TECHNICAL MANUAL
Glossary
The vocabulary of the record — rockets, cars, chips, and companies.
Falcon 9
SpaceX’s workhorse two-stage orbital rocket, flying since 2010. Its first stage routinely returns to land for reuse.
Falcon Heavy
Three Falcon 9 first stages strapped together; debuted February 2018 with Musk’s Tesla Roadster as the test payload.
Falcon 1
SpaceX’s first rocket. Three failures (2006–2008) nearly killed the company; the fourth launch (September 28, 2008) succeeded.
Merlin
The kerosene/liquid-oxygen engine family powering Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, designed under founding propulsion CTO Tom Mueller.
Raptor
SpaceX’s methane/liquid-oxygen engine for Starship — the first full-flow staged-combustion engine to fly.
Starship
SpaceX’s fully reusable super-heavy launch system (Super Heavy booster + Starship upper stage), intended for Mars missions and NASA’s Artemis lunar landings. Integrated flight tests began 2023.
Super Heavy
The Starship system’s first-stage booster. Flight Test 5 (October 13, 2024) saw it caught mid-air by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms.
Dragon
SpaceX’s crew/cargo capsule. Dragon 1 flew cargo to the ISS from 2012; Crew Dragon began crewed flights in 2020.
Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1)
SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral landing pad, site of the first orbital-class booster landing (December 21, 2015).
Droneship
An autonomous ocean platform (“Of Course I Still Love You,” “Just Read the Instructions,” “A Shortfall of Gravitas”) that catches boosters downrange.
Starlink
SpaceX’s satellite-internet constellation — the largest ever flown (thousands of satellites), providing broadband globally.
Starbase
SpaceX’s launch and manufacturing site at Boca Chica, Texas.
COTS / CRS
NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services / Commercial Resupply Services programs — the contracts (notably the December 2008 $1.6B award) that funded SpaceX’s survival.
Commercial Crew
NASA’s program that funded Crew Dragon; Demo-2 (May 2020) was its first crewed flight.
Artemis / HLS
NASA’s Moon program; SpaceX’s Starship is contracted as the Human Landing System for Artemis III.
Mars Oasis
Musk’s 2001 concept for a Mars greenhouse — the project that led to the Russia ICBM-shopping trips and then to founding SpaceX.
Occupy Mars
The slogan on Musk’s famous t-shirt — and the long-term mission statement.
Roadster
Tesla’s first car (2008–2012) — a Lotus-based electric sports car that proved EVs could thrill. Musk’s personal Roadster flew on the 2018 Falcon Heavy test.
Model S
Tesla’s premium sedan (2012), the car that made Tesla a real automaker.
Model 3
The mass-market sedan (deliveries from July 2017) behind Tesla’s scale-up — and its “production hell.”
Model Y
Compact crossover (2020); became one of the world’s best-selling vehicles of any kind.
Cybertruck
Tesla’s angular stainless-steel pickup, unveiled November 21, 2019 (famously, the “bulletproof” window broke on stage); deliveries began 2023.
Semi
Tesla’s electric Class 8 truck, unveiled 2017, in limited production.
Autopilot
Tesla’s driver-assistance system (lane-keeping, adaptive cruise). The name has drawn regulatory scrutiny as potentially misleading.
Full Self-Driving (Supervised)
Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance package, still requiring an attentive driver despite the name. Regulatory status varies by jurisdiction.
Powerwall / Megapack
Tesla’s home and utility-scale battery storage products.
SolarCity
The solar company founded in 2006 by Musk’s cousins with his funding; acquired by Tesla for $2.6B in November 2016.
Neuralink implant
The company’s brain-computer interface: a surgically implanted chip with electrode threads, aimed first at restoring function for paralyzed patients.
N1 / Telepathy
Neuralink’s first product names — “Telepathy” for the initial human-trial product (controlling devices by thought).
The Boring Company / Loop
Musk’s tunneling company (founded December 2016); the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop (2021) runs Tesla vehicles through tunnels.
Hyperloop
Musk’s 2013 open-source concept for passenger pods in low-pressure tubes; he published the “Hyperloop Alpha” paper but did not build it.
Grok
xAI’s AI chatbot (launched November 2023), integrated into X, positioned as a less-filtered alternative to other assistants.
X Premium
The paid tier of X (formerly Twitter Blue), offering verification and Grok access.
DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency)
The Trump-administration cost-cutting initiative Musk led January–May 2025 as a “special government employee.”
Master Plan
Musk’s 2006 Tesla strategy post — build sports car → affordable car → even more affordable car — plus the 2016 “Part Deux.”
PayPal Mafia
The informal name for PayPal’s early alumni (Musk, Thiel, Levchin, and others) who went on to found or fund major tech companies.
Source notes
Definitions reflect company documentation, NASA materials, and published reporting. Regulatory statuses (Autopilot/FSD, Neuralink) are as of the cited dates and may change; see sources.