

News
SpaceX rolls out Starship, stacks world’s largest rocket, and aces Starlink launch hours apart
In 15 hours, SpaceX has rolled a new Starship to its South Texas launch and test facilities, reassembled the world’s largest rocket, launched Starlink satellites to orbit, and recovered a reused Falcon 9 booster in port.
The burst of activity began around sunset at SpaceX’s Starbase rocket factory in Boca Chica, Texas when a new orbital-class Starship prototype left its ‘nest’ for the first time. SpaceX rolled the Starship – known as Ship 25 – a few miles down the highway to its nearby launch and test facilities, where workers connected it to a large crane and waited for daylight.
Around 9 am CDT the following day, October 20th, SpaceX lifted Ship 25 onto one of two Starship test stands, where it will eventually attempt to complete several qualification tests. While Ship 25 was still suspended in mid-air, the Starbase launch pad’s orbital launch tower began lifting a different prototype, Ship 24, into the air with a pair of giant ‘chopsticks’ – mechanical arms designed by SpaceX to replace one of the largest mobile cranes in the world.
Then, while it was stacking Ship 24 on top of Super Heavy Booster 7 and installing Ship 25 on a test stand, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 54 new Starlink satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Minutes prior, SpaceX finished craning a reused Falcon 9 booster off one of its drone ship landing platforms in a port ten miles south.
Starlink 4-36 was SpaceX’s 48th launch of 2022 and 56th launch in less than 12 months, so its Falcon launch program simply doesn’t have time to waste. Drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) returned to port with Falcon 9 booster B1069 about 12 hours before the rocket was transferred from the ship’s deck to a stand on SpaceX’s Port Canaveral dock space. The company will now be able to retract B1069’s legs and complete any necessary booster and drone ship refurbishment, ensuring that both will be ready for their next missions in the near future.
Back in Texas, SpaceX is scheduled to begin thoroughly testing a fully-stacked Starship rocket for the first time as early as Monday, October 24th. Ship 24 was reinstalled on Booster 7 for that purpose after SpaceX disassembled the pair for several days, possibly due to forecasts of high winds. The test campaign is expected to begin with the first full wet dress rehearsal (WDR) of a two-stage Starship, meaning that the rocket will be fully loaded with thousands of tons of liquid methane and oxygen propellant and run through a simulated launch countdown that ends just before engine ignition.
If successful, SpaceX will likely restart Booster 7 static fire testing and continue to work its way up to the first simultaneous ignition of all 33 of its Raptor 2 engines. If the pair survive WDR and static fire testing, SpaceX could begin preparing the same rocket for Starship’s orbital launch debut.
If significant issues arise during testing, SpaceX could choose to retire Ship 24 and/or Booster 7 and move on to a new and improved pair: likely Ship 25 and Booster 8 or 9. Already complete, Super Heavy Booster 8 has been sitting untouched at Starbase’s launch site for weeks, making it uncertain whether SpaceX actually intends to test or use the prototype. Booster 9 is just one stack away from completion, at which point it will be ready to begin proof testing. According to CEO Elon Musk, B9 features significant improvements that will make it more resilient to mid-flight Raptor engine failures. It could also be the first Super Heavy booster with no hydraulic system, thanks to a new version of Raptor that replaces hydraulic thrust vectoring with a battery-powered alternative.
Starship S25 could kick off its own proof testing as early as next week. Unlike Ship 24, Ship 25 went straight from the factory to a test stand that has been modified with six hydraulic rams. Those rams will simulate the thrust of six Raptor 2 engines (up to ~1400 tons or 3.1M lbf) while the Starship is simultaneously loaded with cryogenic liquid oxygen and/or nitrogen, combining peak mechanical and thermal stresses into one test. Once Ship 25 is done, it will be rolled back to the factory for Raptor engine installation and will eventually return to the pad for static fire testing.
News
Tesla flexes its most impressive and longest Full Self-Driving demo yet
Tesla is flexing a lengthy Full Self-Driving demo from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Tesla its most impressive and longest demo of the Full Self-Driving suite, showing a zero-intervention trek from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles. The drive required no interventions from the vehicle operator, the video showed.
It also included a quick Supercharging stop about two-thirds of the way in.
Tesla has been extremely confident in the performance of the FSD suite since releasing it years ago. However, with improvements in data comprehension and storage with its neural nets, as well as a more refined Hardware system, FSD has made significant strides over the last year.
I took a Tesla Model Y weekend-long Demo Drive – Here’s what I learned
Tesla’s prowess with driving tech has established the company as one of the industry leaders.
In a new video released on Tuesday, Tesla showed a drive of roughly 360 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles, a trek of about six-and-a-half hours, with zero interventions using Full Self-Driving:
7 hour road trips aren’t so bad when your Tesla does all the driving pic.twitter.com/tIrmhDAbRf
— Tesla (@Tesla) August 12, 2025
Full Self-Driving is not fully autonomous, but it does operate under what Tesla calls “Supervised” conditions. This means that the driver does not have to have their hands on the wheel, nor do they have to control the accelerator or brake.
Instead, Tesla’s internal cabin-facing camera tracks eye movement to ensure the driver is ready to take over at any time and is paying attention.
The version of FSD used in this example is likely the version that the public has access to; the only differentiating factor would be the Hardware version, as older vehicles do not have HW4.
With Tesla’s Robotaxi suite in Austin operating since late June, the company stated that those vehicles are using a version that is not yet available to the public. It does not require anyone to be in the driver’s seat, which is how the vehicles are able to operate without anyone in the driver’s seat.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s new $29B Tesla stock award gets strange synopsis from governance firm
Did CGI not realize that Tesla Shareholders supported Musk being paid not once, but twice?

Elon Musk was recently awarded around $29 billion in Tesla stock as the company’s Board of Directors is attempting to get its CEO paid after his original pay package was denied twice by the Delaware Chancery Court.
But a new and strange synopsis from the Corporate Governance Institute (CGI) says the award is potentially a strength move to “endorse the will of a powerful CEO.” The problem is, in the same sentence, the firm said the new award brings up a “question of whether the board exists to steward a company in the interests of all stakeholders.”
The problem with their new analysis of Musk’s pay package is that shareholders voted twice on Musk’s original pay package of $56 billion. They voted to give Musk that sum on two separate occasions.
Musk’s original $56 billion pay package was approved by shareholders twice; once in 2018 and once again last year. Last year’s vote was in response to Delaware Chancery Court Kathaleen McCormick’s decision to revoke the “unfathomable sum” from Musk.
Shareholders still showed support for Musk getting paid. Tesla said in its new award to the CEO that this is a way to give him compensation for the first time in seven years.
CGI said in its note (via TipRanks):
“When a board builds its strategy around a single individual, it creates a concentration risk, not just operationally, but culturally and ethically. If that individual becomes a source of volatility, the company becomes fragile by design.”
What’s strange with this type of narrative is the fact that Tesla’s valuation has skyrocketed with Musk at the helm. Go back to 2020, and the stock is up over 200 percent. Since Musk’s $56 billion pay package was introduced in 2018, shares are up well over 1,000 percent.
Tesla engineer explains why Elon Musk deserves new pay package
Musk’s 2018 pay package was also not awarded to him without performance-based incentives. He was required to reach certain growth goals, all of which were accomplished through the launch of new vehicles and the advancements of its driver-assistance suites, like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
It is tough to agree with CGI’s perception of Musk’s new pay plan, especially as it is much less than what shareholders voted on twice. Musk deserves to be paid for his contributions to Tesla.
News
Tesla Robotaxi is headed to New York City, but one thing is in its way
Tesla is working to hire Vehicle Operators in New York City, but the company still needs some regulatory hurdles to go through.

Tesla Robotaxi will be headed to New York City, but there is one huge thing that stands in its way: approval to test autonomous vehicles.
Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi platform across the United States as it currently operates in Austin, Texas, and the Bay Area of California.
The company has also been seeking approvals in several other states, including Nevada, Arizona, and Florida.
However, the company is also working to expand to major metropolitan areas across the U.S. that it has not explicitly mentioned, as it attempts to reach CEO Elon Musk’s goal of giving half of the country’s population access to the platform by the end of the year:
🚨Tesla plans to offer driverless Robotaxi rides to half the U.S. population by the end of the year, Musk says https://t.co/xEDoTF6fIt
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 23, 2025
It appears New York City is next on the list, according to a job posting on Tesla’s Careers website.
The company says it is hiring a Vehicle Operator for Autopilot in Flushing, New York, a section of the borough of Queens. Queens is connected to Brooklyn and Long Island, so it seems more ideal than launching in Manhattan or the Bronx, where traffic is heavy and charging is not as readily available.
Tesla’s job posting states:
“We are looking for a highly motivated self-starter to join our vehicle data collection team. As a Prototype Vehicle Operator, you will be responsible for driving an engineering vehicle for extended periods, conducting dynamic audio and camera data collection for testing and training purposes. Access to the data collected is limited to the applicable development team. This role requires a high level of flexibility, strong attention to detail, excellent driving skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.”
It also lists the hours of operation as Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday, with its three shifts listed as:
- Day Shift: 6:00 AM – 2:30 PM or 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
- Afternoon Shift: 2:00 PM – 10:30 PM or 4:00 PM – 12:30 AM
- Night Shift: 10:00 PM-6:30 AM or 12:00 AM-8:30 AM
We wouldn’t count on New York City being the next place Tesla launches Robotaxi. According to a report from CNBC, a spokesperson for the NYC Department of Transportation confirmed Tesla has not yet applied for permits that are needed to operate its ride-hailing service.
For what it’s worth, it could just be the first step in Tesla’s plans. It also has Vehicle Operator job postings in other regions. Houston, Texas, as well as Tampa, Miami, and Clermont, Florida, are all listed on Tesla’s Career postings.
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