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SpaceX Starship flight debut could happen this week, says Elon Musk
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that Starship’s full-scale flight debut could happen as early as this week if a suite of tests planned over the next few days goes according to plan.
The SpaceX leader also revealed a bit about the company’s plan to create its own custom steel alloy to build the best Starships possible – the first of which is already under construction. Beginning with Starship SN8, parts of which have already been spotted in work at SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas rocket factory, all future ships are expected to be built out of steel different than the 301 alloy used for all prior ships.
Of course, Starship SN8 is likely 2-4 weeks at best away from being ready for integrated testing. Instead, Starship SN5 is currently occupying SpaceX’s adjacent test stand and launch pad as teams work to prepare the rocket for several tests – potentially culminating in the first flight of a full-scale Starship.
For more than two weeks, SpaceX has been slowly preparing Starship SN5 for its first wet dress rehearsals and Raptor engine static fires. When a ground systems leak lead to a massive fuel-air explosion and Starship SN4’s destruction, it severely damaged the pad and required the construction of an entirely new launch mount.
Based on photos of the gradual rebuild taken by Boca Chica Village resident and photographer Mary (bocachicagal), SpaceX has visibly taken the opportunity to implement some significant changes (possibly upgrades) to the pad’s ground support equipment (GSE). Notably, the company has already installed a system meant to reclaim waste methane that would otherwise have to be burned at a flare stack, instead re-liquefying the gas a returning it to propellant storage tanks.
It’s unclear if SpaceX is attempting to onboard that new system as part of Starship SN5’s first major fueling tests, but the flare stack has not been active for weeks and the finicky nature of methane reclamation would certainly explain some of the 10+ days of delays.
On July 17th, after many day-by-day delays, SpaceX began Starship SN5’s first fueling test. The rocket appeared to be briefly pressurized with ambient-temperature gas (possibly methane and oxygen) but the test was quickly aborted. Another attempt on July 20th was also aborted after several hours with no frost (indicative of propellant loading). Finally, a third attempt on July 21st was canceled before it began, although a roadblock was briefly set up prior to the abort. Shortly after the abort, SpaceX published plans for another attempt at Starship SN5’s first WDR and static fire test on July 22nd with backup windows (8am-5pm CDT, UTC-5) on the 23rd and 24th.
First reported by NASASpaceflight.com, Elon Musk’s comment confirms their sourced information that Starship SN5’s flight debut could follow just a few days after a successful WDR and static fire. Given the sheer number of delays SN5’s test campaign has suffered, that’s far from guaranteed, but the ship certainly still has a shot at a hop test this weekend if things go perfectly over the next several days. Stay tuned for updates later today or tomorrow.
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Tesla has adjusted the functionality of a crucial climate feature as Winter weather has started to arrive throughout some parts of the United States. The new feature was highly requested by owners.
Tesla has a Cabin Overheat Protection feature that helps keep the temperature regulated if it reaches a certain threshold. Inversely, it can be used in cold weather as well, which will automatically warm the cabin if it sinks to a temperature that is too low for the owner’s comfort.
This is a great way to keep the cabin either warmed up just enough or cooled down just enough so that it never gets too hot or too cold. Extreme temperatures could damage certain parts of the vehicle or damage personal belongings that are kept inside the car.
Overheat protection is a great thing to have in hot climates like Arizona or Texas, especially with the Premium trims of the Model 3 and Model Y, which feature a glass roof.
Many owners appreciate the feature, but they argue that using it at home will utilize too much energy, especially during extreme temperatures. For a while, many Tesla fans have requested an option to disable this feature when the car is parked at home, which the company recently added, according to Not a Tesla App.
The feature is part of Software Version 2025.44.3, and the release notes state:
“You can now choose Exclude Home when Cabin Overheat Protection or No A/C is enabled.”
Tesla has been great at listening to what owners want with new features, and this is one that will reserve some charge and prevent unnecessary utilization of available power, especially as the car is parked at home. If owners want to condition the cabin or get the car ready for operation with a comfortable interior, they can utilize the Tesla app to adjust the climate.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed today on the social media platform X that legacy automakers, such as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, do not want to license the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, at least not without a long list of their own terms.
“I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy,” Musk said on X. “When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless.”
I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy …
When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless. 🤷♂️
🦕 🦕
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2025
Musk made the remark in response to a note we wrote about earlier today from Melius Research, in which analyst Rob Wertheimer said, “Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is,” in terms of autonomy and self-driving development.
Wertheimer believes there are hundreds of billions of dollars in value headed toward Tesla’s way because of its prowess with FSD.
A few years ago, Musk first remarked that Tesla was in early talks with one legacy automaker regarding licensing Full Self-Driving for its vehicles. Tesla never confirmed which company it was, but given Musk’s ongoing talks with Ford CEO Jim Farley at the time, it seemed the Detroit-based automaker was the likely suspect.
Tesla’s Elon Musk reiterates FSD licensing offer for other automakers
Ford has been perhaps the most aggressive legacy automaker in terms of its EV efforts, but it recently scaled back its electric offensive due to profitability issues and weak demand. It simply was not making enough vehicles, nor selling the volume needed to turn a profit.
Musk truly believes that many of the companies that turn their backs on FSD now will suffer in the future, especially considering the increased chance it could be a parallel to what has happened with EV efforts for many of these companies.
Unfortunately, they got started too late and are now playing catch-up with Tesla, XPeng, BYD, and the other dominating forces in EVs across the globe.
Tesla is backtracking on a strange adjustment it made to its in-car Navigation feature after numerous complaints from owners convinced the company to make a change.
Tesla’s in-car Navigation is catered to its vehicles, as it routes Supercharging stops and preps your vehicle for charging with preconditioning. It is also very intuitive, and features other things like weather radar and a detailed map outlining points of interest.
However, a recent change to the Navigation by Tesla did not go unnoticed, and owners were really upset about it.
For trips that required multiple Supercharger stops, Tesla decided to implement a naming change, which did not show the city or state of each charging stop. Instead, it just showed the business where the Supercharger was located, giving many owners an unwelcome surprise.
However, Tesla’s Director of Supercharging, Max de Zegher, admitted the update was a “big mistake on our end,” and made a change that rolled out within 24 hours:
The naming change should have happened at once, instead of in 2 sequential steps. That was a big miss on our end. We do listen to the community and we do course-correct fast. The accelerated fix rolled out last night. The Tesla App is updated and most in-car touchscreens should…
— Max (@MdeZegher) November 20, 2025
The lack of a name for the city where a Supercharging stop would be made caused some confusion for owners in the short term. Some drivers argued that it was more difficult to make stops at some familiar locations that were special to them. Others were not too keen on not knowing where they were going to be along their trip.
Tesla was quick to scramble to resolve this issue, and it did a great job of rolling it out in an expedited manner, as de Zegher said that most in-car touch screens would notice the fix within one day of the change being rolled out.
Additionally, there will be even more improvements in December, as Tesla plans to show the common name/amenity below the site name as well, which will give people a better idea of what to expect when they arrive at a Supercharger.
Tesla adjusts crucial feature as winter weather arrives
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sends rivals dire warning about Full Self-Driving
