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SpaceX confirms Tuesday Starship launch debut will have an official webcast
Update: SpaceX has confirmed plans to attempt Starship serial number 8’s (SN8) high-altitude launch debut as early as Tuesday morning, December 8th.
The company also made good on CEO Elon Musk’s promise to share SN8’s risky first flight “warts and all” and reiterated that the mission will have an official webcast. As with all developmental testing, timing is uncertain and liable to change at the last second, but Starship SN8’s launch debut is currently scheduled between 8 am and 5 pm CST (UTC-6) on Tuesday, December 8th.
SpaceX’s much-anticipated Starship launch debut has slipped from Sunday to Tuesday around the same time as CEO Elon Musk was seen arriving in South Texas.
Heralding something, the executive’s private jet landed in Brownsville, Texas on December 5th, around half a day prior to Starship SN8’s Monday, December 6th launch target. Most recently scheduled (however tenuously) as early as November 30th, there were strong signs – at one point – that SN8’s launch debut could come as soon as October or early November.

While at first quite smooth, the ~50-meter-tall (~165 ft) rocket – both the first to reach that height and fire up multiple Raptor engines – has had a fairly rocky journey from factory to flight. Unspecified issues with one or more Raptors triggered an engine swap retesting at a cost of a week or two, while the most significant issue – a near-catastrophic loss of hydraulic control caused by debris kicked up by Raptor – likely delayed SN8’s launch debut by another two or so weeks.


On November 25th, SpaceX essentially redid the ill-fated static fire after replacing a Raptor, firing up all three of Starship SN8’s engines for the second time in a prelude to the rocket’s imminent liftoff. Musk quickly confirmed that the results of the test were good, opening the door for a launch debut as early as “next week” (Nov 29/30).
November 30th soon came and went, as did backup attempts in the days following. Most recently, plans for SN8 to launch on December 6th or 7th were canceled in favor of the 8th (8 am to 5:30 pm CST/UTC-6) with backups on December 9th and 10th (8 am to 5 pm). Local road closures were quickly followed by Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) published by the FAA, confirmation that they were the new targets for Starship SN8’s 12.5-kilometer (~7.8 mi) launch debut.

With Musk himself now on the ground in Texas to (presumably) oversee Starship SN8’s debut, the odds of launch later this week are arguably much better. Having now spent more than 10 weeks at the launch pad, at least twice as long as any Starship preceding it, there’s no small chance that SN8 – the first prototype of its kind – is starting to be more of a nuisance than an asset. By all appearances, Starship SN9 – essentially a “refined” copy of SN8 – is practically ready for launch with SN10 perhaps just a week or two behind it.
In other words, if SN8 (and not Raptor or ground support equipment) is specifically to blame for about a month of delays, new and improved replacements are waiting for their turn just down the road. Stay tuned for updates as we (hopefully) track towards Starship’s first high-altitude test flight.
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Lemonade launches Tesla FSD insurance program in Oregon
The program was announced by Lemonade co-founder Shai Wininger on social media platform X.
Tesla drivers in Oregon can now receive significant insurance discounts when using FSD, following the launch of Lemonade’s new Autonomous Car insurance program.
The program was announced by Lemonade co-founder Shai Wininger on social media platform X.
Lemonade launches FSD-based insurance in Oregon
In a post on X, Wininger confirmed that Lemondade’s Autonomous Car insurance product for Tesla is now live in Oregon. The program allows eligible Tesla owners to receive roughly 50% off insurance costs for every mile driven using Tesla’s FSD system.
“And… we’re ON. @Lemonade_Inc’s Autonomous Car for @Tesla FSD is now live in Oregon. Tesla drivers in Oregon can now get ~50% off their Tesla FSD-driven miles + the best car insurance experience in the US, bar none,” Wininger wrote in his post.
As per Lemonade on its official website, the program is built on Tesla’s safety data, which indicates that miles driven using FSD are approximately twice as safe as those driven manually. As a result, Lemonade prices those miles at a lower rate. The insurer noted that as FSD continues to improve, associated discounts could increase over time.
How Lemonade tracks FSD miles
Lemonade’s FSD discount works through a direct integration with Tesla vehicles, enabled only with a driver’s explicit permission. Once connected, the system distinguishes between miles driven manually and those driven using FSD, applying the discount automatically to qualifying miles.
There is no minimum FSD usage requirement. Drivers who use FSD occasionally still receive discounted rates for those miles, while non-FSD miles are billed at competitive standard rates. Lemonade also emphasized that coverage and claims handling remain unchanged regardless of whether a vehicle is operating under manual control or FSD at the time of an incident.
The program is currently available only to Teslas equipped with Hardware 4 or newer, running firmware version 2025.44.25.5 or later. Lemonade also allows policyholders to bundle Tesla insurance with renters, homeowners, pet, or life insurance policies for additional savings.
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Tesla exec: Preparations underway but no firm timeline yet for FSD rollout in China
The information was related by Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao in a comment to local media.
Tesla has not set a specific launch date for Full Self-Driving in China, despite the company’s ongoing preparations for a local FSD rollout.
The information was related by Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao in a comment to local media.
Tesla China prepares FSD infrastructure
Speaking in a recent media interview, the executive confirmed that Tesla has established a local training center in China to support the full adaptation of FSD to domestic driving conditions, as noted in a report from Sina News. However, she also noted that the company does not have a specific date when FSD will officially roll out in China.
“We have set up a local training center in China specifically to handle this adaptation,” Tao said. “Once officially released, it will demonstrate a level of performance that is no less than, and may even surpass, that of local drivers.”
Tao also emphasized the rapid accumulation of data by Tesla’s FSD system, with the executive highlighting that Full Self-Driving has now accumulated more than 7.5 billion miles of real-world driving data worldwide.
Possible 2026 rollout
The Tesla executive’s comments come amidst Elon Musk’s previous comments suggesting that regulatory approval in China could arrive sometime this 2026. During Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in November 2025, Musk clarified that FSD had only received “partial approval” in China, though full authorization could potentially arrive around February or March 2026.
Musk reiterated that timeline at the World Economic Forum in Davos, when he stated that FSD approval in China could come as early as February.
Tesla’s latest FSD software, version 14, is already being tested in more advanced deployments in the United States. The company has also started the rollout of its fully unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin, Texas, which no longer feature safety monitors.
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Tesla Semi lines up for $165M in California incentives ahead of mass production
The update was initially reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Tesla is reportedly positioned to receive roughly $165 million in California clean-truck incentives for its Semi.
The update was initially reported by The Los Angeles Times.
As per the Times, the Tesla Semi’s funding will come from California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP), which was designed to accelerate the adoption of cleaner medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Since its launch in 2009, the HVIP has distributed more than $1.6 billion to support zero-emission trucks and buses across the state.
In recent funding rounds, nearly 1,000 HVIP vouchers were provisionally reserved for the Tesla Semi, giving Tesla a far larger share of available funding than any other automaker. An analysis by the Times found that even after revisions to public data, Tesla still accounts for about $165 million in incentives. The next-largest recipient, Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer, received roughly $68 million.
This is quite unsurprising, however, considering that the Tesla Semi does not have a lot of competition in the zero-emissions trucking segment.
To qualify for HVIP funding, vehicles must be approved by the California Air Resources Board and listed in the program catalog, as noted in an electrive report. When the Tesla Semi voucher applications were submitted, public certification records only showed eligibility for the 2024 model year, with later model years not yet listed.
State officials have stated that certification details often involve confidential business information and that funding will only be paid once vehicles are fully approved and delivered. Still, the first-come, first-served nature of HVIP means large voucher reservations can effectively crowd out competing electric trucks. Incentive amounts for the Semi reportedly ranged from about $84,000 to as much as $351,000 per vehicle after data adjustments.
Unveiled in 2017, the Tesla Semi has seen limited deliveries so far, though CEO Elon Musk has recently reiterated that the Class 8 all-electric truck will enter mass production this year.