News
SpaceX nails 50th rocket booster landing ahead of Crew Dragon takeover
On its fifth launch of 2020, SpaceX has nailed its 50th Falcon rocket booster landing and sent Cargo Dragon (Dragon 1) en route to the International Space Station (ISS) on its final mission, paving the way for Crew Dragon’s imminent takeover.
At 11:50 pm EST (4:50 UTC), a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster and twice-flown Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off from SpaceX’s LC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) launch pad, sending the Dragon 1 spacecraft on its third and final orbital launch. Things went as planned and the booster nailed its second landing, coming to a rest at Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1), while Falcon 9’s second stage successfully placed Dragon in orbit and deployed the vehicle. Now safely in orbit with both solar arrays deployed, Cargo Dragon will use built-in maneuvering thrusters to tweak its orbit, ultimately rendezvousing with space station no earlier than the morning (EDT) of March 9th.
Hopefully wrapping up a decade of success, the CRS-20 mission will be SpaceX’s last under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) Phase 1 contract, marking Cargo Dragon’s 20th successful space station rendezvous and 19th operational resupply mission. Over those 19 CRS missions, SpaceX – once CRS-20 has safely berthed – will have delivered nearly 45 metric tons (100,000 lb) of cargo to the space station and returned another 31 metric tons (>70,000 lb) to Earth, remaining the only operational spacecraft capable of doing so. While Dragon 1 will cease operations after capsule C112’s planned reentry and splashdown sometime next month, the vast wealth of expertise SpaceX has derived has already been funneled directly into Crew Dragon (Dragon 2), its successor.
Carrying about 2050 kg (4500 lb) of cargo, Cargo Dragon capsule C112 and its expendable trunk section will spend about a month in orbit after berthing with the space station this Monday. The mission may be the last time in history a SpaceX spacecraft berths with the International Space Station, a process that the Dragon 2 spacecraft will soon replace outright once it takes over. Instead of berthing, which refers to the process of astronauts manually ‘grappling’ a visiting vehicle with the space station’s massive robotic arm, SpaceX’s next-generation spacecraft relies on docking, meaning that it does all the work itself.
Docking is thus somewhat riskier and more technically challenging, but it also requires far less input from the station’s crew and can be done almost entirely autonomously, further simplifying the rendezvous process. Once it gets to that point, SpaceX’s massive Starship spacecraft will likely rely on the same docking technology if or when it comes time for it to mate with the ISS – the vehicle is simply too big for anything else.
A slightly tweaked version of Crew Dragon, SpaceX’s future Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft will replace its human passengers with the same supplies Cargo Dragon currently ferries to and from the ISS. According to Vice President of Build and Build Reliability Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX has already begun building its first Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft back at its Hawthorne, California headquarters. That vehicle’s launch debut is scheduled no earlier than (NET) “fall” 2020 and will support CRS-21, SpaceX’s first NASA resupply mission under its CRS Phase 2 contract.
Cargo Dragon 2’s “launch debut” should thankfully be quite the non-event. Crew Dragon – nearly identical – will have hopefully flown at least two (and perhaps three) orbital missions to the space station by then, dramatically reducing risk. The spacecraft will also use Falcon 9, currently classed as one of the world’s most reliable launch vehicles. CRS-20 marked the rocket’s 54th consecutively successful launch, as well as SpaceX’s 50th successful booster landing since December 2015.
For now, though, Cargo Dragon C112 still needs to make its way uphill to rendezvous with the ISS for the final time. Stay tuned for updates on the spacecraft’s last orbital mission.
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News
Tesla Model X shocks everyone by crushing every other used car in America
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
The Tesla Model X was the fastest-selling used vehicle in the United States in the first quarter of the year, crushing every other used car in America.
iSeeCars data for the first quarter shows that the Model X was the fastest-selling used car, lasting just 25.6 days on the market on average, two days better than that of the second-place Lexus RX 350h. The Cybertruck, Model Y, and Model S, in seventh, ninth, and thirteenth place, respectively, also made the list.
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
Tesla brings closure to flagship ‘sentimental’ models, Musk confirms
Bringing closure to these two vehicles signaled the end of the road for the cars that have effectively built Tesla’s reputation for luxury and high-end passenger vehicles.
Relying on the sales of its mass market Model Y and Model 3, as well as leaning on the success of future products like the Cybercab, is the angle Tesla has chosen to take.
Teslas are also performing extremely well as a whole on the resale market. iSeeCars data shows that, “while the average price of a 1- to 5-year-old non-Tesla EV fell 10.3% in Q1 2026 year-over-year, the average price of a used Tesla was essentially flat at 0.1% lower across the same period. Traditional gas car prices dropped 2.8% during this same period.”
Additionally, market share for gas cars has dropped nearly 3 percent since the same quarter last year. Tesla has remained level, while the non-Tesla EV market share has increased 30 percent, mostly due to more models available.
Nevertheless, those non-Tesla EVs have seen their value drop by over 10 percent, while Tesla’s values have remained level.
Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said:
“Used electric vehicles without a Tesla badge have lost more than 10% of their value in the past year. This compares to stable values for Teslas and hybrids, and a modest 2.8% drop for traditional gasoline vehicles.”
Teslas, as well as non-luxury hybrids, are displaying the strongest resistance in the face of faltering demand, the publication says. But the more impressive performance is that of the Model X alone.
Tesla’s decision to stop production of the Model X may have played some part in the vehicle’s pristine performance in Q1. With the car already placed at a premium price point, used models are already more appealing to consumers. Perhaps second-hand versions were more than enough for those who wanted a Model X, and only a Model X.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck’s head-scratching trim sold terribly, recall documents reveal
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
After Tesla decided to build a Rear-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck trim back in 2025, which was void of many features and only featured a small discount.
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
The recall deals with a potentially separating wheel stud and potentially impacts 173 Cybertruck units with the 18-inch steel wheels. The Cybertruck RWD was the only trim level to feature these, and the 173 potentially impacted units represent a portion of the population of pickups. Therefore, it’s not the entire number of RWD Cybertruck sold, but it could show how little interest it gathered.
The NHTSA document states:
“On affected vehicles, higher severity road perturbations and cornering may strain the stud hole in the wheel rotor, causing cracks to form. If cracking propagates with continued use and strain, the wheel stud could eventually separate from the wheel hub.”
Only 5 percent are expected to be impacted, meaning less than 10 units will have the issue if the NHTSA and Tesla estimates are correct. Nevertheless, the true story here is how terribly the RWD Cybertruck sold.
Tesla ended production and stopped offering the RWD Cybertruck to customers last September. For just $10,000 less than the All-Wheel-Drive trim, Tesla offered the RWD Cybertruck with just one motor, textile seats instead of leather, only 7 speakers instead of 15, no Rear Touchscreen, no Powered Tonneau Cover for the truck bed, and no 120v/240v outlets.
For just $10,000 more, at $79,990, owners could have received all of those premium features, as well as a more capable All-Wheel-Drive powertrain that featured Adaptive Air Suspension. The discount simply was not worth the sacrifices.
Orders were few and far between, and sources told us that when it was offered, sales were extremely tempered because customers could not see the value in this trim level.
Even Tesla’s most loyal supporters thought the offering was kind of a joke, and the $10,000 extra was simply worth it.
News
Tesla Semi sends clear message to Diesel rivals with latest move
The truck is being built at a dedicated facility in Sparks, Nevada, just next to its Gigafactory Nevada facility.
Tesla has officially launched Semi production at what will be a mind-boggling rate of approximately 50,000 units per year.
The truck is being built at a dedicated facility in Sparks, Nevada, just next to its Gigafactory Nevada facility.
The company finally announced on April 29 that the first Tesla Semi truck has rolled off its new high-volume production line at the factory. This marks the transition from limited pilot builds to scaled manufacturing for the Class 8 all-electric heavy-duty truck, nearly nine years after its dramatic 2017 unveiling.
🚨 Tesla Semi mass production is underway in Nevada!
HUGE! https://t.co/ohgQIiI2bK pic.twitter.com/23GvWr8D27
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 29, 2026
Tesla initially promised high-volume deliveries by 2019–2020, but battery supply constraints and prioritization for passenger vehicles delayed progress. The new 1.7-million-square-foot factory, purpose-built next to Gigafactory Nevada’s 4680 cell production lines, resolves those bottlenecks through deep vertical integration.
The Semi uses Tesla’s structural battery packs with cylindrical 4680 cells manufactured on-site. This integration enables efficient supply, reduced logistics costs, and the potential for high output. The factory is designed for an eventual annual capacity of approximately 50,000 trucks, positioning Tesla to address growing demand in long-haul freight electrification.
Tesla is using a redesigned Cybertruck battery cell to mitigate Semi challenges
Operating economics favor the Semi through dramatically lower fuel and maintenance costs compared to traditional diesel rigs, and companies involved in a pilot program for the Semi with Tesla have shown that.
Electricity is far cheaper than diesel on a per-mile basis, while the electric powertrain features fewer moving parts, reducing service intervals and lifetime expenses. Early deployments with customers like PepsiCo and others have validated these advantages in real-world service.
The Nevada factory’s ramp-up is targeted for full volume output before the end of June 2026, aligning with broader Tesla production goals for 2026. This includes parallel efforts on other new vehicles while expanding the Megacharger infrastructure to support widespread adoption.
By localizing battery and truck production, Tesla gains advantages in cost, quality control, and scalability that many competitors sourcing cells externally lack. The start of high-volume Semi production represents a pivotal step in Tesla’s strategy to electrify heavy transportation, potentially accelerating the shift toward zero-emission freight across North America and beyond.
As output increases, the Semi could reshape long-haul logistics with its combination of performance, efficiency, and sustainability.
Tesla Model X shocks everyone by crushing every other used car in America
Tesla Cybertruck’s head-scratching trim sold terribly, recall documents reveal
