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SpaceX Starship saved by ‘burst disk’ after Raptor static fire ends badly
Around 7:15 pm local time, SpaceX Starship prototype SN8 fired up one or several Raptor engines for the third time ever, catching onlookers – only expected a dress rehearsal – by surprise. An hour later, CEO Elon Musk revealed that SpaceX had effectively lost control of the rocket.
Unfortunately for SpaceX, this is not the first incident in which a fire led to a loss of Starship control. Back in May 2020, Starship serial number 4 (SN4) – the first full-scale prototype to have a Raptor installed – completed its third successful static fire test. Moments later, a vent line adjacent to the engine section caught fire, burning for a minute or two. Ultimately, likely due to destroyed wiring or plumbing, SpaceX seemingly lost control of SN4 and had to wait a full two days for cryogenic propellant to boil off and evaporate before teams could approach the rocket to inspect, repair, and regain control.
Now, more likely than not, Starship SN8 has suffered a similar – but not identical – failure, cutting some level of control. Elon Musk took to Twitter about an hour after the rocket’s third Raptor static fire, revealing that SpaceX had lose control of Starship’s pneumatics, referring to hydraulic systems needed to operate most of the rocket’s valves. For SN8, that meant nothing but bad news.
As cryogenic liquids (and all things in general) warm up, they expand, taking up more volume. To counteract that never-ending process of cryogenic propellant warming up, boiling, and turning to gas, fresh propellant is almost continually loaded while warmer gas is vented, thus maintaining safe tank pressures. If the ability to vent those gases is lost, the ability to maintain safe pressures goes with it.
As Musk noted above, Starship SN8 thankfully – and unexpectedly – had one or several burst disks installed, referring to single-use mechanical valves designed to open (i.e. burst) above a specific pressure. SN8’s nosecone burst disk did just that, bursting to create an outlet for the pressure building inside the rocket and thus preventing the small nose-based liquid oxygen (LOx) tank from exploding.
Unfortunately, the precursor to Starship losing control is a much less positive story. According to Musk, one of the Raptor engines SN8 ignited may have suffered a significant failure, melting one or more critical engine components. It’s unclear how exactly a seemingly contained engine failure evolved into a total loss of Starship hydraulics but it’s safe to say that redundancy will be added and updated designs will be implemented to ensure that a similar failure doesn’t reoccur.
Notably, both unofficial LabPadre and NASASpaceflight.com livestreams clearly showed Starship quite literally dripping molten metal for more than two minutes after the static fire. Whatever the cause of that extremely hot fire, anything that can continuously melt metal for minutes will have almost assuredly ravaged Starship SN8’s aft and the Raptor engines installed therein. It’s nothing short of miraculous that SN8’s main LOx tank wasn’t breached, as well.
Ultimately, SN8 will likely need extensive repairs – and one, two, or even three replacement engines – before it can safely restart testing and proceed towards its 15 km (~9.5 mi) launch debut. Additionally, SpaceX’s lack of valve control likely means that the company will have to wait at least 24+ hours before workers can safely return to the launch pad and begin those inspections and repairs.
Update: The roadblock was removed around 11pm local time and SpaceX workers appear to have already returned to the pad, signifying that Starship SN8 has been fully detanked and is safe to approach. Inspections and repairs will likely begin as soon as possible.
Tesla made a dramatic change to the Online Design Studio to show its plans for Full Self-Driving, a major part of the company’s plans moving forward, as CEO Elon Musk has been extremely clear on the direction moving forward.
With Tesla taking a stand and removing the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright next month, it is already taking steps to initiate that with owners and potential buyers.
On Thursday night, the company updated its Online Design Studio to reflect that in a new move that now lists the three purchase options that are currently available: Monthly Subscription, One-Time Purchase, or Add Later:
🚨 Check out the change Tesla made to its Online Design Studio:
It now lists the Monthly Subscription as an option for Full Self-Driving
It also shows the outright purchase option as expiring on February 14 pic.twitter.com/pM6Svmyy8d
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
This change replaces the former option for purchasing Full Self-Driving at the time of purchase, which was a simple and single box to purchase the suite outright. Subscriptions were activated through the vehicle exclusively.
However, with Musk announcing that Tesla would soon remove the outright purchase option, it is clearer than ever that the Subscription plan is where the company is headed.
The removal of the outright purchase option has been a polarizing topic among the Tesla community, especially considering that there are many people who are concerned about potential price increases or have been saving to purchase it for $8,000.
This would bring an end to the ability to pay for it once and never have to pay for it again. With the Subscription strategy, things are definitely going to change, and if people are paying for their cars monthly, it will essentially add $100 per month to their payment, pricing some people out. The price will increase as well, as Musk said on Thursday, as it improves in functionality.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Those skeptics have grown concerned that this will actually lower the take rate of Full Self-Driving. While it is understandable that FSD would increase in price as the capabilities improve, there are arguments for a tiered system that would allow owners to pay for features that they appreciate and can afford, which would help with data accumulation for the company.
Musk’s new compensation package also would require Tesla to have 10 million active FSD subscriptions, but people are not sure if this will move the needle in the correct direction. If Tesla can potentially offer a cheaper alternative that is not quite unsupervised, things could improve in terms of the number of owners who pay for it.
News
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end with no interventions.
A Tesla Model S has completed the first-ever full Cannonball Run using Full Self-Driving (FSD), traveling from Los Angeles to New York with zero interventions. The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end, fulfilling a long-discussed benchmark for autonomy.
A full FSD Cannonball Run
As per a report from The Drive, a 2024 Tesla Model S with AI4 and FSD v14.2.2.3 completed the 3,081-mile trip from Redondo Beach in Los Angeles to midtown Manhattan in New York City. The drive was completed by Alex Roy, a former automotive journalist and investor, along with a small team of autonomy experts.
Roy said FSD handled all driving tasks for the entirety of the route, including highway cruising, lane changes, navigation, and adverse weather conditions. The trip took a total of 58 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 64 mph, and about 10 hours were spent charging the vehicle. In later comments, Roy noted that he and his team cleaned out the Model S’ cameras during their stops to keep FSD’s performance optimal.
History made
The historic trip was quite impressive, considering that the journey was in the middle of winter. This meant that FSD didn’t just deal with other cars on the road. The vehicle also had to handle extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain.
As per Roy in a post on X, FSD performed so well during the trip that the journey would have been completed faster if the Model S did not have people onboard. “Elon Musk was right. Once an autonomous vehicle is mature, most human input is error. A comedy of human errors added hours and hundreds of miles, but FSD stunned us with its consistent and comfortable behavior,” Roy wrote in a post on X.
Roy’s comments are quite notable as he has previously attempted Cannonball Runs using FSD on December 2024 and February 2025. Neither were zero intervention drives.
Elon Musk
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders.
Tesla removed its basic Autopilot package as a standard feature in the United States. The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders, and shifts the company’s strategy towards paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
Tesla removes Autopilot
As per observations from the electric vehicle community on social media, Tesla no longer lists Autopilot as standard in its vehicles in the U.S. This suggests that features such as lane-centering and Autosteer have been removed as standard equipment. Previously, most Tesla vehicles came with Autopilot by default, which offers Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer.
The change resulted in backlash from some Tesla owners and EV observers, particularly as competing automakers, including mainstream players like Toyota, offer features like lane-centering as standard on many models, including budget vehicles.
That being said, the removal of Autopilot suggests that Tesla is concentrating its autonomy roadmap around FSD subscriptions rather than bundled driver-assistance features. It would be interesting to see how Tesla manages its vehicles’ standard safety features, as it seems out of character for Tesla to make its cars less safe over time.
Musk announces FSD price increases
Following the Autopilot changes, Elon Musk stated on X that Tesla is planning to raise subscription prices for FSD as its capabilities improve. In a post on X, Musk stated that the current $99-per-month price for supervised FSD would increase over time, especially as the system itself becomes more robust.
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (Unsupervised FSD),” Musk wrote.
At the time of his recent post, Tesla still offers FSD as a one-time purchase for $8,000, but Elon Musk has confirmed that this option will be discontinued on February 14, leaving subscriptions as the only way to access the system.
Tesla makes big Full Self-Driving change to reflect future plans
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
