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SpaceX Starship engine completes orbital-duration static fire test in Texas
A local resident and unofficial SpaceX observer has reported hearing a test of one of Starship’s Raptor engines that lasted more than five minutes at the company’s McGregor, Texas development facilities.
If accurate, it could be the longest static fire of a Starship engine that SpaceX has ever completed in the two years since full-scale Raptor testing first began. Whether it was successful or not, a five or six-minute static fire would also confirm that SpaceX is well into the process of qualifying Raptor for Starship’s first orbital launch attempts.
An FCC “Special Temporary Authority” (STA) request filed by SpaceX itself for Starship’s inaugural “Orbital Test Flight” earlier this month provided several significant details about that milestone mission. Aside from revealing that Starship will ultimately attempt a soft ocean landing – splashdown – off the coast of a Hawaiian island after traveling ~75% of the way around Earth, it also included a precise timeline of launch events.
According to that timeline, ten seconds shy of three minutes after liftoff, Starship’s Super Heavy booster will shut down and separate from the spacecraft. Starship will then ignite either three or six Raptor engines for a bit less than six minutes to boost itself within the vicinity of orbital velocity. Curiously, the same timeline makes no mention of a deorbit burn, without which the first “orbital” test flight will technically be suborbital even if Starship is traveling very close to orbital velocity.
Regardless, the document confirms that Starship’s orbital insertion burns will be approximately 5.5-6.5 minutes long – the maximum stamina required from its Raptor engines, in other words. Rephrased, in its current design, Starship will never be able to reach orbit without Raptor engines capable of continuously operating for around six minutes. Up until high-altitude Starship test flights began in December 2020, the extent of Raptor’s long-duration capabilities and thus the state of SpaceX testing was effectively a mystery.
When Starship SN8 debuted, however, it quickly became clear that SpaceX had made significant progress after one of its three Raptor engines burned without apparent issue for 280 seconds (4:40). If SN3x and SN4x Raptors could handle almost five minutes of continuous operation, the engine was just ~20% improvement away from being able to complete a plausible orbital insertion burn.
Now, six months later, Raptor appears to have completed at least one truly orbital-class burn at SpaceX’s Central Texas development campus. McGregor typically completes multiple static fires every day and already performs similar-duration testing of Merlin Vacuum engines and upper stages, so it’s possible – if not probable – that one or several other five or six-minute-long tests have simply been missed over the last few months.
Beginning just a handful of months ago, SpaceX has been rapidly building a new Raptor test stand with two vertical engine bays and new liquid oxygen and methane propellant storage to go with it. Given that a six-minute Raptor engine static fire at or close to full thrust would consume around 220 metric tons of propellant, it’s possible that SpaceX’s ground test facilities simply didn’t have the storage capacity to support such long tests prior to those recent upgrades.
Regardless, the first unofficially confirmed orbital-duration test is an exciting and important milestone with or without SpaceX confirmation and continues to make it abundantly clear that the company is now almost entirely focused on reaching orbit (or getting close).
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Tesla FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions
Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle makerâs executives.
A Tesla owner has successfully completed a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States on Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised. The trip was accomplished with zero interventions.
Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle makerâs executives.
FSD Coast-to-Coast
The coast-to-coast feat was accomplished by Tesla owner Davis Moss, who drives a stealth gray Model 3 with AI4 hardware. Based on data from the FSD database and a community tracker, the last 10,638.8 miles Moss drove in his Model 3 were completed using FSD 100% of the time. His vehicle is equipped with FSD v14.2.1.25, which was installed 12 days ago.
As per Moss in a celebratory post on X, his Model 3 was able to complete a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States in 2 days and 20 hours. His trip started at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, CA, and it ended in Myrtle Beach, SC. Overall, his trip spanned 2,732.4 miles.Â
âThis was accomplished with Tesla FSD V14.2 with absolutely 0 disengagements of any kind even for all parking including at Tesla Superchargers,â Moss stated in his post. He also added in later comments that there were zero close calls during the trip.
Tesla community celebrates
The FSD milestone trip was widely lauded by members of the Tesla community, especially since a coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions has been cited by Elon Musk as a target since October 2016, when Autopilot 2.0 was unveiled. At the time, Musk initially estimated that a coast-to-coast drive across the United States should be possible by the end of 2017. Considering Mossâ feat in his Model 3, it appears that Elon Muskâs estimate was not impossible at all. It was just late.
Musk himself celebrated the milestone on X, and so did Tesla VP of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy, who wrote âWorldâs first fully autonomous coast-to-coast drive, done with Tesla self-driving v14. Congrats and thank you @DavidMoss!â in a post on X. The official Tesla North America account also celebrated the feat, writing âFirst Tesla to drive itself from coast to coast w/ FSD Supervised. 0 interventions, all FSDâ on X.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row
The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla.Â
Elon Musk has announced that the Tesla Model Y has become the world’s best-selling car by volume for the third consecutive year, capping 2025 with another dominant performance.Â
The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla.Â
Three years in a row
Musk posted on X: “Tesla Model Y is now officially the worldâs best-selling car for the third year in a row!” The CEOâs comment echoed an update that Tesla included in its 2025 recap, which highlighted, among other things, the Model Yâs incredible streak.Â
The Model Y has held the title since 2023, outperforming traditional leaders like the Toyota RAV4 and Corolla thanks to its bang-for-the-buck nature and its stellar combination of practicality, performance, and tech. The Model Y is also lauded as one of the safest vehicles on the road, making it an ideal choice for families in key markets such as China.
An impressive 2025
The Model Yâs sales feat in 2025 is especially impressive considering the introduction of the vehicleâs new variant. Teslaâs changeover to the new Model Y across its global factories resulted in sales being paused for some time in the first quarter. As per Teslaâs Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report, âthe changeover of Model Y lines across all four of our factories led to the loss of several weeks of production in Q1.âÂ
This suggests that the Model Yâs sales remained strong in 2025 to the point where it could still claim the title of the worldâs best-selling vehicle by volume, even with its sales being throttled during the first quarter of the year. It would then be interesting to see just how far the Model Y can go in 2026, especially considering the rollout of new variants like the six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L, the affordable Model Y Standard, and the top-tier Model Y Performance.
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Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development.
Tesla has released an epic year-in-review video for 2025, recapping some of its major achievements from refreshed models to autonomy breakthroughs and production ramps.
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development while looking ahead to an even bigger 2026.
Teslaâs 2025 highlights recap
Tesla has had a busy 2025, as highlighted in the recap video. The video opened with Elon Musk explaining the companyâs pursuit of sustainable abundance. A number of milestones were then highlighted, such as the rollout of FSD v14, Optimusâ numerous demos, the opening of the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, LA, the completion of the worldâs first autonomous car delivery, and the launch of the Robotaxi network in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tesla also highlighted several of its accomplishments over the year. As per the company, the Model Y was the yearâs best-selling vehicle globally again, and Teslas became more affordable than ever thanks to the Model 3 and Model Y Standard. Other key models were also rolled out, such as the refreshed Model S and X, as well as the new Model Y, the new Model Y Performance, and the six-seat, extended wheelbase Model Y L.Â
The Megablock was also unveiled during the year, and the Supercharger Network grew by 18%. Over 1 million Powerwalls were also installed during the year, and the Cybertruck became the first EV truck to get both an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and an NHTSA 5-Star safety rating.
Cybercab production confirmed
Interestingly enough, Tesla also confirmed in its 2025 recap video that the production of the Cybercab has started. This bodes well for the vehicle, as it could result in the vehicle really being mass-produced in the first half of 2026. Elon Musk confirmed during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that Cybercab production should earnestly start around April 2026.Â
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab will be Teslaâs highest-volume vehicle yet, with the company aiming for an annual production rate of about 2 million units. âIf youâve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesnât look like a normal car manufacturing line,â Musk said earlier this year. âIt looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line. In fact, the line will move so fast that actually people canât even get close to it.â
Tesla FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions
Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row
