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Merlin 1D's kerolox exhaust is a blindingly bright, opaque yellow-orange. (Tom Cross) Merlin 1D's kerolox exhaust is a blindingly bright, opaque yellow-orange. (Tom Cross)

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SpaceX tracks towards first launch of 2019 with flight-proven Falcon 9 static fire

Pictured here during its debut launch, Falcon 9 B1049 will support SpaceX's final Iridium launch in January 2019. (Tom Cross)

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SpaceX has completed a Falcon 9 static fire test ahead of the company’s first launch of 2019, kicking off what is looking to be a truly jam-packed year for Falcon 9 and BFR. Most important, of course, is SpaceX’s primary business and main sources of revenue – safely and reliably launching customer satellites, payloads, and – soon – astronauts into orbit.

Previously tasked with launching heavy communications satellite Telstar 18V in September 2018, Falcon 9 B1049 is now set to launch an arguably historic mission for both SpaceX and customer Iridium, the eighth and final contracted launch of the upgraded Iridium NEXT satellite communications constellation.

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Struck all the way back in June 2010, Iridium’s decision to award the full NEXT constellation launch contract to SpaceX less than two weeks after Falcon 9’s first and only launch may well be the greatest calculated leap of faith in the history of commercial spaceflight. SpaceX did admittedly offer an unbeatable price ($492M for eight launches, $61.5M per launch) that may have allowed Iridium to afford a new constellation in the first place, but the risk Iridium took was truly immense at the time.

Originally launched between 1997 and 1998, the first Iridium constellation became and still remains the only satellite communications constellation in history to offer global and persistent coverage anywhere on Earth, allowing those with Iridium devices to guarantee connectivity no matter where they are. To some extent, the original constellation has become a subtle but omnipresent backbone of a huge variety of ventures, companies, and services, ranging from marine vessel tracking and emergency response to the go-to solution for those heading far off the beaten path. As just one small example, SpaceX’s large fleet of sea-going vessels and its cross-country transport infrastructure both rely on Iridium for streamlined company-wide movement tracking, making life considerably easier for logistics and planning teams.

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Iridium’s decision to use SpaceX for its NEXT constellation likely also gave SpaceX a massive stature boost, taking it from the company with just a handful of commercial contracts that had failed three of its last five launches to the company that secured what was at the time the largest single commercial launch contract in history. Alongside NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transport Services (COTS) and Resupply Services (CRS) commitments (~14 launches as of 2010), Iridium NEXT raised SpaceX’s commercial manifest from perhaps 2 missions to ~10 while also taking the value of those contracts from an almost negligible sum to well over half a billion dollars.

Although SpaceX and Iridium originally planned for launches to take place over a roughly 24-month period stretch from 2015 to 2017, unplanned technical delays and a duo of catastrophic Falcon 9 failures (CRS-7 and Amos-6) in 2015 and 2016 ultimately pushed Iridium NEXT’s launch debut back several years. Despite those immense hurdles and a range of smaller issues, SpaceX and Iridium were finally able to begin launching satellites in January 2017 and have continued to consistently do so every 3-4 months since then. Aside from one partial NASA rideshare mission that featured five NEXT satellites in May 2018, all seven launches have placed ten NEXT satellites (weighing approx. 10,000 kg or 22,000 lb total) in a variety of low polar orbits without a single known hitch.

Falcon 9 enters the era of reusability

Closely following SES, NASA, and SSL (BulgariaSat), Iridium also became the fourth commercial entity to launch on a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket for the launch vehicle’s fourth flight-proven mission ever. Iridium-8 will become the fourth constellation launch to fly aboard a sooty Falcon 9 rocket, meaning that a full 50% of the next-gen satellites will have launched on reused rockets, easily one of the coolest bragging rights ever. Currently standing at 65 NEXT satellites in orbit and rapidly nearing operational status, Falcon 9 B1049 and a fresh upper stage will (fingers crossed) place the last ten satellites in orbit to complete the constellation’s last plane and seal the last gap in its perfect global coverage.

Although NEXT would have been valuable for the sole reason that its predecessor satellites are now 5-10 years past their designed lifespans, NEXT will also serve to dramatically increase Iridium’s overall bandwidth, slash concurrent user bottlenecks, and provide a platform for new services like Aireon, which hopes to become the first operator of a truly commercial aircraft tracking service with global satellite-based coverage.

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All things considered, it will be hugely bittersweet to watch Iridium and SpaceX’s direct relationship come to a close with the launch of Iridium-8. Aside from nine additional on-orbit spares once all 75 are launched, Iridium will also have a complement of six more spares that will be kept in storage on the ground until they are required in orbit. If or when those times come, SpaceX will be able to compete with other launch providers for the opportunity to carry maybe one or two Iridium satellites – likely as rideshare payloads – into orbit sometime in the future.

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In the meantime, stay tuned for Iridium-8’s official launch time and date, likely to be announced by SpaceX sometime within the next 24-48 hours.


For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.2.5 might be the most confusing release ever

With each Full Self-Driving release, I am realistic. I know some things are going to get better, and I know some things will regress slightly. However, these instances of improvements are relatively mild, as are the regressions. Yet, this version has shown me that it contains extremes of both.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.2.5 hit my car back on Valentine’s Day, February 14, and since I’ve had it, it has become, in my opinion, the most confusing release I’ve ever had.

With each Full Self-Driving release, I am realistic. I know some things are going to get better, and I know some things will regress slightly. However, these instances of improvements are relatively mild, as are the regressions. Yet, this version has shown me that it contains extremes of both.

It has been about three weeks of driving on v14.2.2.5; I’ve used it for nearly every mile traveled since it hit my car. I’ve taken short trips of 10 minutes or less, I’ve taken medium trips of an hour or less, and I’ve taken longer trips that are over 100 miles per leg and are over two hours of driving time one way.

These are my thoughts on it thus far:

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Speed Profiles Are a Mixed Bag

Speed Profiles are something Tesla seems to tinker with quite frequently, and each version tends to show a drastic difference in how each one behaves compared to the previous version.

I do a vast majority of my FSD travel using Standard and Hurry modes, although in bad weather, I will scale it back to Chill, and when it’s a congested city on a weekend or during rush hour, I’ll throw it into Mad Max so it takes what it needs.

Early on, Speed Profiles really felt great. This is one of those really subjective parts of the FSD where someone might think one mode travels too quickly, whereas another person might see the identical performance as too slow or just right.

To me, I would like to see more consistency from release to release on them, but overall, things are pretty good. There are no real complaints on my end, as I had with previous releases.

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In a past release, Mad Max traveled under the speed limit quite frequently, and I only had that experience because Hurry was acting the same way. I’ve had no instances of that with v14.2.2.5.

Strange Turn Signal Behavior

This is the first Full Self-Driving version where I’ve had so many weird things happen with the turn signals.

Two things come to mind: Using a turn signal on a sharp turn, and ignoring the navigation while putting the wrong turn signal on. I’ve encountered both things on v14.2.2.5.

On my way to the Supercharger, I take a road that has one semi-sharp right-hand turn with a driveway entrance right at the beginning of the turn.

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Only recently, with the introduction of v14.2.2.5, have I had FSD put on the right turn signal when going around this turn. It’s obviously a minor issue, but it still happens, and it’s not standard practice:

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When sharing this on X, I had Tesla fans (the ones who refuse to acknowledge that the company can make mistakes) tell me that it’s a “valid” behavior that would be taught to anyone who has been “professionally trained” to drive.

Apparently, if you complain about this turn signal, you are also claiming you know more than Tesla engineers…okay.

Nobody in their right mind has ever gone around a sharp turn when driving their car and put on a signal when continuing on the same road. You would put a left turn signal on to indicate you were turning into that driveway if that’s what your intention was.

Like I said, it’s a totally minor issue. However, it’s not really needed, and nor is it normal. If I were in the car with someone who was taking a simple turn on a road they were traveling, and they signaled because the turn was sharp, I’d be scratching my head.

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I’ve also had three separate instances of the car completely ignoring the navigation and putting on a signal that is opposite to what the routing says. Really quite strange.

Parking Performance is Still Underwhelming

Parking has been a complaint of mine with FSD for a long time, so much so that it is pretty rare that I allow the vehicle to park itself. More often than not, it is because I want to pick a spot that is relatively isolated.

However, in the times I allow it to pull into a spot, it still does some pretty head-scratching things.

Recently, it tried to back into a spot that was ~60% covered in plowed snow. The snow was piled about six feet high in a Target parking lot.

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Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.

A few days later, it tried backing into a spot where someone failed the universal litmus test of returning their shopping cart. Both choices were baffling and required me to manually move the car to a different portion of the lot.

I used Autopark on both occasions, and it did a great job of getting into the spot. I notice that the parking performance when I manually choose the spot is much better than when the car does the entire parking process, meaning choosing the spot and parking in it.

It’s Doing Things (For Me) It’s Never Done Before

Two things that FSD has never done before, at least for me, are slow down in School Zones and avoid deer. The first is something I usually take over manually, and the second I surprisingly have not had to deal with yet.

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I had my Tesla slow down at a school zone yesterday for the first time, traveling at 20 MPH and not 15 MPH as the sign suggested, but at the speed of other cars in the School Zone. This was impressive and the first time I experienced it.

I would like to see this more consistently, and I think School Zones should be one of those areas where, no matter what, FSD will only travel the speed limit.

Last night, FSD v14.2.2.5 recognized a deer in a roadside field and slowed down for it:

Navigation Still SUCKS

Navigation will be a complaint until Tesla proves it can fix it. For now, it’s just terrible.

It still has not figured out how to leave my neighborhood. I give it the opportunity to prove me wrong each time I leave my house, and it just can’t do it.

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It always tries to go out of the primary entrance/exit of the neighborhood when the route needs to take me left, even though that exit is a right turn only. I always leave a voice prompt for Tesla about it.

It still picks incredibly baffling routes for simple navigation. It’s the one thing I still really want Tesla to fix.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla gets tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm on self-driving prowess

“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet,” BoA wrote.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla received a tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm Bank of America on Wednesday, as it reinitiated coverage on Tesla shares with a bullish stance that comes with a ‘Buy’ rating and a $460 price target.

In a new note that marks a sharp reversal from its neutral position earlier in 2025, the bank declared Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology the “leading consumer autonomy solution.”

Analysts highlighted Tesla’s camera-only architecture, known as Tesla Vision, as a strategic masterstroke. While technically more challenging than the multi-sensor setups favored by rivals, the vision-based approach is dramatically cheaper to produce and maintain.

This cost edge, combined with Tesla’s rapidly expanding real-world data engine, positions the company to scale robotaxis far more profitably than competitors, BofA argues in the new note:

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“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet.”

The bank now attributes roughly 52% of Tesla’s total valuation to its Robotaxi ambitions. It also flagged meaningful upside from the Optimus humanoid robot program and the fast-growing energy storage business, suggesting the auto segment’s recent headwinds, including expired incentives, are being eclipsed by these higher-margin opportunities.

Tesla’s own data underscores exactly why Wall Street is waking up to FSD’s potential. According to Tesla’s official safety reporting page, the FSD Supervised fleet has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles driven.

Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles

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That total ballooned from just 6 million miles in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and a staggering 4.25 billion in 2025 alone. In the first 50 days of 2026, owners added another 1 billion miles — averaging more than 20 million miles per day.

This avalanche of real-world, camera-captured footage, much of it on complex city streets, gives Tesla an unmatched training dataset. Every mile feeds its neural networks, accelerating improvement cycles that lidar-dependent rivals simply cannot match at scale.

Tesla owners themselves will tell you the suite gets better with every release, bringing new features and improvements to its self-driving project.

The $460 target implies roughly 15 percent upside from recent trading levels around $400. While regulatory and safety hurdles remain, BofA’s endorsement signals growing institutional conviction that Tesla’s data advantage is not hype; it’s a tangible moat already delivering billions of miles of proof.

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Tesla to discuss expansion of Samsung AI6 production plans: report

Tesla has reportedly requested an additional 24,000 wafers per month, which would bring total production capacity to around 40,000 wafers if finalized.

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Tesla-Chips-HW3-1
Credit: Tom Cross

Tesla is reportedly discussing an expansion of its next-generation AI chip supply deal with Samsung Electronics. 

As per a report from Korean industry outlet The Elec, Tesla purchasing executives are reportedly scheduled to meet Samsung officials this week to negotiate additional production volume for the company’s upcoming AI6 chip.

Industry sources cited in the report stated that Tesla is pushing to increase the production volume of its AI6 chip, which will be manufactured using Samsung’s 2-nanometer process.

Tesla previously signed a long-term foundry agreement with Samsung covering AI6 production through December 31, 2033. The deal was reportedly valued at about 22.8 trillion won (roughly $16–17 billion).

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Under the existing agreement, Tesla secured approximately 16,000 wafers per month from the facility. The company has reportedly requested an additional 24,000 wafers per month, which would bring total production capacity to around 40,000 wafers if finalized.

Tesla purchasing executives are expected to discuss detailed supply terms during their visit to Samsung this week.

The AI6 chip is expected to support several Tesla technologies. Industry sources stated that the chip could be used for the company’s Full Self-Driving system, the Optimus humanoid robot, and Tesla’s internal AI data centers.

The report also indicated that AI6 clusters could replace the role previously planned for Tesla’s Dojo AI supercomputer. Instead of a single system, multiple AI6 chips would be combined into server-level clusters.

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Tesla’s semiconductor collaboration with Samsung dates back several years. Samsung participated in the design of Tesla’s HW3 (AI3) chip and manufactured it using a 14-nanometer process. The HW4 chip currently used in Tesla vehicles was also produced by Samsung using a 5-nanometer node.

Tesla previously planned to split production of its AI5 chip between Samsung and TSMC. However, the company reportedly chose Samsung as the primary partner for the newer AI6 chip.

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