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SpaceX fires up six-engine Starship, aces Starlink launch 18 hours apart
SpaceX has rounded out a jam-packed week of spaceflight activity by completing a record-breaking Starship static fire and first East Coast Starlink launch in half a year less than a day apart.
The eventful period began on November 8th, when Crew Dragon C206 departed the International Space Station (ISS) with four Crew-2 astronauts aboard after almost 200 days in orbit. Just eight hours later, Crew Dragon became the first reusable orbital space capsule to successfully reach orbit and return to Earth twice while carrying astronauts. Less than two days later, Falcon 9 launched a new Crew Dragon and four Crew-3 astronauts into orbit on November 10th, marking SpaceX’s fifth successful crewed launch in a year and a half.
On November 11th, 21 hours after liftoff, Dragon C210 aced its first ISS rendezvous and docking and delivered its crew to the station 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Up next, after a week or two of delays and a great deal of anticipation, SpaceX’s first orbital-class Starship prototype completed the first static fire with a full complement of six Raptor engines around 1:13pm EST, November 12th. Originally scheduled to launch just a few hours before that static fire milestone, a Falcon 9 rocket then proceeded to launch Starlink 4-1 – SpaceX’s first dedicated Florida Starlink mission since May 2021 – a little over 18 hours later at 7:19am EST, November 13th.
The Starlink launch was especially spectacular. Graced by a thick bank of fog that almost fully covered the rocket and SpaceX’s LC-40 pad, Falcon 9 ultimately lifted off about half an hour after sunrise, soaring out of mist backlit by the early morning’s golden-hour light. A single-burn launch, Falcon 9’s expendable upper stage successfully deployed all 53 laser-linked Starlink V1.5 satellites just 16 minutes after liftoff, marking the beginning of the SpaceX constellation’s third ‘shell’. Having already completed Shell 1, it will take SpaceX another 29 launches to complete Shell 4, its mostly identical cousin. SpaceX also began launching Shell 2 – a semi-polar band of 720 satellites – in September.
On the Starship side of things, SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk quickly confirmed that Ship 20 had successfully fired up all six of its Raptor engines on the first try, potentially producing up to ~1110 tons (~2.45M lb) of thrust for about three seconds. If all six engines were briefly operated at full thrust, it would make Starship the most powerful active single-core rocket stage ever fired, narrowly beating out Russia’s Proton-M booster. Starship, of course, is an orbital upper stage, not a booster, and its Super Heavy first stage is expected to produce five or six times more thrust – the most powerful rocket booster by a healthy margin.
After Ship 20’s successful first-try six-engine static fire, it’s not clear what SpaceX’s next steps will be but there’s a good chance that the first flightworthy Super Heavy booster (B4) could be up on the docket.
Elon Musk shared an incredible detail about Tesla Cybercab’s potential efficiency, as the company has hinted in the past that it could be one of the most affordable vehicles to operate from a per-mile basis.
ARK Invest released a report recently that shed some light on the potential incremental cost per mile of various Robotaxis that will be available on the market in the coming years.
The Cybercab, which is detailed for the year 2030, has an exceptionally low cost of operation, which is something Tesla revealed when it unveiled the vehicle a year and a half ago at the “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles.
Musk said on numerous occasions that Tesla plans to hit the $0.20 cents per mile mark with the Cybercab, describing a “clear path” to achieving that figure and emphasizing it is the “full considered” cost, which would include energy, maintenance, cleaning, depreciation, and insurance.
Probably true
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22, 2026
ARK’s report showed that the Cybercab would be roughly half the cost of the Waymo 6th Gen Robotaxi in 2030, as that would come in at around $0.40 per mile all in. Cybercab, at scale, would be at $0.20.
Credit: ARK Invest
This would be a dramatic decrease in the cost of operation for Tesla, and the savings would then be passed on to customers who choose to utilize the ride-sharing service for their own transportation needs.
The U.S. average cost of new vehicle ownership is about $0.77 per mile, according to AAA. Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft rideshares often cost between $1 and $4 per mile, while Waymo can cost between $0.60 and $1 or more per mile, according to some estimates.
Tesla’s engineering has been the true driver of these cost efficiencies, and its focus on creating a vehicle that is as cost-effective to operate as possible is truly going to pay off as the vehicle begins to scale. Tesla wants to get the Cybercab to about 5.5-6 miles per kWh, which has been discussed with prototypes.
Additionally, fewer parts due to the umboxed manufacturing process, a lower initial cost, and eliminating the need to pay humans for their labor would also contribute to a cheaper operational cost overall. While aspirational, all of the ingredients for this to be a real goal are there.
It may take some time as Tesla needs to hammer the manufacturing processes, and Musk has said there will be growing pains early. This week, he said regarding the early production efforts:
“…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.”
Elon Musk
Elon Musk to attend 2026 World Economic Forum at Davos
The Tesla CEO was confirmed as a last-minute speaker for a session with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.
Elon Musk is poised to attend the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos. The Tesla CEO was confirmed as a last-minute speaker for a session with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, signaling a thaw in Musk’s long-strained relationship with the event.
A late addition
Organizers of the World Economic Forum confirmed that Elon Musk was added shortly before the event to a Thursday afternoon session, where he was scheduled to speak with Fink, as noted in a Bloomberg News report. Musk’s upcoming appearance marks Musk’s first participation in the forum, which annually draws political leaders, business executives, and global media to Davos, Switzerland.
Musk’s attendance represents a departure from his past stance toward the event. He had been invited in prior years but declined to attend, including in 2024. His upcoming appearance followed remarks from his political ally, Donald Trump, who addressed the forum earlier in the week with a wide-ranging speech.
A previously strained relationship
Musk had frequently criticized the World Economic Forum in the past, describing it as elitist and questioning its influence. In earlier posts, he characterized the gathering as “boring” and accused it of functioning like an unelected global authority. Those remarks contributed to a long-running distance between Musk and WEF organizers.
The forum previously said Musk had not been invited since 2015, though that position has since shifted. Organizers indicated last year that Musk was welcome amid heightened interest in his political and business activities, including his involvement in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk later stepped away from that role.
Despite his friction with the World Economic Forum, Musk has remained central to several global events, from SpaceX’s provision of satellite internet services in geopolitically sensitive regions through Starlink to the growing use of xAI’s Grok in U.S. government applications.
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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 shares incredible detail about Tesla Cybercab efficiency
Elon Musk to attend 2026 World Economic Forum at Davos
