News
SpaceX successful in epic third Starship test launch
SpaceX was successful in its third test flight of the largest rocket ever as Starship took to the skies at 8:25 am CT from Starbase, Texas.
The massive rocket made it further than ever during its third flight, including successful stage separation and atmospheric re-entry.
Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/FaNcasuKaq
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024
The 33 Raptor engines powered Booster 10 with Ship 28 stacked on top all the way through its portion of the flight, never losing one engine. Two minutes and 50 seconds into the flight, Booster 10 and Ship 28 went through the hot staging maneuver flawlessly.
Starship’s Raptor engines have ignited during hot-staging separation. Super Heavy is executing the flip maneuver pic.twitter.com/T593ACilyD
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024
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Booster 10 then relit some of its engines to perform the boost backburn toward a landing area just East of the launch pad in the Gulf of Mexico. The booster made it all the way through the burn and re-oriented itself to a vertical position as it plunged through the atmosphere and used its giant grid fins to help stabilize the vehicle.
During the final moments of the re-entry, the forces on the vehicle became too much, and around the 2 km mark, the booster engine attempted to light for the landing burn, but it appears a few failed, and the booster was lost shortly after.
While Booster 10 was plunging back through the atmosphere, Ship 28 continued to fly perfectly, burning all 6 Raptor engines to reach orbital velocity. The ships’ engines shut down just over eight and a half minutes into flight and were officially in space, coasting between the Florida Keys and Cuba on its way to its planned re-entry over the Indian Ocean.
Starship is coasting in space pic.twitter.com/ZFUXMUkufW
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024
During the coast phase, SpaceX completed multiple in-flight tests, such as opening and closing the payload bay, or the pez door, as they put it. Following that, the rocket then performed a fuel transfer demonstration, moving fuel from the header tanks into the main tanks. This was the first time they had done this while in orbit, but according to Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and COO, they are waiting to officially confirm this.
SpaceX had intended to perform a re-light of a Raptor engine while in space, however, they elected to skip that and attempt this during a future mission.
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Pez door checkout complete, door closing, and HD views are over @Starlink pic.twitter.com/Kmb2SpMVTu
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024
Ship 28 then began atmospheric entry 46 minutes into the mission. Thanks to the Starlink connection, SpaceX was able to provide amazing views of the plasma build-up around the ship, something that is generally never seen as the plasma blocks the signal on smaller vehicles.
Starship re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. Views through the plasma pic.twitter.com/HEQX4eEHWH
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024
Just over 49 minutes into the flight, during peak heating, the Starship data connection was lost with both Starlink and TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay satellites), the former being used for all vehicles in space, including the Crew Dragon capsule.
The on-screen telemetry stopped at a speed of 25,707 km/h at a height of 65 km. SpaceX said that with both signals dropping at the same time, it is likely the ship broke up during re-entry and did not make the planned intact splashdown.
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While neither Booster 10 nor Ship 28 made it 100% to their planned splashdown, this third test flight was a massive win for SpaceX, and the company will look to complete the fourth flight test within a couple of months.
Questions or comments? Shoot me an email at rangle@teslarati.com, or Tweet me @RDAnglePhoto.
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
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Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
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Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
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“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”
The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”
We took a ride on a robotaxi on the Suntrax course and it successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.
Impressive! https://t.co/FVAkzFLz3r
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2026
DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.
SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.
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Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again
