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.
Tesla Cybercab is perhaps the most highly-anticipated project that the company plans to roll out this year, and as it is undergoing its testing phase in pre-production currently, there are some things to work through with it.
Over the weekend, an image of the Cybercab being loaded onto a tow truck started circulating on the internet, and people began to speculate as to what the issue could be.
Hmmmmmm… https://t.co/L5hWcOXQkb pic.twitter.com/OJBDyHNTMj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 11, 2026
The Cybercab can clearly be seen with a Police Officer and perhaps the tow truck driver by its side, being loaded onto, or even potentially unloaded from, the truck.
However, it seems unlikely it was being offloaded, as its operation would get it to this point for testing to begin with.
It appears, at first glance, that it needs assistance getting back to wherever it came from; likely Gigafactory Texas or potentially a Bay Area facility.
The Cybercab was also spotted in Buffalo, New York, last week, potentially undergoing cold-weather testing, but it doesn’t appear that’s where this incident took place.
It is important to remember that the Cybercab is currently undergoing some rigorous testing scenarios, which include range tests and routine public road operation. These things help Tesla assess any potential issue the vehicle could run into after it starts routine production and heads to customers, or for the Robotaxi platform operation.
This is not a one-off issue, either. Tesla had some instances with the Semi where it was seen broken down on the side of a highway three years ago. The all-electric Semi has gone on to be successful in its early pilot program, as companies like Frito-Lay and PepsiCo. have had very positive remarks.
The Cybercab’s future is bright, and it is important to note that no vehicle model has ever gone its full life without a breakdown. It happens, it’s a car.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that there has been no official word on what happened with this particular Cybercab unit, but it is crucial to remember that this is the pre-production testing phase, and these things are more constructive than anything.
Tesla analyst Andrew Percoco of Morgan Stanley teased the company’s dominance in its self-driving initiative, stating that its lead over competitors is “not even close.”
Percoco recently overtook coverage of Tesla stock from Adam Jonas, who had covered the company at Morgan Stanley for years. Percoco is handling Tesla now that Jonas is covering embodied AI stocks and no longer automotive.
His first move after grabbing coverage was to adjust the price target from $410 to $425, as well as the rating from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Equal Weight.’
Percoco’s new note regarding Tesla highlights the company’s extensive lead in self-driving and autonomy projects, something that it has plenty of competition in, but has established its prowess over the past few years.
He writes:
“It’s not even close. Tesla continues to lead in autonomous driving, even as Nvidia rolls out new technology aimed at helping other automakers build driverless systems.”
Percoco’s main point regarding Tesla’s advantage is the company’s ability to collect large amounts of training data through its massive fleet, as millions of cars are driving throughout the world and gathering millions of miles of vehicle behavior on the road.
This is the main point that Percoco makes regarding Tesla’s lead in the entire autonomy sector: data is King, and Tesla has the most of it.
One big story that has hit the news over the past week is that of NVIDIA and its own self-driving suite, called Alpamayo. NVIDIA launched this open-source AI program last week, but it differs from Tesla’s in a significant fashion, especially from a hardware perspective, as it plans to use a combination of LiDAR, Radar, and Vision (Cameras) to operate.
Percoco said that NVIDIA’s announcement does not impact Morgan Stanley’s long-term opinions on Tesla and its strength or prowess in self-driving.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang commends Tesla’s Elon Musk for early belief
And, for what it’s worth, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang even said some remarkable things about Tesla following the launch of Alpamayo:
“I think the Tesla stack is the most advanced autonomous vehicle stack in the world. I’m fairly certain they were already using end-to-end AI. Whether their AI did reasoning or not is somewhat secondary to that first part.”
Percoco reiterated both the $425 price target and the ‘Equal Weight’ rating on Tesla shares.
Elon Musk
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.
Tesla Cybercab ‘breakdown’ image likely is not what it seems
Tesla analyst teases self-driving dominance in new note: ‘It’s not even close’
