News
SpaceX outfits Starship, Super Heavy with dozens of Raptor engines
New photos shared by SpaceX show that the company has nearly finished installing a total of 39 upgraded Raptor engines on a new Starship and its Super Heavy booster.
Those prototypes – known as Ship 24 and Booster 7 – could be tasked with supporting Starship’s first orbital launch attempt sometime later this year if both make it through upcoming test campaigns without major issues. Whether that’s a probable outcome is still uncertain but recent progress suggests that it won’t take long for the prospects of both prototypes to shift into clearer focus.
After several rounds of proof testing and two trips to and from SpaceX’s Starbase, Texas orbital launch site (OLS) in March, April, and May, Super Heavy Booster 7 (B7) made its third trip to the pad on June 23rd.
“SpaceX used the six weeks Booster 7 spent back in a factory assembly bay to finish installing aerocovers, surfaces known as chines or strakes, car-sized grid fins, Starlink internet dishes, and – most importantly – 33 upgraded Raptor V2 engines. Combined, Booster 7 could produce up to 7600 metric tons (~16.8M lbf) of thrust at or before liftoff. Crucially, SpaceX also finished installing most of Booster 7’s Raptor heat shield in the same period, completing in six weeks work that took Booster 4 closer to half a year. With its heat shield and all 33 Raptors mostly in place, Booster 7 should be ready to kick off static fire testing almost as soon as it’s installed on Starbase’s orbital launch mount.”
Teslarati.com – June 24th, 2022
Building, qualifying, shipping, and installing 33 new Raptor 2 engines on Super Heavy B7 was already an impressive achievement and produced the most (potentially) powerful rocket booster ever assembled. On July 2nd, a pair of photos published by SpaceX showed off Booster 7’s nearly-finished engine section and simultaneously revealed that the company has finished installing all six of Starship S24’s Raptor engines – and even part of the ship’s aft thermal protection.
Differences are already visible between Ship 24 and Ship 20, the only other Starship prototype to have six Raptors installed. The most notable change is the addition of a metal framework that covers the entire breadth of the ship’s aft – most likely destined to support flat sections of insulation and thermal protection that will partially seal off sensitive engine, plumbing, pressure vessels, and avionics components located inside Starship’s aft. That extra shielding should help limit the extreme conditions that hardware will be subjected to during ground testing and, perhaps, in flight.
Super Heavy Booster 7 has already completed a significant amount of testing, including four cryogenic proofs (cryoproofs) and one Raptor thrust simulation test. Since its third return to the pad, SpaceX has several more ambiguous tests, none of which appeared to involve cryogenic propellant loading. It’s possible that those tests focused more on Booster 7’s pressurization system, perhaps filling its tanks with the hot oxygen and methane gases it will eventually use to pressurize its tanks. It’s likely that SpaceX wants to put Booster 7 through at least one successful wet dress rehearsal – using real liquid methane and oxygen propellant – before attempting to static fire any of its 33 Raptors. Booster 7’s aft thermal protection system also isn’t entirely complete, so technicians will need to finish installing several more panels before any static fire testing.
Alongside B7, Starship S24 has completed a good amount of cryoproof and Raptor thrust simulation testing, which it survived without any irreperable issues. The ship was then returned to an assembly bay on June 9th, where where workers have been installing heat shield tiles, finalizing the ship’s engine section, and completing dozens of other less visible closeout tasks. SpaceX also recently finished modifying one of its two suborbital test and launch mounts for Starship static fire testing, leaving the other mount semi-permanently modified for cryoproof and thrust simulation testing of future prototypes.
SpaceX has requested permission for road closures – each a potential 12-hour test window – on July 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, and 12th.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk offers to pay TSA salaries as government shutdown leaves agents without paychecks
Elon Musk offered to personally cover TSA salaries as the DHS shutdown deepens travel chaos nationwide.
Elon Musk says that he is willing to personally cover the salaries of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers caught in the crossfire of a partial government shutdown that has now dragged on for over a month. “I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,” Musk wrote.
I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2026
The offer arrives as Congress let funding expire for the Department of Homeland Security on February 14, amid a disagreement over immigration enforcement, leaving most TSA employees classified as essential and on duty but working without pay. The timing could not be more disruptive, as the shutdown is colliding directly with spring break travel season when millions of Americans are in the air.
This is not the first time TSA workers have endured this kind of hardship. TSA agents are being asked to work without pay until congressional action unblocks their paychecks, having previously held out through the longest government shutdown in U.S. history at 43 days. The pattern reveals a systemic failure in how Congress funds critical security infrastructure, and Musk’s offer shines a spotlight on that recurring failure at a moment when the public is directly feeling its effects through long lines and terminal closures.
Whether Musk can legally follow through remains unclear, as federal law generally prohibits government employees from receiving outside compensation related to their official duties.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry
Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI unveiled TERAFAB, a $25B chip factory targeting one terawatt of AI compute annually.
Elon Musk took the stage over the weekend at the defunct Seaholm Power Plant in Austin, Texas, to officially unveil TERAFAB, a $20-25 billion joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI that he described as “the most epic chip building exercise in history by far.” The announcement marks the most ambitious infrastructure bet Musk has made since Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada, and it fuses three of his companies into a single, vertically integrated AI hardware machine for the first time.
TERAFAB is designed to consolidate every stage of semiconductor production under one roof, including chip design, lithography, fabrication, memory production, advanced packaging, and testing. At full capacity, the facility would scale to roughly 70% of the global output from the current world’s largest semiconductor foundry from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Elon Musk’s stated goal is one terawatt of computing power annually, split between Tesla’s AI5 inference chips for vehicles and Optimus robots, and D3 chips built specifically for SpaceXAI’s orbital satellite constellation.
Tesla Terafab set for launch: Inside the $20B AI chip factory that will reshape the auto industry
The logic behind the merger of these three entities is rooted in a supply chain crisis Musk has been signaling for over a year. At Tesla’s Q4 2025 earnings call, he warned investors that external chip capacity from TSMC, Samsung, and Micron would hit a ceiling within three to four years. “We’re very grateful to our existing supply chain, to Samsung, TSMC, Micron and others,” Musk acknowledged at the Terafab event, “but there’s a maximum rate at which they’re comfortable expanding.” Building in-house was, in his framing, not a strategic option, but a necessity.
The space angle is where the announcement becomes genuinely unprecedented. Musk said 80% of Terafab’s compute output would be directed toward space-based orbital AI satellites, arguing that solar irradiance in space is roughly 5x greater than at Earth’s surface, and that heat rejection in vacuum makes thermal scaling viable. This directly feeds the SpaceXAI vision, which is betting that within two to three years, running AI workloads in orbit will be cheaper than doing so on the ground. The satellites, powered by constant solar energy, would effectively turn low Earth orbit into the world’s largest data center.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Historically, this announcement threads together every major Musk initiative of the past two years: the xAI-SpaceX merger, Tesla’s $2.9 billion solar equipment talks with Chinese suppliers, the 100 GW domestic solar manufacturing push, the Optimus humanoid robot program, and Starship’s development. TERAFAB is the capstone that ties them into a single coherent architecture — chips made on Earth, launched by SpaceX, powered by Tesla solar, run by xAI, and ultimately extended to the Moon.
“I want us to live long enough to see the mass driver on the moon, because that’s going to be incredibly epic,”Musk said during the presentation.
Announcing TERAFAB: the next step towards becoming a galactic civilization https://t.co/IDKey07mJa
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 22, 2026
News
Rolls-Royce makes shocking move on its EV future
When Rolls-Royce unveiled its first all-electric model, the Spectre, in 2022, former CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös declared the brand would cease production of internal combustion engine vehicles by the end of the decade.
Rolls-Royce made a shocking move on its EV future after planning to go all-electric by the end of the decade. Now, the company is tempering its expectations for electric vehicles, and its CEO is aiming to lean on its legacy of high-powered combustion engines to lead it into the future.
In a significant reversal, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has scrapped its ambitious plan to become an all-electric manufacturer by 2030. The luxury British marque announced the decision amid sustained customer demand for traditional combustion engines and shifting regulatory landscapes.
When Rolls-Royce unveiled its first all-electric model, the Spectre, in 2022, former CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös declared the brand would cease production of internal combustion engine vehicles by the end of the decade.
The move aligned with the industry’s broader push toward electrification, promising silent, effortless power befitting the “Rolls-Royce of cars.”
However, new CEO Chris Brownridge, who assumed the role in late 2023, has reversed course. “We can respond to our client demand … we build what is ordered,” Brownridge stated.
The company will continue offering its iconic V12 engines, which remain a cornerstone of its heritage and appeal to discerning buyers who appreciate the distinctive sound and character. He noted the original pledge was “right at the time,” but “the legislation has changed.”
While not abandoning electric vehicles entirely, the Spectre remains in production, with an electric Cullinan option forthcoming; the decision marks the end of a strict all-EV timeline. Relaxed emissions regulations and slowing EV demand, evidenced by a 47 percent drop in Spectre sales to 1,002 units in 2025, forced the reconsideration.
It was a sign that perhaps Rolls-Royce owners were not inclined to believe that the company’s all-EV future was the right move.
Rolls-Royce joins a growing roster of automakers reevaluating aggressive electrification targets.
Fellow luxury brand Bentley has pushed its full electrification from 2030 to 2035, while continuing to offer hybrids and ICE models. Mercedes-Benz walked back its 2030 all-EV goal, now aiming for about 50% electrified sales while keeping combustion engines into the 2030s. Porsche has abandoned its 80% EV sales target by 2030, delaying models and extending hybrids.
Mainstream giants are following suit. Honda canceled its U.S. EV plans, including the 0-Series and Acura RSX, facing a $15.7 billion hit as it doubles down on hybrids. Ford and General Motors have incurred tens of billions in writedowns, canceling models and pivoting to hybrids amid an industry total exceeding $70 billion in charges.
This trend reflects a pragmatic shift driven by infrastructure gaps, consumer preferences, and policy changes. In the ultra-luxury segment, where emotional connection reigns, automakers are prioritizing flexibility over rigid deadlines, ensuring brands like Rolls-Royce evolve without alienating their core clientele.
Elon Musk offers to pay TSA salaries as government shutdown leaves agents without paychecks
Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry
