus and absorb years of losses.
SpaceX files confidentially for IPO that will rewrite the record books
For context, Musk’s position is significantly more dominant than Zuckerberg’s at Meta. The comparison with Tesla is also worth noting. When Tesla did its IPO in 2010, it did not issue dual-class shares. Musk has only recently pushed for enhanced voting protection, proposing at least 25% control at Tesla in 2024 after selling shares to fund his Twitter acquisition left him with around 13%.
SpaceX has clearly learned from that experience and structured the IPO differently by planning to allocate up to 30% of shares to retail investors, roughly three times the typical norm for a large offering. The roadshow is expected to begin the week of June 8, with a Nasdaq listing rumored to be a $1.75 trillion valuation and a $75 billion raise.
News
Tesla bolsters App with new safety, insurance, and storage features
The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.
Tesla is bolstering its smartphone App with a series of new features to streamline operations for owners. The new additions include fixes to safety, its in-house insurance offering, and storage management for Dashcam clips.
The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.
But in classic Tesla fashion, the company is aiming to improve the offerings of the app, and it is doing so with a handful of new features. They were first discovered by Tesla App Updates.
Tesla Insurance – Safety Score 3.0
This is truly part of the Spring 2026 Update, but Tesla has now given more transparency on how FSD has saved people money on their premiums.
Tesla intertwines FSD with in-house Insurance for attractive incentive
Additionally, Tesla is now automatically awarding a Safety Score of 100 for every mile traveled on Full Self-Driving (Supervised).
Update Tracking
Updates traditionally appear on the App or on the Center Touchscreen in the car. There is nothing better than seeing that Green Arrow at the top of the screen, or opening your app and seeing that there is a Software Update available.
Now, there will be no need to manually check the app and initiate the download. Tesla is enabling a new feature that will automatically download updates for you.
Storage Management
Your USB drive can now be remotely formatted, and old Dashcam clips can be deleted straight from the phone. When you record a lot of things using the Dashcam feature, that storage fills up pretty quickly.
Now, manually deleting the Dashcam videos is easier than ever.
Trailer Light Test
This is perhaps the coolest and most crucial addition to the Tesla App, as those who tow and haul will now be able to trigger a diagnostic light sequence from the app while standing behind your trailer to ensure the brake lights work.
Verifying your trailer lights are connected properly and operating normally and as intended is normally a massive hassle.
Now, a new trigger will be available to initiate a diagnostic light sequence directly from your phone.
Tesla just unlocked sales to 50,000+ government agencies
How much of SpaceX will Elon Musk own after IPO will surprise you
