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SpaceX ramps Starship hiring as Elon Musk talks Texas rocket factory's "awesome" progress

An overview of SpaceX's rapidly-expanding South Texas Starship factory. (NASASpaceflight - bocachicagal)

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After several successful tests last month, Elon Musk says that SpaceX’s South Texas Starship team is looking to rapidly expand in order to aggressively ramp up Starship manufacturing in a sign that the nascent rocket factory is making excellent progress.

Almost immediately after SpaceX successfully wrapped up its first and second explosive Starship tank tests last month, the company’s Boca Chica, Texas presence started to take on a new atmosphere, reminiscent of the rapid progress made at a since-mothballed Florida Starship facility. Perhaps thanks to the fact that SpaceX’s Boca Chica Starship facilities are adjacent to a dedicated test and launch facility just a mile down the road, it’s looking much less likely that a similar fate will befall its Texas presence.

Instead, SpaceX’s successful Starship tank tests – intentionally destroying two massive propellant tanks – are a testament to the progress the next-generation rocket is making in Texas. In fact, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has effectively stated that after the most recent tank test, the company is now ready to shift gears and start building the first space-bound Starship prototypes, while the last week or two of SpaceX’s visible Texas activities make it clear that that shift is already well underway.

SpaceX is in the midst of rapidly expanding Starship’s Boca Chica, Texas production facilities. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

In simple terms, SpaceX now appears to be moving full speed ahead in a bid to manufacture, assemble, and test the first flightworthy, full-scale Starship prototypes. It’s worth noting that CEO Elon Musk has underestimated the challenge at hand several times in the last 18 or so months of Starship development, frequently suggesting that the first full-scale prototype of the spacecraft would be ready for a challenging flight test and maybe even its first orbital flights as early as 2019.

For a number of reasons, those ambitious targets were not met. To Musk’s credit, the executive is at least conscious of his tendency to be wildly optimistic when it comes to schedules and has effectively tacked on an asterisk that the schedules and deadlines he often publicizes tend more along the lines of “this time-frame is technically possible without breaking the laws of physics” than anything verging on pragmatism. With challenges as complex as those faced in spaceflight, let alone massive, fully-reusable rockets like Starship, it’s hard to be surprised that practical deadlines tend to be miles away from theoretically-possible minimums.

On November 20th, Starship Mk1 suffered a major structural failure during cryogenic proof testing. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
SpaceX’s first Starship test tank was built primarily outside in the South Texas elements, just like Starship Mk1, but it did use improved welding techniques and a better dome design. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
SpaceX’s second Starship ‘test tank’ is pictured here shortly before it was successfully pressurized to destruction. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

As such, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to feel a bit like the townspeople with a boy crying wolf, but there are arguably several reasons for optimism, this time around. Most importantly, as partially pictured above, SpaceX has completed four intentionally destructive tests with full-scale Starship hardware in just the last 2.5 months. Deemed unfit for flight, SpaceX pressurized Starship Mk1 with liquid nitrogen until it burst in November 2019, reaching an estimated 3-5 bar (45-75 psi).

SpaceX spent the following month upgrading both the methods and facilities used to build Starship prototypes in South Texas – a process that is still very much ongoing. However, two recent tests of Starship tanks built with some of those new methods and facilities have unequivocally proven that great progress is being made. The first ‘test tank’ managed 7.1 bar (105 psi) before it burst, while a second tank completed less than three weeks later reached 7.5 bar (110 psi) with water and 8.5 bar (125 psi) with liquid nitrogen on January 28th. Between those tests, Musk revealed that 6 bar was the bare minimum necessary for orbital Starship flights, while 8.5 bar would potentially offer the safety margins needed for crewed Starship flights.

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In other words, SpaceX’s last two tank tests have effectively proved that – even with facilities and methods only partially upgraded – the company is ready to begin manufacturing the first truly flight-rated Starship prototypes. In response, Musk recently stated that he was going “max hardcore on” Starship design and production in Boca Chica and revealed that SpaceX would host a second South Texas jobs fair in three weeks to help rapidly staff its growing rocket factory.

In the last two weeks, SpaceX has aggressively ramped up steel ring production, stacked and welded together to form Starship tanks. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
SpaceX is rapidly assembling what appears to be Starship SN01, expected to be the spacecraft’s first flightworthy full-scale prototype. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

Looking at the progress SpaceX has made in just the last week, it’s hard to fault Musk’s brimming enthusiasm. Now breaking in new semi-automated welding machines, upgraded production equipment, and two massive sprung structures (i.e. tents), SpaceX engineers and technicians are churning out improved steel rings, tank domes (bulkheads), smaller propellant tanks, and more at a breakneck pace relative to the last year of Starship work. Additionally, at least six of those new rings have been stacked together in two sections, likely representing the effective birth of the first flightworthy Starship – ‘SN01’.

With SpaceX’s new enclosed facilities, much of its South Texas work is now hidden. Still, from what’s visible, it’s safe to say that the company is well its way to completing the first flight – and possibly orbit – worthy Starship prototypes in the near future.

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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 posts job opening for next-generation Roadster production

Elon Musk teased a major demonstration at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, scheduled for the end of the year.

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Image used with permission for Teslarati. (Credit: Tom Cross)

Tesla has opened its first job listing specifically for the next-generation Roadster, hinting at some substantial progress on the company’s long-awaited flagship all-electric supercar. 

The company is looking for a Manufacturing Engineer to support the development and launch of new battery manufacturing equipment, which would likely be pivotal to the Roaster, considering its teased performance and range.

Tesla’s next-generation Roadster batteries

As per Tesla’s Careers website, the Roadster Manufacturing Engineer’s tasks would include ideating equipment concepts, developing specifications, validating processes, and addressing production bottlenecks. Tesla emphasized that the position involves collaboration across domestic and international sites, supporting equipment factory acceptance tests and assisting operations teams, with expected travel under 50 percent. 

“In this role, you will take large-scale manufacturing systems for new battery products and architectures from the early concept development stage through equipment launch, optimization, and handover to local operations teams. Battery development is at the heart of our company, and this is an exciting opportunity to work directly on the central challenges for the all-new Roadster product architecture while still in its early development stages,” the job listing noted.

The opening marks one of the first public hiring efforts explicitly tied to the next-gen Roadster, suggesting that the vehicle’s development might be approaching its initial manufacturing phase. The fact that the new Roadster’s first job opening is related to its battery is interesting, as the vehicle was unveiled with a range of 620 miles way back in late 2018. Though at the time, Elon Musk also noted that the Roadster would be fitted with a 200 kWh battery, twice the size of the batteries used in the Model S and Model X. 

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Musk teases “most epic demo ever” and fuels Roadster speculation

Back in July, Elon Musk teased a major demonstration at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, scheduled for the end of the year. Musk shared on X that he had just visited the studio, calling the upcoming event the “most epic demo ever by one of year. Ever.”

The statement immediately prompted speculations that Tesla may finally be ready to reveal the production version of the next-generation Roadster. Originally unveiled alongside the Semi in 2018, the Roadster has remained under wraps while the company scaled production of other models. Since its unveiling, however, the Roadster’s rollout has been pushed back in favor of the original Model Y, the refreshed Model S and X, the Cybertruck, the refreshed Model 3, the Semi, and the new Model Y.

At the time of its unveiling, the next-generation Roadster was teased to be nothing short of a monster, with a 0-60 mph time of 1.99 seconds and a top speed of over 250 mph. Elon Musk also teased that the next-generation Roadster would have a range of 620 miles per charge. Later, the CEO noted that the Roadster should be able to achieve a 0-60 mph launch of less than 1 second, thanks to the vehicle’s SpaceX package. Musk has also noted recently that the next-generation Roadster would be “beyond a car.”

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Tesla’s Shanghai sites now producing massive solar output, confirms exec

Gigafactory Shanghai’s rooftop solar installation now generates an impressive amount of clean energy, and other sites are following suit.

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Credit: Grace Tao/Weibo

Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao recently shared new details on the company’s solar initiatives in some of its facilities across Shanghai. 

In a post on Weibo, the Tesla executive stated that Gigafactory Shanghai’s rooftop solar installation now generates an impressive amount of clean energy, and other sites are following suit.

Tesla China’s rooftop solar initiatives

As per Tao’s post, Giga Shanghai’s rooftop solar system produces about 11 million kWh of electricity per year. This helps reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 4,600 tons annually.

The Shanghai Megafactory, which produces Megapack batteries, is also being fitted with solar panels. Once operational, it is expected to generate an additional 6 million kWh per year and further lower carbon emissions by roughly 2,500 tons.

“At present, the roof of the Shanghai Super Factory is covered with photovoltaic panels, which can generate 11 million kWh of electricity annually and reduce carbon emissions by 4,600 tons. The Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory next door is also installing photovoltaic panels, which is expected to generate an additional 6 million kWh a year and reduce carbon emissions by 2,500 tons,” Tao wrote in her post.

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Tesla expands solar and storage efforts

Beyond its manufacturing hubs, Tesla is extending its renewable energy strategy to service centers and retail operations in China. Tao stated that the roof of Tesla’s Shanghai Kangqiao Direct Body and Paint Center already produces around 400,000 kWh of green electricity each year, reducing emissions by yet another 170 tons.

She highlighted that Tesla’s goal is to ensure clean electricity powers the full lifecycle of its products, from manufacturing and storage to on-road charging. “The manufacture, storage, and use of clean electricity runs through the entire chain of Tesla products, and is also the contribution of every Tesla owner to a sustainable tomorrow for the earth,” Tao stated.

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Donald Trump confirms ‘good’ relationship with Elon Musk after public feud

Trump stated that he and Elon Musk have spoken “on and off, a little bit” since meeting at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in September.

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that his relationship with Elon Musk has improved following months of tension. 

Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump stated that he and Elon Musk have spoken “on and off, a little bit” since meeting at slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in September. Trump also noted that he now considers their relationship “good.”

Trump stated that his feud with Musk has cooled after ‘stupid moment’

Trump addressed the pair’s earlier feud, which unfolded publicly earlier this year after Musk publicly opposed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and later stepped away from his administration’s advisory role tied to the DOGE initiative. The U.S. president addressed the dispute, describing it as a brief lapse in judgment, as noted in an Insider report.

“He had a bad spell, he had a bad period. He had a bad moment,” Trump said. “It was a stupid moment in his life, very stupid. I’m sure he’d tell you that. But I like Elon, and I suspect I always will.”

Trump’s remarks suggest a thaw in what had been one of the United States’ most visible political rifts, which saw Musk accusing Trump of being on Epstein’s list and Trump threatening to take away Tesla and SpaceX’s subsidies. In his recent comments, however, Trump noted that “I like Elon, I’ve always liked him.”

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Musk has mostly stayed quiet on Trump, but he still criticizes administration officials

Musk has publicly toned down his criticism of Trump in recent months, pausing discussion of a third political party he once floated after Trump’s megabill passed. While his stance toward the former president appears to have softened, with the two men publicly making peace during Kirk’s memorial, Musk has continued to spar with members of Trump’s administration.

Just last week, he engaged in a dispute with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over NASA leadership after Duffy opened one of SpaceX’s contracts for review. Musk expressed his frustration against Duffy on X, stating that “Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA” and pledging that SpaceX would be taking humans back to the Moon with Starship before any other company.

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