

News
SpaceX Starship testing slows to a crawl amid high winds and freezing rain
SpaceX’s South Texas Starship program has been hit by a burst of extreme winter weather, slowing plans and preparations for a static fire test and launch to a crawl.
After several delays pushed Starship serial number 10’s (SN10) first static fire attempt from Wednesday into the following week, SpaceX was expected to try again as early as possible (early this week). A weekend of harsh winter weather seems to have changed those plans as Starship SN10 and SpaceX’s pad teams were subjected to sustained 30-40 mph winds (50-65 kmh), freezing rain, and below-freezing temperatures.
On their own, high winds make it difficult to impossible to use the boom and scissor lifts SpaceX needs to perform work on parts of Starship or pad systems that are far above ground. Add freezing rain and temperatures into that mix – a new series of conditions for the Starship team – and things only get more difficult.
As a giant, unheated steel rocket, Starship is also liable to accumulate ice with ease. However, Starship is designed to function while completely filled with cryogenic (extremely cold) liquid methane and oxygen propellant, meaning that tolerating and operating in the extreme cold and under wide temperature differentials is par for the course. It certainly doesn’t make preparing the rocket for those conditions any easier for SpaceX’s engineers and technicians, though.
For now, it looks like SpaceX is mostly hunkering down and waiting for the harsh conditions to pass before resuming pad construction and Starship SN10’s test campaign. Thankfully, forecasts predict a several-day return to (relatively) normal weather as early as tomorrow, likely meaning that SpaceX will have the bulk of the workweek to complete Starship SN10’s first nominal static fire and, perhaps, attempt the third high-altitude launch and landing.
News
Tesla Giga Berlin makes big move amid strong sales and demand
“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”

Tesla is making a big move at its factory in Germany, known as Giga Berlin, as managers at the plant have indicated the company plans to increase its production rate for the remainder of the year.
Giga Berlin is responsible for manufacturing Model Y vehicles for several markets worldwide, including those outside of Europe. It was opened in March 2022, and it recently built its 500,000th Model Y in March and its 100,000th new Model Y just three weeks ago.
Due to some encouraging sales figures in the markets it provides vehicles for, Tesla said it is planning to increase production at the factory for the remainder of the year.
Andrè Thierig, plant manager at Giga Berlin, said to German news outlet DPA on Sunday that market data has encouraged a move to be made regarding the production at the factory:
“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”
It is interesting to see this kind of narrative from Thierig, especially as data has shown Tesla has struggled in various markets, including Germany, this year.
Sales drops have been reported, but other markets are holding strong, especially those in Northern Europe, such as Norway, where the Model Y saw a nearly 39 percent increase in sales in August compared to the same month the previous year.
Gigafactory Berlin supplies vehicles for other markets, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which are strategically important to avoid tariffs. It also builds cars for the Middle East.
Thierig reiterated this point during the interview with DPA:
“We supply well over 30 markets and definitely see a positive trend there.”
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.
One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Dorsheimer said in the note:
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”
Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.
He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.
Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.
In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:
“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”
Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.
News
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas dubs Tesla FSD a “game changer” after marathon drive
Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles.

Morgan Stanley’s analyst Adam Jonas shared a notable endorsement of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after completing a 1,400-mile round trip from New York to Michigan in his Model Y.
Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles, calling the system “a game changer” for long-distance driving.
Hands-free experience
Jonas drove his 2021 Tesla Model Y equipped with Hardware 3 and FSD Supervised v12.6.4, and he used the system nearly the entire trip. “Having your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals for nearly 12 hours of driving is a real game changer that is hard to appreciate without experiencing it for yourself,” he noted.
He explained that outside of two heavy downpours, one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and another in suburban Detroit, plus some light maneuvering in fast food parking lots, FSD handled the drive without any human intervention. “FSD made no mistakes or close calls that I recall. The system handles highways very safely and confidently. I cannot imagine buying another EV without FSD.”
Broader implications
Jonas added that he has used FSD consistently over the past 18 months, and the $8,000 he paid for the feature feels like a bargain considering the value. He also praised Tesla’s Supercharging network, which supported his trip without issue.
Jonas has been one of Wall Street’s most closely followed voices on Tesla, and his comments add weight to the ongoing debate about the role of autonomy in the company’s future. His current price target for Tesla stock stands at $410. During Morgan Stanley’s 13th Annual Laguna Conference, he echoed similar experiences with Tesla’s software, emphasizing that FSD “probably drove well over 99% of the miles” on his recent trips.
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