

News
SpaceX Starship prototypes swap places for next hop test
SpaceX is swapping two almost identical Starships to allow for the first flight-proven prototype to be repaired while wasting no time preparing for the next Starship hop test.
Known as Starships serial number 5 and 6 (SN5/SN6), the twin prototypes were built more or less simultaneously and completed within a few weeks of each other. Due to a number of delays largely unrelated to Starship SN5 itself, the rocket’s test campaign suffered several weeks of delays, giving SpaceX’s production team plenty of time to complete sister ship SN6 well before it was needed. For a time, it wasn’t even clear if SN6 had a future, given comments made by CEO Elon Musk that the next full-scale prototype – Starship SN8 – would be a significant upgrade, potentially making SN6 redundant.
However, on August 3rd, SN5 stunned with what appeared to be an almost flawless Starship hop debut. The success confirmed that the design – while likely outdated upon SN8’s arrival – was still more than satisfactory for low-altitude, low-velocity flight tests. In the afterglow of a milestone ~18 months in the making, Musk almost immediately revealed that SpaceX’s next goal was to perform hop test after hop test until Starship flight operations are more or less routine. Today’s transport operations mean that that multi-hop test campaign could be right around the corner.
In line with additional information conveyed by Musk a few days after SN5’s hop debut, SpaceX has transported Starship SN5 back to nearby production facilities and quite literally traded places with Starship SN6 in a vertical assembly hangar.
Right on schedule, SpaceX also transported Starship SN6 to the launch pad on the same day as Starship SN5’s factory return. If most of Starship SN5’s testing delays were primarily related to the significant repairs and upgrades made to the pad’s ground support equipment after SN4’s destructive explosion and the launch mount – a steel structure that supports, powers, and fuels Starships – is mostly unscathed after SN5’s hop debut, Starship SN6 could have a much smoother path to testing.
SpaceX has already begun outfitting the launch mount with a hydraulic ram device used to simulate the thrust of a Raptor engine by mechanically stressing a Starship’s thrust structure. That confirms that SpaceX will test Starship SN6 much like the last few prototypes to reach the pad, beginning with an ambient temperature leak test and a cryogenic proof test with liquid nitrogen and Raptor thrust simulation. Once completed, SpaceX will install one Raptor engine on the Starship prototype and proceed into the wet dress rehearsal (WDR) and static fire phase of testing.
Based on Starship SN4’s test campaign, SN6 could kick off its first cryogenic proof test just four days after the rocket is transported to the launch site, followed by a Raptor static fire just a week or so later.
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Elon Musk
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.

Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.
Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.
Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports
Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.
Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.
Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.
It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.
Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.
The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.
However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.
News
Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles).

Tesla has rolled out a series of quiet upgrades to its Model 3 and Model Y in China, enhancing range and performance for long-range variants. The updates come with a price hike for the Model 3 Long Range All-Wheel Drive, which now costs RMB 285,500 (about $39,300), up RMB 10,000 ($1,400) from the previous price.
Model 3 gets acceleration boost, extended range
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles), up from 713 km (443 miles), and a faster 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds, down from 4.4 seconds. These changes suggest that Tesla has bundled the previously optional Acceleration Boost for the Model 3, once priced at RMB 14,100 ($1,968), as a standard feature.
Delivery wait times for the long-range Model 3 have also been shortened, from 3–5 weeks to just 1–3 weeks, as per CNEV Post. No changes were made to the entry-level RWD or Performance versions, which retain their RMB 235,500 and RMB 339,500 price points, respectively. Wait times for those trims also remain at 1–3 weeks and 8–10 weeks.
Model Y range increases, pricing holds steady
The Model Y Long Range has also seen its CLTC-rated range increase from 719 km (447 miles) to 750 km (466 miles), though its price remains unchanged at RMB 313,500 ($43,759). The model maintains a 0–100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds.
Tesla also updated delivery times for the Model Y lineup. The Long Range variant now shows a wait time of 1–3 weeks, an improvement from the previous 3–5 weeks. The entry-level RWD version maintained its starting price of RMB 263,500, though its delivery window is now shorter at 2–4 weeks.
Tesla continues to offer several purchase incentives in China, including an RMB 8,000 discount for select paint options, an RMB 8,000 insurance subsidy, and five years of interest-free financing for eligible variants.
News
Tesla China registrations hit 20.7k in final week of June, highest in Q2
The final week of June stands as the second-highest of 2025 and the best-performing week of the quarter.

Tesla China recorded 20,680 domestic insurance registrations during the week of June 23–29, marking its highest weekly total in the second quarter of 2025.
The figure represents a 49.3% increase from the previous week and a 46.7% improvement year-over-year, suggesting growing domestic momentum for the electric vehicle maker in Q2’s final weeks.
Q2 closes with a boost despite year-on-year dip
The strong week helped lift Tesla’s performance for the quarter, though Q2 totals remain down 4.6% quarter-over-quarter and 10.9% year-over-year, according to industry watchers. Despite these declines, the last week of June stands as the second-highest of 2025 and the best-performing week of the quarter.
As per industry watchers, Tesla China delivered 15,210 New Model Y units last week, the highest weekly tally since the vehicle’s launch. The Model 3 followed with 5,470 deliveries during the same period. Tesla’s full June and Q2 sales data for China are expected to be released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) in the coming days.
Tesla China and minor Model 3 and Model Y updates
Tesla manufactures the Model 3 and Model Y at its Shanghai facility, which provides vehicles to both domestic and international markets. In May, the automaker reported 38,588 retail sales in China, down 30.1% year-over-year but up 34.3% from April. Exports from Shanghai totaled 23,074 units in May, a 32.9% improvement from the previous year but down 22.4% month-over-month, as noted in a CNEV Post report.
Earlier this week, Tesla introduced minor updates to the long-range versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in China. The refreshed Model 3 saw a modest price increase, while pricing for the updated Model Y Long Range variant remained unchanged. These adjustments come as Tesla continues refining its China lineup amid shifting local demand and increased competition from domestic brands.
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