In its true last act of the year, SpaceX successfully fired up its first orbital-class Starship for the fourth time in approximately two months, placing the prototype one step closer to flight readiness.
Starship S20 first left its roost in SpaceX’s Starbase factory in early August, briefly performing a fit test atop Super Heavy Booster 4 (B4) – both only partially complete at the time. Both returned to their nests for finishing touches soon after. However, relative to almost all other prototypes SpaceX has built in South Texas in the last two years, Starship S20’s path to flight readiness has been a long and windy one. It took SpaceX a full eight weeks after that first rollout to prepare Ship 20 for – and complete – its first cryogenic proof test, in which the rocket was pressurized and filled with hundreds of tons of liquid nitrogen (LN2).
It took another three weeks after that milestone for SpaceX to then prepare Ship 20 for an even more important test – its first Raptor engine static fire.
The process began on October 19th with Ship 20’s first Raptor preburner test, in which smaller secondary combustion chambers designed to supply the engine’s main combustion chamber with a combustible mixture were briefly ignited on their own. On October 21st, that next milestone finally came, with Starship S20 not only completing the first on-pad static fire of a Raptor Vacuum engine but also performing a second test during the same window, firing up the same RVac and a gimballing Raptor Center (RC) engine less than an hour later. It was an impressive leap in apparent confidence, with Ship 20 jumping from the slowest prototype to reach a testing milestone to the first prototype of any kind to complete back-to-back static fires less than an hour apart.
After another unusually long three weeks of work, some of which was spent installing four more Raptors on Starship S20, the ship completed a second preburner test – the first of any kind to simultaneously feature or involve six Raptor engines. Unlike the first campaign, which had a two-day gap, SpaceX then turned S20 around in the same window and performed the first six-Raptor Starship static fire 50 minutes later – both a success, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Another Ship 20 static fire was subsequently attempted another three or so weeks later, ultimately resulting in an abort on December 1st. Only four weeks later did SpaceX try again, successfully completing what appeared to be Starship S20’s second six-engine static fire without issue on December 29th. The company attempted a second static fire a few hours later but that try was less lucky, culminating in an abort seconds before ignition and wrapping up the day’s testing. That brings us to today, January 2nd, 2022, where SpaceX is once again preparing for more Ship 20 testing with eight-hour windows on January 4th, 5th, and 6th.
The goals of these continued static fire tests are less clear than some past SpaceX testing but Ship 20 – the first orbital-class prototype and first Starship to test more than three Raptors at a time – is a valuable pathfinder. While SpaceX would likely have benefitted even more from them weeks or months, all lessons learned from Ship 20 will help guide retroactive modifications and proactive design changes for upcoming prototypes – the statuses of which are currently in flux.
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Tesla analyst sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing: here’s why
“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”
Tesla analyst Stephen Gengaro of Stifel sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing, and he believes more and more people will commit to paying for the full suite or the subscription service after they try it.
Full Self-Driving is Tesla’s Level 2 advanced driver assistance suite (ADAS), and is one of the most robust on the market. Over time, the suite gets better as the company accumulates data from every mile driven by its fleet of vehicles, which has swelled to over five million cars sold.
The suite features a variety of advanced driving techniques that many others cannot do. It is not your typical Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Lane Keeping ADAS system. Instead, it can handle nearly every possible driving scenario out there.
It still requires the driver to pay attention and ultimately assume responsibility for the vehicle, but their hands are not required to be on the steering wheel.
It is overwhelmingly impressive, and as a personal user of the FSD suite on a daily basis, I have my complaints, but overall, there are very few things it does incorrectly.
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.7 real-world drive and review
Gengaro, who increased his Tesla price target to $508 yesterday, said in an interview with CNBC that adoption rates of FSD will increase over the coming years as more people try it for themselves.
At first, it is tough to feel comfortable with your car literally driving you around. Then, it becomes second nature.
Gengaro said:
“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving take rates also have to increase as part of CEO Elon Musk’s recently approved compensation package, as one tranche requires ten million active subscriptions in order to win that portion of the package.
The company also said in the Q3 2025 Earnings Call in October that only 12 percent of the current ownership fleet are paid customers of Full Self-Driving, something the company wants to increase considerably moving forward.
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Tesla scores major court win as judge rejects race bias class action
The ruling means the 2017 lawsuit cannot proceed as a class action because plaintiff attorneys were unable to secure testimony commitments from at least 200 workers.
Tesla scored a significant legal victory in California after a state judge reversed a class certification in a high-profile race harassment case involving 6,000 Black workers at its Fremont plant. The ruling means the 2017 lawsuit cannot proceed as a class action because plaintiff attorneys were unable to secure testimony commitments from at least 200 workers ahead of a 2026 trial, a threshold the judge viewed as necessary to reliably represent the full group.
No class action
In a late-Friday order, California Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon concluded that the suit could not remain a class action, stating he could not confidently apply the experiences of a much smaller group of testifying workers to thousands of potential class members. His ruling reverses a 2024 decision by a different judge who had certified the case under the belief that a trial of that size would be manageable, as noted in a Reuters report.
The lawsuit was originally filed by former assembly-line worker Marcus Vaughn, who alleged that Black employees at Tesla’s Fremont factory were exposed to various forms of racially hostile conduct, including slurs, graffiti, and instances of disturbing objects appearing in work areas. Tesla has previously said it does not tolerate harassment and has removed employees found responsible for misconduct. Neither Tesla nor the plaintiffs’ legal team immediately commented on the latest ruling.
Tesla’s legal challenges
While the decertification narrows the scope of this particular case, Tesla still faces additional litigation over similar allegations. A separate trial involving related claims brought by a California state civil rights agency is scheduled just two months after the now-vacated class trial date. The company is also contending with federal race discrimination claims filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alongside several individual lawsuits it has already resolved.
For now, the reversal removes the large-scale exposure Tesla would have faced in a unified class trial, shifting the dispute back to individual claims rather than a single mass action. The case is Vaughn v. Tesla, filed in Alameda County Superior Court.
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Tesla Holiday Update is incoming, and the wishlist is Merry and Bright
There are a handful of big wishes, and we’ve seen a lot of different requests out there based on what owners are saying on social media. Nevertheless, what Tesla should bring and what Tesla will bring are two different things.
Tesla’s Holiday Update is going to be on its way soon, and although we have no idea what the company is planning to implement into vehicles with the 2025 iteration.
However, the wishlist is extensive, and owners are hoping to get a vast array of new features, both useful and artificial. That’s the fun thing about owning a Tesla — not everything is necessary, and it’s okay for your car to be fun.
There are a handful of big wishes, and we’ve seen a lot of different requests out there based on what owners are saying on social media. Nevertheless, what Tesla should bring and what Tesla will bring are two different things.
🚨 All I Want for Christmas (in the Tesla Holiday Update) is:
1. More streaming platforms
2. Summon for Cybertruck
3. Easier Navigation adjustment for a preferred route instead of the optimal choiceWhat else? pic.twitter.com/qapS1jXAuB
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 16, 2025
In past years, Tesla has brought both useful things and fun things with the Holiday Update. The Custom Lock Sound, new Light Shows, and even High Fidelity Park Assist have all come in past updates, among many other things. But for 2025, people want even more, and here’s what we have seen most frequently thus far:
More Streaming Platforms
This is a personal request of ours, and it’s something that we feel is long overdue.
Sure, Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu are all great — but there’s a lot of meat left on that bone. HBOMax, Paramount+, and even YouTube TV would be a great option for those of us who have subscriptions and want to watch Live Events while Supercharging or eating in our cars.
The fact that Tesla has not added more platforms to its in-car Theater in a few years has been, dare I say, disappointing?
Full Self-Driving for Europe
This is something not even Santa can help with. Although his Elves are known for their high productivity, we’re not even sure they could convince European regulators to open the door for FSD’s entrance into the market.
Tesla deploys Unsupervised FSD in Europe for the first time—with a twist
FSD is definitely capable of handling European driving conditions, but regulators are truly dragging their feet through the mud with the approval process. Tesla has tested FSD in several countries in Europe, but nothing has been set in stone yet.
Deeper Grok Integration
Many owners have said something about how Grok is truly not super in-tune with the vehicles. This is something any owner will experience.
It seems Grok should be capable of handling all in-car requests; everything from changing the A/C to a specific temperature to adding a stop within the Navigation should be handled by Grok.
Instead, Grok cannot handle those things currently. You have to speak to the car itself using the microphone button on the steering wheel.
Interestingly, some vehicles already have the Grok logo replacing the microphone. It is likely the most realistic request of all.
‘Learn’ Mode for Full Self-Driving Arrival Options
Although it is great for public destinations, FSD still does not allow you to choose a set parking spot at your residence. It also does not allow you to choose preferences for parking in large parking lots.
Renters, and even those who live in purchased townhomes, often have assigned parking spots. Full Self-Driving v14 has done a great job of doing half the work, but there have been too many times when I’ve arrived home, the car pulls me into a spot, and I’m forced to manually back out and park in my assigned space.
Many people also do not like to park toward the entrance of a store, me included. Parking away from the front of a store eliminates parking congestion and usually is a safer bet for your vehicle to keep from being dinged by careless drivers who swing their doors open.
Navigation Adjustments
Sometimes you don’t want to turn left on the street the navigation chooses. Maybe you want to go a block down and check out that new Portuguese restaurant that just opened on the way to your next destination.
This is only possible currently by inputting a waypoint that would take you that way. Instead, the center screen could be opened, and the driver should be able to select an alternative route by simply touching a street they’d rather travel on.
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