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SpaceX moves Starhopper back to launch pad, puts 200m hop test on the calendar

Starhopper is pictured here on July 27th, one day before SpaceX transported the prototype rocket back to its pad. (NASASpaceflight - bocachicagal)

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On July 28th, SpaceX wrapped up modifications to a rented robotic lift vehicle and carefully moved Starhopper back to its launch facilities three days after its inaugural flight. Another two days after that, SpaceX filed road closure requests confirming the date for the Starship prototype’s next launch.

According to those road closures, SpaceX is preparing Starhopper for a second flight just 17 days after its first hop and has cordoned off August 12th through the 14th to provide a backup window or two and a possible pre-flight static fire opportunity. In recent days, SpaceX has begun the process of refurbishing Starhopper and its pad facilities, although – by all appearances – very little work is needed to return the vehicle to flight readiness.

In fact, just yesterday (July 30th), SpaceX began reattaching the pad’s quick-disconnect (QD) umbilical ports to Starhopper in an important post-flight test and a first step towards verifying that all ground support equipment (GSE) is healthy. Thankfully for the pad, Starhopper is powered by just one Raptor engine, producing a maximum of 200 tons (450,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level.

That still made for a visibly violent environment at and around the pad during Starhopper’s first liftoff and landing and ultimately caused a significant brush fire that may have damaged the pad’s liquid oxygen systems, but everything – including Starhopper – was still standing at the end.

Although the road closure schedule does not discriminate between closures for propellant loading, test fires, or flights, or other miscellaneous needs, NASASpaceflight.com confirmed that August 12th is, in fact, the current target for Starhopper’s second flight, a 200m (650 ft) ‘hop’ that will likely keep the rocket aloft for 30-60 seconds.

In the interim, it’s possible that SpaceX will request additional road closures for preflight tests and there’s even a chance that the actual date of flight will be earlier (or later) than August 12th, depending on how Starhopper and pad refurbishment and checkouts proceed over the next week or so.

Thanks to SpaceX’s spartan Boca Chica facilities and its bare-dirt surroundings, Starhopper’s first successful flight – a brief 20m (65 ft) hop and translation – saw the vehicle almost entire obscure itself as its powerful Raptor engine kicked up a huge cloud of dust and steam. The 200m hop should permit a comparatively uninterrupted view of Starhopper and Raptor, hopefully combining with daylight to make for some truly spectacular views of the prototype rocket in action.

Repeating a test conducted in June with Raptor SN04, SpaceX tested Starhopper and Raptor SN06’s thrust vectoring capabilities on July 12th. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
Once Starhopper rises out of the fray… Mach diamonds! ? (SpaceX)

With any luck, once Starhopper rises out of its own cloud of dust and steam, onlookers will be treated to half a minute or more of uninterrupted Raptor Mach diamonds and should get a taste what exactly a Starship and Super Heavy launch might look like in the daytime.

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla begins Robotaxi certification push in Arizona: report

Tesla seems serious about expanding its Robotaxi service to several states in the coming months.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has initiated discussions with Arizona transportation regulators to certify its driverless Robotaxi service in the state, as per a recent report from Bloomberg News. The move follows Tesla’s launch of its Robotaxi pilot program in Austin, Texas, as well as CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments about the service’s expansion in the Bay Area.

The Arizona Department of Transportation confirmed to Bloomberg that Tesla has reached out to begin the certification process for autonomous ride-sharing operations in the state. While details remain limited, the outreach suggests that Tesla is serious about expanding its driverless Robotaxi service to several territories in the coming months.

The Arizona development comes as Tesla prepares to expand its service area in Austin this weekend, as per CEO Elon Musk in a post on X. Musk also stated that Tesla is targeting the San Francisco Bay Area as its next major market, with a potential launch “in a month or two,” pending regulatory approvals.

Tesla first launched its autonomous ride-hailing program on June 22 in Austin with a small fleet of Model Y vehicles, accompanied by a Tesla employee in the passenger seat to monitor safety. While still classified as a test, Musk has said the program will expand to about 1,000 vehicles in the coming months. Tesla will later upgrade its Robotaxi fleet with the Cyercab, a two-seater that is designed without a steering wheel.

Sightings of Cybercab castings around the Giga Texas complex suggests that Tesla may be ramping the initial trial production of the self-driving two-seater. Tesla, for its part, has noted in the past that volume production of the Cybercab is expected to start sometime next year.

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In California, Tesla has already applied for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the state’s Public Utilities Commission. The company is reportedly taking a phased approach to operating in California, with the Robotaxi service starting with pre-arranged rides for employees in vehicles with safety drivers.

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Tesla sets November 6 date for 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting

The automaker announced the date on Thursday in a Form 8-K.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has scheduled its 2025 annual shareholder meeting for November 6, addressing investor concerns that the company was nearing a legal deadline to hold the event. 

The automaker announced the date on Thursday in a Form 8-K submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company also listed a new proposal submission deadline of July 31 for items to be included in the proxy statement.

Tesla’s announcement followed calls from a group of 27 shareholders, including the leaders of large public pension funds, which urged Tesla’s board to formally set the meeting date, as noted in a report from The Wall Street Journal

The group noted that under Texas law, where Tesla is now incorporated, companies must hold annual meetings within 13 months of the last one if requested by shareholders. Tesla’s previous annual shareholder meeting was held on June 13, 2024, which placed the July 13 deadline in focus.

Tesla originally stated in its 2024 annual report that it would file its proxy statement by the end of April. However, an amended filing on April 30 indicated that the Board of Directors had not yet finalized a meeting date, at least at the time.

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The April filing also confirmed that Tesla’s board had formed a special committee to evaluate certain matters related to CEO Elon Musk’s compensation plan. Musk’s CEO performance award remains at the center of a lengthy legal dispute in Delaware, Tesla’s former state of incorporation.

Due to the aftermath of Musk’s legal dispute about his compensation plan in Delaware, he has not been paid for his work at Tesla for several years. Musk, for his part, has noted that he is more concerned about his voting stake in Tesla than his actual salary.

At last year’s annual meeting, TSLA shareholders voted to reapprove Elon Musk’s compensation plan and ratified Tesla’s decision to relocate its legal domicile from Delaware to Texas.

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Grok coming to Tesla vehicles next week “at the latest:” Elon Musk

Grok’s rollout to Tesla vehicles is expected to begin next week at the latest.

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Credit: Tesla China

Elon Musk announced on Thursday that Grok, the large language model developed by his startup xAI, will soon be available in Tesla vehicles. Grok’s rollout to Tesla vehicles is expected to begin next week at the latest, further deepening the ties between the two Elon Musk-led companies.

Tesla–xAI synergy

Musk confirmed the news on X shortly after livestreaming the release of Grok 4, xAI’s latest large language model. “Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles very soon. Next week at the latest,” Musk wrote in a post on social media platform X.

During the livestream, Musk and several members of the xAI team highlighted several upgrades to Grok 4’s voice capabilities and performance metrics, positioning the LLM as competitive with top-tier models from OpenAI and Google.

The in-vehicle integration of Grok marks a new chapter in Tesla’s AI development. While Tesla has long relied on in-house systems for autonomous driving and energy optimization, Grok’s integration would introduce conversational AI directly into its vehicles’ user experience. This integration could potentially improve customer interaction inside Tesla vehicles.

xAI and Tesla’s collaborative footprint

Grok’s upcoming rollout to Tesla vehicles adds to a growing business relationship between Tesla and xAI. Earlier this year, Tesla disclosed that it generated $198.3 million in revenue from commercial, consulting, and support agreements with xAI, as noted in a report from Bloomberg News. A large portion of that amount, however, came from the sale of Megapack energy storage systems to the artificial intelligence startup.

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In July 2023, Musk polled X users about whether Tesla should invest $5 billion in xAI. While no formal investment has been made so far, 68% of poll participants voted yes, and Musk has since stated that the idea would be discussed with Tesla’s board.

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