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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch imminent as Elon Musk unveils first photos
For the first time in SpaceX’s history, the company is close enough to the inaugural launch of its massive Falcon Heavy rocket that the vast majority of the vehicle is already at Cape Canaveral, FL, and all three of its first stages have been mated together.
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- The first Falcon Heavy, seen here fully integrated aside from its payload fairing. (SpaceX)
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- Falcon Heavy’s three boosters and 27 Merlin 1D engines on full display. (SpaceX)
We know this because Elon Musk took to Instagram and Twitter last night and posted the first-ever real-life photos of the launch vehicle, currently stationed at the Horizaontal Integration Facility (HIF) at SpaceX’s LC-39A launch pad.
At launch, Falcon Heavy will only be surpassed in thrust and payload by the megarockets of the 1960s, the US Saturn V and the Soviet N-1. Best described by an eager employee, Falcon Heavy will have the same thrust as fifteen 747 Jumbo Jets at full throttle, and could nearly carry a fully-loaded 737 passenger jet into low Earth orbit (LEO) in a fully expendable configuration.
Over the past several weeks of inactivity, SpaceX’s pad technicians have been hard at work modifying the LC-39A launch pad and its Transporter/Erector/Launcher (TEL) to support the inaugural launch of Falcon Heavy. This mainly involved considerably upgrading the water deluge system used to muzzle the impact of the sheer sound created at launch, but also required the addition of four more hold-down clamps, necessary to abort a launch after engine ignition. An additional array of communications wiring and umbilical connections for fueling have also likely been added to the TEL in order to support the requirements of what are essentially three simultaneous Falcon 9 launches.
Pad 39A’s TEL undergoing modifications. Hold-down clamps are the grey enclosures seen at the end of the TEL. Note the worker standing in the middle for a sense of scale. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
A lack of frenetic activity at the pad in the last handful of days suggests that those modifications are nearly complete, and SpaceX fans and followers are now eagerly awaiting the rollback of the TEL to 39A’s integration facilities, where Falcon Heavy will soon after be integrated with the TEL for the first time ever. After this milestones, we can expected Falcon Heavy to be rolled out the pad for what is known as a wet dress rehearsal (WDR), akin to a launch or static fire but without any engine ignition. It’s possible that a bug-free WDR could fluidly transition into the first static fire for the vehicle, but it is probable that SpaceX will take a more cautious approach with this launch campaign. Following the successful completion of the WDR and static fire, Falcon Heavy’s inaugural launch will be imminent. We are potentially no more than 40 days out, the closest SpaceX has ever been to a Falcon Heavy launch.
Of note, the final picture posted by Musk offers an absolutely stunning view of the vehicle’s business end, showing off its 27 Merlin 1D engines and revealing quite obviously that both of Falcon Heavy’s side cores are flight-proven, whereas the center core is new. The photos provided also offer a glimpse of the only component clearly missing, the second stage and its mysterious Tesla Roadster payload. Unconfirmed whispers in the fan community have it on good authority that the Roadster has in fact already been mated to the second stage’s payload adapter, and transport to the Cape and integration with the full Falcon Heavy stack are undoubtedly imminent.
Falcon Heavy at the Cape pic.twitter.com/hizfDVsU7X
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2017
Possibly most significant of all, Musk suggested that the Roadster payload would be sent on a course to Mars, although it has yet to be concluded whether that will be in the form of a general orbit similar to Mars or an actual trans-Martian injection culminating in an orbit around the Red Planet. The former is far more likely, but the latter would be an extraordinarily impressive test of SpaceX hardware in deep space, a necessary precursor for the company’s goals of interplanetary colonization. Time will tell, and in the meantime we can expect a veritable flood of rocket and payload photos as SpaceX rapidly approaches a historic moment for the company.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram as we go bring you live video and behind the scenes coverage from Cape Canaveral at each SpaceX launch!
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolls budget airline after it refuses Starlink on its planes
“I really want to put a Ryan in charge of Ryan Air. It is your destiny,” Musk said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolled budget airline Ryanair on his social media platform X this week following the company’s refusal to adopt Starlink internet on its planes.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Ryanair did not plan to install Starlink internet services on its planes due to its budgetary nature and short flight spans, which are commonly only an hour or so in total duration.
Initially, Musk said installing Starlink on the company’s planes would not impact cost or aerodynamics, but Ryanair responded on its X account, which is comical in nature, by stating that a propaganda it would not fall for was “Wi-Fi on planes.”
Musk responded by asking, “How much would it cost to buy you?” Then followed up with the idea of buying the company and replacing the CEO with someone named Ryan:
I really want to put a Ryan in charge of Ryan Air. It is your destiny.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2026
Polymarket now states that there is an 8 percent chance that Musk will purchase Ryanair, which would cost Musk roughly $36 billion, based on recent financial data of the public company.
Although the banter has certainly crossed a line, it does not seem as if there is any true reason to believe Musk would purchase the airline. More than anything, it seems like an exercise of who will go further.
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
However, it is worth noting that if something is important enough, Musk will get involved. He bought Twitter a few years ago and then turned it into X, but that issue was much larger than simple banter with a company that does not want to utilize one of the CEO’s products.
The insufferable, special needs chimp currently running Ryan Air is an accountant. Has no idea how airplanes even fly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 20, 2026
In a poll posted yesterday by Musk, asking whether he should buy Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler.” 76.5 percent of respondents said he should, but others believe that the whole idea is just playful dialogue for now.
But it is not ideal to count Musk out, especially if things continue to move in the direction they have been.
News
Tesla Robotaxi’s biggest rival sends latest statement with big expansion
The new expanded geofence now covers a broader region of Austin and its metropolitan areas, extended south to Manchaca and north beyond US-183.
Tesla Robotaxi’s biggest rival sent its latest statement earlier this month by making a big expansion to its geofence, pushing the limits up by over 50 percent and nearing Tesla’s size.
Waymo announced earlier this month that it was expanding its geofence in Austin by slightly over 50 percent, now servicing an area of 140 square miles, over the previous 90 square miles that it has been operating in since July 2025.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shades Waymo: ‘Never really had a chance’
The new expanded geofence now covers a broader region of Austin and its metropolitan areas, extended south to Manchaca and north beyond US-183.
These rides are fully driverless, which sets them apart from Tesla slightly. Tesla operates its Robotaxi program in Austin with a Safety Monitor in the passenger’s seat on local roads and in the driver’s seat for highway routes.
It has also tested fully driverless Robotaxi services internally in recent weeks, hoping to remove Safety Monitors in the near future, after hoping to do so by the end of 2025.
Tesla Robotaxi service area vs. Waymo’s new expansion in Austin, TX. pic.twitter.com/7cnaeiduKY
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) January 13, 2026
Although Waymo’s geofence has expanded considerably, it still falls short of Tesla’s by roughly 31 square miles, as the company’s expansion back in late 2025 put it up to roughly 171 square miles.
There are several differences between the two operations apart from the size of the geofence and the fact that Waymo is able to operate autonomously.
Waymo emphasizes mature, fully autonomous operations in a denser but smaller area, while Tesla focuses on more extensive coverage and fleet scaling potential, especially with the potential release of Cybercab and a recently reached milestone of 200 Robotaxis in its fleet across Austin and the Bay Area.
However, the two companies are striving to achieve the same goal, which is expanding the availability of driverless ride-sharing options across the United States, starting with large cities like Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area. Waymo also operates in other cities, like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix, and Atlanta, among others.
Tesla is working to expand to more cities as well, and is hoping to launch in Miami, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Dallas.
Elon Musk
Tesla automotive will be forgotten, but not in a bad way: investor
It’s no secret that Tesla’s automotive division has been its shining star for some time. For years, analysts and investors have focused on the next big project or vehicle release, quarterly delivery frames, and progress in self-driving cars. These have been the big categories of focus, but that will all change soon.
Entrepreneur and Angel investor Jason Calacanis believes that Tesla will one day be only a shade of how it is recognized now, as its automotive side will essentially be forgotten, but not in a bad way.
It’s no secret that Tesla’s automotive division has been its shining star for some time. For years, analysts and investors have focused on the next big project or vehicle release, quarterly delivery frames, and progress in self-driving cars. These have been the big categories of focus, but that will all change soon.
I subscribed to Tesla Full Self-Driving after four free months: here’s why
Eventually, and even now, the focus has been on real-world AI and Robotics, both through the Full Self-Driving and autonomy projects that Tesla has been working on, as well as the Optimus program, which is what Calacanis believes will be the big disruptor of the company’s automotive division.
On the All-In podcast, Calcanis revealed he had visited Tesla’s Optimus lab earlier this month, where he was able to review the Optimus Gen 3 prototype and watch teams of engineers chip away at developing what CEO Elon Musk has said will be the big product that will drive the company even further into the next few decades.
Calacanis said:
“Nobody will remember that Tesla ever made a car. They will only remember the Optimus.”
He added that Musk “is going to make a billion of those.”
Musk has stated this point himself, too. He at one point said that he predicted that “Optimus will be the biggest product of all-time by far. Nothing will even be close. I think it’ll be 10 times bigger than the next biggest product ever made.”
He has also indicated that he believes 80 percent of Tesla’s value will be Optimus.
Optimus aims to totally revolutionize the way people live, and Musk has said that working will be optional due to its presence. Tesla’s hopes for Optimus truly show a crystal clear image of the future and what could be possible with humanoid robots and AI.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolls budget airline after it refuses Starlink on its planes
Tesla Robotaxi’s biggest rival sends latest statement with big expansion
