Elon Musk’s SpaceX Sees Another Rocket Explode in Latest Setback

One of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starships exploded during a test on Wednesday night at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas. The 36th Starship was going through a “static fire” test—where the rocket’s engines are fired while it stays on the ground—when it suddenly burst into a huge fireball at around 11 p.m. local time. Indeed, videos showed that the rocket was attached to the launch arm moments before the explosion. Local officials confirmed that it was a “catastrophic failure,” but no one was hurt, and safety precautions were in place to protect the area.

SpaceX explained that the rocket experienced a “major anomaly” just before its 10th planned flight test. Although the explosion was dramatic, the company is known for its “fail fast, learn fast” approach and believes that testing under real conditions helps it improve faster. Interestingly, Elon Musk downplayed the failure on social media by jokingly saying, “Just a scratch.” It’s worth noting that this is not the first time a Starship has failed, as test flights in May, March, and January also ended in explosions. Still, the rocket is key to Musk’s goal of reaching Mars and is part of NASA’s Artemis mission plans.

At 403 feet tall, Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever made and can carry up to 150 metric tons. In addition, SpaceX has made progress in recovering rocket parts by catching boosters with robotic arms, which it hopes will make launches cheaper and more frequent. As a result, despite past explosions, the FAA recently approved increasing the number of annual Starship launches from 5 to 25, and even overruled environmental concerns raised by conservation groups.

What Is the Prediction for Tesla Stock?

When it comes to Elon Musk’s companies, most of them are privately held. However, retail investors can invest in his most popular company, Tesla (TSLA). Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 14 Buys, 12 Holds, and nine Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average TSLA price target of $286.14 per share implies 11.2% downside risk.

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