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.
Investor's Corner
Tesla just got a weird price target boost from a notable bear

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) just got a weird price target boost from a notable bear just a day after it announced its strongest quarter in terms of vehicle deliveries and energy deployments.
JPMorgan raised its price target on Tesla shares from $115 to $150. It maintained its ‘Underweight’ rating on the stock.
Despite Tesla reporting 497,099 deliveries, about 12 percent above the 443,000 anticipated from the consensus, JPMorgan is still skeptical that the company can keep up its momentum, stating most of its Q3 strength came from leaning on the removal of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which expired on September 30.
Tesla hits record vehicle deliveries and energy deployments in Q3 2025
The firm said Tesla benefited from a “temporary stronger-than-expected industry-wide pull-forward” as the tax credit expired. It is no secret that consumers flocked to the company this past quarter to take advantage of the credit.
The bump will need to be solidified as the start of a continuing trend of strong vehicle deliveries, the firm said in a note to investors. Analysts said that one quarter of strength was “too soon to declare Tesla as having sustainably returned to growth in its core business.”
JPMorgan does not anticipate Tesla having strong showings with vehicle deliveries after Q4.
There are two distinct things that stick out with this note: the first is the lack of recognition of other parts of Tesla’s business, and the confusion that surrounds future quarters.
JPMorgan did not identify Tesla’s strength in autonomy, energy storage, or robotics, with autonomy and robotics being the main focuses of the company’s future. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi efforts are incredibly relevant and drive more impact moving forward than vehicle deliveries.
Additionally, the confusion surrounding future delivery numbers in quarters past Q3 is evident.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
Tesla will receive some assistance from deliveries of vehicles that will reach customers in Q4, but will still qualify for the credit under the IRS’s revised rules. It will also likely introduce an affordable model this quarter, which should have a drastic impact on deliveries depending on pricing.
Tesla shares are trading at $422.40 at 2:35 p.m. on the East Coast.
News
Tesla coding shows affordable model details, including potential price

Coding within Tesla’s website appears to have potentially revealed some details of the affordable model it plans to launch, including its possible price.
Although these details are unconfirmed by the company, recent sightings of the vehicle have sparked significant speculation as to what it will offer.
Tesla said a few months back that it had already successfully built the first few test units of the affordable model. CEO Elon Musk revealed later that it would essentially be a stripped-down version of the Model Y with a handful of changes.
We had our first look at what those changes appear to be, as what is likely the new affordable model was spotted on roads near Gigafactory Texas yesterday. It is a Model Y body with some Model 3 features.
It lacks the light bar that the new Model Y has and instead equips headlights similar to those of the Model 3 “Highland.”
Affordable Tesla Model Y spotted without camouflage near Giga Texas
Other design changes appear to include no glass roof and new wheels. Some rumors have also indicated that Tesla plans to use a cheaper, textile interior, devoid of the flashy features that its other cars are equipped with, including no rear screen, no HEPA system, and manually adjustable second-row air vents.
However, coding within the Tesla website seemed to reveal some pretty significant details about the new affordable model, including its name, which differs from the E41 codename it was given, its price, and a complete list of features.
This was found by Tesla Newswire on X. Here’s what the coding showed for the car. Note that this was found in coding, and is not necessarily confirmation from Tesla regarding what it plans to offer:
- Name – Model Y Standard
- Price $39,990
- Redesigned front fascia
- Single-part headlights
- Front bumper camera
- No glass roof, noted as a “closed glass roof”
- 18″ Aperture wheels
- Manually adjustable steering wheel
- Textile décor
- 15.4″ front touchscreen
- No second-row touchscreen
- Manually adjustable air vents in the second row
- No HEPA system
- 75 cu. fu. cargo space
Here’s what the coding looked like:
Extract 2:
“interior_features”:{“basic”:[{“type”:”title”,”content”:”Interior”},{“type”:”basic[0]”,”content”:”Closed glass roof”},{“type”:”basic[2]”,”content”:”Second-row manual-adjust air vents”},{“type”:”basic[3]”,”content”:”Manual-adjust steering…
— The Tesla Newswire (@TeslaNewswire) October 1, 2025
Many believe these could be the specs and details of the new affordable model, but others think Tesla might be baiting the community. Tesla knows its fans well, and many of them are sharp enough to examine some of the core portions of its website, looking for clues.
The company is well aware that these breadcrumbs will be discovered, and could be putting anything to drive up interest and chatter about what it could release. It certainly seems as if the price tag is a tad high, which tends to push some skepticism about the coding.
However, we’ll take anything we can get at this point. It is important to note that this coding is not a confirmation of details from Tesla.
News
Affordable Tesla Model Y spotted without camouflage near Giga Texas
The vehicle had clean lines and it looked sleek, though it was also notably simpler than the standard Model Y.

The tea leaves seem to be pointing towards the imminent release of the highly anticipated affordable Tesla Model Y. This was hinted at in recent observations from notable Tesla influencers on social media, as well as a sighting of the vehicle without any camouflage.
The affordable Tesla uncovered
Sightings of the affordable Model Y have been abounding as of late, though details of the vehicle were still hidden by coverings on the vehicle. In a recent post on X from Firefly engineer Ryan Mable, however, noted Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt has reportedly “spotted an uncovered cheaper Model Y variant” driving near Giga Texas.
Several images of the uncovered vehicle were shared online. Based on the photos that were shared by Mable, the affordable Model Y seemed to feature a fascia that’s inspired by the Model 3 sedan. Its roof also looked blacked out. Overall, the vehicle had clean lines and it looked sleek, though it was also notably simpler than the standard Model Y.
Tesla influencer mystery
Interestingly enough, several Tesla influencers apart from Merritt posted that they were in Giga Texas. These included drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, teardown specialist Sandy Munro, and reviewers Kyle Conner and Kim Java. These influencers have not provided any context behind their Giga Texas trip, though the fact that they were gathered on the site brought speculations that Tesla might have invited the group for a teaser or a private unveiling event of sorts.
It remains to be seen when the affordable Model Y would be made available, though conversations now are centered on the vehicle’s potential price. Previous reports suggested that the car might be priced just below $40,000, which many believe would result in very low sales, though some have also speculated that the affordable Model Y could be priced below $35,000, which would likely make it a strong seller.
-
Elon Musk1 week ago
Tesla FSD V14 set for early wide release next week: Elon Musk
-
News7 days ago
Elon Musk gives update on Tesla Optimus progress
-
News1 week ago
Tesla has a new first with its Supercharger network
-
News1 week ago
Tesla job postings seem to show next surprise market entry
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla makes a big change to reflect new IRS EV tax credit rules
-
Investor's Corner1 week ago
Tesla gets new Street-high price target with high hopes for autonomy domination
-
Lifestyle6 days ago
500-mile test proves why Tesla Model Y still humiliates rivals in Europe
-
News5 days ago
Tesla Giga Berlin’s water consumption has achieved the unthinkable