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SpaceX uses robot dog to inspect Starship after first engine test in months
SpaceX’s first orbital-class Starship prototype has survived the first of several expected Raptor tests, kicking off an engine test campaign that could mark a number of new milestones.
With just 20 minutes left in a seven-hour test window, Starship prototype S20 (Ship 20) appeared to either unsuccessfully attempt its first Raptor static fire test or complete its first intentional Raptor preburner test around 11:40 pm CDT (UTC-5) on Monday, October 18th. Rather than a violent jolt and roar kicking up a cloud of dust, Ship 20 came to life with a (relatively) gentle fireball that lasted for several seconds.
In pursuit of maximum efficiency, Starship’s Raptors require two separate closed-cycle gas generators known as preburners to – as the name suggests – turn its cryogenic (very cold) liquid oxygen and methane propellant into a hot gas mixture that the engine re-ignites to produce thrust. A preburner test, if that’s what Starship S20 completed on Monday night, thus involves activating only the first half of that equation, rapidly producing a giant cloud of flammable gas without actually igniting to produce meaningful thrust.
Preburner tests have become increasingly rare as SpaceX’s sea-level Raptor design matured over the course of tens of thousands of seconds of ground testing and, later, thousands of seconds of ground and flight testing on Starship prototypes. Starship S20 had two engines during its first test. One Raptor was the sea-level optimized variant SpaceX has built dozens of and fired for 30,000+ seconds on the ground. The other, however, was a vacuum-optimized Raptor with a much larger nozzle – the first of its kind to participate in any kind of test while installed on a Starship prototype.
It’s possible that Raptor Vacuum (RVac) engines have even more design tweaks outside of their larger expansion nozzles. Regardless, SpaceX has only built and tested around 10 RVac prototypes over the last year, making it a less mature engine than its sea-level cousins. That could explain why SpaceX appears to have chosen to perform a preburner test first instead of jumping straight into a wet dress rehearsal and static fire. That also means that October 18th’s test was likely the first time a Raptor Vacuum engine has (partially) ignited while installed on a Starship.
The above view from a uniquely situated LabPadre camera all but guarantees that Starship S20’s first engine test was a Raptor Vacuum preburner test and doesn’t offer any strong evidence that it was a two-engine test. Ship 20 still has a number of crucial tests ahead of it before SpaceX can even begin to consider it (or its general design) qualified for flight. That includes multiple static fires, including the first side-by-side static fire of two Raptor variants (RVac and Raptor Center), the first simultaneous static fire of more than three engines, and the first Starship static fire with a full six engines installed.
Ship 20’s preburner test is SpaceX’s first Starbase Raptor test since the first Super Heavy booster static fire in mid-July, almost exactly three months ago.
With any luck, S20’s first preburner test has opened the door for an inaugural static fire of one or both installed engines later this week. However, during that preburner test, the giant fireball Raptor Vacuum emitted appeared to ignite several pieces of pad hardware. SpaceX took advantage of one of at least two Boston Dynamics Spot robots on-site to physically walk a camera up to the active pad and inspect several secondary fires. Ultimately, SpaceX appears to have successfully safed Starship with no damage to the vehicle itself, but odds are good that the sources of those secondary fires will need to be fixed and any pad damage repaired before Ship 20 proceeds into static fire testing. SpaceX has two more 5pm-12am test windows scheduled on October 19th and 20th.
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Tesla states Giga Berlin workforce is stable, rejects media report
As per the electric vehicle maker, production and employment levels at the facility remain stable.
Tesla Germany has denied recent reports alleging that it has significantly reduced staffing at Gigafactory Berlin. As per the electric vehicle maker, production and employment levels at the facility remain stable.
Tesla denies Giga Berlin job cuts report
On Wednesday, German publication Handelsblatt reported that Tesla’s workforce in Gigafactory Berlin had been reduced by about 1,700 since 2024, a 14% drop. The publication cited internal documents as its source for its report.
In a statement to Reuters, Tesla Germany stated that there has been no significant reduction in permanent staff at its Gigafactory in Grünheide compared with 2024, and that there are no plans to curb production or cut jobs at the facility.
“Compared to 2024, there has been no significant reduction in the number of permanent staff. Nor are there any such plans. Compared to 2024, there has been no significant reduction in the number of permanent staff. Nor are there any such plans,” Tesla noted in an emailed statement.
Tesla Germany also noted that it’s “completely normal” for a facility like Giga Berlin to see fluctuations in its headcount.
A likely explanation
There might be a pretty good reason why Giga Berlin reduced its headcount in 2024. As highlighted by industry watcher Alex Voigt, in April of that year, Elon Musk reduced Tesla’s global workforce by more than 10% as part of an effort to lower costs and improve productivity. At the time, several notable executives departed the company, and the Supercharger team was culled.
As with Tesla’s other factories worldwide, Giga Berlin adjusted staffing during that period as well. This could suggest that a substantial number of the 1,700 employees reported by Handelsblatt were likely part of the workers who were let go by Elon Musk during Tesla’s last major workforce reduction.
In contrast to claims of contraction, Tesla has repeatedly signaled plans to expand production capacity in Germany. Giga Berlin factory manager André Thierig has stated on several occasions that the site is expected to increase output in 2026, reinforcing the idea that the facility’s long-term trajectory remains growth-oriented.
Elon Musk got a brash response from Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, who said in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that the Tesla frontman’s criticism of the airline not equipping Starlink has increased bookings for the next few months.
The two have had a continuing feud over the past several weeks after Musk criticized the airline for not using Starlink for its flights, which would enable fast, free, and reliable Wi-Fi on its aircraft.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolls budget airline after it refuses Starlink on its planes
Musk said earlier this week that he was entertaining the idea of purchasing Ryanair and putting someone named Ryan in charge, which would oust O’Leary from his position.
However, the barbs continued today, as O’Leary held a press conference, aiming to dispel any beliefs about Starlink and its use case for Ryanair flights, which are typically short in length.
O’Leary said in the press conference today:
“The Starlink people believe that 90% of our passengers would happily pay for wifi access. Our experience tells us less than 10% would pay; He (Elon) called me a retar*ed twat. He would have to join the back of a very, very long queue of people that already think I’m a retar*ed twat, including my four teenage children.”
He then went on to say that, due to Musk’s publicity, bookings for Ryanair flights have increased over the past few days, up 2 to 3 percent:
“But we do want to thank him for the wonderful boost in publicity. Our bookings are up 2-3% in the last few days. So thank you to Mr. Musk, but he’s wrong on the fuel drag. Non-European citizens cannot own a majority of European airlines, but if he wants to invest in Ryanair, we think it would be a very good investment.”
O’Leary didn’t end there, as he called Musk’s social media platform X a “cesspit,” and said he has no concern over becoming a member of it. However, Ryanair has been very active on X for several years, gaining notoriety for being comical and lighthearted.
🚨 Ryanair CEO’s comments on X and Starlink today at the planned presser.
Strange comments here, it just feels like it’s time to end all this crap https://t.co/NYeG95bM82
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 21, 2026
The public spat between the two has definitely benefited Ryanair, and many are calling for it to end, especially those who support Musk, as they see it as a distraction.
Nevertheless, it is likely going to end with no real movement either way, and is more than likely just a bit of hilarity between the two parties that will end in the coming days.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlines expectations for Cybercab production
“…initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve. The speed of production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are. For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlined expectations for Cybercab production as the vehicle is officially set to start rolling off manufacturing lines at the company’s Giga Texas factory in less than 100 days.
Cybercab is specifically designed and catered to Tesla’s self-driving platform and Robotaxi ride-hailing service. The company has been pushing hard to meet its self-set expectations for rolling out an effective self-driving suite, and with the Cybercab coming in under 100 days, it now needs to push for Unsupervised Self-Driving in the same time frame.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is set to go unsupervised
This is especially pertinent because the Cybercab is expected to be built without a steering wheel or pedals, and although some executives have said they would build the car with those things if it were necessary.
However, Musk has maintained that the Cybercab will not have either of those things: it will have two seats and a screen, and that’s it.
With production scheduled for less than 100 days, Musk broke down what people should expect from the initial manufacturing phases, being cautiously optimistic about what the early stages will likely entail:
“…initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve. The speed of production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are. For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast.”
Musk knows better than most about the challenges of ramping up production of vehicles. With the Model 3, Musk routinely refers to it as “production hell.” The Cybertruck, because of its polarizing design and stainless steel exterior, also presented challenges to Tesla.
With the important caveat that initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve.
The speed of the production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are.
For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 20, 2026
The Cybercab definitely presents an easier production process for Tesla, and the company plans to build millions of units per year.
Musk said back in October 2024:
“We’re aiming for at least 2 million units a year of Cybercab. That will be in more than one factory, but I think it’s at least 2 million units a year, maybe 4 million ultimately.”
When April comes, we will find out exactly how things will move forward with Cybercab production.
Tesla states Giga Berlin workforce is stable, rejects media report
Elon Musk gets brash response from Ryanair CEO, who thanks him for booking increase
