News
SpaceX almost drops finished Starship prototype – but it might be salvageable
Less than 48 hours after Starship SN8’s (successful) demise, something on or around a metal stand holding up SpaceX’s next completed Starship collapsed, causing the rocket to rapidly tilt sidewise and smash into the assembly building containing it.
Put simply, launch vehicles very rarely designed or expected to survive the kind of structural loads the fall and impact put Starship SN9 through and the early prognosis – prior to any up-close observation – was not not great. Weighing at least 50-70 metric tons (110,000-155,000 lb), any other rocket – and possibly even Starship itself – should have been damaged beyond repair from anything less than a minor bump.
Instead, Starship SN9 – fully assembled and perhaps just a few days away from a scheduled transport to the launch pad – shifted some 10 degrees (~10 m/30 ft) in a few seconds, seemingly coming to rest against scaffolding and the interior wall of SpaceX’s “high bay” assembly building. Had Starship fallen 180 degrees in the opposite direction, the results could have been catastrophic, potentially falling without a wall to stop it onto a Super Heavy booster section that could have had workers inside it. Luckily, the (hopeful) wakeup call was apparently benign, with SpaceX escaping loss of life or limb and avoiding any catastrophic damage.
Perhaps even worse, less than a day prior, a number of VIPs, SpaceX executives, investors, and even Elon Musk himself were touring the company’s Starship factory and standing feet away from SN9 itself. The most likely culprit of SN9’s fall may even be visible in photos taken by Steve Jurvetson, one such investor. In a few of those photos, Starship’s steel work stand – a staple of SpaceX’s Starship factories for ~18 months – appears to be precariously balanced upon five or six jacks with nothing more than gravity, SN9’s own mass, and some counterweights hold them together.
If those jacks – as they appear to be – weren’t bolted to the high bay’s concrete foundation or Starship SN9’s work stand, it could have been unintuitively easy to trigger a collapse like the one that occurred, perhaps requiring a minor bump with a forklift, a particularly extreme gust of wind, or some other kind of lateral force.
Regardless of why it happened, the end result was the same. Somewhat miraculously, Starship SN9 – as photos would soon show – appeared to be almost entirely unscathed, baring no obvious hull damage. The rocket’s fore and aft starboard flaps, however, were clearly crumpled. In fact, it’s possible that the crumpling of those largely empty, thin-skinned flaps acted just like the crumple zones designed into modern cars, essentially soaking up the energy of SN9’s impact with the wall and saving the rest of the rocket.
Still, the reality is that Starship SN9’s prognosis is still unlikely to be good, even if crumpling flaps seemingly prevented the rocket from becoming an unequivocal write-off. Depending on how strong SN9’s flaps were, the force of the impact could have easily been transferred into the structural hinges that connect them to Starship, warping internal stiffeners, the hinge mechanism itself, or even the entire curvature of its cylindrical steel hull.
If somehow limited to just the hinges or, even less likely, if the flaps took almost all of the impact energy, SN9 might be repairable. Even then, it’s unlikely that SpaceX will be able to hold to the schedule previously discussed on Teslarati, meaning that Starship SN9’s journey to the launch pad probably isn’t going to happen on Monday, December 14th. In the meantime, SpaceX will likely kick work on Starship SN10 – perhaps just a week or two behind SN9 – into full gear.
News
Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update
“This upgrade builds upon your vehicle’s superior crash protection by now using Tesla Vision to help offer some of the most cutting-edge airbag performance in the event of a frontal crash.”
Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update, which will utilize the company’s vision-first approach to enable better protection in the event of an accident.
Over the years, Tesla has gained an incredible reputation for prioritizing safety in its vehicles, with crash test ratings at the forefront of its engineers’ minds.
This has led to Tesla gaining numerous five-star safety ratings and awards related to safety. It is not just a statistical thing, either. In the real world, we’ve seen Teslas demonstrate some impressive examples of crash safety.
Everything from that glass roof not caving in when a tree falls on it to a Model Y surviving a drive off a cliff has been recorded.
However, Tesla is always looking to improve safety, and unlike most companies, it does not need a physical hardware update to do so. It can enhance features such as crash response and airbag performance through Over-the-Air software updates, which download automatically to the vehicle.
In Tesla’s 2025.32 Software Update, the company is rolling out a Frontal Airbag System Enhancement, which aims to use Tesla Vision, the company’s camera-based approach to self-driving, to keep occupants safe.
The release notes state (via NotaTeslaApp):
“This upgrade builds upon your vehicle’s superior crash protection by now using Tesla Vision to help offer some of the most cutting-edge airbag performance in the event of a frontal crash. Building on top of regulatory and industry crash testing, this release enables front airbags to begin to inflate and restrain occupants earlier, in a way that only Tesla’s integrated systems are capable of doing, making your car safer over time.”
The use of cameras to predict a better time to restrain occupants with seatbelts and inflate airbags prior to a collision is a fantastic way to prevent injuries and limit harm done to those in the vehicle.
The feature is currently limited to the Model Y.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk says this Tesla project will make up vast majority of company value
“~80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus,” Musk said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has not shied away from the idea that the company’s value is not reliant on its performance as an automaker.
That idea is even more prudent in today’s landscape than ever, especially as Tesla leans more on its prowess as an AI, autonomy, and robotics company rather than one that just makes electric cars.
Musk solidified that point on Monday, as he revealed that he believes the vast majority of Tesla’s valuation will rely on a project that the company has been developing for several years.
The CEO has long discussed how robotics will revolutionize the labor landscape in factories, households, and other workplaces.
He believes Optimus, as it is rolled out in the coming years, will truly take over as the main contributor to Tesla’s valuation, being worth about 80 percent of the company’s total market cap:
Those are the biggest factors.
~80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 1, 2025
This is a point Musk has previously discussed, but he has never listed a specific number in terms of what Optimus could mean to Tesla. In the past, he’s mentioned Optimus’s ability to generate long-term revenue potential, its value to the company, and its impact on the market overall.
Musk has said Optimus has the potential to be worth over $10 trillion in revenue:
“It’s one of those things where I think long term, Optimus will be — Optimus has the potential to be north of $10 trillion in revenue, like it’s really bananas. So, that, you can obviously afford a lot of training compute in that situation. In fact, even $500 billion training compute in that situation would be quite a good deal.”
Optimus has been a main point of discussion amongst analysts who cover the company. Piper Sandler recently released a note that said “Optimus should be moving/staging parts within Tesla’s facilities” by this time next year.
Analysts also said that Optimus could be a major benefit for companies to bring in to handle tedious tasks in manufacturing settings. If it is able to work 18-hour shifts, the firm believes Tesla could price it at $100,000 per unit.
Tesla talks Semi ramp, Optimus, Robotaxi rollout, FSD with Wall Street firm
Other firms, like Morgan Stanley, have said Tesla could replace its own staff by 10 percent with Optimus, saving the company $2.5 billion.
News
Tesla appears to be mulling a Cyber SUV design
In a new video titled “Sustainable Abundance,” Tesla was showing the Cybercab clay models being autonomously molded. In the back, there are very clearly several models of a Cybertruck-inspired SUV:
Tesla appears to be mulling a Cyber SUV design, which would encapsulate the stainless steel exoskeleton of the Cybertruck but with elements of an SUV.
The company has been hearing from consumers and fans for some time that it is in need of a full-size SUV in its lineup.
Tesla is missing one type of vehicle in its lineup and fans want it fast
The Model X is more compact than what people are looking for, and although the company has said its focus for some time would be on developing affordable models and the Cybercab, which only enables two-passenger travel, it appears that it may be considering other options.
In a new video titled “Sustainable Abundance,” Tesla was showing the Cybercab clay models being autonomously molded. In the back, there are very clearly several models of a Cybertruck-inspired SUV:
BREAKING: Tesla has revealed a Cyber SUV model in their new “Sustainable Abundance” video.
The mini models can be seen in the back of the Tesla design studio behind the clay Cybercab in the video. Whether Tesla will release a Cyber SUV remains to be seen, but based on these… pic.twitter.com/tEhckWBHvC
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 1, 2025
This would not be the first time Tesla has placed projects it is developing in the back of a promotional video, as it did something similar when it was unveiling the improvements it made to the new Model Y earlier this year.
It appeared to show two new body styles sitting in the back under car covers:
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There are two things that could prevent this from becoming a future, developed product that reaches the market. One of them seems to be a definitive no, but Tesla’s plans could certainly change, especially given the strong push from fans for this type of vehicle.
Tesla said it wouldn’t build a Stainless Steel exoskeleton vehicle again
Tesla said in its Q4 2024 Shareholder Deck that Cybertruck’s stainless steel exoskeleton would not be used in future vehicles in the top line:
This seems like a definitive no in terms of developing an SUV based on Cybertruck’s aesthetics. However, that could always change.
Tesla’s main focus in autonomy currently
Developing an SUV of this size has been previously dismissed by Tesla, as its focus is on autonomy, AI, and robotics. However, it will still need to develop attractive and useful vehicles that address a large market, and the United States has a strong affinity for SUVs and crossovers.
It seems totally feasible that Tesla could bring this type of vehicle to market to appease the many fans who have called for the company to build it. Tesla has not committed to anything at this point, which is the most important thing to remember.
Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update
Elon Musk says this Tesla project will make up vast majority of company value
Tesla appears to be mulling a Cyber SUV design
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