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SpaceX bumps Starship booster engine count, ramps up Raptor factory
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that Starship’s Super Heavy booster will have at least one more engine than expected after hardware spotted at its Boca Chica, Texas factory indicated as much.
Simultaneously, Musk revealed that SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California factory and headquarters is now producing Raptors at a rate that will likely make it the company’s most numerous product (outside of Starlink) in the near future.
Musk says that Super Heavy boosters will “initially” have 29 Raptor engines instead of 28 engines and could even be upgraded to 32 engines down the road. In 2020, the vehicle’s design was updated, dropping from 31 to 28 engines for unknown reasons before SpaceX began work on the first real Super Heavy hardware. Known as BN1 or booster number 1, that rocket was stacked to its full ~70m (~230 ft) height but ultimately turned into a manufacturing pathfinder (i.e. practice) after Super Heavy’s design changed once again.
Who or what has been causing those seemingly endless design changes is unclear but SpaceX is finally at a point where any more major changes will explicitly delay plans for Starship’s inaugural spaceflight – deemed an “orbital test flight” by the company. It remains to be seen if SpaceX will actually attempt to recover the first booster(s) after those initial quasi-orbital test flights but we now have a better idea of what those Super Heavies might look like.
Namely, Musk seems to indicate that even the very first flightworthy prototypes will be outfitted with a full complement of Raptors – seemingly nipping in the bud the possibility of a booster debuting with the fewest possible engines. In the case of the first few initial orbital launch, that means that SpaceX is happy to risk losing 32-35 engines for every single attempt.
That could imply several things. SpaceX might be extremely confident that early boosters will be recovered. It could have zero faith in the reusability of early flown Raptors, meaning that they’re functionally expendable regardless of the outcome. SpaceX could have also reduced the cost and increased the speed of production to the point that expending dozens of Raptors isn’t a major issue – though ~32 Raptors would cost $8 million even if SpaceX has already hit Musk’s long-term “<$250k” per-engine target.
However, Musk also says that SpaceX has ramped up Raptor production to the point that it’s almost completing one engine every 48 hours – equating to around 180 Raptors per year or a maximum cadence of one expendable three-engine Starship and 29-engine booster launch every nine weeks. At that run rate, Raptor has likely beat out Falcon’s venerable Merlin to become SpaceX’s most-produced rocket engine.
According to NASASpaceflight, SpaceX has already begun work on Raptors with serial numbers in the 150s. Two new Raptor test stands in work at its McGregor development facilities will also reportedly enable an average of one engine qualification every day – enough testing capacity to outfit 6 boosters and 30 Starships (~365 Raptors) per year. In short, SpaceX is well on its way to having the ability to manufacture and power a truly vast fleet of Starships and Super Heavy boosters.
Tesla has launched a new Model Y configuration in the “Premium” trim, and it comes with three highly requested features that have launched in markets outside of the U.S. and in other trims.
Tesla announced on Monday night that it has officially launched the Model Y Premium in a seven-seat configuration, which also comes standard with a 16″ touchscreen and black headliner, both of which are featured in the Model Y Performance trim.
The seven-seat configuration is highly requested by consumers and helps fill out the more spacious SUV offering that the lineup has missed outside of the Model X, which prices out many consumers. This new upgrade only costs $2,500 extra for all three features, bringing the cash price to $48,990.
This also comes with the larger 16” touchscreen! pic.twitter.com/aiAxWUTKZa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 13, 2026
The move to add the seven-seat configuration with the black headliner and additional screen size is a welcome addition, as many Tesla fans have asked the company to come out with an SUV with more seating capacity. Although it is not a full-size SUV, the additional seating will certainly attract some buyers with bigger families.
It appears the third row is slightly more spacious than the past iteration of the seven-seat Model Y, which was available in the previous design pre-Juniper:
Credit: Tesla
However, it definitely still appears to be pretty cramped in terms of legroom. It will definitely be a seating arrangement for smaller passengers, mostly reserved for children.
The other two upgrades are the black headliner, which was launched in other markets and in the Model Y Performance. Many owners have wanted this change, and Tesla listened, but is only offering it with the seven-seat configuration. It also has a larger 16″ touchscreen, also present in the Model Y Performance exclusively:
Credit: Tesla
It is a nice touch to add these highly requested features to the all-electric crossover, which was the best-selling vehicle in the world for the third consecutive year.
Tesla has expanded its branded ‘For Business’ Supercharger program that it launched last year, as yet another company is using the platform to attract EV owners to its business and utilize a unique advertising opportunity.
Francis Energy of Oklahoma is launching four Superchargers in Norman, where the University of Oklahoma is located. The Superchargers, which are fitted with branding for Francis Energy, will officially open tomorrow.
It will not be the final Supercharger location that Francis Energy plans to open, the company confirmed to EVWire.
Back in early September, Tesla launched the new “Supercharger for Business” program in an effort to give businesses the ability to offer EV charging at custom rates. It would give their businesses visibility and would also cater to employees or customers.
“Purchase and install Superchargers at your business,” Tesla wrote on a page on its website for the new program. “Superchargers are compatible with all electric vehicles, bringing EV drivers to your business by offering convenient, reliable charging.”
The first site opened in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, which is Northeast of Tampa, as a company called Suncoast launched the Superchargers for local EV owners.
Tesla launches its new branded Supercharger for Business with first active station
The program also does a great job at expanding infrastructure for EV owners, which is something that needs to be done to encourage more people to purchase Teslas and other electric cars.
Francis Energy operates at least 14 EV charging locations in Oklahoma, spanning from Durant to Oklahoma City and nearly everywhere in between. Filings from the company, listed by Supercharge.info, show the company’s plans to convert some of them to Tesla Superchargers, potentially utilizing the new Supercharger for Business program to advertise.
Moving forward, more companies will likely utilize Tesla’s Supercharger for Business program as it presents major advantages in a variety of ways, especially with advertising and creating a place for EV drivers to gain range in their cars.
Tesla Cybercab is perhaps the most highly-anticipated project that the company plans to roll out this year, and as it is undergoing its testing phase in pre-production currently, there are some things to work through with it.
Over the weekend, an image of the Cybercab being loaded onto a tow truck started circulating on the internet, and people began to speculate as to what the issue could be.
Hmmmmmm… https://t.co/L5hWcOXQkb pic.twitter.com/OJBDyHNTMj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 11, 2026
The Cybercab can clearly be seen with a Police Officer and perhaps the tow truck driver by its side, being loaded onto, or even potentially unloaded from, the truck.
However, it seems unlikely it was being offloaded, as its operation would get it to this point for testing to begin with.
It appears, at first glance, that it needs assistance getting back to wherever it came from; likely Gigafactory Texas or potentially a Bay Area facility.
The Cybercab was also spotted in Buffalo, New York, last week, potentially undergoing cold-weather testing, but it doesn’t appear that’s where this incident took place.
It is important to remember that the Cybercab is currently undergoing some rigorous testing scenarios, which include range tests and routine public road operation. These things help Tesla assess any potential issue the vehicle could run into after it starts routine production and heads to customers, or for the Robotaxi platform operation.
This is not a one-off issue, either. Tesla had some instances with the Semi where it was seen broken down on the side of a highway three years ago. The all-electric Semi has gone on to be successful in its early pilot program, as companies like Frito-Lay and PepsiCo. have had very positive remarks.
The Cybercab’s future is bright, and it is important to note that no vehicle model has ever gone its full life without a breakdown. It happens, it’s a car.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that there has been no official word on what happened with this particular Cybercab unit, but it is crucial to remember that this is the pre-production testing phase, and these things are more constructive than anything.
Tesla Model Y gets fresh configuration with three highly requested features
Tesla expands its branded ‘For Business’ Superchargers
