News
SpaceX’s BFR factory in LA spied with four Falcon 9 fairing halves
In an unexpected turn of events, Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin came across a remarkable scene in Port of Los Angeles – four flight-proven Falcon 9 fairing halves temporarily stored on a plot of land soon to become SpaceX’s dedicated BFR factory.
While it’s difficult to guess exactly which fairing half is which, it appears that the halves from PAZ, Iridium-5, and Iridium-6 are present and accounted for. Reminiscent of SpaceX’s late-2016, early-2017 struggles with finding enough space to store their massive flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters, these fairing halves are unable to be reused as a consequence of too much saltwater exposure, making it significantly easier for the company to effectively find any old plot of SpaceX land on which to store them.
A massive panorama of Berth 240 shows the abandoned shipyard in all its gritty glory, as well as initial construction preparations underway. (Pauline Acalin)
Officially in early 2018, SpaceX is leasing Berth 240 with the explicit intent of constructing a dedicated facility for production of their first Mars rocket prototypes, as well as the relocation of Falcon 9 and Dragon recovery ops, which are quite space-constrained at their current berths. By all appearances, contractor Buntich is staging equipment ahead of initial demolition, refurbishment, and construction operations at Berth 240. Known predominately for pipeline and utility construction and refurbishment, it’s likely that the contractor is in the very early stages of modernizing the decades-abandoned shipyard, particularly, utilities like water, gas, electricity, and more.
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- One half of SpaceX’s Iridium-6/GRACE-FO just moments before touchdown on the Pacific Ocean. (SpaceX)
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- From left to right, my best guess for each fairing is PAZ, Iridium-6 Half 1, Iridium-5, and Iridium-6 Half 2. (Pauline Acalin)
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- Less than a year after SpaceX quite literally scrapped its Port of San Pedro presence, the company is again in talks to build a Starship factory in California. (Pauline Acalin)
It may be fairly clear why SpaceX is storing four massive, unwieldy, and unreusable Falcon 9 fairing halves at Berth 240, but it’s much less clear what exactly their fates will be. With yet another added to the pack just this morning after a successful half recovery post-SES-12, SpaceX’s awkward fairing fleet is likely up to six structurally-intact halves now. These halves could be used for drop testing to perfect fairing recovery accuracy and ensure, at long last, that recovery vessel and claw-boat Mr Steven can catch them out of the air, avoiding the vast majority of exposure to seawater. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently noted that Mr Steven’s net would apparently be massively expanded, quadrupling its area to relieve some of the burdens of precision currently placed almost entirely on each payload fairing’s navigational capabilities.
Yup, we are extending the net area by a factor of 4
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2018
Whether drop testing will actually be conducted is thus unclear, as a decision to expand Mr Steven’s net at least partially indicates that SpaceX engineers are less confident in the each half’s ability to reduce their margins of error by approximately 50%. A quadrupling of usable area implies that Mr Steven’s net will most likely be stretched twofold length-wise and width-wise, or perhaps by 50% for the width and 150% for the length to avoid a need for either an elaborate arm retraction mechanism or a comically unwieldy net.
Either way, Mr Steven’s next fairing catch attempt is unlikely to occur until the Falcon 9 Block 5 launch of Iridium-7, currently no earlier than mid-July. This gives recovery engineers and technicians at least five weeks to refine fairing accuracy and expand Mr Steven’s net, and Pauline will undoubtedly be there to capture any significant developments aboard the eclectic vessel as both it and drone ship Just Read The Instructions prepare for a return to action.
It’s difficult to imagine how Mr Steven’s already vast net could plausibly be expanded by a factor of two in each dimension. I certainly can’t wait to see what that looks like! Fairing aboard, Mr Steven performed rapid turns and high-speed sprints with the fairing half aboard. (Pauline Acalin)
Cybertruck
Tesla confirms date when new Cybertruck trim will go up in price
Tesla has officially revealed that this price will only be available until February 28, as the company has placed a banner atop the Design Configurator on its website reflecting this.
Tesla has confirmed the date when its newest Cybertruck trim level will increase in price, after CEO Elon Musk noted that the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the all-electric pickup would only be priced at its near-bargain level for ten days.
Last week, Tesla launched the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck. Priced at $59,990, the Cybertruck featured many excellent features and has seemingly brought some demand to the pickup, which has been underwhelming in terms of sales figures over the past couple of years.
Tesla launches new Cybertruck trim with more features than ever for a low price
When Tesla launched it, many fans and current owners mulled the possibility of ordering it. However, Musk came out and said just hours after launching the pickup that Tesla would only keep it at the $59,990 price level for ten days.
What it would be priced at subsequently was totally dependent on how much demand Tesla felt for the new trim level, which is labeled as a “Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive” configuration.
Tesla has officially revealed that this price will only be available until February 28, as the company has placed a banner atop the Design Configurator on its website reflecting this:
NEWS: Tesla has officially announced that the price of the new Cybertruck Dual-Motor AWD will be increasing after February 28th. pic.twitter.com/vZpA521ZwC
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 24, 2026
Many fans and owners have criticized Tesla’s decision to unveil a trim this way, and then price it at something, only to change that price a few days later based on how well it sells.
Awful way to treat customers – particularly when they already sent out a marketing email announcing the $59,990 truck…with zero mention of it being a limited-time offer.
— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) February 24, 2026
It seems the most ideal increase in price would be somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000, but it truly depends on how many orders Tesla sees for this new trim level. The next step up in configuration is the Premium All-Wheel-Drive, which is priced at $79,990.
The difference between the Dual Motor AWD Cybertruck and the Premium AWD configuration comes down to towing, interior quality, and general features. The base package is only capable of towing up to 7,500 pounds, while the Premium can handle 11,000 pounds. Additionally, the seats in the Premium build are Vegan Leather, while the base trim gets the textile seats.
It also has only 7 speakers compared to the 15 that the Premium trim has. Additionally, the base model does not have an adjustable ride height, although it does have a coil spring with an adaptive damping suspension package.
Cybertruck
Tesla set to activate long-awaited Cybertruck feature
Tesla will officially activate the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature on Cybertruck soon, as the company has officially added the feature to its list of features by trim on its website.
Tesla is set to activate a long-awaited Cybertruck feature, and no matter when you bought your all-electric pickup, it has the hardware capable of achieving what it is designed to do.
Tesla simply has to flip the switch, and it plans to do so in the near future.
Tesla will officially activate the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature on Cybertruck soon, according to Not a Tesla App, as the company has officially added the feature to its list of features by trim on its website.
Tesla rolls out Active Road Noise Reduction for new Model S and Model X
The ANC feature suddenly appeared on the spec sheet for the Premium All-Wheel-Drive and Cyberbeast trims, which are the two configurations that have been delivered since November 2023.
However, those trims have both had the ANC disabled, and although they are found in the Model S and Model X, and are active in those vehicles, Tesla is planning to activate them.
In Tesla’s Service Toolbox, it wrote:
“ANC software is not enabled on Cybertruck even though the hardware is installed.”
Tesla has utilized an ANC system in the Model S and Model X since 2021. The system uses microphones embedded in the front seat headrests to detect low-frequency road noise entering the cabin. It then generates anti-noise through phase-inverted sound waves to cancel out or reduce that noise, creating quieter zones, particularly around the vehicle’s front occupants.
The Model S and Model X utilize six microphones to achieve this noise cancellation, while the Cybertruck has just four.
Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD estimated delivery slips to early fall 2026
As previously mentioned, this will be activated through a software update, as the hardware is already available within Cybertruck and can simply be activated at Tesla’s leisure.
The delays in activating the system are likely due to Tesla Cybertruck’s unique design, which is unlike anything before. In the Model S and Model X, Tesla did not have to do too much, but the Cybertruck has heavier all-terrain tires and potentially issues from the aluminum castings that make up the vehicle’s chassis, which are probably presenting some challenges.
Unfortunately, this feature will not be available on the new Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive configuration, which was released last week.
News
Tesla Model S and X customization options begin to thin as their closure nears
Tesla’s Online Design Studio for both vehicles now shows the first color option to be listed as “Sold Out,” as Lunar Silver is officially no longer available for the Model S or Model X. This color is exclusive to these cars and not available on the Model S or Model X.
Tesla Model S and Model X customization options are beginning to thin for the first time as the closure of the two “sentimental” vehicles nears.
We are officially seeing the first options disappear as Tesla begins to work toward ending production of the two cars and the options that are available to those vehicles specifically.
Tesla’s Online Design Studio for both vehicles now shows the first color option to be listed as “Sold Out,” as Lunar Silver is officially no longer available for the Model S or Model X. This color is exclusive to these cars and not available on the Model S or Model X.
🚨 Tesla Model S and Model X availability is thinning, as Tesla has officially shown that the Lunar Silver color option on both vehicles is officially sold out
To be fair, Frost Blue is still available so no need to freak out pic.twitter.com/YnwsDbsFOv
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 25, 2026
Tesla is making way for the Optimus humanoid robot project at the Fremont Factory, where the Model S and Model X are produced. The two cars are low-volume models and do not contribute more than a few percent to Tesla’s yearly delivery figures.
With CEO Elon Musk confirming that the Model S and Model X would officially be phased out at the end of the quarter, some of the options are being thinned out.
This is an expected move considering Tesla’s plans for the two vehicles, as it will make for an easier process of transitioning that portion of the Fremont plant to cater to Optimus manufacturing. Additionally, this is likely one of the least popular colors, and Tesla is choosing to only keep around what it is seeing routine demand for.
During the Q4 Earnings Call in January, Musk confirmed the end of the Model S and Model X:
“It is time to bring the Model S and Model X programs to an end with an honorable discharge. It is time to bring the S/X programs to an end. It’s part of our overall shift to an autonomous future.”
Fremont will now build one million Optimus units per year as production is ramped.
Tesla confirms date when new Cybertruck trim will go up in price
Tesla set to activate long-awaited Cybertruck feature
