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SpaceX Starship rocket rolls to launch pad to prepare for Starhopper-style hop test
SpaceX has finished its third full-scale Starship prototype and rolled the rocket’s tank and engine section to a nearby launch pad just a matter of weeks after work began, now ready to prepare for a potentially imminent Starhopper-style hop test.
SpaceX’s rapidly-growing Boca Chica, Texas Starship factory is now producing so much rocket hardware that it’s hard to track any single vehicle’s birth. However, it still appears that SpaceX’s Texas team managed to complete the Starship SN3 prototype in less than a month, measured from first steel ring stacking to the ship’s integrated business end being transported to the launch pad. Simultaneously, the company fabricated, assembled, and tested an entirely separate Starship test tank, verifying that a design flaw that likely lead to Starship SN1’s February 28th destruction had been rectified.
Featuring the same design improvements that allowed that Starship test tank to become the first to pass proof testing intact, Starship SN3 is the best candidate yet to kick off true wet dress rehearsal (WDR) and Raptor engine static fire testing. Both will require real liquid methane and oxygen propellant to be loaded, potentially turning Starship SN3 into the equivalent of many tons of TNT if things were to go south. To be clear, there is a significant chance that such an early, rapidly-built prototype will not survive its upcoming test campaign. Nevertheless, Starship SN3 has the numerous lessons learned from both the successes and failures of all previous vehicles built into it, giving it the best chance yet. Still, the massive rocket will need to pass one or several less risky tests before it can begin to attempt more groundbreaking feats.
Set to follow in the footsteps of all previous Starship test articles, SpaceX will soon kick off Starship SN3’s test campaign with a liquid nitrogen proof test – still extremely cold (i.e. cryogenic) but chemically neutral (i.e. can’t explode). Delivery trucks were spotted topping off SpaceX’s liquid nitrogen supplies just yesterday. The company also has a four-hour road closure scheduled to start at 5pm CDT (22:00 UTC) today, shortly after this article went live.
If it isn’t delayed, that March 29th road closure is likely meant to allow SpaceX to pressurize Starship SN3 with liquid nitrogen, pushing it beyond flight pressures (6 bar/90 psi) in what’s known as a proof test. If successful, it would verify that the rocket’s tank section is sound while also bringing it to cryogenic temperatures, potentially strengthening the steel with cryogenic hardening.
Beyond those initial plans, the FAA license SpaceX used to support Starhopper’s July and August 2019 hop tests may actually enable test flights of full-scale Starship prototypes, too. Incredibly, according to Cameron County, Texas beach closure requests made on March 23rd, SpaceX’s goal is to prepare Starship SN3 for a Raptor engine static fire test as early as April 1st (no fool), followed by a potential 150m (500 ft) Starhopper-style flight test on April 6th.
For obvious reasons, delays to that ambitious schedule – particularly the flight test – are extremely likely, but Starship SN3 is now unequivocally at the launch pad. Stay tuned for updates on the rocket’s potentially imminent proof test and the impacts that might have on future tests.
Tesla recently received its largest order for the all-electric Semi from Einride, a Swedish transport service, for 500 units, a groundbreaking invoice to receive before the first deliveries begin.
Even more remarkable, Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli said in a recent interview that he expects his company to take delivery of all 500 — the entire order — before the end of 2027. He even expects to have 75 Tesla Semi units in the Einride fleet before the end of this year.
🚨 Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli on the Tesla Semi partnership:
TESLARATI Premium Membership
$19.99 USD“If we start with the Amazon announcement that we did earlier this year, that was on the back of having gone through a proving period together with them and proving out our technology. Then we took that next step in… pic.twitter.com/oazkXjwoig
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2026
Charli said the Tesla partnership was part of a broader push, along with its earlier partnership with Amazon. Einride is assisting Amazon with the use of its Saga AI platform, which helps eliminate questions about budgeting and forecasting for logistics companies.
The Semi, as well as Tesla’s production and subsequent delivery of the units to Einride, will help the company “to have a good supply of vehicles that we can deploy on the [Saga AI] platform,” Charli said. “Tesla is also a relationship we’ve had for a while, and as the Tesla Semi deliveries are firming up, we decided to do a larger commitment to that and deploy that on our platform.”
In its initial announcement, Einride said it anticipated taking delivery of the trucks over the next two years, but now it appears the company is expecting all 500 units within the next 16 months.
Built at a dedicated factory in Sparks, Nevada, the Tesla Semi has been perhaps the biggest and most intensive testing process the company has ever had for a single vehicle model. For the past several years, Tesla has been working with many companies, most notably Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, to gain knowledge on the performance on regional routes.
Tesla plans to launch the Semi officially on September 24, five months after production started ramping.
Additionally, drivers have said they are happy about the Semi’s performance and that its numerous safety and productivity features have made their jobs and routes much easier.
Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla has said goodbye to one customization option for its vehicles: the wrap service it launched several years ago.
After launching an in-house wrap service in August 2020 for the first time in China. In the U.S., it launched in October 2023. Tesla continued to expand the program and adjust it with better pricing and fewer options for the Cybertruck.
By December 2023, it was giving owners of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck the opportunity to give their vehicle a fresh look with a vinyl wrap.
Tesla revamps in-house vinyl wrap service with better pricing
It was only available in five locations: Costa Mesa, Oceanside, Santa Clara, West Covina, all in California, and Seattle, Washington.
However, Tesla made some big adjustments to its shop, and the wrap service is officially gone:
Tesla has made a LOT of changes to its online shop recently — price increases, price cuts, new options, and several products being removed entirely.
Some of the biggest increases are wheel covers. 👀
📈 PRICE INCREASES
• 2017-2023 | Model 3 Aero Wheel Cover — Style: Refresh…— Phoenix Self-Driving 🐦🔥 (@PhoenixFSD) August 25, 2026
Wraps are very popular across the Tesla lineup, especially since the company offers relatively few colors. Many choose to wrap their Teslas with interesting colors, patterns, or even finishes, turning their cars from glossy to satin or matte.
However, Tesla’s wrap service was so limited geographically that it never really had a chance to get off the ground or compete with local shops. Every area in the United States is now overflowing with detailing shops, mobile detailers, and other automotive specialists, many of whom perform wrap services.
Tesla’s service was confined to the Pacific time zone and only spanned across two states. It was never going to be something Tesla was a major competitor in, nor was it going to disrupt the wrapping industry. Now that the program has ended, it seems pretty ideal to believe it was always going to be a short-term thing.
Along with the wrap service, Tesla removed several other products, but nothing too crazy. The Model 3 Door Pocket and Cupholder Liners, the Model S 19″ Magnetite Wheel and Winter Tire Package, Model X/Y Ski/Snowboard Carrier for Hitch Rack, Tesla’s Electric Summer Party Tee, and the Electric Summer Tee were the other items the company totally eliminated from its online shop.
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