The launch took place just a few minutes after 5 p.m. on the East Coast, as the first attempts at getting Starship in the air for the seventh time were delayed by weather both last week and this week.

Conditions were favorable on Thursday as SpaceX looked to follow up a successful campaign by Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s company, earlier today.

SpaceX went into the seventh Starship launch with plans for a catch attempt of the first-stage booster, something it attempted and completed during the fifth test launch last year. It decided to skip a catch attempt with the sixth test flight as conditions were not aligned.

For now, SpaceX is extremely selective as to when it attempts catches.

However, it was successful during this attempt, its second completed catch:

? ? Here is @SpaceX’s full catch of the Lower Stage Booster from Starship Flight 7! pic.twitter.com/IXIRAGr1Md

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 16, 2025

This flight differed from previous launches as SpaceX rolled out several improvements to the rocket and the processes as it featured plans to do a Starlink deployment simulation and had various adjustments to flap placement and avionics.

These plans were disrupted by the fact that SpaceX lost all communications with Starship about ten minutes into the flight, which the aerospace company confirmed was a result of losing the spacecraft sometime during its ascent.

?? Telemetry on Starship has been lost. All comms with the ship have been lost, and SpaceX’s livestream says this is an “anomaly.”

“We are assuming the ship has been lost.” pic.twitter.com/fyyCNuXVRg

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 16, 2025

Although the catch was successful, the loss of the actual rocket seemed to be a huge damper on the entire event. SpaceX confirmed several minutes after the loss of communications that the rocket was destroyed and was lost.

It was its first failure since the second Starship launch in November 2023. SpaceX had no answers for why the rocket was destroyed and lost.

We will keep you updated in the coming days.

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The Robotaxi is already a driverless, steering wheel-less, pedal-less vehicle that aims to revolutionize transportation. Used as a ride-sharing platform, the Robotaxi will eventually transfer riders from Point A to Point B without any human needed.

However, more than just the vehicle operation will be fully autonomous.

Tesla will also use a wireless charging pad to create a full-fledged, completely autonomous driving and ownership experience. Instead of manually plugging in the Robotaxi when it is time to recharge, the vehicle will slide over a wireless charging pad, much like the one it unveiled at Investor Day in 2023.

Tesla teases mysterious “wireless” home charger on Investor Day

Tesla shared the video of the Robotaxi pulling over the charging pad and gaining range without any human intervention needed, truly creating an autonomous experience from top to bottom and start to finish.

Check out the video below:

Robotaxi wireless charging

No hands required pic.twitter.com/XL746DkGhb

— Tesla (@Tesla) October 18, 2024

The video does note a charging power of just 25 kW.

It would be nice to have some sort of information regarding whether this tech will be available for retrofit, especially considering many owners are curious as to whether Tesla will push the wireless charging capability to the rest of its lineup in the coming years, something that has been speculated since the automaker purchased Wiferion a few years back.

In reality, the charging rate does not truly matter to anyone because the vehicle is designed to take care of the rides and the riders on its own. There is no real reason for the charging rate to be of any concern.

The Robotaxi experience, from an ownership perspective, is truly like a long-term investment. It aims to make people money by giving rides through a dedicated ride-hailing app, which Tesla also teased in recent memory.

Credit: Tesla

From a rider’s perspective, everything from the temperature to the music will be customizable. It truly caters to both the owner and the rider.

Please email me with questions and comments at joey@teslarati.com. I’d love to chat! You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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During the IAA Transport Show in Germany today, the Semi’s Head of Engineering, Dan Priestley, unloaded tons of new details on the vehicle, including plans to leverage several different variants of the electric truck, how its efficiency stacks up, and various Easter eggs that the company has discovered through its fleet operation thus far.

Tesla Semi sleeper section and large side storage teased in new video

Tesla Semi Configurations

Priestly said Tesla will develop several configurations of the Semi so that they can be purchased according to the buyer’s needs.

Thanks to Tesla’s vertical integration, manufacturing will be simple.

Mass production at the new Semi factory near Giga Nevada will scale to 50,000 units annually.

Priestley said:

“We aim to be as competitive at an upfront price with diesel as possible, in order to accelerate the adoption of electric trucks as quickly as we can. Again, this is on lock for Tesla’s deep vertical integration, and we will plan to leverage this into multiple variants…We will be taking on a wide variety of applications and vehicle types.”

Tesla Semi Efficiency

Tesla, along with the companies that have been operating the vehicle in their pilot programs, have routinely flexed the efficiency of the Semi.

Pepsi details how its Tesla Semi fleet is helping it reach sustainability goals

But Priestley said today at the conference that common industry numbers are approaching 100 kWh per 100 kilometers traveled.

The Semi has already achieved this.

It will only get better when Tesla comes back with a high-volume version of the Semi. Higher efficiency means lower battery mass and cost, meaning a less expensive product and more advantages for the customer.

Fleet Data

Despite the Tesla Semi being a vehicle that is relatively new and only has operated on a very controlled basis, only being delivered to a handful of companies.

Here are some of the stats Tesla has logged so far for the fleet:

• Over 4.65 million miles have been driven since the Tesla Semi pilot test fleet started operation
• One Tesla Semi unit has over 248,000 miles driven — it took only 18 months to get to this point
• The fleet has a 95 percent uptime — this includes scheduled and unscheduled maintenance

The full presentation can be watched below:

Here is the full keynote speech of the Tesla Semi program lead @danWpriestley which just took place in the IAA in Hannover Germany.

Welcome to Europe, @Tesla!
The Semi is incredible. pic.twitter.com/UPYKkwDVeO

— Jaan of the EV Universe (@TheEVuniverse) September 17, 2024

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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It is important to know how Tesla originally got its start. It made the Roadster and priced it to sell to the rich and famous – a cool $98,950. This money would essentially be used as a fundraiser for future vehicle projects, like the Model S and Model X, which would eventually lead to the Model 3 and Model Y.

The strategy led to the company being forced to navigate through some very tough financial times, but it worked.

On the Grit Podcast, which Scaringe appeared on earlier this week, he discussed the strategy and why he made a “very intentional” move to avoid it despite it being a good way to gather capital.

Scaringe called Tesla “very inspirational,” commending the company for its leadership and prowess as an EV superpower. However, he knew it was important to establish a different story for his company. Tesla’s path is not the only one needed for success:

“…a logical place to start is build a sports car, use it to build the brand, then following the sports car, follow with more mass market vehicles, and that was, of course, how Tesla’s strategy played out, and it worked, you know, wonderfully, well for them. You know, we were starting in a similar logic space to say, ‘build a sports car,’ and I realized somebody’s done that already, and they’ve done it well, with Tesla. So to pivot to a completely different type of product, you know, experience, vehicle topology, was a very intentional effort to also create a new story for not only us as a company or as a brand but, importantly, help shift mindsets around what sustainable transportation can look like.”

It’s safe to say there is plenty of respect in this mindset. While it would still have been difficult to pull off, there is something to be said in the fact that Scaringe wanted a different path for Rivian, a different story to tell, and its own struggles to go through.

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The Tesla Semi is one of the automaker’s most groundbreaking products. After being developed for several years, it finally started making its way to its first customer, PepsiCo, almost two years ago.

Although more than just Pepsi has obtained Tesla Semi units for company fleets, the automaker is still keeping things relatively tight and close as it seems to be somewhat of a pilot program.

However, Tesla is preparing for more units to make their way to more companies. It announced last year that it would build a dedicated Semi production plant near Gigafactory Nevada, and construction has already started. In fact, the foundation is beginning to take shape on the facility itself.

Tesla’s Giga Nevada Semi factory gets its first steel beams

But that does not mean Tesla is not producing Semi units within the space it already has available.

X user Zanegler, a drone operator who monitors the progress of the Semi program, showed 26 new Tesla Semi units outside of the facility. Additionally, he said there are 15 and 11 on other respective sides of the facility:

A Bolt of Tesla Semi’s – 26 brand-new Tesla semi’s fresh off of the prototype production line!

They seem to be hitting their stride and increasing the pace of production. pic.twitter.com/zgoZy31gOi

— Zanegler (@HinrichsZane) September 5, 2024

These units appear to be going to PepsiCo, which still needs to obtain its 100 total units, Zanegler said. They are also being used in demonstrations for customers who are considering the vehicle for their own logistics operations.

Finally, Tesla is also utilizing some of the units for the transportation of batteries, Powerwalls, and other things.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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After the first videos showed it rolling seamlessly through an empty shopping center parking lot, including a roundabout, more footage of the feature is being released.

Now, it is being tested in a busy Costco parking lot in the middle of the day. Filled with cars, shopping carts, and pedestrians. Costco parking lots are also pretty tight, and require extreme awareness, especially during the club’s busiest hours. It is a stressful and sometimes frustrating experience driving through a Costco lot.

@AIDRIVR on X has been sharing content related to the release of Actually Smart Summon, and showed the seamless navigation of the feature through a Costco lot yesterday:

Proceeding Cautiously and Respectfully

A big part of driving through any busy parking lot is using your right-of-way, and it is also plenty of give and take.

As we can see in the image below, the Tesla pulls just to the side to allow the approaching vehicle to go through.

After allowing that vehicle to proceed, the Tesla then uses its right-of-way to move forward. An alternating pattern allows traffic to move fluidly, safely, and efficiently. The Tesla would pull out and proceed while the black car (seen behind the white car) would wait for it to go through.

Tesla ASS handles aggressive driver

As previously mentioned, navigating these lots requires give and take. However, some drivers simply want to take.

The Tesla pulls up to this intersection where it has the right-of-way, while the Honda SUV on the right has to stop to allow the Tesla to proceed.

After the Tesla proceeded cautiously to ensure the Honda wouldn’t jump the gun, it starts to move. However, the Honda driver attempts to cut the Tesla off, but the EV does not hesitate to continue on with its right-of-way. The Honda realizes this and safely stops, allowing the Tesla to proceed.

Tesla backs out of spot, cautiously proceeds by pedestrian

The Tesla also backed out of a spot after a vehicle waited for it. The car that is seen behind the pillar to the left of the steering wheel stopped to allow the Model 3 operating with Actually Smart Summon to back out of its spot safely.

It then sees the pedestrians on the right and cautiously and safely navigates around them, despite the tight parking lot.

What do you think about the performance of ASS in this parking lot? Check out the full performance below:

Actually Smart Summon @ Costco pic.twitter.com/dEzPPL3o8C

— ΛI DRIVR (@AIDRIVR) September 3, 2024

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla released Actually Smart Summon last night, bringing the feature back after the company transitioned to a Vision-only approach several years ago. The original release, known as Smart Summon, is relatively identical to the new Actually Smart Summon. However, there are some improvements.

We are now seeing owners take ASS for a spin as the vehicles are operating with the new form of Summon.

Tesla finally launches Actually Smart Summon and Dumb Summon

One owner showed the improved accuracy of the navigation of a vehicle on Summon as a Model Y made it through a roundabout and picked him up on the far side:

Actually Smart Summon test #2 (Roundabout)

I’m officially impressed pic.twitter.com/GbiWcdFYpB

— ΛI DRIVR (@AIDRIVR) September 3, 2024

It seems to navigate the roundabout with plenty of confidence, and although slow and cautious, there is something to be said about the vehicle doing what it is with no true hiccups along the way.

The next true test will be to see Summon in a parking lot that has some foot traffic, as the reactions of what people will see as a “driverless car” would be priceless in their own right.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Elon Musk seems to love it.

The Cybertruck is already marketed as the perfect Apocolypse machine, capable of handling nearly anything that comes its way. However, there are some more sinister attachments that would make it even more useful in the event of a Zombie uprising, including one that Herrera built that uses an M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun:

We turned an @elonmusk Cybertruck into a real life Halo Warthog with a functional .50 Caliber turret: pic.twitter.com/VGYrIVmmlZ

— Brandon Herrera (@TheAKGuy) August 30, 2024

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 29, 2024

Musk seems to love the idea of the modification, which was done for entertainment purposes only:

This is awesome ?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2024

It was also wrapped in a style that is strikingly resemblant of a Warthog in Halo, which was one of the most successful video game series of the 2000s:

Warthog (. (2024, August 4). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warthog_(Halo)

Of course, a much different sentiment was shared recently when a Russian warlord and head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, did something similar with a Cybertruck he bought.

But there are vastly different narratives when it comes to a YouTuber and someone who has been accused of crimes against humanity.

The Cybertruck is becoming one of the most interesting vehicles in terms of modifications. While any vehicle can be modified in basically limitless terms, there is no secret the Cybertruck is getting some unique add-ons at the hands of very creative people. Not only is it becoming very customized in a literal sense, but it also might be on its way to becoming the perfect vehicle for content creation.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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As someone who loves to drive their car out on the beach and stay out for as long as 24 hours in a row, a cooktop is truly a necessity.

Perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and compact enough to fit inside a trunk or bed without taking up too much space, a cooktop is something that everyone from the casual camper or the hardcore outdoorsman will appreciate.

The Rivian Travel Kitchen is specially engineered for Rivian vehicles and fits on any tabletop surface that is within reach of a power source. It includes a carrying case, Hangout Lights and poles, a cutting board, and a drawer for storage of utensils.

How it Works

The induction cooktop includes two burners and can be powered by the R1T or R1S or a 120V power source with at least 15A of current.

The burners will share 1500W, and you can use all 1500 on one or split between the two. It uses a touch-control panel and will only transfer heat with an induction-capable pot or pan. This makes it super safe and will keep you from burning yourself.

Easy Transport and Designed for Travel

The Travel Kitchen can be stored in the R1T gear tunnels, R1 front trunks, or any trunk until it is ready to be used.

It comes with a carrying case and has ergonomic handles for easy carrying.

It also uses sustainable materials throughout to align with Rivian’s mission. The cutting board, for example, is made from recycled materials. The inside of the kitchen is also made from castor plants.

Additionally, induction cooktops are more environmentally friendly than gas or wood.

Accessories

The Travel Kitchen features things like Hangout Lights and retractable poles that can be used for nighttime cooking or additional light when hanging out with friends.

The cutting board and drawer are obviously huge advantages for the kitchen.

Availability

The Travel Kitchen is available today and can be yours for $1,400. Check out the awesome video of it in use below:

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Nine Merlin engines were burned for roughly 10 seconds in total early on Thursday morning at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Space Launch Complex 40.

The rocket that was used for testing is likely to be the one SpaceX utilizes for its next launch as soon as it is given permission to do so by the Federal Aviation Adminsitration (FAA).

SpaceX’s next launch will use this Falcon 9 rocket for the Starlink 10-4 mission, according to SpaceflightNow. It would be the latest batch of Starlink high-speed satellites to reach low-Earth orbit.

The spaceflight company is still working through an issue that it had with a liquid oxygen leak on the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage during the Starlink 9-3 mission on July 11. SpaceX requested a public safety determination be made by the FAA the following week, as the company argued it did not present any risk to public or private property.

SpaceX launch anomaly occurs on Falcon 9 Starlink satellite mission

The FAA commented on the mishap shortly after it happened:

“The FAA is aware an anomaly occurred during the SpaceX Starlink Group 9-3 mission that launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 11. The incident involved the failure of the upper-stage rocket while it was in space. No public injuries or public property damage have been reported. The FAA is requiring an investigation.

A return flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety. In addition, SpaceX may need to request and receive approval from the FAA to modify its license that incorporates any corrective actions and meet all other licensing requirements.”

The FAA said on Wednesday it is still evaluating SpaceX’s request and had not yet come to a conclusion of how it would handle the situation. On July 16, the agency explained its process for working through these types of issues:

“When a public safety determination request is received, the agency evaluates safety-critical systems, the nature and consequences of the anomaly, the adequacy of existing flight safety analysis, safety organization performance, and environmental factors. If the FAA agrees no public safety issues were involved, the operator may return to flight while the investigation remains open, provided all other license requirements are met.”

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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