

News
Tesla makes €100M security deposit pending Gigafactory Berlin’s full permit approval
Tesla Brandenburg made a cash deposit of €100 million (~$120 million) to the State Office for the Environment on Friday, January 15.
“The necessary security is provided by the provisions of a letter of comfort by a German GmbH, combined with a cash deposit of 100 million euros,” said the Environment Ministry’s spokeswoman, Frauke Zelt.
The security deposit was made as part of the EV automaker’s agreement with the environmental office. Tesla’s deadline for the security deposit was initially December 17.
However, the company was unable to meet it, so work on the Gigafactory Berlin site was suspended. Initially, the State Environment Agency did not want to extend the deadline until January 4. Later, Brandenburg extended the deadline to January 15, after Tesla guaranteed a security deposit for all early building permits through a “letter of comfort.”
The deposit may be used to dismantle the Giga Berlin’s construction, if the Environment Office does not approve the Tesla factory’s permit.
So far, construction on Giga Berlin’s Model Y production plant has moved forward through a series of provisional permits or early approvals. The Environmental office is expected to reach a final decision on Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin permits between late to early February.
Tesla Giga Berlin will start operations with Model Y production in Europe. According to Elon Musk, the current building in construction is up to five stories tall. The Gigafactory in Germany will ramp to produce 500,000 vehicles annually in its first few years of operation and ultimately aim to produce more in the long term.
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Check out a video of Giga Berlin’s construction progress below.
News
SpaceX calls off Starship 10 flight attempt once again
SpaceX is calling off a potential launch of Starship this evening, marking the second consecutive night the tenth test flight of the massive rocket will be delayed.

SpaceX is calling off a potential launch of Starship this evening, marking the second consecutive night the tenth test flight of the massive rocket will be delayed.
Originally planning to launch on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. local time in Starbase, Texas, SpaceX was forced to delay the tenth launch of Starship due to a hardware issue.
“Ground side liquid oxygen leak needs to be fixed. Aiming for another launch attempt tomorrow,” CEO Elon Musk posted on the social media platform X.
Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch
The launch was then pushed to Monday night, and the launch window was set to start at the same time as Sunday. However, SpaceX would push it back to 6:44 p.m. due to some weather issues.
Eventually, Starship seemed like it was trending toward a launch, but weather continued to persist in the area, with thunder, rain, and lightning all threatening in the area.
At around 7:03 p.m., SpaceX decided to stand down once again, confirming weather was the culprit of yet another delay:
Launch called off for tonight due to anvil clouds over launch site (lightning risk)
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2025
SpaceX will likely try again on Tuesday night, but the company has not yet confirmed if it will open another launch window.
News
WATCH: SpaceX Starship Flight 10 launch

SpaceX is set to launch its tenth test flight of the Starship program, with a launch window that will open at 6:44 p.m. local time, or 7:44 p.m. on the East Coast.
Starship’s tenth test flight was originally scheduled for launch yesterday with a one-hour window that opened at 7:30 p.m. ET, but it was called off 17 minutes before that window even had a chance to open.
Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch
SpaceX moved the flight to tonight. It was also originally scheduled to have a launch window at the same time as Sunday, but it was pushed back 14 minutes to around 6:30 p.m. ET. There are storms in the area, as well as clouds over Starbase, so there is the off chance for another launch delay.
There are several big objectives for this launch, including the expansion of the operating envelope for the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX says there are “multiple landing burn tests planned.”
The booster will also be performing a few in-flight experiments to help with data collection. Specifically, real-world performance data on future flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios will be on the list of things SpaceX will be looking for.
Starship itself will have a few in-flight objectives that include the deployment of eight Starlink simulators that are similar in size to the next-gen satellites for the internet service. SpaceX was set to test this with Starship’s seventh test flight, which occurred in January 2025. However, the task was abandoned as the vehicle was destroyed before deployment could occur.
Liftoff conditions are currently looking favorable, and SpaceX will be eager to improve upon its Starship launch program as CEO Elon Musk has big plans for it in the coming years.
You can watch the launch below via SpaceX:
Watch Starship’s tenth flight test → https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B https://t.co/MQg9ZAjCip
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 25, 2025
Elon Musk
Tesla looks to expand Robotaxi geofence once again with testing in new area
It looks as if Tesla is preparing for its next expansion of the geofence, potentially moving toward a much larger service area that could eclipse 150 square miles.

Tesla looks to be preparing for the potential expansion of the Robotaxi geofence once again, as the company was spotted testing the suite in an area well outside of the Austin service area.
After it first launched the Robotaxi platform on June 22, Tesla has managed to expand its geofence twice, essentially doubling the travel area both times.
The most recent expansion took the size of the geofence from 42 square miles to about 80 square miles, bringing new neighborhoods and regions of the city into the realm of where the driverless vehicles could take passengers.
However, it looks as if Tesla is preparing for its next expansion of the geofence, potentially moving toward a much larger service area that could eclipse 150 square miles.
Over the weekend, one fan noticed a Robotaxi validation vehicle testing in Bee Cave, Texas, which is roughly 25 minutes from the edge of the current geofence:
Tesla spotted doing Robotaxi validation testing in Bee Cave, Texas, about 15 miles west of Austin (20-25 minute drive from current edge of geofence). pic.twitter.com/JCOcoys8SJ
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 23, 2025
Tesla has been testing vehicles in the western suburbs of Austin for some time, and it seems the company is laying some groundwork to push its geofence expansion into Plaid Mode as competition with Waymo continues to be at the forefront of the conversation.
Waymo has been expanding with Tesla for some time, as the pace of expansion for the two companies has been relatively accelerated for the past couple of months.
Tesla’s expansions of the geofence sent a clear message to competitors and doubters, but it is still aiming to keep things safe and not push the envelope too quickly.
The geofence expansion is impressive, but Tesla is also focusing on expanding its vehicle fleet in both Austin and the Bay Area, where it launched a ride-hailing service in July.
Tesla Bay Area autonomous fleet to grow to over 100 units: Elon Musk
Still, safety is the priority at the current time.
“We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate,” CEO Elon Musk said during the Q2 Earnings Call.
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