News
SpaceX sends two drone ships to sea for back-to-back Starlink, astronaut launches
Update: SpaceX has rolled out Crew-4’s Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon in anticipation of prelaunch testing. However, due to poor weather in landing regions, NASA and SpaceX have also delayed the private Axiom-1 crew’s return to Earth a second time.
Without the undocking time confirmed, it’s likely that Crew-4 will be pushed back to April 24th or 25th at the earliest. Starlink 4-14, nonetheless, appears to remain on track for an April 21st launch attempt.
SpaceX has sent both of its East Coast drone ships to sea to support an upcoming pair of back-to-back Falcon 9 launches and landings.
The ‘autonomous spaceport drone ship ‘ (ASDS) Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) left first, exiting Florida’s Port Canaveral with the help of a tugboat on April 16th. On April 18th, drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG) followed suit, shadowing JRTI en route to a similar location northeast of Cape Canaveral. Both should arrive at their respective Atlantic Ocean landing zones within a few days.
No earlier than (NET) 11:16 am EDT (15:16 UTC), Thursday, April 21st, SpaceX is scheduled to launch a well-worn Falcon 9 booster carrying a new upper stage and the latest batch of ~50 Starlink V1.5 satellites. Less than two full days later, a different Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch a new Crew Dragon spacecraft and four NASA and ESA astronauts on their way to the International Space Station.
-->Starlink 4-14 – the 14th mission carrying satellites destined for the fourth of five Starlink orbital ‘shells’ – will be SpaceX’s 9th Starlink launch and 15th launch overall in 2022, averaging just shy of one launch per week. The mission should also leave SpaceX with more than 2100 working Starlink satellites in orbit – likely not far off from half of all operational satellites in Earth orbit.
SpaceX appears to have assigned Falcon 9 booster B1061 to the launch after the rocket – already integrated with a new upper stage – was spotted on the way to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) on April 18th. Starlink 4-14 will be B1060’s 12th launch since June 30th, 2020, tying Falcon 9 B1051’s booster reuse record but accomplishing the feat almost 15 months faster. It’s unlikely that B1051 will ever retake its crown from B1060. Based on past performance, B1060 could easily fly another 4-6 times before the end of 2022 if it survives Starlink 4-14.
As few as 42 hours later, Falcon 9 booster B1067 could lift off for the fourth time with a new Crew Dragon capsule – C212 or “Freedom” – and a team of four professional astronauts as part of NASA’s Crew-4 mission at 5:26 am EDT (09:26 UTC), April 23rd. Crew-4 will be SpaceX’s seventh astronaut launch since May 2020 and its fourth operational crew transport mission for NASA. A few days after Crew Dragon C212 docks with the International Space Station (ISS), four Crew-3 astronauts will board a different Crew Dragon and return to Earth, handing off the US segment to Crew-4.
However, two Crew Dragons are already docked to the ISS, taking up both available International Docking Adapter (IDA) ports. Before Crew-4 can launch, Axiom-1 – SpaceX’s first all-private astronaut mission to the space station – must undock and return to Earth. On April 18th, that undocking was delayed about 15 hours by poor weather to 10 pm EDT, April 19th, pushing splashdown and recovery off the coast of Florida to mid-afternoon, April 20th. NASA and SpaceX will then have about 60 hours to analyze any data gathered from the completed Axiom-1 mission and determine whether or not to proceed with Crew-4 on April 23rd.
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News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
