

News
SpaceX rolls Inspiration4 Falcon 9 rocket to the pad for historic launch
SpaceX has rolled the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the historic Inspiration4 private astronaut mission to its NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch facilities.
Part of a vistor’s center bus tour of the NASA center, Reddit and YouTube user whiterice98 caught the SpaceX rocket in motion as it was transported from a brand new processing facility to historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) – better known as Pad 39A. The same site that supported the inaugural launch of Saturn V and the Space Shuttle and every single crewed mission to the Moon, Pad 39A’s next mission doesn’t carry quite the same gravity but will still be a milestone in the history of spaceflight.
Scheduled to launch no earlier than 8pm EDT on September 14th (00:00 UTC 15 Sept), Inspiration4 will be the first mission in history to send a crew of solely private astronauts into orbit. While only possible thanks to the patronage and resources of billionaire and mission commander Jared Isaacman, the hope is that Inspiration4 will mark the start of a new age of spaceflight – one where virtually anyone can feasibly dream of reaching orbit and experiencing Earth from hundreds of miles above.
Along for the ride with Isaacman will be Ph.D. geologist and science communicator Sian Proctor, engineer Christopher Sembroski (standing in for a friend), and physician’s assistant and childhood cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux. Isaacman is a long-time private pilot with substantial flight experience but none of the four have any prior experience with spaceflight and will have a few months of training at most when they lift off together later this month. While Isaacman’s success as a businessman and founder is the sole enabler behind Inspiration4, it’s likely that none of the three passengers he chose would have ever had the resources or wherewithal to reach orbit (or even a minute or two of “space” with Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin) on their own.
Save for teacher Christina McAuliffe’s doomed 1986 mission aboard the Space Shuttle, one that never reached space or orbit, Inspiration4 will arguably be unique and inspiring for that alone. Set to fly on a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster and in a once-flown Crew Dragon capsule, SpaceX’s first fully private astronaut launch will also be reaping the fruits of the company’s decade-long pursuit of reusability.
Unlike the Shuttle, which was largely designed by politicians and committees and engineered retroactively, SpaceX has always been working on rocket and spacecraft reusability with the intention of actually making the practice more efficient and affordable than the expendable alternative. Over the course of the program’s history, Shuttle ultimately proved to be a dramatic downgrade from the highly successful Saturn V rocket NASA killed to fund it while still being less reliable, about as expensive, and several times deadlier.
With a little luck and far more skill, expertise, and hindsight, Inspiration4 will hopefully prove that Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon are what the Space Shuttle never could be – the key to orbit for professional and civilian astronauts alike.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets another new price target as recent events ‘remove large overhang’
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) got another new price target this week after one firm said that recent events “have removed a large overhang on the stock.”

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) got another new price target this week after one firm said that recent events “have removed a large overhang on the stock.”
This year, Tesla has had an up-and-down performance on Wall Street, but gains over the past month have overshadowed much of the skepticism and pressure on the stock.
However, over the past 30 days, a lot of good things have happened: Tesla has shown it has a lot of demand for its vehicles, which will likely translate to good delivery figures, it figured out a compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, and the company’s clear focus on Robotaxi and Optimus puts it in a good position for the future as the focus comes off of quarterly deliveries.
Tesla board reveals reasoning for CEO Elon Musk’s new $1 trillion pay package
Deutsche Bank recognized these potential catalysts and wrote in a note to investors:
“Ahead of 3Q25 deliveries next week, we raise our near-term estimates given stronger volume in the quarter, but keep our full-year and 2026 outlook mostly unchanged. We think Elon Musk’s clear focus on Tesla’s most important efforts (Robotaxi and Optimus) and the recent compensation package have removed a large overhang on the stock going forward, will allow Tesla to benefit from being a leader in embodied AI.”
These points specifically pushed Deutsche Bank’s reasoning for pushing its price target to $435 from $345.
In terms of quarterly deliveries, the firm expects Tesla to report 461,500 for the quarter. “We expect +20% growth in China and N. America, with some decline in Europe as competition and branding continue to weigh in on demand,” Deutsche Bank said.
Wall Street firm makes shock move for Tesla Q3 delivery prediction
Overall, IR-compiled consensus estimates put deliveries at 443,100:
$TSLA IR-compiled 3Q consensus deliveries for next week is 443.1K -4.3% YoY and +15.4% QoQ. Our 3Q estimate remains 470K so we are still looking for a material beat when TSLA reports 3Q deliveries and production on 10/2. The FY’2025 consensus is 1,603.2K so -10.4% YoY. pic.twitter.com/yuFh9Igvb9
— Gary Black (@garyblack00) September 26, 2025
Tesla received other price target boosts this week, including one from Wedbush’s Dan Ives, who bumped his outlook on the stock from $500 to a Street-high $600.
News
Elon Musk gives update on Tesla Optimus progress
Tesla is “working hard” to get Optimus production scaled, Elon Musk said.

Elon Musk says Tesla is working hard to scale what will end up being its biggest product in his eyes: Optimus.
Tesla Optimus is the company’s humanoid robot project, which was first announced several years ago but has gained more relevance and become a larger focus over the past year.
Tesla truly had its big breakout with Optimus last year at its “We, Robot” event in October, where it was used to serve drinks, provide entertainment, and mingle with attendees.
However, it has been a challenge for Tesla to truly scale Optimus and, although it has huge plans for production numbers, certain parts of the project have proven to be more difficult than others.
One of the most notable things is that of its hands, as Tesla wants them to be nimble enough to thread a needle.
This has proven to be very difficult.
Scaling production and refining manufacturing are also likely challenges. Musk says Tesla is “working hard on scaling Optimus,” something that is a crucial issue to solve as the project is a major contributor to the company’s future.
Musk said:
🚨 Tesla has big plans for Optimus production
It has plans for an annual production run-rate of 1 million by 2030
Earlier this year, the plan was to build 5,000 in 2025
Elon Musk has said Optimus should make up roughly 80% of Tesla’s value https://t.co/nAMKGq4yGz pic.twitter.com/NIGUKH248i
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 27, 2025
Musk has made some pretty tremendous predictions for Optimus and how important it could be to Tesla in the future.
Earlier this month, he said Optimus will make up about 80 percent of the company’s value in the future. In January, he also noted during Tesla’s Q4 2024 Earnings Call that Optimus would be “overwhelmingly the value of the company.”
Elon Musk details Tesla’s road to selling Optimus and Robotaxi affordably
He has not only talked about Optimus’s importance in terms of money and revenue. He also said it would be “the biggest product of all-time by far,” because of its ability to revolutionize human life. He said it would be like “having your own personal C-3PO and R2-D2.”
Aspect
|
Musk’s Estimation
|
Date/Context
|
Implication for Tesla
|
---|---|---|---|
Valuation Share
|
~80% of total company value
|
Sep 2025 X post; Jan 2025 earnings
|
Shifts focus from EVs to robotics as primary growth engine
|
Overall Valuation
|
Up to $25 trillion (Optimus-driven)
|
Mid-2024 interview
|
~34x current cap; exceeds U.S. GDP equivalent in profits
|
Market Size
|
>10 billion units globally
|
Aug 2024 interview
|
Universal adoption for labor/personal use
|
Product Ranking
|
Biggest product ever; > FSD value
|
Mar 2025 statement; Apr 2022
|
Transforms Tesla into AI/robotics leader
|
Unit Price
|
~$20,000 (high-volume target)
|
Nov 2024 X post
|
Enables affordability for billions of users
|
Elon Musk
Tesla pleads with Trump White House not to bail on crucial climate standards
It suggested that abandoning the standards “would give a pass to engine and vehicle manufacturers for all measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle.”

Tesla pleaded with the Trump White House not to bail on crucial climate standards that would help keep vehicle emissions in check, warning of human dangers related to greenhouse gases.
Tesla wrote that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent proposal to roll back standards for tailpipe emissions would be a major setback in the fight to limit damage to the climate.
It suggested that abandoning the standards “would give a pass to engine and vehicle manufacturers for all measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle,” Reuters said in its report.
Trump has been a critic of environmental standards, and earlier this week, during a speech with the U.N., said that climate change was “the greatest con-job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion.”
NOW – Trump: “Climate change— it’s the greatest con-job ever perpetrated on the world.” pic.twitter.com/BZp9jX0d9w
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 23, 2025
Tesla’s tone on the potential rollback of climate standards was countered by that of General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and “nearly all other major automakers,” who requested the EPA delay the emissions goals.
Tesla stands to gain a lot from the emissions push. Other automakers simply cannot compete with Tesla’s tech, charging infrastructure, or self-driving program, and they have a significant advantage as they started developing EV tech more than a decade ago.
Legacy automakers, on the other hand, have continued to develop EVs, but have not managed to manufacture anything of extreme interest to most car buyers.
Individually, they have not dented Tesla’s market share in the U.S., but collectively, because of more offerings and improvements to their lineups, they have managed to take some of Tesla’s sales away.
It’s taken all of them to truly compete with Tesla in the big picture. However, the other companies still need to rely on combustion engine vehicles, at least in the short term, to generate revenue.
Since these companies are not meeting emissions targets, they are required to pay Tesla for compliance credits, which the company generated $2.8 billion in revenue from last year.
Tesla said in its letter that the EPA’s consideration of rolling back standards is destructive to the innovation of the automotive industry:
“[It] undermines the stability of this program, diminishes the value of performance-based incentives that electric vehicle manufacturers accrue under the standards, and creates an uneven playing field – reducing the inducement for investment in vehicle innovation.”
With President Trump’s skepticism on the issue of vehicle emissions, things don’t look like they will go in Tesla’s favor with this particular request.
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