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SpaceX schedules Starship’s first triple-Raptor static fire test
A photo posted by CEO Elon Musk confirms that SpaceX has successfully installed three functional Raptors on Starship SN8 just hours before road closure notices revealed the company’s first triple-engine static fire schedule.
Technically, it’s incorrect to say that Starship serial number 8 (SN8) is the first prototype to receive three Raptor engines. Back in late-September 2019, in the lead-up to Musk’s promised Starship update event, the company installed three Raptors on the first full-scale prototype, known as Starship Mk1. The engines were only installed as an apparent fit test or even a photo opportunity, however – evidenced by the fact that they weren’t actually plumbed to the Starship’s propellant tanks.
Even then, in September 2019, Starship Mk1 was far from ready to make use of Raptor engines and was more than a month away from attempting its first pressure and cryogenic proof tests – tests it quickly failed. As such, Starship SN8 – having more or less successfully passed its ‘cryo proof’ by October 9th – is undoubtedly the first ship to have a shot at igniting multiple Raptor engines at once.
Curiously, SpaceX remained quiet for several days after Starship SN8 passed its first big test. Whereas with past Starship prototypes SpaceX has often filed test plans (appearing in the form of road closures) even before the current phase of testing is complete, the company waited until Tuesday, October 14th to file closure notices for “SN8 static fire” testing.
Same as Starships SN4, SN5, and SN6, all of which successfully graduated from cryo proof to static fire testing (and even flight tests for the latter two), SpaceX began Starship SN8’s test campaign with a cryo proof. It took three days and at least as many attempts but SN8 ultimately “passed cryo proof” according to Elon Musk, likely meaning that the ship reached sustained pressures of 7.5 bar (~110 psi) or more.
Cryo proof complete, SpaceX installed Starship SN8’s engines – the first time multiple Raptors have been fully integrated with a rocket or test stand – in preparation for another Raptor first: multi-engine static fires. While modern computation fluid dynamics (CFD) and modeling mean that the great unknowns of rocket propulsion are rarely as opaque as they used to be, the first test of multiple powerful engines in close proximity is still a guaranteed recipe for surprises.
Thanks to expertise hard-won from nearly 100 Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches, SpaceX is likely the world’s foremost expert in the challenges and dynamics of the proximity operation of more than two rocket engines. At the same time, though, Raptor is a dramatically different engine than Merlin 1D and while Starship will only have six engines at most, those six engines will produce thrust equivalent to almost two entire Falcon 9 boosters.
In other words, even with a (relatively) simple three-Raptor static fire, SpaceX will be treading new ground and will almost certainly end up learning one or several things about Raptor’s design and operation. More likely than not, SpaceX will begin Starship SN8’s static fire test campaign with a wet dress rehearsal (like a cryo proof but with real liquid methane and oxygen propellant) and transition into a Raptor spin prime (turbopump spin-up) or preburner test (a turbopump spin-up but with partial combustion) if the WDR goes smoothly. If all three Raptor engines appear healthy, SpaceX may recycle and attempt the first static fire just an hour or two later.
Starship SN8’s triple-Raptor static fire test window opened at 9pm CDT on October 14th and closes at 6am on the 15th, with an identical 9pm-6am backup on the 15th and another window from 8am to 4:30pm on the 16th. LabPadre (below) will continue to offer 24/7 views of Starship, including any static fire testing, while NASASpaceflight.com will likely provide live coverage once testing begins in earnest.
Tesla released the Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ suite to owners of Hardware 3 or AI3 vehicles today, adding several new features to the vehicles that were once believed to be capable of unsupervised self-driving.
Now, Tesla has released this modified suite to older Tesla vehicles, adding plenty of new features and capabilities.
Here are the full release notes for the suite:
- Distilled the intelligence from HW4 V14 into HW3. This allows HW3 to directly learn how to handle scenarios using HW4 V14 as a guide. This process unlocks the improvements that have been made to HW4 including Reinforcement Learning (RL) and offline models for HW3.
- Improved both proactive and reactive responsiveness across a wide variety of categories including navigation handling, merges and forks, pedestrian interactions, traffic lights, and vehicle cut-in scenarios.
- Improved general comfort in nominal scenarios through fewer false slowdowns, smoother steering and more consistent lane centering.
- Introduced parking, unparking, and reversing capabilities.
- Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, or at the Curbside.
- Speed Profiles are now available at all times, to further customize driving style preference.
These improvements, according to Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, help distill the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute configurations of AI3.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ for older cars finally gets released
He added:
“It includes destination options and speed profiles on city roads, but more importantly significantly improved safety. We hope you’ll enjoy it, once the build ships wide.”
FSD v14 Lite is now rolling out to AI3 early-access customers. Based on the feedback, will rollout to more customers over the next few weeks.
This build distills the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute config of AI3. It includes destination…
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) June 29, 2026
Tesla will continue to roll out the v14 Lite suite more widely in the coming weeks, the company said.
Tesla has finally released its Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ suite for older cars that equip the Hardware 3 or AI 3 chip, which have not been able to handle the newest versions of the company’s driver assistance software.
Tesla officially started releasing the v14 Lite suite to owners in the Early Access Program last night. The company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said that the rollout will continue over the next few weeks. The build distills the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute configurations of an AI3 car.
🚨 Tesla is releasing v14 Lite for AI3 owners who are in early-access
This will give AI3 cars the ability to experience new FSD features like parking preferences. https://t.co/pp6Q5FOKoz pic.twitter.com/tqexMB8SVy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 29, 2026
It also includes a variety of new features that were available to AI4 cars running v14, including:
- Start Self-Driving from Park
- Arrival and Parking Options
- Speed Profiles
The release is highly anticipated because those owners with AI3 vehicles were early adopters into the FSD platform and were promised that their cars would be capable of achieving Full Self-Driving.
However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted during the company’s recent Q1 Earnings Call that these vehicles would not be capable of achieving unsupervised Full Self-Driving, which is what Tesla had originally said.
Owners were not pleased with this answer, or the idea that their commitment to buying the suite outright for thousands of dollars would not yield the ability to drive without operating the car. Tesla gave some solutions for this, including a discount on a new car, or an upgrade to an AI4 or AI5 self-driving computer and new, upgraded cameras.
Tesla owners do not seem pleased with these options, as they require giving the company more money.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that Tesla came through for owners here by releasing v14 Lite before the end of Q2, something it had promised owners during the previous Earnings Call. Tesla has had trouble keeping up with timelines, but this is a big achievement for the team.
Tesla released what analysts believe the company will report in terms of deliveries and energy deployments for Q2, but the figures seem to confirm a long-standing theory on the company’s vehicle division.
For years, Tesla was just looked at as a car company. Now that it has established itself as a powerhouse in energy, AI, and tech as a whole, the company is now less hellbent on achieving quarterly growth, on a sequential basis, at least from a major standpoint.
Tesla topped out its annual deliveries in 2023 at 1.81 million, and in the two years since, the company has reported a decrease in deliveries for the entire 12-month term both times.
With Tesla delivering 358,023 cars in Q1, a 6.3 percent increase over Q1 2025, but falling short of Wall Street expectations at 365,000-370,000 units, the narrative around vehicle deliveries and their importance continued to change earlier this year. Some might say it is convenient, but others might say it is the typical evolution of a company that continues to change over time.
For Q2, Tesla’s delivery consensus estimates sit at 406,024 units, analysts believe. They were surveyed from Daiwa, DB, Wedbush, Cowen, Canaccord, Baird, Wolfe, BMP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, RBC, Evercore ISI, Barclays, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Truist, UBS, Jefferies, JPM, Needham & Co., HSBC, and William Blair.
Credit: Tesla
Tesla is also expected to report deployments of 13.8 GWh this quarter.
The change to Tesla’s overall narrative now leans less on vehicle deliveries and more on its other projects. Most notably, Tesla’s Robotaxi project has taken the priority over most of its other business ventures, and investors and the public are more concerned about the deployment of vehicles into the fleet, the operation of a driverless ride-hailing service, Cybercab production and operation, and expansion into new cities.
Tesla analyst realizes one big thing about the stock: deliveries are losing importance
This big narrative switch happened when Tesla indicated it was looking at making transportation a service by launching a ride-hailing service that will operate using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite. Once unsupervised operation begins, Robotaxi could be a new way for people to get around, all without a driver in their car.
Instead, they will rely on the billions of miles Tesla has accumulated from its real-world fleet.
It is important to note that Tesla remains significant in the automotive sector, and deliveries must continue as they have for years. Tesla still has a strong automotive business and needs to execute further on all facets to keep its investors happy.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ Release Notes: new capabilities and features
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ for older cars finally gets released
