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SpaceX aces rare Falcon 9 land landing, first California launch in a year and a half
A Falcon 9 rocket has aced a rare ‘land’ landing as part of SpaceX’s first California launch in almost a year and a half and what a company manager deemed “the start of many exciting things to come”.
Carrying the ~1200 kg (~2600 lb) Sentinel 6A oceanography and Earth observation satellite, a brand new Falcon 9 rocket (including booster B1063) lifted off on schedule from SpaceX’s Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) SLC-4E launch pad at 9:17 am PST (17:17 UTC). In no simple terms, it’s nothing short of incredible that SpaceX was able to launch Falcon 9 on the first try from SLC-4E – and with NASA as its customer, no less – after nearly 18 months of inactivity.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on Landing Zone 4 pic.twitter.com/eDrI5HSXaJ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 21, 2020
As usual, Falcon 9 performed flawlessly, with first stage B1063 effortlessly lofting the combined ~120-ton (~260,000 lb) second stage, Sentinel 6A spacecraft, and payload fairing to approximately 75 km (~50 mi) before shutting down, separating, and flipping around to head back to the launch site. Falcon 9’s second stage ignited and continued towards orbit, burning for about six minutes. After completing a three-engine reentry burn and igniting its central Merlin 1D a third time for a landing burn, Falcon 9 B1063 touched down at SpaceX’s LZ-4 landing pad less than a second after the rocket’s upper stage shut down in orbit.
45 minutes after that initial ‘second stage cutoff’ (SECO), Merlin Vacuum reignited, burning for ten seconds to circularize its polar orbit and get Sentinel 6A as close as possible to a nominal operational altitude. The spacecraft deployed from Falcon 9 a few minutes later, wrapping up the mission and signifying the completion of Falcon 9’s 98th successful launch and 100th mission overall, as well as SpaceX 22nd launch this year – a record for the company.
Sentinel 6A now complete, SpaceX still has one more mission – Starlink V1 L15 – scheduled to launch as early as November 22nd, potentially capping off SpaceX’s first four-launch month ever. Additionally, the company has at least five more launches with reasonable launch targets in December, albeit back on the East Coast.
In 2021, though, SpaceX could have as many as four or five potential West Coast launches, although challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic could push one or more of those missions into 2022. A step further, commercial missions aside, SpaceX recently expressed interest to the FCC about beginning polar Starlink internet satellite launches as soon as possible, suggesting that dedicated Starlink launches from Vandenberg could very well begin next year if the company receives regulatory approval.
Ultimately, it looks like SpaceX’s West Coast operations are back in action and here to stay (at least for now) after an unusual year and a half of hibernation. Stay tuned for updates on the company’s next California launch.
Tesla recently received its largest order for the all-electric Semi from Einride, a Swedish transport service, for 500 units, a groundbreaking invoice to receive before the first deliveries begin.
Even more remarkable, Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli said in a recent interview that he expects his company to take delivery of all 500 — the entire order — before the end of 2027. He even expects to have 75 Tesla Semi units in the Einride fleet before the end of this year.
🚨 Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli on the Tesla Semi partnership:
TESLARATI Premium Membership
$19.99 USD“If we start with the Amazon announcement that we did earlier this year, that was on the back of having gone through a proving period together with them and proving out our technology. Then we took that next step in… pic.twitter.com/oazkXjwoig
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2026
Charli said the Tesla partnership was part of a broader push, along with its earlier partnership with Amazon. Einride is assisting Amazon with the use of its Saga AI platform, which helps eliminate questions about budgeting and forecasting for logistics companies.
The Semi, as well as Tesla’s production and subsequent delivery of the units to Einride, will help the company “to have a good supply of vehicles that we can deploy on the [Saga AI] platform,” Charli said. “Tesla is also a relationship we’ve had for a while, and as the Tesla Semi deliveries are firming up, we decided to do a larger commitment to that and deploy that on our platform.”
In its initial announcement, Einride said it anticipated taking delivery of the trucks over the next two years, but now it appears the company is expecting all 500 units within the next 16 months.
Built at a dedicated factory in Sparks, Nevada, the Tesla Semi has been perhaps the biggest and most intensive testing process the company has ever had for a single vehicle model. For the past several years, Tesla has been working with many companies, most notably Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, to gain knowledge on the performance on regional routes.
Tesla plans to launch the Semi officially on September 24, five months after production started ramping.
Additionally, drivers have said they are happy about the Semi’s performance and that its numerous safety and productivity features have made their jobs and routes much easier.
Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla has said goodbye to one customization option for its vehicles: the wrap service it launched several years ago.
After launching an in-house wrap service in August 2020 for the first time in China. In the U.S., it launched in October 2023. Tesla continued to expand the program and adjust it with better pricing and fewer options for the Cybertruck.
By December 2023, it was giving owners of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck the opportunity to give their vehicle a fresh look with a vinyl wrap.
Tesla revamps in-house vinyl wrap service with better pricing
It was only available in five locations: Costa Mesa, Oceanside, Santa Clara, West Covina, all in California, and Seattle, Washington.
However, Tesla made some big adjustments to its shop, and the wrap service is officially gone:
Tesla has made a LOT of changes to its online shop recently — price increases, price cuts, new options, and several products being removed entirely.
Some of the biggest increases are wheel covers. 👀
📈 PRICE INCREASES
• 2017-2023 | Model 3 Aero Wheel Cover — Style: Refresh…— Phoenix Self-Driving 🐦🔥 (@PhoenixFSD) August 25, 2026
Wraps are very popular across the Tesla lineup, especially since the company offers relatively few colors. Many choose to wrap their Teslas with interesting colors, patterns, or even finishes, turning their cars from glossy to satin or matte.
However, Tesla’s wrap service was so limited geographically that it never really had a chance to get off the ground or compete with local shops. Every area in the United States is now overflowing with detailing shops, mobile detailers, and other automotive specialists, many of whom perform wrap services.
Tesla’s service was confined to the Pacific time zone and only spanned across two states. It was never going to be something Tesla was a major competitor in, nor was it going to disrupt the wrapping industry. Now that the program has ended, it seems pretty ideal to believe it was always going to be a short-term thing.
Along with the wrap service, Tesla removed several other products, but nothing too crazy. The Model 3 Door Pocket and Cupholder Liners, the Model S 19″ Magnetite Wheel and Winter Tire Package, Model X/Y Ski/Snowboard Carrier for Hitch Rack, Tesla’s Electric Summer Party Tee, and the Electric Summer Tee were the other items the company totally eliminated from its online shop.
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