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Tesla’s date-specific releases are spelling trouble for competing car companies
Tesla continues to release the newest and most exciting features in automotive technology on what seems like a daily basis. Recently, CEO Elon Musk has dropped several exciting developments dealing with manufacturing, battery technology, or Self-Driving functionality, all pointing toward the beginning of the end of the internal combustion engine industry. With every strategically-timed feature that Tesla releases, the ICE industry suffers another hit, making the numerous manufacturers that have been around for nearly a century rethink their strategies for the future as consumers look for new technology in cars. Tesla has established itself as the leader in moving the automotive industry forward.
Just last week, Musk stated on Twitter that Tesla would be releasing a “zero-intervention” version of the FSD suite, allowing owners to have their cars drive to destinations with no real responsibilities being left on the driver.
Musk confirmed the exact date of release earlier this morning, saying that the feature will be subject to a “limited FSD beta” on October 20th. The release date is “as promised,” as last week, the CEO indicated that it would be released “in a few weeks.”
Limited FSD beta releasing on Tuesday next week, as promised. This will, at first, be limited to a small number of people who are expert & careful drivers.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 12, 2020
Tesla has been fairly accurate with its timeframes in terms of releasing new technology to owners. However, there have been a few times in the past where the company has released something a few days, weeks, or months past the announced date. Usually, delays come down to whether the feature or functionality is ready for public use. When it comes to self-driving or semi-autonomous driving features, mistakes must be minimal. Tesla has to be sure that all bases are covered before releasing even a new characteristic’s limited-version.
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Without performing the proper due-diligence, Tesla could be set back for months or even years. The company must continue to use its strive for perfection to its advantage. But now, Tesla is becoming more accurate with its timeframes, which spells significant amounts of trouble for other carmakers.
When the Full Self-Driving suite was aimed at a “feature complete” release toward the end of last year, many enthusiasts knew it would be tough for Tesla to complete this task. After the goal was not met, Musk indicated that Tesla would continue to work on the FSD suite and would release new features intermittently. Tesla did just this.
One of the most relevant examples of this is the Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control feature that became available in April 2020. When initially released, it required users to confirm that an intersection was safe for navigation by confirming it through the driving stalk. In June, Tesla removed the need for driver confirmation, allowing cars to navigate through intersections without driver intervention.
Tesla has kept its word with releasing features. However, what has been missing is an accurate timeframe, which has kept owners guessing about which features will be available at what times. But, Tesla is improving with this and is becoming more deliberate with keeping up with goals.
With more predictable release dates, Tesla becomes significantly more dangerous to legacy and ICE automotive companies. Knowing exactly when features will be ready and when the public will have the opportunity to experience them is effectively Tesla digging the six-foot deep hole where ICE car companies will lie within a few years. It means Tesla is developing functionalities in a timely fashion with accuracy and confidence.
Even though the feature is not a wide-release, FSD features rarely are. They often start with Tesla employees, and then roll out to members of the company’s “Early Access Program.” After the bugs and kinks, if there are any, are modified, then the wide-release begins.
As Tesla continues to raise the bar in semi-autonomous driving, electric vehicle technology, and EV battery functionality, it is evident that soon, there will be no more advantages to driving a car that is powered by gas. While fun for some, driving is a chore for others, and FSD will give those who are forced to travel the opportunity to have cars drive themselves.
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The big picture of Tesla is narrowing down specific release dates for features is that their approach is becoming more calculated, defined, and precise. All of which are a disaster for traditional car companies who are still lagging in EV development and Advanced Driver Assistance features. Tesla is pulling away, not only literally, but metaphorically, as well.
SpaceX just picked up another $1.6 billion from the Pentagon, with the U.S. Space Force awarding two task orders worth $1.6 billion to fly 18 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California through the end of 2027. The launches will carry satellites for the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, a set of programs meant to help the military detect and track airborne threats and relay that information across forces in near real time.
The award falls under National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1, the Space Force’s faster, commercial style procurement track for missions that do not require the military’s most demanding certification process. It is also the largest single order publicly disclosed under that program so far, and the first task order issued since the Space Force nearly tripled Lane 1’s contract ceiling from $5.6 billion to $17 billion on July 17.
SpaceX to become America’s Military data backbone for missiles, drones, and warfighters
Eric Zarybnisky, the Space Force’s acting portfolio acquisition executive for space access, said the entire process, from identifying the requirement to signing the contract, took about two months, including a month set aside for companies to prepare proposals.
SpaceX is not just launching these satellites. It already holds the contracts to build two of the programs within the same portfolio, $4.16 billion for the Space Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator system and $2.29 billion for the Space Data Network Backbone, which Teslarati covered in May. That means SpaceX is now responsible for both building key pieces of the military’s next generation sensing network and getting them into orbit.
With this latest award, SpaceX’s Pentagon contract total for 2026 alone tops $8 billion, adding to a defense portfolio that already includes the Golden Dome missile defense software group SpaceX joined in April and a string of GPS launches it inherited after ULA’s Vulcan rocket ran into a booster anomaly, which we detailed in March.
Lane 1’s vendor pool technically includes seven companies: SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Stoke Space, Impulse Space, and Relativity Space. In practice, SpaceX remains the only provider with the combination of launch cadence, flight proven Falcon 9 hardware, and West Coast infrastructure to support a campaign requiring roughly one Vandenberg launch a month for the next year and a half.
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Some lawmakers have flagged the growing concentration of national security launches with one company as a risk worth watching. For now, the Space Force keeps backing SpaceX, with it being the company that shows up ready to launch.
Elon Musk shed two new bits of detail on Starship following its 13th test launch, which was an overwhelming success.
SpaceX launched Starship for the 13th time last Friday after two delays: one on Monday when several Raptor engines did not ignite, and another on Thursday due to unfavorable weather conditions in Starbase, Texas.
The launch was overwhelmingly successful. SpaceX was able to complete a necessary test of the heat shield tiles by increasing the acceleration of Starship from launch throughout the flight; 20 Starlink v3 satellites were released with no issue; the Super Heavy Booster landed safely in the Gulf of America, Ship successfully reignited engines while in space; and it also splashed down without incident in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
Nevertheless, more details are coming out about Starship, and Musk is doing the talking.
Starship Will Be Retrieved in the Ocean
Musk revealed on Tuesday night that Starship would be recovered by a ship in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX routinely tries to recover Starship after splashdown in an effort to find out more about the flight by examining the spacecraft afterward.
We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship https://t.co/fUqUZTITO9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2026
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This helps engineers find out more about why things might have happened, allows them to examine any potential damage or anomalies that might have occurred, and increases the chances of an even more successful flight next time thanks to the additional information recovered.
Ship Could Have Been Caught by Tower Arms, Musk claims
Musk has already indicated that SpaceX will plan to attempt a catch of Starship with the 14th test flight. While this would be a major accomplishment, it would be an expected next step, considering the fact that the Super Heavy Booster has already been caught by the chopsticks on numerous occasions.
The ship landing was precise, meaning that it would have been caught by the tower arms https://t.co/6nbNrRfX9P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
A ship catch would be a great indication of where SpaceX stands in terms of reusability and launch cadence. A successful catch with relatively no incidents would be a good sign that SpaceX is nearing a more frequent launch of Starship, but also that the reusability of the massive rocket would be something many would expect in the near future.
It is a necessity to make life multiplanetary.
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Elon Musk has updated his timeline for when humans will walk on Mars and for when ships will simply get there.
The objective of getting to Mars has been one of Musk’s biggest goals since becoming a serial entrepreneur and realizing that time on Earth is limited. Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact.
Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.”
People on Mars in roughly 5 to 7 years.
Mars lander a few years sooner.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
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Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added.
Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.
In fact, the SpaceX and Tesla frontman has said on at least a dozen occasions that we could be on Mars in the coming years. Musk said 2020 would be the big year as early as 2009. In 2020, he was “highly confident” of a landing in 2026, and had even said 2024 in a best-case scenario.
The point is, the range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet.
SpaceX scores another massive Pentagon deal to support military satellites
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
