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Another SpaceX Falcon 9 joins the 16 Launch Club

B1060 launching on its 14th mission in October 2022 (Credit Richard Angle)

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Launching at 11:50 p.m. ET (03:50 UTC) on July 15th, another Falcon 9 joined the 16 launch club. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Just days after the Falcon 9 B1058 broke the launch record, B1060 launched for the 16th time and successfully landed on the droneship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ and will be brought back to Port Canaveral for refurbishment before its 17th flight in the coming months, which will most likely be another Starlink mission.

This launch was originally meant to occur on July 14th, but a hold was called 45 seconds before liftoff due to elevated oxygen levels on one of the first-stage engines, according to the webcast, SpaceX then preceded to conduct a static fire test the next evening, and after analyzing the data pushed ahead with the launch on Saturday night.

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This Starlink mission sent the 54 Starlink satellites into a 43-degree orbital inclination after launching South East from Florida’s Space Coast. Including these 54 satellites, B1060 has launched a total of 809 payloads to orbit.

SpaceX tends to use its veteran rockets for Starlink missions as they test the limits of reusability and pose no risk to paying customers, however, it is probably a matter of time till we see a commercial payload on a Falcon 9 that has launched more than 15 times.

The payload fairings that flew on this mission were on their 9th and 10th flights, respectively, and SpaceX attempted recovery. However, we don’t find out if it was successful until the recovery ship returns to port.

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The Starlink 5-15 mission was the last planned launch of the Version 1.5 satellite. Going forward, future Starlink missions will be the Gen-2 mini-satellites which can handle 4 times the bandwidth. They are larger than the V-1.5 satellites by about 500 kg and average 22 launched at once vs low to mid-50s for the V-1.5 Starlinks.

SpaceX has now launched 4.822 Starlink satellites to orbit, of which 3,734 are in their operational orbit, according to Jonathan McDowells Starlink tracker.

As for SpaceX as a whole, this was their 45th Falcon 9 of the year, 47th total overall, well on pace to break their record set last year.

Starlink 5-15 mission seen from 28.5 miles away. (Credit Richard Angle)

Questions or comments? Shoot me an email at rangle@teslarati.com, or Tweet me @RDAnglePhoto.

Launch journalist, specializing in launch photography. Based on the Space Coast, a short drive from Cape Canaveral and the SpaceX launch pads.

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Tesla made Full Self-Driving more seamless with this little-known feature

“Brake Confirm for the Start Self-Driving button is now defaulted off. When disabled, Start Self-Driving will not require you to press and release the brake to confirm engagement.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite seems to get better with every single release. However, it is also making it more seamless and easier than ever to use for passenger travel, thanks to a recent feature that has flown under the radar.

Tesla started rolling out its v14 iteration of the Full Self-Driving suite a few weeks ago to Early Access Program (EAP) members, and it finally started making its way to the public for the first time earlier this week.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.1 first impressions: Robotaxi-like features arrive

The wide rollout of Tesla v14.1.3 was long-awaited, as its capabilities were flexed by the handful of people lucky to have it. However, those sitting with v13.2.9 were still eager to get to their hands on the new FSD version, especially considering it came with a lot of cool upgrades.

One of which is flying under the radar and not getting as much attention as it should. Although it is a minor feature change from v13, Tesla has made FSD more seamless than ever with a simple fix that it started utilizing with v14.

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With v14.1.1, Tesla started rolling out the removal of the “Brake Confirm” feature, which required drivers to touch the brake to activate Full Self-Driving. This is now an optional feature, as it now is defaulted to the off position by the car.

The release notes for the feature state:

“Brake Confirm for the Start Self-Driving button is now defaulted off. When disabled, Start Self-Driving will not require you to press and release the brake to confirm engagement.

You can enable Brake Confirm in Autopilot > Brake Confirm.”

Simply put, you no longer need to touch the brake to confirm your intention to use Full Self-Driving, which is a small but very effective fix.

It makes your car much more active in terms of overall activation, and it is definitely a quicker and more streamlined departure from your current location than ever before.

Here’s a good look at how quick it is:

@teslarati With Tesla Full Self-Driving v14, there is no delay when you start FSD. Press “Start Self-Driving” and you’re on your way #fyp #viral #tesla #teslafsd #fsdv14 ♬ original sound – TESLARATI

The feature is small, but it is very noticeable with your first uses of FSD v14. Eventually, it will become even more streamlined as Tesla solves self-driving and autonomy, as it will require zero human intervention to get started, which means the “Start Self-Driving” button will also be removed.

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Tesla rival’s ex-CEO makes shock prediction about Elon Musk’s future

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Credit: xAI

A Tesla rival’s ex-CEO has made a shock prediction about CEO Elon Musk, stating that he believes he will abandon the production and manufacturing of electric vehicles altogether, eventually deciding to focus on robotics, SpaceX, or Artificial Intelligence.

Ex-Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in an interview recently that he believes Musk will see no future for Tesla’s EVs, and will eventually bail on the development of them altogether (via Detroit News):

“We can’t rule out that at some point, he’ll decide to leave the automotive industry to refocus on humanoid robots, SpaceX, or artificial intelligence. Elon Musk will have left the automotive industry.”

Musk is no stranger to crazy moves or even speaking his mind. However, a prediction of this magnitude does not seem entirely accurate, especially considering that one of Tesla’s biggest priorities currently is that of self-driving cars, something the company has devoted and invested billions of dollars and endless time to.

Despite that, Tavares still believes Tesla will eventually phase out of the automotive industry altogether and will be beaten by BYD. He also criticized Tesla’s valuation on the stock market, saying it was “simply stratospheric.”

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Stellantis changes its tune after Tavares steps down

The comments came as Tavares was promoting a new self-memoir. He finished with a shock claim that Tesla won’t even be around in ten years:

“Tesla’s stock market value loss will be colossal because this valuation is simply stratospheric. I’m not sure that Tesla will still exist in 10 years. It’s an innovative group, but they’ll be beaten by BYD’s efficiency.”

Musk saw the story shared on X and said that Tavares “has no clue,” effectively dispeling the mentality that he could simply abandon such a crucial part of the company’s product line and forget about the millions of people who have already bought the company’s cars and invested into gathering data for its Full Self-Driving tech.

Musk is set to commit to Tesla for many more years in early November, as Tesla shareholders are set to vote on a $1 trillion proposed pay package from the company’s Board. It is likely the pay package will pass, as the previous two votes on a separate package were overwhelmingly approved.

However, Musk’s true concern is having enough influence with ownership to handle and manage the company’s fleet of Optimus robots.

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Tesla ‘Mad Max’ gets its first bit of regulatory attention

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Credit: Teslarati

Tesla “Mad Max” mode has gotten its first bit of regulatory attention, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has asked for additional information on the Speed Profile.

A few weeks ago, Tesla officially launched a new Speed Profile for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) known as “Mad Max,” which overtook the “Hurry” mode for the fastest setting FSD offers.

Tesla launches ‘Mad Max’ Full Self-Driving Speed Profile, its fastest yet

It launched with Full Self-Driving v14.1.2, and it was no secret that the company was looking for a new mode that would cater to more aggressive driving styles.

The release notes showed the description of the Speed Profile as:

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“Introduced new speed profile MAD MAX, which comes with higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than Hurry.”

It certainly lived up to its description. In our testing, it was aggressive, fast, and drove similarly to some of the more challenging traffic patterns I’ve come across.

In normal highway driving, it was one of the quicker cars on the road, while other applications saw it be a suitable version for navigating things like rush-hour traffic.

Here’s what my experience with it was:

While Tesla owners have certainly enjoyed the feature and the behaviors of Mad Max, the NHTSA said it is in contact with Tesla about it, looking to gather additional information. Additionally, it said:

“The human behind the wheel is fully responsible for driving the vehicle and complying with all traffic safety laws.”

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The important thing to note with Mad Max mode, along with the other Speed Profiles, is that the driver can choose whichever one they’d like, and they all cater to different driving styles.

While Mad Max is more aggressive, modes like “Sloth” and “Standard” are significantly more conservative and can be more suitable for those who are not comfortable with the faster, more spirited versions.

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