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SpaceX Super Heavy ‘high bay’ construction begins in South Texas
After several weeks of preparations, SpaceX has begun assembling the massive ‘high bay’ it will use to stack and outfit Starship’s massive Super Heavy boosters.
Over the last six or so months, SpaceX has been hard at work expanding and upgrading its Boca Chica, Texas Starship factory, part of which has included building multiple ‘high bays’ (also known as vehicle/vertical assembling builds or VABs). So far, those buildings have been sized explicitly for Starship production and are not even tall enough to allow Starships to be fully integrated, instead serving as bays for Starship tank section assembly.
The VAB SpaceX has been almost exclusively using for the last four or so months is roughly 45m (115 ft) tall, leaving just enough clearance for Starship tank sections to be stacked by an external crane on simple work stands. The Starship VAB is also wide enough for two ships to be simultaneously stacked and outfitted, a capability SpaceX recently took advantage of while building Starships SN4, SN5, and SN6. With a conical nose section installed, Starship alone will measure some 50m (165 ft) from tail to tip – more than 70% as tall as an entire two-stage Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rocket. The ship’s Super Heavy booster (first stage), however, is dramatically larger, still, and will need its own similarly-sized production facilities.
Measuring at least 70m (230 ft) tall, Super Heavy boosters will singlehandedly be the same height as an entire Falcon 9 or Heavy rocket – already extremely tall as far as modern orbital-class rockets go. Fully stacked, Starship and Super Heavy will be an incredible 120m (~395 ft) tall – approximately 25% shy of the technical definition of a skyscraper. To build rockets that large, SpaceX will unsurprisingly need to build some unique facilities – especially so given that Starships must be assembled vertically.
While the existing Starship VAB is undoubtedly large enough for SpaceX to begin stacking roughly half of a Super Heavy booster at a time, it would defeat the purpose of having a VAB – shielding the final assembly process from winds and weather.

A dedicated Super Heavy VAB was the obvious solution. To build a high bay some 80m (260 ft) tall, though, SpaceX had to rent a commensurately-sized crane, which it has spent the last two or so weeks gradually assembling and checking out. Now, as of July 7th, Super Heavy VAB installation has finally begun. Based on aerial photos and videos taken by LabPadre and RGV Aerial Photography over the last few weeks, SpaceX or its contractor(s) have already assembled at least 12 additional prefab sections of the structure on top of the two now installed.
To complete the new VAB, some 32 of those prefab sections will likely need to be installed, ultimately producing a high bay that is almost identical to the Starship VAB but tall enough to fully stack Super Heavy boosters. Based on Starship’s VAB construction schedule, beginning on January 16th and effectively complete by mid-March, SpaceX could be ready to begin producing the first Super Heavy booster prototypes as early as September or October.
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Tesla teases new market entrance with confusing and cryptic message
Tesla teased its entrance into a new market with a confusing and what appeared to be cryptic message on the social media platform X.
The company has been teasing its entrance into several markets, including Africa, which would be a first, and South America, where it only operates in Chile.
In September, Tesla started creating active job postings for the Colombian market, hinting it would expand its presence in South America and launch in a new country for the first time in two years.
The jobs were related to various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians. These are all roles that would indicate Tesla is planning to launch a wide-scale effort to sell, manage, and repair vehicles in the market.
Last night, Tesla posted its latest hint, a cryptic video that seems to show the outline of Colombia, teasing its closer than ever to market entry:
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) November 12, 2025
This would be the next expansion into a continent where it does not have much of a presence for Tesla. Currently, there are only two Supercharger locations on the entire continent, and they’re both in Chile.
Tesla will obviously need to expand upon this crucial part of the ownership experience to enable a more confident consumer base in South America as a whole. However, it is not impossible, as many other EV charging infrastructures are available, and home charging is always a suitable option for those who have access to it.
Surprisingly, Tesla seems to be more concerned about these middle-market countries as opposed to the larger markets in South America, but that could be by design.
If Tesla were to launch in Brazil initially, it may not be able to handle the uptick in demand, and infrastructure expansion could be more difficult. Brazil may be on its list in the upcoming years, but not as of right now.
News
Tesla expands crucial Supercharging feature for easier access
It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.
Tesla has expanded a crucial Supercharging feature that helps owners identify stall availability at nearby locations.
Tesla said on Tuesday night that its “Live Availability” feature, which shows EV owners how many stalls are available at a Supercharger station, to Google Maps, a third-party app:
Live availability of Superchargers now in Google Maps pic.twitter.com/DJvS83wVxm
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) November 11, 2025
Already offering it in its own vehicles, the Live Availability feature that Teslas have is a helpful feature that helps you choose an appropriate station with plugs that are immediately available.
A number on an icon where the Supercharger is located lets EV drivers know how many stalls are available.
It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.
Essentially, when those drivers needed to charge at a Supercharger that enables non-Tesla EVs to plug in, there was a bit more of a gamble. There was no guarantee that a plug would be available, and with no way to see how many are open, it was a risk.
Tesla adding this feature allows people to have a more convenient and easier-to-use experience if they are in a non-Tesla EV. With the already expansive Supercharger Network being available to so many EV owners, there is more congestion than ever.
This new feature makes the entire experience better for all owners, especially as there is more transparency regarding the availability of plugs at Supercharger stalls.
It will be interesting to see if Tesla is able to expand on this new move, as Apple Maps compatibility is an obvious goal of the company’s in the future, we could imagine. In fact, this is one of the first times an Android Auto feature is available to those owners before it became an option for iOS users.
Apple owners tend to get priority with new features within the Tesla App itself.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Co goes extra hard in Nashville with first rock-crushing TBM
The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.
The Boring Company is gearing up to tackle one of its toughest projects yet, a new tunnel system beneath Nashville’s notoriously tough limestone terrain. Unlike the soft-soil conditions of Las Vegas and Austin, the Music City Loop will require a “hard-rock” boring machine capable of drilling through dense, erosion-resistant bedrock.
The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.
A boring hard-rock tunneling machine
The Boring Company revealed on X that its new hard-rock TBM can generate up to 4 million pounds of grip force and 1.5 million pounds of maximum thrust load. It also features a 15-filter dust removal system designed to keep operations clean and efficient during excavation even in places where hard rock is present.
Previous Boring Co. projects, including its Loop tunnels in Las Vegas, Austin, and Bastrop, were dug primarily through soft soils. Nashville’s geology, however, poses a different challenge. Boring Company CEO and President Steve Davis mentioned this challenge during the project’s announcement in late July.
“It’s a tough place to tunnel, Nashville. If we were optimizing for the easiest places to tunnel, it would not be here. You have extremely hard rock, like way harder than it should be. It’s an engineering problem that’s fairly easy and straightforward to solve,” Davis said.
Nashville’s limestone terrain
Experts have stated that the city’s subsurface conditions make it one of the more complex tunneling environments in the U.S. The Outer Nashville Basin is composed of cherty Mississippian-age limestone, a strong yet soluble rock that can dissolve over time, creating underground voids and caves, as noted in a report from The Tennessean.
Jakob Walter, the founder and principal engineer of Haushepherd, shared his thoughts on these challenges. “Limestone is generally a stable sedimentary bedrock material with strength parameters that are favorable for tunneling. Limestone is however fairly soluble when compared to other rack materials, and can dissolve over long periods of time when exposed to water.
“Unexpected encounters with these features while tunneling can result in significant construction delays and potential instability of the excavation. In urban locations, structures at the ground surface should also be constantly monitored with robotic total stations or similar surveying equipment to identify any early signs of movement or distress,” he said.
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