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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confident Starship will launch humans to Mars by 2026

Published

6 years ago

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CEO Elon Musk says that he is “highly confident” that SpaceX will be ready to attempt its first crewed Starship mission to Mars as soon as 2026 – almost exactly six years from now.

Made as part of an interview at the 2020 Axel Springer Awards show in Germany, Musk’s latest comments represent a marked move towards optimism and confidence about the progress SpaceX is making with its Starship program. Effectively designed to make SpaceX’s existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets redundant, Starship aims to be the first fully-reusable orbital launch vehicle in the world, capable of placing 100+ metric tons (~220,000 lb) of cargo into low Earth orbit (LEO) at a cost of just a few million dollars per launch.

If that extraordinarily low launch cost can be realized, SpaceX will be able to affordably refuel Starships in orbit to give them the performance necessary to send and land 100 metric tons or more to the Moon and Mars.

Be warned, cringe abounds…

With routine orbital refueling, Starship would be able to deliver a previously inconceivable volume of cargo to other moons and planets in the solar system. With enough Starships, Super Heavy boosters, and launch pads, the launch system could feasibly enable a large, sustainable human population on Mars and Earth’s moon, as well as unprecedentedly ambitious robotic missions almost anywhere short of deep interstellar space.

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While an exceptionally challenging destination for even a small spacecraft, Starship is pictured here approaching Saturn, likely headed towards the moon Titan. (SpaceX)

Impressively, as CNBC reporter Michael Sheetz first noted, Musk already floated 2026 as a possible target for SpaceX’s first crewed Mars launch during his inaugural presentation on the subject back in September 2016. While in absolutely no way an intentional result, the CEO appears to still believe – and now more confidently than ever – that 2026 is a viable target despite several huge hurdles and drastic Starship redesigns over the last four years.

Back in 2016, the rocket Musk unveiled was known as the Interplanetary Transport System (ITS), was to be built entirely out of advanced carbon fiber composites, and would have been the largest launch vehicle ever built by a large margin, standing 122m (~400 ft) tall with a diameter of 12m (~40 ft). That diameter quickly shrank to 9m (~30 ft) in 2017, while the rocket’s height also dropped before nearly rebounding – ironically – to 120m with the latest Starship iteration.

The most radical change, however, came just two years ago when Musk revealed that he was canceling work on a carbon composite Starship in favor of a design built almost entirely out of steel.

Almost exactly two years ago, an empty tent, a concrete slab, and a giant pile of dirt were the full extent of SpaceX’s efforts to build steel Starships. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
Two years later, SpaceX has built a massive factory that is producing steel building-sized rockets almost faster than they can be tested, as well as preparing for the high-altitude launch debut of the first fully-assembled prototype. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

To be clear, SpaceX has a vast number of problems to solve and milestones to cross before Starship can be considered anywhere close to ready to launch humans at all, let alone launch and land humans on Mars and serve as a safe habitat for years. However, given that SpaceX has gone from paper to a steel rocket factory and (almost) multi-engine, high-altitude Starship flight tests in ~24 months, it’s not impossible to imagine the rocket being ready for crewed deep spaceflight another ~48 months from now.

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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 owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

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55 minutes ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

Published

4 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”
Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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Lifestyle

Tesla makes the cut on California’s newest EV Rebate program

California just signed a $270 million EV rebate into law and it starts this summer.

Published

10 hours ago

on

July 13, 2026

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tesla fremont

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 168 into law on Monday, July 13, 2026, creating a $270 million EV rebate program that delivers money directly at the dealership rather than as a tax credit applied months later. The program, called MyFirstEV, is funded equally by California’s state budget and participating automakers, with each contributing $135.5 million to make the math work.

The timing is directly tied to the loss of federal support when the $7,500 federal EV tax credit ended, removing the most significant consumer incentive that had driven EV adoption in the U.S. California, which accounts for roughly one-third of all EVs sold nationally, moved to fill that gap with a state-level replacement.

The rebate structure is straightforward. First-time EV buyers can receive $3,500 off any new battery-electric vehicle with an MSRP up to $50,000. Used EVs priced at $25,000 or below qualify for a $1,750 rebate. The credit is applied at the point of sale, which removes the friction of the old federal system where buyers had to wait for tax season to see the benefit. The program goes live later this summer, with the California Air Resources Board expected to release full participation details next month.

California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law

For Tesla buyers, the implications are mixed. The Tesla Model 3 RWD at $42,490 and the Model 3 Long Range at $47,490 both fall under the $50,000 cap and would qualify for the full $3,500 rebate for first-time buyers. The Model Y, which starts at $44,990 after Tesla’s recent price adjustment, also qualifies. The Model X, Model S, and Cybertruck all exceed the cap and receive no benefit. As Teslarati has reported, the program also includes a carve-out exempting California-based automakers like Rivian and Lucid from the price cap entirely, a provision that puts Tesla at a disadvantage since it relocated its headquarters to Texas in 2021.

Other qualifying vehicles include the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Volkswagen ID.4.

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