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SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft photobombed in orbit by solar eclipse
On December 26th, SpaceX’s second-to-last Cargo Dragon spacecraft was photobombed in orbit by the shadow cast on Earth by a solar eclipse, likely a little over a week before the vehicle is set to reenter the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
Cargo Dragon lifted off atop a rare new Falcon 9 booster – B1059 – on December 5th, carrying around 2600 kg (5800 lb) of cargo inside on the flight-proven capsules third launch into Earth orbit. After a quick three-day journey from its parking orbit to the International Space Station (ISS), Dragon was successfully captured by the station’s astronauts with a robotic arm and berthed to the orbital outpost, where the crew quickly unloaded its cargo of food, consumables, science, and equipment.
Shortly after liftoff, Falcon 9 B1059 completed its first successful landing – a bit of a surprise ordeal aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) – and the relatively gentle reentry and trajectory should mean that the booster can be turned around almost immediately for its next launch. B1059 is thus a prime candidate for reuse on a future NASA mission and could very well support Cargo Dragon’s next space station resupply mission (CRS-20) as early as March 2020.
For a number of reasons, the spacecraft’s recent success is a touch bittersweet.
Notably, CRS-19 is the second to last orbital mission scheduled for SpaceX’s original Dragon spacecraft, which debuted in orbit in December 2010, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to successfully reenter and be recovered intact. Less than a year and a half later, Cargo Dragon became the world’s first commercial spacecraft to successful rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station (ISS).
The rest, as they say, is history. Five months later, SpaceX launched Cargo Dragon’s first official mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, known as CRS-1. Aside from a June 2015 launch vehicle failure that prevented Cargo Dragon from reaching orbit on its CRS-7 mission, SpaceX has successfully completed every resupply mission that managed to reach orbit, delivering more than 43 metric tons (95,000 lb) of supplies to the space station and the astronauts aboard it.
There have been several technical challenges over the years but every Cargo Dragon that reached orbit successfully completed its space station resupply mission and was recovered intact from the ocean surface after reentering Earth’s atmosphere. SpaceX has matured and improved almost every aspect of the spacecraft over the nine years it’s been flying, substantially upgrading its PICA-X heat shield, improving navigation sensors, upgrading its reusability, testing Crew Dragon and Starship hardware, and more.
Cargo Dragon has without a doubt been one of SpaceX’s biggest successes, combining with the company’s exceptionally capable and affordable Falcon 9 rocket to enable reliable cargo resupply missions, while also continuing to be the only way that NASA (or anyone alse) can return substantial non-human payloads back to Earth. Thankfully, although the spacecraft’s exceptional track record is set to come to an end after its next launch, the Cargo Dragon lineage will continue to supply the space station in the form of a modified version of Crew Dragon (i.e. Dragon 2).
On December 26th, SpaceX’s CRS-19 Cargo Dragon – attached to the International Space Station (ISS) – was photobombed by the shadow produced on Earth’s surface by an annular solar eclipse. With any luck, the spacecraft’s first upgraded successor will take over and begin orbital resupply launches as early as August 2020, setting SpaceX up for at least another four or so years of Dragon launches.
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Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla is gamifying its Supercharging experience by offering a new “Charging Passport,” hoping to add a new layer to the ownership experience.
While it is not part of the Holiday Update, it is rolling out around the same time and offers a handful of cool new features.
Tesla’s Charging Passport will be available within the smartphone app and will give a yearly summary of your charging experience, helping encapsulate your travel for that year.
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla has just introduced “Charging Passport,” a new yearly summary of your charging.
• Charging badges: Iconic Charging badge (for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc), Explorer badge, green saver badge, etc.
• Total unique Superchargers visited
•… pic.twitter.com/c1DHTWXpj7— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 8, 2025
Tesla will include the following metrics within the new Charging Passport option within the Tesla app:
- Charging badges: Iconic charging badges for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc., Explorer Badge, and more
- Total Unique Superchargers Visited
- Total Charging Sessions
- Total Miles Added during Charging Sessions
- Top Charging Day
- Longest Trip
- Favorite Charging Locations
This will give people a unique way to see their travels throughout the year, and although it is not necessarily something that is needed or adds any genuine value, it is something that many owners will like to look back on. After all, things like Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay have been a great way for people to see what music they listened to throughout the year.
This is essentially Tesla’s version of that.
With a handful of unique Superchargers already active, Tesla is also building some new ones, like a UFO-inspired location in New Mexico, near Roswell.
Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country
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Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention.”
Tesla has launched its coolest gift idea ever, just a few weeks after it was announced.
Tesla is now giving owners the opportunity to gift Full Self-Driving for one month to friends or family through a new gifting program that was suggested to the company last month.
The program will enable people to send a fellow Tesla owner one month of the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, helping them to experience the Full Self-Driving suite and potentially help Tesla gain them as a subscriber of the program, or even an outright purchase.
Tesla is going to allow owners to purchase an FSD Subscription for another owner for different month options
You’ll be able to gift FSD to someone! https://t.co/V29dhf5URj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 3, 2025
Tesla has officially launched the program on its Shop. Sending one month of Full Self-Driving costs $112:
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention. All sales are final. Can only be purchased and redeemed in the U.S. This gift card is valued at $112.00 and is intended to cover the price of one month of FSD (Supervised), including up to 13% sales tax. It is not guaranteed to cover the full monthly price if pricing or tax rates change. This gift card can be stored in Tesla Wallet and redeemed toward FSD (Supervised) or any other Tesla product or service that accepts gift card payments.”
Tesla has done a great job of expanding Full Self-Driving access over the past few years, especially by offering things like the Subscription program, free trials through referrals, and now this gift card program.
Gifting Full Self-Driving is another iteration of Tesla’s “butts in seats” strategy, which is its belief that it can flip consumers to its vehicles and products by simply letting people experience them.
There is also a reason behind pushing Full Self-Driving so hard, and it has to do with CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package. One tranche requires Musk to achieve a certain number of active paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
More people who try the suite are likely to pay for it over the long term.
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Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
Tesla has expanded Robotaxi app access once again, but this time, it’s on a much broader scale as the company is offering the opportunity for those outside of North America to download the app.
Tesla Robotaxi is the company’s early-stage ride-hailing platform that is active in Texas, California, and Arizona, with more expansion within the United States planned for the near future.
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
The platform has massive potential, and Tesla is leaning on it to be a major contributor to even more disruption in the passenger transportation industry. So far, it has driven over 550,000 miles in total, with the vast majority of this coming from the Bay Area and Austin.
First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more
However, Tesla is focusing primarily on rapid expansion, but most of this is reliant on the company’s ability to gain regulatory permission to operate the platform in various regions. The expansion plans go well outside of the U.S., as the company expanded the ability to download the app to more regions this past weekend.
So far, these are the areas it is available to download in:
- Japan
- Thailand
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Australia
- Taiwan
- Macau
- New Zealand
- Mexico
- U.S.
- Canada
Right now, while Tesla is focusing primarily on expansion, it is also working on other goals that have to do with making it more widely available to customers who want to grab a ride from a driverless vehicle.
One of the biggest goals it has is to eliminate safety monitors from its vehicles, which it currently utilizes in Austin in the passenger’s seat and in the driver’s seat in the Bay Area.
A few weeks ago, Tesla started implementing a new in-cabin data-sharing system, which will help support teams assist riders without anyone in the front of the car.
Tesla takes a step towards removal of Robotaxi service’s safety drivers
As Robotaxi expands into more regions, Tesla stands to gain tremendously through the deployment of the Full Self-Driving suite for personal cars, as well as driverless Robotaxis for those who are just hailing rides.
Things have gone well for Tesla in the early stages of the Robotaxi program, but expansion will truly be the test of how things operate going forward. Navigating local traffic laws and gaining approval from a regulatory standpoint will be the biggest hurdle to jump.
Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
