News
SpaceX stacking two Starships at once for the first time in ten months
As of late November, SpaceX has begun stacking two Starship prototypes simultaneously for the first time in ten months.
Known as Starship S21 and S22, SpaceX began stacking the latter prototype inside Starbase’s ‘midbay’ in mid-October – the first Starship assembly work seen in more than two and a half months. For about half a year, SpaceX has been significantly more focused on Super Heavy production as it works to thoroughly test a booster for the first time. In the interim, the assembly of Starships – which already have an impressive history of ground and flight tests – slowed to a halt, though the production of Starship parts did not.
SpaceX builds Starships by forming structures and rings out of rolls, sheets, and billets of steel. For noses, domes, and header tanks, laser or waterjet-cut steel ‘gores’ (a bit like pizza slices) are welded together. Rolls of sheet metal are unspooled, cut into sections, and welded into individual rings that are then stacked on top of each other and robotically welded together around their circumference. Those ring sections – 9m (30 ft) wide and ranging from 2-4 rings tall (3.6-7.3m or 12-24 ft) – are then outfitted with stiffener rings and stringers to add rigidity and strength.
Once that basic structure is complete, parts are cut out or welded on to create structural supports, pass-throughs, and mounts for avionics (batteries, wiring, power, comms) hardware, plumbing, mechanical systems, and more. In the case of ships, robotic arms also weld on thousand of studs that eventually become anchors for heat shield tiles. At some point, certain partially-finished ring sections are ‘sleeved’ around tank domes, of which Starship and Super Heavy both have three. Finally, at some point in the early ‘life’ of a Starship or Super Heavy, SpaceX begins assembling the actual vehicle out of that collection of different sections. While weeks or even months of work always precede that milestone, the first stack is still the point at which SpaceX decides to turn those parts into an actual vehicle – never a guarantee, no matter how far along those parts appear to be.
pic.twitter.com/R7pwD9b30P— RGV Aerial Photography (@RGVaerialphotos) December 2, 2021
That’s where Starship S21 and Starship S22 found themselves around October 17th and November 21st. Six weeks later, now side by side in Starbase’s midbay, Ship 21’s tank section is fully stacked and Ship 22’s tank section is close to two-thirds complete. Ship 22’s nose assembly – a nosecone and section of four rings – is still in two pieces, while Ship 21’s nose is fully integrated – heat shield included.
In the very near future, Starship S21’s tank section will be rolled from midbay to high bay for nose installation and Starship S22’s tank section will be topped off with its engine section and leg skirt. Perhaps as early as January, both ships could be fully stacked and more or less waiting in line for qualification testing ahead of Starship’s first few orbital launch attempts. Meanwhile, SpaceX is simultaneously preparing sections of Starship S23 and Super Heavy boosters B6 and B7 for possible assembly late this year or early next.
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:
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:
🚨 Tesla has updated the $59,990 Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s estimated delivery date to April 2027.
First deliveries are still slated for June, but if you order it now, you’ll be waiting over a year.
Demand appears to be off the charts for the new Cybertruck and consumers are… pic.twitter.com/raDCCeC0zP
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
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.
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.
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.
“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.Â
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.
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.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.
“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated.Â
“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”
Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions.
The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles.
In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.
If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
