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SpaceX Starship hop debut aborted at the last second by Raptor engine
SpaceX’s full-scale Starship hop debut was aborted at the last second after an otherwise successful lead-up to the milestone, forcing the company to try again tomorrow.
Following a minor delay from August 2nd to August 3rd, SpaceX kicked off Starship SN5’s hop debut preparations relatively late into the 12-hour window, closing the highway and clearing the pad around 5pm CDT (22:00 UTC). The Starship SN5 tank section prototype was pressurized with ambient-temperature gas around the same time, while cryogenic liquid methane and oxygen propellant loading appeared to begin at roughly 6:20pm CDT (23:20 UTC).
Soon after, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that Starship was just 33 minutes away from launch, marching towards the first hop of a full-scale prototype at 6:56pm CDT. Unfortunately, possibly much less than a second before ignition, Starship SN5’s Raptor engine had different plans.
Musk says that one of Raptor engine SN27’s “spin start valves” failed to open moments before ignition, causing Starship to automatically abort the attempt. With more than an hour left in the window, SpaceX had time to briefly troubleshoot the bug and potentially turn the rocket around for a second attempt, but Musk announced some 50 minutes later that the company would stand down and try again tomorrow.
Musk’s description of the hop test abort sounds suspiciously similar to his description of the last abort of Starship SN5’s Raptor engine static fire test, in which a “fuel spin valve didn’t open.” If the root cause of both aborts is the same, there’s a good chance that SpaceX may need more time to properly investigate and fix the problem. A recurring issue is immediately much more concerning compared to a one-off bug, so there’s also a chance that SpaceX will go as far as replacing the Raptor engine currently installed on Starship SN5.
If things look more severe than SpaceX initially thought they were after the static fire abort and a replacement engine is necessary, Starship SN5 will have to complete another static fire test with the new Raptor before it can proceed to a second hop attempt.
Based on live views of the launch attempt from NASASpaceflight and LabPadre, Starship SN5 likely aborted a matter of milliseconds before Raptor SN27 ignition and perhaps just a second or two before liftoff. Just like SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 and Heavy rockets, the vehicle’s flight computer is fully in control of the countdown a minute or two before liftoff and can automatically abort far faster than any human could possibly react. Held to the launch mount by hold-down clamps, Starship could have technically analyzed the engine’s performance after ignition and aborted the launch even later into the count.
Once hold-down clamp release is commanded, Starship SN5 will attempt to fly a roughly 150m-tall (500 ft) arc heading southeast of the launch mount. Perhaps 10 seconds prior to touchdown, Starship will attempt to deploy an array of six odd legs and gently land a few hundred feet from the pad. As of now, assuming Raptor’s finicky valve can be easily rectified, SpaceX will work towards a second Starship SN5 hop attempt sometime between 8am and 8pm CDT on Tuesday, August 4th.
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Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the upcoming update in a post on social media platform X.
Tesla will be ending one-time purchases of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system after Valentine’s Day, transitioning the feature to a monthly subscription-only model.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the upcoming update in a post on social media platform X.
No more FSD one-time purchases
As per Elon Musk in his post on X, “Tesla will stop selling FSD after Feb 14. FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription thereafter.” This marks a shift in how Tesla monetizes its FSD system, which can now be purchased for a one-time fee or accessed through a monthly subscription.
FSD’s subscription model has been $99 per month in the United States, while its one-time purchase option is currently priced at $8,000. FSD’s one-time purchase price has swung wildly in recent years, reaching $15,000 in September 2022. At the time, FSD was proficient, but its performance was not on par with v14. This made its $15,000 upfront price a hard sell for consumers.
Tesla’s move to a subscription-only model could then streamline how the company sells FSD. It also lowers the entry price for the system, as even price-conscious drivers would likely be able to justify FSD’s $99 monthly subscription cost during periods when long-distance travel is prevalent, like the holidays.
Musk’s compensation plan and FSD subscription targets
Tesla’s shift to a subscription-only FSD model comes amidst Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, which was approved by Tesla shareholders at the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting with roughly 75% support. Under the long-term compensation plan, Musk must achieve a series of ambitious operational milestones, including 10 million active FSD subscriptions, over the next decade for his stock awards to vest.
The 2025 CEO Performance Award’s structure ties Musk’s potential compensation to Tesla’s aggressive targets that span market capitalization, vehicle deliveries, robotics, and software adoption. Apart from his 10-million active FSD subscription target, Musk’s compensation is also tied to Tesla producing 20 million vehicles cumulatively, delivering 1 million Tesla bots, and having 1 million Robotaxis in operation. He must also lead Tesla to a market cap of $8.5 trillion.
If successful, Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award could make him the world’s first trillionaire. It could also help Tesla become the world’s most valuable company by market cap by a notable margin.
Tesla is planning for a new 300+ stall Supercharger station that will be an expansion of an existing facility, and the company is planning to add a surprise for the Semi.
The Firebaugh, California Supercharger is currently 72 Superchargers, but Tesla filed for an expansion that will add 232 additional plugs for passenger vehicles, and it also plans to add 16 Semichargers.
This will be the biggest Supercharger station Tesla will have to date, just months after it finished the Supercharger Oasis in Lost Hills, California, which has 168 stalls. This will have 304 total Supercharger stalls, and then the additional 16 Megachargers.
🚨 This Supercharger station will have 304 total stalls and 16 Semichargers following this expansion
Absolutely INSANE size 🔥
This is located on I-5, so many semis will be traveling along this route https://t.co/hM9hdLcWwg
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 13, 2026
The Firebaugh Supercharger is located on I-5, which is a major reason for why Tesla has chosen the location for additional Megacharger plug-ins, as Tesla Semi Program Manager Dan Priestley said on X earlier today.
Lots of trucks to electrify on I-5
— Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley) January 13, 2026
The project was revealed by MarcoRP, a Supercharger tracker.
The expansion is a massive signal for charging demand, especially as Tesla’s Superchargers are opened to numerous automakers and are no longer exclusive to the company’s EVs. Additionally, the installation of Megachargers is a good sign to come for the Tesla Semi program, which aims to truly ramp up this year.
Tesla plans to launch production of the Semi later this year.
It could also mean Tesla is going to expand its footprint of large-scale Supercharger projects in the coming years, which would be a big boost as EV adoption continues to soar in the United States.
Tesla has made two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles in its lineup, and the changes come just as the new model year begins production.
Last year, Tesla launched the Model Y Standard, which separated the previous models into the “Premium” category. The Standard vehicles lack several features, including more premium interior materials, acoustic-lined glass, and storage.
@teslarati There are some BIG differences between the Tesla Model Y Standard and Tesla Model Y Premium #tesla #teslamodely ♬ Sia – Xeptemper
The Model Y “Premium” trims are now getting several new upgrades, which come after the company launched a seven-seat configuration of the vehicle last night in the North American market for an upcharge of $2,500.
The new Model Y seven-seat configuration did not come with just an additional row of seating; it also came with a slew of other goodies that now come standard and were previously only available on the Model Y Performance, which was launched late last year.
All Black Headliner
The new Tesla Model Y Premium trims will now come standard with a black headliner, something that many owners have been requesting for some time.
The previous grey headliner and trim within the vehicle is now gone; it will be all black on all of the Premium trims from here on out, a welcome change:
Credit: Tesla
Larger and Higher Resolution Center Touchscreen
The center touchscreen in the new Model Y Premium configuration is now larger and has a higher resolution than the previous version.
In last year’s Model Y configurations (apart from the Performance), the center touchscreen was 15.4″. Now, Tesla has decided to go with the 16″ version across all Premium trims, which is a nice step up. It was nice to see this in the Performance, but it is really great to see Tesla include this in the Model Y’s more Premium trim levels.
Tesla Model Y Seven Seater
Tesla launched the latest iteration of the seven-seater for the Model Y on Monday night. Traditionally, the Model Y seats five passengers in total, but there were calls for a more spacious version several years ago.
Tesla released it, but it was extremely tight in the back, basically reserving those back seats for only small people or children.
Credit: Tesla
The new configuration looks to be slightly more spacious in the third row, but not as much space as most would require or want. Instead,
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Tesla plans for new 300+ stall Supercharger with a special surprise for Semi
