Category: Space & Autonomous Mobility

Sunlight filters through the eucalyptus trees lining Oakwood Street, a narrow lane in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood where families once strolled with dogs and kids on scooters. Now, the air hums with the whir of electric motors as a procession of self-driving vehicles idles bumper to bumper, their sensors blinking like confused eyes. Residents peer from windows, hands on hips, while one woman waves her arms futilely at a Waymo van that edges forward then stops again. The once-peaceful block has turned into a gridlocked puzzle, with autonomous cars circling endlessly and blocking driveways for hours.

A sleek electric vehicle pulls up to your curb, ready to whisk you across the city without a human at the wheel. No small talk, no erratic lane changes from a tired driver, just smooth, efficient travel. This vision of robotaxis has captivated tech enthusiasts and investors for years, promising to upend urban transportation. Yet, as federal regulators tighten their grip, the dream faces harsh realities that could stretch timelines and inflate costs far beyond initial forecasts.

Tesla’s redefinition of “Full Self-Driving” marks one of the most consequential pivots in automotive tech this decade. The company’s retreat from its bold promise of cars that drive themselves with no human oversight is sending shockwaves through the industry. This article explores how Tesla’s FSD pledge has evolved, why it changed, and what it means for the future of driverless mobility. We will cover Elon Musk’s visionary pronouncements and the hard realities now facing Tesla, its customers, and the rapidly maturing autonomous vehicle industry.

SpaceX’s star has never shone brighter than in 2025. With launch pads firing almost every other day, a fleet of reusable rockets, and the swelling tide of Starlink satellites circling Earth, the company founded by Elon Musk holds the reins of global space access. Yet, behind the headlines of record-shattering launch cadence and unrivaled cost efficiency, a new anxiety is rippling through the space industry. What happens when one company becomes the de facto gatekeeper to orbit and beyond? As governments, tech giants, and startups bet their ambitions on SpaceX’s reliability, questions of market fragility, competition, and long-term sustainability loom large.

The space industry is entering 2025 with a sharp financial split: public money is rising while private venture funding remains well below its 2021 peak, creating a squeeze that is reshaping who holds power and who can survive the next 12 to 24 months. Private investment fell from roughly $18 billion in 2021 to about $5.9 billion in 2024, even as global government space budgets climbed to approximately $135 billion, with defense now the majority of public spend, a pivot that is redefining winners and losers across launch, Earth observation, and satellite communications. The question looming over founders and financiers alike is simple and urgent: who will thrive in the new space economy, and who will consolidate or fold under pressure ?