Elon Musk
Aborted Starship Flight 13 on July 16 after four Raptor engines failed; targeting a July 20 retry with two replaced engines. SpaceX shares fell below the $135 IPO price to $124.30, and his net worth has declined over $500B from a June peak of $1.45T.
Elon Musk is regrouping after SpaceX aborted Starship Flight 13 on July 16, when four of 33 Raptor engines failed to ignite. Musk said two Raptors will be replaced and set a new attempt as early as July 20 to deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites and test in-space engine restart plus an offshore booster landing. The abort erased roughly $100 billion in SpaceX's market value; shares fell below the $135 IPO price, closing at $131.11 and dropping to $124.30.
Separately, Musk's net worth has declined over $500 billion from a June peak of $1.45 trillion as SpaceX shares fell roughly 40% from a $225.64 high. That cumulative slide reflects post-IPO euphoria unwinding, $13 billion in losses since 2023, and geopolitical pressure after Iranian state media identified Starlink's Middle East operations as potential military targets. The Starship program is critical to SpaceX's valuation and its NASA lunar lander contract for Artemis 4 in 2028.
On the AI front, Musk acquired APR Energy for roughly $1 billion on SpaceX's behalf, deploying 59 mobile turbines at the Colossus II facility. Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center are suing over alleged Clean Air Act violations, while DOJ and DOD defend the site on national security grounds because the military relies on Grok AI hosted there. SpaceX filed with the FCC for up to 100,000 Gen3 Starlink satellites as the backbone of his Starmind orbital AI data center vision targeting 2027; the FCC votes July 22 on a licensing streamlining order.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 to refer Musk to the Brown County DA for potential criminal prosecution over $1 million voter payouts during the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Musk said he would do "a lot less" political spending, adding, "I think I've done enough."
A judge approved Musk's $1.5 million SEC settlement over a delayed Twitter share disclosure, though Judge Sparkle Sooknanan expressed "significant misgivings" about its leniency. In the OpenAI dispute, a mediator was appointed; Musk's antitrust claim and Sam Altman's harassment counterclaim survive and head to mediation. Samsung completed tape-out of Tesla's AI5 chip on a 2nm process, with Musk confirming dual-foundry production alongside TSMC and claiming up to 40x performance. Tesla is opposing a New Jersey bill mandating LiDAR and radar on robotaxis, with Musk arguing that "people don't shoot lasers out of their eyes to drive."
On their plate
SpaceX aborted Flight 13 on July 16 after four of 33 Raptor engines failed to ignite. Musk ordered two Raptors replaced and targeted a new launch as early as July 20 to deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites, test in-space engine restart, and attempt an offshore booster landing. The FAA had cleared the flight after blaming a previous Super Heavy explosion on erroneous engine alarm settings.
SpaceX shares fell below the $135 IPO price to $124.30 after the abort, erasing roughly $100 billion in market value. Musk's net worth has declined over $500 billion from a June peak of $1.45 trillion as shares dropped about 40% from a $225.64 high, driven by post-IPO euphoria unwinding, $13 billion in losses since 2023, and geopolitical pressure after Iranian state media flagged Starlink's Middle East operations as potential military targets.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 on July 14 to refer Musk to the Brown County DA for potential criminal prosecution over $1 million voter payouts during the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Musk said he would do "a lot less" political spending and "I think I've done enough." DA David Lasee has 40 days to decide on charges; a separate civil suit alleges illegal lotteries.
Musk acquired APR Energy for roughly $1 billion to power the Colossus II AI facility with 59 mobile turbines, drawing Clean Air Act lawsuits even as DOJ and DOD defend the site on national security grounds. SpaceXAI launched Grok 4.5 on July 8, and SpaceX filed an FCC application for 100,000 Gen3 Starlink satellites as the backbone of Musk's Starmind orbital AI data center constellation targeting 2027. SpaceX cautioned in filings that orbital AI compute involves significant technical complexity and unproven technologies.
Samsung completed tape-out of Tesla's AI5 chip on a 2nm process; Musk confirmed dual-foundry production with TSMC, claiming up to 40x performance over the predecessor. Engineering samples are expected late 2026, with vehicle production mid-to-late 2027. Tesla is opposing a New Jersey bill requiring robotaxis to carry cameras plus LiDAR or radar and 50,000 miles of supervised testing, with Musk arguing sensor contention creates safety risks.
Key relationships
Musk and Altman face each other in ongoing litigation; a jury rejected Musk's breach-of-charitable-purpose claim, but his antitrust claim and Altman's harassment counterclaim survive and head to court-ordered mediation.
Musk is working directly with SpaceX Starship Engineering Director Charlie Cox on the V3 vehicle redesign ahead of the Flight 13 retry.
Attorney Alex Spiro represented Musk in the $1.5 million SEC settlement over the delayed Twitter share disclosure, calling it a small fine for being late on one filing.
Musk co-led the Department of Government Efficiency with Ramaswamy; the agency closed July 4 after its 18-month mandate, reporting $215 billion in savings against a $2 trillion goal.
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