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SpaceX Starship test plans solidify after bad weather delays hop
Around the same time SpaceX was preparing for its 100th Falcon rocket launch, bad Texas weather forced the company to abort its second Starship hop test of the month.
Since that abort, SpaceX’s near-term Starship test plans have begun to solidify, offering a clearer picture of what to expect over the next week or two. Pending better weather at its Boca Chica, Texas test facilities, Starship serial number 6 (SN6) is still first in line and has been preparing for its hop debut ever since the prototype completed a Raptor engine static fire test on August 23rd.
Measuring approximately 30m (~100 ft) tall, SN6 is a full-scale Starship tank and engine section – the bottom ~60% and business end of the reusable orbital spacecraft. Of course, SpaceX has a ways to go before Starship is actually ready for its first orbital test flight, let alone reuse after such a test flight, but the company did take its biggest step yet towards that lofty ambitions with Starship SN5’s successful August 4th hop debut.
Effectively twins, Starship SN5 and SN6 have since been expected to take turns completing “several” hops to improve SpaceX’s familiarity with Starship launch operations and work towards a smooth procedure that can be completed multiple times per day. With SN6 now scheduled to hop no earlier than 8am CDT (UTC-5), September 3rd, 29 days after SN5’s debut, SpaceX still has its work cut out for it.
Nevertheless, SN5’s 150m (~500 ft) hop was the first flight of any kind for a full-scale Starship prototype, as well as the first use of an entirely new landing leg design and Raptor’s first flight in almost a year. In the history of rocket development, there is no precedent for launching and landing a prototype rocket and then repeating the same test with an entirely new prototype less than a month later.
Additionally, most of the 29 days since SN5’s first hop have been spent preparing Starship SN6 for a crucial “cryo proof” qualification test. Had that cryo proof been completed before SN5’s hop debut, SN6 could have been ready to fly as few as ~10 days later. That still leaves SpaceX a long ways away from multiple Starship hops per day but does offer encouragement that flight-proven Starship SN5 could be ready for its second hop not long after the pad is clear.
However, it appears that SpaceX instead plans to follow up SN6’s hop debut with a new ‘test tank’ meant to demonstrate an upgraded Starship “thrust puck” built out of a different steel alloy. Known as Starship SN7.1, the test will follow on the heels of a more traditional tank (SN7) that completed a record-breaking pressure test in June 2020 and proved that Starship would likely be better off with a different steel alloy.
While SN7 was a basic test tank (two domes and a few steel rings), SN7.1 adds a skirt section at its base and replaces the aft dome with a thrust dome. Likely built entirely out of a steel alloy closer to 304L than the 301 SpaceX has used for all prior Starship prototypes, that thrust dome features a new ‘thrust puck’ – the structural element Raptor engines attach to and transmit their thrust through.
Unlike past single tank tests, SN7.1 will be put through something more like a full prototype’s cryo pressure test. SN7.1 will be installed on a launch mount, allowing its skirt clamps to firmly secure the prototype to the stand, itself secured to a concrete slab on the ground. That launch mount also allows SpaceX to install a hydraulic ram designed to mechanically simulate the thrust of 1-3 Raptor engines without the risk involved in an actual static fire. SN7.1 is scheduled to begin testing no earlier than (NET) 8 am CDT (UTC-5), September 6th – just three days after SN6’s next planned hop attempt.
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Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.
The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.
Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.
Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand
Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.
Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.
Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. Shares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.
Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.
However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.
S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.
Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.
At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.
Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.
🚨 The NHTSA denied a petition from Tesla that would have thrown out concerns regarding its door handles.
NHTSA said Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect warranting an investigation. The agency said a rulemaking process would be a better strategy. pic.twitter.com/j6PzUBM1mT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 24, 2026
NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.
Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.
Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix
In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.
The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.
It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations
Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings
