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SpaceX says Starship Mk1 will test ‘skydiver’ landing before the end of 2019
A senior SpaceX director says that the Starship Mk1 prototype could lift off for the first time before the end of 2019, a flight debut SpaceX hopes will successfully demonstrate the next-generation spacecraft’s exotic ‘skydiver’ landing method.
SpaceX is in the late stages of building the first full-scale Starship prototypes, known as Mk1 (situated in Boca Chica, Texas) and Mk2 (Cocoa, Florida). The Texas-based Mk1 prototype is by far the furthest along and featured prominently at CEO Elon Musk’s Starship update presentation on September 28th, having been stacked to its final height of ~50m (165 ft) for the first time just days prior.
It’s clear now that more than a little showmanship was involved in the work that lead up to Starship Mk1’s unveiling. Within a week or two of the event, SpaceX technicians had separated Starship’s nose and tail sections, removed all three Raptor engines, and uninstalled the ship’s wings and canards, among other things.
Aside from the nose and tail section demate and removal of flaps, canards, and Raptors, the aero covers that were briefly attached to Starship’s exterior (raceways, canards, flaps, legs) were also removed. One raceway cover may or may not have been a casualty of high winds but all of the above hardware was carefully stored on the ground surrounding Starship Mk1 and is clearly meant to be installed more permanently in the coming weeks.
Nevertheless, Starship Mk1 obviously has a decent ways to go before it can be seriously considered flight-ready. On a positive note, aside from several days spent undressing Starship, SpaceX’s South Texas team (and others traveling from Florida and California) have been working 24/7 in the weeks since Musk’s presentation.
The last two weeks of Starship Mk1 activity have centered around installing the numerous crucial bits and pieces the rocket will need to function. This has included thousands of feet of power cables, avionics wiring, and propellant feed and transfer pipes; industrial-scale power controllers and flight computers, and much more.
The sheer quantity and range of sizes of piping being installed on Starship Mk1 all but confirms that the rocket will be a high-fidelity prototype capable of testing a wide range of capabilities related to autogenous pressurization and Raptor engine ignition. The mirrored presence of three sets of smaller pipes on the vehicle’s raceway (essentially a utility corridor) is a strong sign that Raptor and Starship’s smaller header tanks and COPVs (located in Mk1’s nose section) are closely related.
Some of the excess hot gas produced by Raptor may be tapped to supply COPVs that can then be used to reignite the engines in-flight. More likely, the small pipes are more of a one-way feed line from Starship’s header tanks to its Raptor engines and – as Musk has indicated – the cryogenic liquid propellant in those header tanks will be gasified with electric heaters or gas generators.
Starship gymnastics
Given all of the above, close followers were already readily aware of the fact that Starship Mk1 needed some significant work done before it would be ready for flight. On October 22nd, SpaceX Senior Director Gary Henry confirmed these suspicions, indicating that Starship Mk1’s 20 km (12 mi) flight test debut was now scheduled no earlier than two months from now (December 2019).
According to CEO Elon Musk and other SpaceX engineers, that 20 km flight debut is designed to prove that Starship’s radical new approach to flight and landing is viable. Musk has repeatedly described that Starship will in no way be an actual space plane and has stated that its ‘wings’ and ‘canards’ are not intended to be airfoils or wings. Instead, Starship will reenter Earth’s atmosphere, slow its horizontal velocity to near-zero, and proceed to free-fall straight down, using its fore and aft flaps to control its trajectory in the same way that skydivers use their body and limbs.
This bizarre approach will be capped off with an aggressive landing maneuver in which Starship will ignite its engines, wildly thrust-vector and swerve to cancel out the horizontal velocity imparted by that sideways ignition, and land vertically on Earth (or Mars). In theory, this strategy will radically reduce the amount of fuel Starship needs to land in atmospheres, but it’s far removed from anything SpaceX has attempted with Falcon 9 and Starship Mk1’s first flight will hopefully prove it to be a viable solution.
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Donald Trump turns to Elon Musk and Starlink amid Iran internet blackout
Donald Trump has stated that he plans to speak with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran.
Donald Trump has stated that he plans to speak with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran, as authorities in the country implement an internet blackout amid nationwide anti-government protests.
Trump points to Starlink
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump said Musk would be well-suited to help restore connectivity in Iran, citing his experience operating large-scale satellite networks, as noted in a Reuters report. “He’s very good at that kind of thing, he’s got a very good company,” Trump said.
Iran has experienced a near-total internet shutdown for several days, severely limiting the flow of information as protests escalated into broader demonstrations against the country’s rulers.
Starlink has previously been used in Iran during periods of unrest, allowing some users to access the global internet despite government blocks. Neither Musk nor SpaceX immediately commented on Trump’s remarks, but Musk has publicly supported efforts to provide Starlink access to Iranians during earlier periods of unrest.
Renewed Trump–Musk ties
Trump’s comments come amid a thaw in his previously strained relationship with Musk. The two had a public falling-out last year over domestic policy disagreements but have since appeared together publicly, including at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. The renewed ties now intersect with foreign policy, as Starlink has become a strategic tool in regions facing censorship or conflict.
The satellite service has also played a prominent role elsewhere, most notably in Ukraine, highlighting both its potential impact and the political sensitivities surrounding its use. In Iran, Starlink support previously followed coordination between Musk and U.S. officials during protests in 2022.
The current internet blackout in Iran has drawn international attention, with rights groups estimating hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests since demonstrations intensified late last year. Iranian authorities have not released official casualty figures, and outside verification remains limited due to restricted communications.
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Tesla China’s domestic sales fell 4.8% in 2025, but it’s not doom and gloom
Despite the full-year dip, Tesla finished the year with record domestic sales in December.
Tesla posted 625,698 retail vehicle sales in China in 2025, marking a 4.8% year-on-year decline as the EV maker navigated an increasingly competitive EV market and a major production transition for its best-selling vehicle.
Despite the full-year dip, Tesla finished the year with record domestic sales in December.
Retail sales slip amid Model Y transition
Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China were down from 657,102 units in 2024, when the company ranked third in the country’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market with a 6.0% share. In 2025, Tesla’s share slipped to 4.9%, placing it fifth overall, as noted in a CNEV Post report.
Part of the decline seemed tied to operational disruptions early in the year. Tesla implemented a changeover to the new Tesla Model Y in the first quarter of 2025, which required temporary production pauses at Giga Shanghai. That downtime reduced vehicle availability early during the year, weighing on the company’s retail volumes in China and in areas supplied by Giga Shanghai’s exports.
China remained one of Tesla’s largest markets, accounting for 38.24% of its global deliveries of 1.64 million vehicles in 2025. However, the company also saw exports from Giga Shanghai fall to 226,034 units, down nearly 13% year-on-year. It remains to be seen how much of this could be attributed to the Model Y changeover and how much could be attributed to other factors.
Strong December 2025 finish
While the full-year picture showed some contraction, Tesla closed 2025 on a high note. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla China delivered a record 93,843 vehicles domestically in China in December, its highest monthly total ever. That figure was up 13.2% from a year earlier and 28.3% higher than November.
The surge was driven in part by Tesla prioritizing domestic deliveries late in the year, allowing buyers to lock in favorable purchase tax policies. In December alone, Tesla captured 7.0% of China’s NEV market and a notable 12.0% share of the country’s battery-electric segment.
On a wholesale basis, Tesla China sold 851,732 vehicles in 2025, down 7.1% year-on-year. From this number, 97,171 were from December 2025 alone. Tesla Model 3 wholesale figures reached 312,738 units, a year-over-year decrease of 13.12%. The Tesla Model Y’s wholesale figures for 2025 were 538,994 units, down 3.18% year-over-year.
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Tesla Robovan’s likely first real-world use teased by Boring Company President
As per the executive, the vehicle will be used to move large crowds through Las Vegas during major events.
The Boring Company President Steve Davis has shared the most likely first real-world use for Tesla’s Robovan.
As per the executive, the vehicle will be used to move large crowds through Las Vegas during major events.
Tesla Robovan for high-demand events
During a feature with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Boring Company President Steve Davis stated that the Tesla Robovan will be used in Sin City once the Vegas Loop expands across the Strip and downtown and the fleet grows to about 1,200 Teslas.
At that scale, Robovans would primarily be deployed during predictable surges, such as game days and large shows, when many riders are traveling to the same destination at the same time.
“The second you have four (passengers) and you have to start stopping, the best thing you can do is put your smallest vehicle in, which is a car. But if you know people are going to the stadium because of a game, you’ll know an hour before, two hours before, that a lot of people are going to a game or a Sphere show, if you are smart about it, that’s when you put a high occupancy vehicle in, that’s when you put the Robovan in,” Davis said.
Vegas Loop expansion
Steve Davis’s Robovan comment comes amid The Boring Company’s efforts to expand the Vegas Loop’s airport service. Phase 1 of rides to Harry Reid International Airport began last month, allowing passengers to travel from existing Loop stations such as Resorts World, Encore, Westgate, and the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Phase 2 will add a 2.2-mile dual-direction tunnel from Westgate to Paradise Road. That section is expected to open within months and will allow speeds of up to 60 mph on parts of the route, while expanding the fleet to around 160 vehicles.
Future phases are expected to extend tunnels closer to airport terminals and add multiple stations along University Center Drive. At this point, the system’s fleet is expected to grow close to 300 Teslas. The final phase, an underground airport station, was described by Davis as the system’s “holy grail.” This, however, has no definite timeframe as of yet.
Donald Trump turns to Elon Musk and Starlink amid Iran internet blackout
Tesla China’s domestic sales fell 4.8% in 2025, but it’s not doom and gloom
