CancelledUncrewed Mars landing 2018
“Planning to send Dragon to Mars as soon as 2018. Red Dragons will inform overall Mars architecture, details…”
“V3 should be built & tested (maybe flown) by end of this year.”
— Elon Musk · Aug 27, 2025 · @elonmusk on X ↗
See his original post on XLoads Elon's actual tweet, right here.
Show ▾
What actually happened
Musk said on Aug 27, 2025 that Starship V3 should be 'built & tested (maybe flown) by end of this year.' V3 was not ready by Dec 31, 2025 — V2 flew through 2025. V3 finally debuted on Flight 12 on May 22, 2026: it reached space, deployed 22 Starlink simulators and the Ship splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned (the Super Heavy booster crash-landed downrange). Built, tested and flown — about five months past the end-2025 target. Space.com ↗
The Progression
Aug 27, 2025
The promise: “V3 should be built & tested (maybe flown) by end of this year.” · @elonmusk on X ↗
May 22, 2026
Delivered · Late — 0.4 years late. Musk said on Aug 27, 2025 that Starship V3 should be 'built & tested (maybe flown) by end of this year.' V3 was not ready by Dec 31, 2025 — V2 flew through 2025. V3 finally debuted on Flight 12 on May 22, 2026: it reached space, deployed 22 Starlink simulators and the Ship splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned (the Super Heavy booster crash-landed downrange). Built, tested and flown — about five months past the end-2025 target. Space.com ↗
Today · Jul 16, 2026
Status: Delivered · Late · 0.4 years late. It happened — eventually.
Starship V3 was not built or flown by the end-2025 target; V2 flew through 2025. V3 debuted on Flight 12 on May 22, 2026, reaching space, deploying 22 Starlink simulators and splashing the Ship down in the Indian Ocean as planned — built, tested and flown roughly five months late.
Receipts
LAST CHECKED 2026-07-03- [TWEET] @elonmusk on X
More from the feed
Cancelled
PartialStarship reaches orbit
“This is going to sound totally nuts, but I think we want to try to reach orbit in less than six months.”
goalposts: 2020 → 2022 · moved 1×
Delivered · LateGlobal Starlink coverage by end of 2021
“Most of Earth by end of year, all by next year, then it's about densifying coverage.”
/// The Daily Verdict
Know the moment a prediction lands — or doesn't.
One email a day, only when something changes: a new promise, a blown deadline, a goalpost move, or a rare on-time delivery. No spam, instant unsubscribe.
Discussion