

News
SpaceX Starship landing leg upgrades imagined in new fan renders
After new official Starship renders appeared to include the first view of an upgraded landing leg design, a SpaceX fan and digital artist took it upon themselves to sketch out what those new rocket legs might look like.
For almost a full year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been talking about a need for upgraded Starship landing legs and the challenges posed by that seemingly straightforward goal. Now, after Starship SN10 narrowly became the first prototype to land in one piece, and do so in spite of malfunctioning legs, a new design capable of significantly improving reliability, stability, and toughness has likely become a front-and-center priority.
Notably, during SN10’s spectacular landing, at least two or three of the Starship’s six flip-out landing legs failed to properly deploy, leaving just a half to two thirds of the legs needed to fully withstand the momentum of a Starship landing. Starship SN10 didn’t make it easy on those remaining legs, either, and was still traveling at least 15-20 mph (6-8 m/s) at touchdown. As a result, Starship crushed those legs into oblivion, leaving the rocket more or less resting on its skirt with no more than a few inches of ground clearance, if anything.
About eight minutes later, the prototype violently depressurized, producing a massive fireball as any remaining propellant flashed into gas and ignited. It’s unclear if that post-landing explosion was caused – in part or full – by SN10’s landing leg failures or if the rocket was more or less doomed before touchdown by some other technical bug. Regardless the flight test was still a spectacular and historic success for SpaceX, while simultaneously shedding light on shortcomings that can be addressed with Starship SN11 and beyond.
As it turns out, mere hours prior to Starship SN10’s successful launch, landing, and self-destruction, a series of new, official SpaceX renders released as part of an update for a private Starship launch around the Moon may have revealed the latest glimpse of an updated landing leg design.
Notably, the updated design – at least insofar as Erc X’s concepts are within the vicinity of the ground truth – is reminiscent of an earlier leg concept SpaceX revealed in April 2020 as part of a NASA announcement. Around that time, SpaceX – third fiddle to Dynetics and a Blue Origin-led team – won funds to begin the process of designing and building a Starship variant capable of landing NASA astronauts on the Moon in the mid-2020s.
As the fan renders show, there are many different possible landing leg configurations that could feasibly fit into the curious trapezoidal shrouds visible on SpaceX’s latest official Starship renders. Knowing SpaceX and its CEO, it’s also possible – if not likely – that these latest renders are already months old and one or several versions outdated.
Either way, given Starship SN10’s successful landing and progress with Starships SN11 and SN15 thru SN18,, it’s safe to say that significantly upgraded landing legs could start appearing at SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas factory any day now
Cybertruck
Tesla gives big hint that it will build Cyber SUV, smaller Cybertruck
“Those are definitely things we’ve considered. Wait & see is probably the best way I can answer that. We’re working on so many innovative & fun things.”

Tesla appears to have given a significant hint that it plans to build two highly anticipated and requested vehicles: the Cyber SUV and a smaller Cybertruck. This potentially indicates that two new cars could be added to the lineup soon.
For some time, Tesla fans have been requesting two things: a true SUV and a more compact Cybertruck. The SUV has been on the minds of fans and owners for some time, as Tesla does not currently build a full-size SUV that competes with vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe or Ford Expedition.
Tesla’s longer Model Y did not scale back requests for this vehicle type from fans
Meanwhile, the compact and smaller Cybertruck has been teased for years, especially since the all-electric pickup seems to be a viable option for international markets; however, its size does not seem ideal for the tight roadways in other regions.
Lately, there have been more hints than ever that Tesla is finally considering these two vehicles. It’s all but confirmed, but Tesla has always left breadcrumbs for fans to find and speculate over.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen said that the company has considered these two vehicles for its lineup, but he would not give a definitive “yes” or “no” regarding their development:
“Those are definitely things we’ve considered. Wait & see is probably the best way I can answer that. We’re working on so many innovative & fun things.”
Recently, the speculation regarding the Cyber SUV has been well-fueled, as a recent promotional video Tesla released seemed to show a mock-up design hiding in plain sight:

Credit: Tesla
Interestingly, Tesla said in a regulatory filing early this year that it would not adopt the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exoskeleton for new vehicles. However, it could still launch a design inspired by the Cybertruck, but using different materials.
Very, very interesting observation here.
Tesla said in its Q4 Shareholder Deck that it would not utilize the Stainless Steel Exoskeleton in future vehicles.
Fans have been calling for a full-size SUV in the Tesla lineup.
It would probably do very well. Cost has to be right. https://t.co/VryCVQxEC9 pic.twitter.com/APxeYmF6ew
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 1, 2025
As far as the more compact Cybertruck design, this would enable fans in Europe and Asia to purchase the all-electric pickup.
There have been concerns from a regulatory perspective in some countries outside of North America, as the sheer size and sharp edges have caused some concern for other governments:
Tesla Cybertruck gets pushback in Europe, increasing need for ‘international’ version
However, back in 2019, just after the Cybertruck’s unveiling, CEO Elon Musk admitted that there was a place for a smaller version.
News
Tesla Robotaxi is headed to a new U.S. state following latest approval
“Only a trained employee, contractor, or other person authorized by the company can operate or monitor the vehicles.”

Tesla Robotaxi is headed to a new U.S. state following its latest approval, which was revealed on Friday night.
Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi platform in Texas and California, with Austin being the first city where the company could test a ride-hailing platform without anyone in the driver’s seat.
First launching in Austin in late June, Tesla’s focus has been expanding its service area, its fleet of Robotaxi vehicles, and its rider population, which has grown most recently due to its public launch.
However, Tesla is also filing applications in states where these autonomous driving programs can operate, aiming to expand to all 50 states eventually. CEO Elon Musk said earlier this year that the company should be able to offer Robotaxi rides to roughly half of the U.S. population.
Alongside Texas and California, Tesla recently gained permission to test its Robotaxi in Nevada, marking the third state where it had some form of regulatory permission to perform rides using an unreleased version of the Full Self-Driving suite.
Tesla adjusts one key detail of Robotaxi operations in Austin
Now, Tesla has gained another approval in a new state, its fourth, marking a significant step in its expansion across the U.S.
In Arizona, Tesla gained regulatory approval to begin testing autonomous vehicles on public roads.
BREAKING: Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to start testing autonomous vehicles on public roads.
Today, I confirmed directly with the Arizona DOT that @Tesla has met requirements to begin testing its autonomous vehicles in… pic.twitter.com/kjgFnKEcJF
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 20, 2025
The vehicles in Austin and the Bay Area of California both use what Tesla has been referring to as “Safety Monitors” in the cars. During city operation in Texas, the Safety Monitor sits in the passenger’s seat. When the route takes the car on the highway, the Safety Monitor jumps into the driver’s seat.
Tesla explains why Robotaxis now have safety monitors in the driver’s seat
In California, the Safety Monitor is always in the driver’s seat.
In Arizona, Tesla will also utilize what a communication said was “Safety Drivers,” insinuating that the monitor would be in the driver’s seat. However, another line in the email states:
“Only a trained employee, contractor, or other person authorized by the company can operate or monitor the vehicles.”
It sounds as if there is the potential for the Safety Monitor to be in either seat, much like Tesla’s process in Austin. However, this is currently unconfirmed.
The new approval marks a drastic step forward for Tesla as it has received two new approvals in just two weeks. Regulatory hurdles seem to still be the biggest bottleneck for Tesla in terms of gaining permissions to operate in new states, but things seem to be moving along pretty well so far.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says this common issue is ‘major area of focus’
Tesla, like any other company, goes through hardware issues with its vehicles, but some are more publicized than others.

Elon Musk said this afternoon on X that a commonly reported issue with the Tesla vehicles is a “major area of focus” for the company.
Tesla, like any other company, goes through hardware issues with its vehicles, but some are more publicized than others.
However, the simple yet annoying issues that owners encounter through thousands of miles of driving do not receive as much attention, even though they are likely more pertinent and frequently encountered by owners.
One of those problems is with the central windshield Full Self-Driving camera, which sits inside a housing at the top of the glass, enabling Tesla Vision to have an uninterrupted view of the traffic and surroundings ahead of the vehicle.
Many owners have reported that their vehicles alert them when Full Self-Driving is unavailable due to an obstruction with this camera. Commonly, it is caused by a buildup of condensation, which creates a haze on the camera and obstructs its view.
Tesla suggests a quick cleaning of the housing and cameras, which resolves the problem. Still, owners are not necessarily ecstatic about having to do this themselves.
Tesla developing more comprehensive Cybertruck camera cleaning system
Musk says that Tesla is attempting to fix the issue, and said in response to one owner who performed the maintenance that it was a “major area of focus” for the company:
This is a major area of focus
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 19, 2025
While many were enthusiastic about the potential fix, but some complained that their cars had been in for service many times for the issue, inhibiting their ability to utilize FSD and truly enjoy the full experience of owning a Tesla.
Constantly fighting mine. Every single time I use FSD it shows me an image and tells me the camera is dirty and needs to be cleaned and yet it’s not dirty and has been cleaned. I’ve had it into Tesla six times. Had the camera even replaced. Still happening. It’s frustrating
— Stop Lying (@Michael46116047) September 19, 2025
It will likely be a hardware fix that will be implemented through a service appointment, but knowing Tesla, they could have something up their sleeve through a software update to resolve the issue.
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