SpaceX has launched its Falcon 9 rocket for the 200th time.
Measuring 70 meters (230 ft) tall and 3.7 meters (12 ft) wide, the 200th Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Vandenberg Space Force Base SLC-4E pad on January 31st, 2023. Beyond the statistical milestone, the Starlink 2-6 mission was a mostly ordinary launch of SpaceX’s own internet satellites.
However, SpaceX removed a pair of 310-kilogram (~680 lb) Starlink V1.5 satellites to make room for an ION orbital transfer vehicle (space tug) built by Italian space logistics company D-Orbit. ION SCV009 was fitted with four hosted payloads [PDF]: a solar sail designed to speed up satellite deorbiting, a prototype of a satellite deployment mechanism, a computer developed by Swiss students, and a memorial payload carrying cremated human remains.
About an hour after liftoff, Falcon 9 deployed ION SCV009. A batch of 49 Starlink satellites followed twenty minutes later, successfully completing Falcon 9’s 200th launch.
The update that's rolling out to the fleet makes full use of the front and rear steering travel to minimize turning circle. In this case a reduction of 1.6 feet just over the air— Wes (@wmorrill3) April 16, 2024
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket debuted in June 2010, twelve and a half years ago. Considering that the company’s only prior experience was with a highly unreliable rocket about a magnitude smaller, Falcon 9 got off to an impressive start, suffering just one partial failure in its first five years of operation. A two-year period of pain followed when Falcon 9 suffered its one and only in-flight failure in June 2015 and a catastrophic explosion on the ground in September 2016.
However, since SpaceX returned its workhorse rocket to flight in January 2017, it hasn’t failed once. Starlink 2-6 was Falcon 9’s 177th consecutively successful launch – the most of any rocket in history. Against all odds, Falcon 9 has achieved that unprecedented reliability while simultaneously being the only partially-reusable orbital-class rocket in operation. Starlink 2-6 also marked SpaceX’s 93rd consecutively successful Falcon booster landing and 138th launch of a reused Falcon booster. Few rockets in history can claim to have launched 93 times without failure.
Fewer still have launched 200 times total or 199 times successfully. Depending on how one classifies similar variants, perhaps just half a dozen of the 100+ orbital rockets developed in the history of spaceflight have launched 200 times or more. It’s unlikely that SpaceX’s Falcon rocket family will ever come close to variants of certain Soviet-era rockets, one of which has flown almost 800 times, but it’s likely also true that it will be decades before another modern rocket comes close to matching Falcon.
SpaceX executives have made it clear that the company eventually wants to replace its partially-reusable Falcon rockets with Starship, a more capable fully-reusable rocket still in development, but Falcon is far from done. Falcon 9 took ten and a half years to complete its first 100 launches. The next 100 took a little over two years. SpaceX’s launch cadence continues to accelerate in the meantime. If the company gets its way, Falcon 9 could launch for the 300th time in the first half of 2024.
For the second time in a row, Starlink 2-6 was SpaceX’s seventh launch in one month. February could be even busier. SpaceX is set to kick off the second month of the year with another Starlink launch as early as the 2nd.
Elon Musk
Tesla Full Self-Driving pricing strategy eliminates one recurring complaint
Tesla’s new Full Self-Driving pricing strategy will eliminate one recurring complaint that many owners have had in the past: FSD transfers.
In the past, if a Tesla owner purchased the Full Self-Driving suite outright, the company did not allow them to transfer the purchase to a new vehicle, essentially requiring them to buy it all over again, which could obviously get pretty pricey.
This was until Q3 2023, when Tesla allowed a one-time amnesty to transfer Full Self-Driving to a new vehicle, and then again last year.
Tesla is now allowing it to happen again ahead of the February 14th deadline.
The program has given people the opportunity to upgrade to new vehicles with newer Hardware and AI versions, especially those with Hardware 3 who wish to transfer to AI4, without feeling the drastic cost impact of having to buy the $8,000 suite outright on several occasions.
Now, that issue will never be presented again.
Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on X that the Full Self-Driving suite would only be available in a subscription platform, which is the other purchase option it currently offers for FSD use, priced at just $99 per month.
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Having it available in a subscription-only platform boasts several advantages, including the potential for a tiered system that would potentially offer less expensive options, a pay-per-mile platform, and even coupling the program with other benefits, like Supercharging and vehicle protection programs.
While none of that is confirmed and is purely speculative, the one thing that does appear to be a major advantage is that this will completely eliminate any questions about transferring the Full Self-Driving suite to a new vehicle. This has been a particular point of contention for owners, and it is now completely eliminated, as everyone, apart from those who have purchased the suite on their current vehicle.
Now, everyone will pay month-to-month, and it could make things much easier for those who want to try the suite, justifying it from a financial perspective.
The important thing to note is that Tesla would benefit from a higher take rate, as more drivers using it would result in more data, which would help the company reach its recently-revealed 10 billion-mile threshold to reach an Unsupervised level. It does not cost Tesla anything to run FSD, only to develop it. If it could slice the price significantly, more people would buy it, and more data would be made available.
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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y continued to overwhelmingly dominate the United States’ electric vehicle market in 2025. New sales data showed that Tesla’s two mass market cars maintained a commanding segment share, with the Model 3 posting year-to-date growth and the Model Y remaining resilient despite factory shutdowns tied to its refresh.
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Model 3 and Model Y are still dominant
According to the report, Tesla delivered an estimated 192,440 Model 3 sedans in the United States in 2025, representing a 1.3% year-to-date increase compared to 2024. The Model 3 alone accounted for 15.9% of all U.S. EV sales, making it one of the highest-volume electric vehicles in the country.
The Model Y was even more dominant. U.S. deliveries of the all-electric crossover reached 357,528 units in 2025, a 4.0% year-to-date decline from the prior year. It should be noted, however, that the drop came during a year that included production shutdowns at Tesla’s Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Texas as the company transitioned to the new Model Y. Even with those disruptions, the Model Y captured an overwhelming 39.5% share of the market, far surpassing any single competitor.
Combined, the Model 3 and Model Y represented more than half of all EVs sold in the United States during 2025, highlighting Tesla’s iron grip on the country’s mass-market EV segment.
Tesla’s challenges in 2025
Tesla’s sustained performance came amid a year of elevated public and political controversy surrounding Elon Musk, whose political activities in the first half of the year ended up fueling a narrative that the CEO’s actions are damaging the automaker’s consumer appeal. However, U.S. sales data suggest that demand for Tesla’s core vehicles has remained remarkably resilient.
Based on Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report, Tesla’s most expensive offerings such as the Tesla Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X, all saw steep declines in 2025. This suggests that mainstream EV buyers might have had a price issue with Tesla’s more expensive offerings, not an Elon Musk issue.
Ultimately, despite broader EV market softness, with total U.S. EV sales slipping about 2% year-to-date, Tesla still accounted for 58.9% of all EV deliveries in 2025, according to the report. This means that out of every ten EVs sold in the United States in 2025, more than half of them were Teslas.
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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y earn Euro NCAP Best in Class safety awards
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Tesla won dual categories in the Euro NCAP Best in Class awards, with the Model 3 being named the safest Large Family Car and the Model Y being recognized as the safest Small SUV.
The feat was highlighted by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official account on social media platform X.
Model 3 and Model Y lead their respective segments
As per a press release from the Euro NCAP, the organization’s Best in Class designation is based on a weighted assessment of four key areas: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road User, and Safety Assist. Only vehicles that achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP rating and were evaluated with standard safety equipment are eligible for the award.
Euro NCAP noted that the updated Tesla Model 3 performed particularly well in Child Occupant protection, while its Safety Assist score reflected Tesla’s ongoing improvements to driver-assistance systems. The Model Y similarly stood out in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist, reinforcing Tesla’s dual-category win.
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Euro NCAP leadership shares insights
Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen said the organization’s Best in Class awards are designed to help consumers identify the safest vehicles over the past year.
Van Ratingen noted that 2025 was Euro NCAP’s busiest year to date, with more vehicles tested than ever before, amid a growing variety of electric cars and increasingly sophisticated safety systems. While the Mercedes-Benz CLA ultimately earned the title of Best Performer of 2025, he emphasized that Tesla finished only fractionally behind in the overall rankings.
“It was a close-run competition,” van Ratingen said. “Tesla was only fractionally behind, and new entrants like firefly and Leapmotor show how global competition continues to grow, which can only be a good thing for consumers who value safety as much as style, practicality, driving performance, and running costs from their next car.”