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Tesla seen as opportunity for post-pandemic economic growth to Fort Worth, TX
It appears that Tesla is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after companies in the United States, with the electric car maker’s speculated move to Texas receiving a vote of support from Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, who made a pitch to CEO Elon Musk requesting his company’s presence in the Lone Star State.
The Fort Worth mayor’s request goes past Texas being the new home of the world’s premier electric automaker. City officials see Tesla as a turning point in Fort Worth’s resurgence as an economic powerhouse in Texas, and the sustainable transportation company could be the spark needed to push post-COVID-19 economic growth.
Price acknowledged the inevitable loss of employment the pandemic is going to cause in her pitch. “Every city is going to lose some jobs and some businesses, so you’ve got to replace them,” she said, noting that Fort Worth is ready to make an offer to Musk.
Above all, we’ve got a trailblazing, pioneering spirit and a community unlike any other. Tequila shots (post @Tesla test-drive and site visits) on me when you come to see #FortWorthNow. pic.twitter.com/3JeRBwzNBU
— Betsy Price (@BetsyPriceftw) May 13, 2020
Other cities in Texas have expressed their support of Musk, explaining why their city works for the electric car maker’s operations. Still, Fort Worth’s Betsy Price has an advantage that very few political officials have.
I had lunch with Elon Musk several years ago when he was looking for a place for his battery plant,” Price stated, according to an NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. “So, he knows a little bit about Fort Worth. So, I think it is a great time to be recruiting him,” she added.
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Fort Worth also has plenty of undeveloped land, the most in the State of Texas, with 70,000 acres left for commercial use. Tesla’s Fremont facility is 5.3 million square feet and only sits on 370 acres of land, so the Texas city’s large unused commercial areas could be a perfect fit for the electric car maker, particularly its upcoming Cybertruck Gigafactory/Terafactory.
“We have more green space than any other major city in Texas. We’ve got a lot of places to be built out still. We have a lot of older buildings and things that can be redone. We’ve got lots and lots of opportunities and lots and lots of space. It spreads out. It’s not quite as dense as some cities are and right now that lack of density is a plus for people,” Price said.
Musk has been fielding requests from several U.S. States for the past few days after he hinted that Tesla’s headquarters and future projects will be leaving California. Apart from Texas, Oklahoma and Florida officials have reached out to Musk with offers in the past week.
The Tesla CEO had been sparring with authorities in Alameda County over officials’ hesitation to reopen the Fremont factory, which produces the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y. Ultimately, the Fremont plant reopened Sunday evening against county health officials’ orders. An agreement between both Tesla and Alameda County was eventually reached, which would allow the automaker to resume normal operations next week.
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 (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
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The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
Elon Musk updates the SpaceX timeline for Mars
