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LIVE FROM THE EMPIRE · AUGUST 8, 2026
New tunnel hardware. Starship still under recovery.
The Boring Company introduced Vertical Cassette 7 and the fully electric Liner Truck 3. SpaceX continues the difficult recovery of Flight 13’s Starship from rough seas in the Indian Ocean. Tesla framed the shift that comes with FSD Supervised.
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BORING CO
VC7
Next-gen continuous conveyor.
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LINER TRUCK
LT3
Fully electric. Remote-piloted.
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STARSHIP
Recovery
Flight 13 still in the ocean.
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MUSK WEALTH TRACKER
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FORBES REAL-TIME · LATEST
~$824B
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#1 in the world
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Musk remains number one. Forbes Real-Time moved higher to around $824B after a strong session for the related stocks. The figure continues to track SpaceX and Tesla.
Source: Forbes Real-Time Billionaires as of Aug 8, 2026. Figures update frequently.
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ACROSS THE EMPIRE
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Vertical Cassette 7 is here
The Boring Company introduced Vertical Cassette 7, the latest continuous conveyor that moves muck and rock from the tunnel boring machine to the surface. Specs include a max conveyance rate of 990 tons per hour, support for a TBM advance rate of 4 miles per week, a minimum curve radius of 500 feet for urban work, and infinite supported tunnel length with belt boosters every 1.5 miles.
The system carries more than 650 improvements over VC6 focused on setup speed, reliability, and power efficiency. For every 15 inches the machine mines, roughly one dump truck of material is generated.
Why this matters: Tunneling speed is often limited by how fast you can remove the spoil. A conveyor that can keep up with a high advance rate is the unglamorous hardware that decides whether dense-city projects stay practical.
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Liner Truck 3: fully electric and remote
The company also launched Liner Truck 3, its latest fully electric tunnel vehicle. It uses Tesla Model 3 battery and drive units, carries more than 22,000 pounds of concrete segments to the boring machine, has 28 miles of range, and a 12 mph max operating speed.
It is remotely piloted from the Global Operations Control Center in Texas, with each pilot controlling and monitoring more than eight trucks in the field. The same vehicle can also carry standard freight containers through the tunnel. Passing structures allow trucks to move past each other so mining is not limited by waiting for segments.
Why this matters: Segment delivery and logistics inside the tunnel have historically been bottlenecks. An electric, remotely operated fleet that can also move freight expands what the tunnel itself can do.
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Flight 13 Starship recovery continues
SpaceX reported that the recovery team is still working to recover Flight 13’s Starship from the Indian Ocean. Conditions have been challenging with increasingly rough seas as they attempt to guide the 52-meter spacecraft to port.
Flight 13 was notable for a soft splashdown that left the vehicle intact and floating—the first Starship to survive in that condition long enough for a serious recovery effort. Close-up heat-shield and engine photos have already been obtained even if full recovery of the vehicle becomes unlikely.
Why this matters: Hardware that returns data after open-ocean exposure is more valuable than a clean highlight reel. The photos and any recovered components feed the next round of upgrades, including future tower-catch attempts.
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Life before and after FSD Supervised
Tesla posted a simple framing: “There’s life before FSD Supervised. And then there’s life after.”
The line continues the recent emphasis on continuous scene monitoring and the practical difference the supervised system makes for drivers who use it regularly.
Why this matters: Product stories that stick are usually the ones that describe a before-and-after shift people can feel. Tesla is leaning into that language.
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The week’s operational thread
Earlier in the week the public scoreboard and the chip-fab plans dominated attention. The last 24 hours returned to the physical systems that have to work every day: continuous conveyors that can keep pace with a fast TBM, electric liner trucks that deliver segments without bottlenecks, and a recovery team fighting weather for data from a floating Starship.
The large announcements and the incremental hardware both matter. One sets direction. The other determines whether the direction is achievable.
Why this matters: Execution is measured in tons per hour, miles per week, and recoverable flight data as much as it is measured in press releases.
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THE MAIN EVENT
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HARDWARE THAT MOVES DIRT AND DATA
Conveyors, electric trucks, and a ship still at sea.
The Boring Company shipped two pieces of the underground system that rarely make headlines but decide whether tunnels can be dug at useful speed. Vertical Cassette 7 is the latest continuous conveyor. It can move nearly a thousand tons of muck per hour and is designed to support a boring machine advancing four miles in a week. It bends tightly enough for urban work and can, with boosters, support essentially unlimited tunnel length.
Liner Truck 3 is the fully electric vehicle that brings concrete segments to the machine. It runs on Tesla Model 3 hardware, is piloted remotely from Texas, and can also carry freight containers. Passing structures keep the trucks from becoming a traffic jam that slows the boring machine.
Meanwhile the SpaceX recovery team is still fighting rough seas in the Indian Ocean for Flight 13’s Starship. The vehicle survived splashdown intact and floated—the first to do so long enough for a serious recovery attempt. Even if the full vehicle does not make it to port, the close-up data on heat shield and engines is already in hand.
Tesla added a simple product line: life before FSD Supervised and life after. The framing is intentional.
My take: The big visions need the small machines that actually move the material and return the data. Today’s updates are the kind that make the larger plans possible.
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ELON ON X
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RECOVERY
SpaceX recovery team still working Flight 13 Starship
Challenging conditions and rough seas as they try to bring the 52 m vehicle to port.
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TUNNEL
Boring Company: VC7 and Liner Truck 3
Continuous conveyor and fully electric segment delivery, both with detailed performance numbers.
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FSD
“There’s life before FSD Supervised. And then there’s life after.”
Tesla’s framing of the supervised autonomy shift.
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THE TROLL REPORT
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🧌 “Just another conveyor and a truck.”
A conveyor rated for nearly 1,000 tons per hour and a 4-mile-per-week advance rate is the difference between a demonstration tunnel and a network that can be built at city scale. The details are the point.
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🧌 “They can’t even recover their own rocket.”
The vehicle survived splashdown and floated—the first to do so in a way that made recovery worth attempting. The team is fighting weather for inspection data. That data is already informing the next vehicles.
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“There’s life before FSD Supervised. And then there’s life after.”
— Tesla, August 7, 2026
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The machines that make the tunnels possible.
Forward this to the person who only watches the big launches.
READ ÆLON DAILY
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Sources: The Boring Company posts on Vertical Cassette 7 and Liner Truck 3 · SpaceX Flight 13 recovery update · Tesla FSD Supervised post · Forbes Real-Time Billionaires. Claims can evolve after publication.
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