Elon Musk

An artist's rendering of the "Red Dragon" capsule that SpaceX is planning to land on the surface of Mars — perhaps sometime in the next two years.

Science

Mars By 2018? SpaceX And NASA Announce A New Space Project

2:57pm April 28, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The Red Dragon missions are aimed at figuring out what's needed "to land large payloads propulsively on Mars." For now, the plan doesn't include sending astronauts to the red planet.

About 14 percent of the Gigafactory in Nevada has been built so far. At 5.8 million square feet, it will be a building with one of the biggest footprints in the world.

A Rare Look Inside The 'Gigafactory' Tesla Hopes Will Revolutionize Energy Use

6:19pm April 18, 2016

by Lauren Sommer

Tesla is building what it says is the world's largest battery factory. The scale is expected to drive down the cost of electric cars and batteries that homeowners can use to store surplus solar power.

Queue Listen Now

Customers lined up at a Tesla store on Thursday to put in down payments for the new Tesla Model 3 in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Tysons Corner, Va.

A Tesla For The Masses? Orders For Model 3 Top 100K In First Hours

1:41pm April 01, 2016

by Sonari Glinton

Before the Model 3 was even unveiled, people lined up at Tesla stores to put down a deposit. With a base price of $35,000, the car will go on sale late next year at the earliest.

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The first car Tesla released was the luxury Roadster, which had a six-figure price tag.

Tesla Preparing To Charge Into Affordable Car Market

3:14pm February 10, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The long-promised Model 3 will be revealed in March — and Elon Musk has confirmed to Bloomberg that it will, as planned, be sold for $35,000 before any tax incentives.

A handout picture made available by SpaceX shows a Falcon 9 rocket landing upright at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX successfully returned a rocket to Earth following Monday's satellite launch after two earlier attempts failed.

SpaceX Rocket Successfully Lands After Launching Satellites

8:16am December 22, 2015

by Doreen McCallister

It's the first launch since a Falcon 9 rocket exploded in June, and the first recovery of a spent booster for SpaceX. Previous attempts were close but ended in failure.

The New Shepard, seen here taking off with its capsule in place, returned to its launch site in a vertical landing after reaching an altitude of 100 kilometers.

Used Rocket Is A New Breakthrough For Blue Origin's Space Plan

2:25pm November 24, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, has sent a craft past the edge of space and then landed its rocket safely – and vertically — in Texas.

New autopilot features are demonstrated in a Tesla Model S during a Tesla event in Palo Alto, Calif., Wednesday.

National

Self-Driving Cars Hit The Streets, Sort Of

2:18pm October 15, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

The electric car company Tesla is now becoming the self-driving carmaker. Today it releases software to tens of thousands of Model S owners to automate steering, lane change and parallel parking.

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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft break apart shortly after liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on June 28. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Monday the failure of a steel strut likely caused the rocket to exp

Science

Failed Strut Likely Caused SpaceX Rocket To Explode, Elon Musk Says

6:55am July 21, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The Falcon 9 rocket was carrying supplies to the International Space Station when it exploded June 28. Musk, the SpaceX CEO, said that going forward, the company will individually test each strut.

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 11. SpaceX will attempt to return a Falcon 9 rocket to a floating ship in the Atlantic Ocean on its next launch.

National

Storm Clouds Delay SpaceX Spacecraft Launch

5:38pm April 13, 2015

by Sam Sanders

The rocket will carry supplies to the International Space Station. SpaceX hopes to land the reusable rocket on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

Satellite separation during the Falcon 1 ABS/Eutelsat launch.

A Side Of SpaceX You May Not Have Seen Before

4:18pm March 23, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

CEO Elon Musk's decision to put photos in the public domain was spurred by a Twitter follower who asked: What is there to lose?