News
SpaceX to launch secret “Zuma” payload same day as Tesla Semi event
SpaceX has completed preparations and is ready to launch the highly secretive “Zuma” satellite(s) at 5pm/8pm PST/EST on Thursday, November 16th, the same day Tesla will be holding its semi-truck unveiling event.
Updated: SpaceX has rescheduled the Zuma mission.
SpaceX's highly secretive mission originally scheduled for today has been rescheduled for 8pm ET Fri., Nov. 17. On-the-ground photos from today – https://t.co/CUHuwP2lT3 pic.twitter.com/TZVBhjTOzw
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 16, 2017
The Zuma launch campaign has been veiled in an extraordinary level of secrecy for SpaceX and the US launch industry in general, and this has piqued the interest of many.
In the last decade or two, the United States military apparatus has launched many dozens of satellites, and secrecy on the order of Zuma is unusual to say the least. Missions for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) typically feature some level of media presence and have developed a community of fans in the age of social media, taking advantage of cartoonish mission logos that can often be entertaining, if not vaguely disturbing.
Some of the more ‘unique’ NROL logos in recent years. (NRO)
However, no federal agency has yet to announce involvement in Zuma. The full extent of public information available can be found in a handful of tweets, with drastically less official info available from a leaky source on Reddit. Thus far, Northrop Grumman is known to have at least procured Zuma’s launch from SpaceX, and the same statement indirectly suggested that Zuma was in fact a government-related mission. NRO is the obvious option, with the Air Force or another branch of the US military or intelligence apparatus also a distinct possibility. It is entirely possible that the nature and parent of the mission will remain secret for the indefinite future, even after its launch.
Nevertheless, a handful of details allow us to speculate in greater detail. In May 2017, SpaceX launched NROL-76, a Department of Defense satellite that was intriguingly observed to have made very close passes to the International Space Station, far too close to have been a coincidence. Based on Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) filed with the FAA and discussed earlier this week, it appears Zuma may be placed in an orbit very similar to that of NROL-76, suggesting that Zuma could be an iteration on NROL-76’s supposed orbit-to-orbit data gathering capabilities. This time, however, agency involvement has been completely shadowed. A blank fairing, sans any NROL-reminiscent logo, will be the tell-tale sign come tomorrow, when Teslarati’s launch photographer Tom Cross arrives at Kennedy Space Center for camera setup.
Northrop Grumman on #SpaceX Zuma launch: "This represents a cost effective approach to space access for government missions. Northrop realizes that this is monumental responsibility and has taken great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma."
— Robin Seemangal (@nova_road) November 13, 2017
Meanwhile, as has become shockingly routine, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first stage, core 1043, will conduct a Return to Launch Site (RTLS), landing at LZ-1 just a few miles from its launch pad. Like NROL-76, we can expect live coverage of the second stage and payload to end immediately after stage separation; bittersweet but esoteric fans, but likely to result in a unique focus on the stage returning to Earth.
On the horizon
Possibly more exciting than the launch itself, Zuma is expected to be the last launch from SpaceX’s Kennedy Space Center LC-39A facilities until Falcon Heavy, currently aiming for an inaugural flight around December 29th. After a solid year of repairs and refurbishment, SpaceX’s LC-40 launch pad is anticipating a return to flight operations with the CRS-13 Cargo Dragon mission on December 4th. Located within the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station just a few miles south of LC-39A, LC-40 suffered widespread damage after a Falcon 9 catastrophically failed while preparing for a static fire test on the pad.
Despite the tragic loss of vehicle and the Amos-6 payload, SpaceX has maintained a strong relationship with the owner, Spacecom, and was recently chosen for both a contractual reflight in 2019 and an additional launch in 2020.
SpaceX has also made great strides since returning to flight after Amos-6 in January 2017, and has enjoyed a truly groundbreaking year of incredible progress towards the goal of rapid reusability. Quite fittingly, LC-40 is expected to return to action while hosting yet another commercial reuse of a Falcon 9 first stage, this time with the hugely significant approval of NASA. The space agency has yet to make this decision resoundingly public, but respected industry insider NASASpaceflight.com has stated that it is all but in stone at this point in time. In a sense, the disaster that severely damaged LC-40 acted as a since-heeded wake-up call for SpaceX, and the venerable pad will rise from those ashes into a new era of reusable rocketry, led wholeheartedly by SpaceX.
Be sure to follow our Instagram stories and see live action directly from the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center!
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
Tesla Robotaxi services in Austin have been operating since last Summer, but Tesla has admittedly been delayed in its expansion of the geofence, fleet size, and other details in a bid to prioritize safety as new technology rolls out.
But those barriers are being broken with new guardrails being removed from the program.
Tesla has achieved a significant advancement in its autonomous ride-hailing program. As of May 4, the Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, has begun operating unsupervised during evening hours for the first time. This expansion moves beyond previous limitations that restricted unsupervised service to daylight hours, typically ending in mid-afternoon.
Tesla Robotaxi in Austin is operating unsupervised in the evenings for the first time today.
Previously in Austin, unsupervised operation ended mid-afternoon
— Robotaxi Tracker (@RtaxiTracker) May 4, 2026
The change brings Austin in line with operations in Dallas and Houston. Those cities have supported evening unsupervised runs since their initial launches in April, and both recently received additions of new unsupervised vehicles to their fleets. This coordinated progress across Texas strengthens Tesla’s regional presence and provides a broader testing ground for the technology.
This milestone carries substantial weight in the development of autonomous vehicles. Extending operations into low-light conditions meaningfully expands the Robotaxi’s operational design domain (ODD)—the specific environments and scenarios in which the system is approved to operate safely without human intervention.
Nighttime driving presents unique technical demands: diminished visibility, headlight glare from oncoming traffic, reduced contrast for identifying pedestrians and lane markings, and greater variability in camera sensor exposure.
Tesla’s pure vision approach, powered by neural networks trained on vast real-world datasets rather than lidar or pre-mapped routes, must handle these variables reliably. Demonstrating consistent unsupervised performance after sunset validates the robustness of the end-to-end AI stack and its ability to generalize across diverse lighting conditions.
Beyond technical validation, the expansion holds important operational and economic implications. Evening hours often coincide with peak urban demand for rides, including commutes, dining, and entertainment outings.
Enabling service during these periods increases daily vehicle utilization, allowing each Robotaxi to generate more revenue while gathering additional high-value training data. Higher utilization accelerates the virtuous cycle of data collection, model improvement, and further ODD growth.
Looking ahead, this step paves the way for more ambitious rollouts. Success in low-light environments positions Tesla to pursue near-24-hour operations, potentially integrating highways and expanding into varied weather patterns. Regulators worldwide frequently demand evidence of safe performance across day-night cycles before granting wider approvals.
Proven capability in Texas could expedite deployments in planned cities such as Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas during the first half of 2026.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi expansion plans with new cities and aggressive timeline
Moreover, scaling evening service supports Tesla’s long-term vision of a high-efficiency robotaxi network. Greater fleet productivity lowers the cost per mile, making autonomous mobility more accessible and competitive against traditional ride-hailing.
As the company iterates on software updates informed by nighttime data, reliability is expected to compound rapidly, unlocking denser urban coverage and longer-distance trips.
In summary, the introduction of an unsupervised evening Robotaxi service in Austin represents more than an incremental schedule adjustment. It signals a critical maturation of the underlying technology and sets the foundation for broader geographic and temporal expansion.
With Texas operations gaining momentum, Tesla is steadily advancing toward transforming urban transportation at scale.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybercab just rolled through Miami inside a glass box
Tesla paraded a Cybercab in a glass display at Miami’s F1 Grand Prix event this week.
Tesla set up an “Autonomy Pop-Up” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach from April 29 through May 3, 2026, embedded within the official F1 Miami Grand Prix Fan Fest. The centerpiece was a Cybertruck towing the Cybercab inside a glass display case marked “Future is Autonomous,” rolling through the beachfront crowd.
Miami is on Tesla’s confirmed list of cities for robotaxi expansion in the first half of 2026, making the promotion a strategic promotion that lays groundwork in a target market.
This was not Tesla’s first time using Miami as a showcase city. In December 2025, Tesla hosted “The Future of Autonomy Visualized” at its Miami Design District showroom, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. That event featured the Cybercab prototype and Optimus robots interacting with attendees. The F1 pop-up this week marks Tesla’s return to Miami and follows a pattern Tesla has been running since early 2026. Just two weeks before Miami, Tesla stationed Optimus at the Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 19 and 20, directly on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon, letting tens of thousands of runners and spectators meet the robot for free, generating massive earned media at zero advertising cost.
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year. On the production side, Musk told shareholders that the Cybercab manufacturing process could eventually produce up to 5 million vehicles per year, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds. Scaling robotaxis to 10 million operational units over the next ten years is a key condition of his compensation package, alongside selling 20 million passenger vehicles.
As for the Cybercab’s price, Musk has said buyers will be able to purchase one for under $30,000, with an average operating cost around $0.20 per mile. Whether those numbers hold through full production remains to be seen.
Cybercab at F1 Fan Fest in Miami
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Tesla owners keep coming back for more
Tesla Robotaxi service in Austin achieves monumental new accomplishment
