

News
SpaceX Crew Dragon astronauts are chasing the space station around Earth
The morning of SpaceX’s most prolific launch – the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission – began with one question on the mind of many, why did the Falcon 9 rocket have just one second, and one second only, to launch NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS)? A simplified answer is orbital mechanics and a carefully planned out 19 hour trip around the planet.
Richard Angle for Teslarati)
The launch of the Falcon 9 was a highly anticipated moment, however, it was easily the most familiar part of the Demo-2 mission. Leading up to Demo-2, SpaceX had successfully launched twenty-eight Block 5 Falcon 9 boosters – the same type of booster that the Crew Dragon carrying Behnken and Hurley would launch on. The landing of the Falcon 9 on the autonomous spaceport drone ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was also a familiar process that SpaceX had completed successfully a number of times.
Even the Crew Dragon capsule had a launch and mission to the space station under its belt, however, launching astronauts aboard the capsule had yet to be attempted, let alone done successfully. The least familiar part of the mission was what Crew Dragon and its occupants had to achieve once free of the Earth’s gravity well.
Once past launch and separation from the Falcon 9 first stage booster, Crew Dragon would separate from the Falcon 9 second stage, enter an initial orbit, and proceed to spend the next nineteen hours chasing the ISS around the planet. The capsule had to perform a series of burns to lift its orbit high enough to match that of the ISS for autonomous docking nineteen hours later. During the trip, Behnken and Hurley had a series of items to check off prior to initiating their crew sleep aboard Crew Dragon. A few of the items included doffing – or taking off – their SpaceX pressure suits, hosting a brief media opportunity explaining the name “Endeavour” chosen for their capsule as well as the zero-G indicator named “Tremor” chosen to ride along with them and eat their first meal in space.

The Crew Dragon also had a few jobs of its own to complete. Crew and capsule would spend about two hours performing 3 different burns of the sixteen Draco thrusters outfitted all around the Crew Dragon’s outer shell. The first phasing burn was needed to insert it into the correct orbit, followed a little while later by a boost burn to raise the capsule’s orbit even more. And lastly, a close coelliptic burn to flatten out the orbit around the Earth making it more elliptical, rather than circular matching that of the ISS. These three burns were completed while the crew was awake performing any necessary tasks. Two more burns remained to be completed, but those would need to occur much closure to docking with the ISS, one while the crew slept and one just before autonomous docking procedures were set to begin.
The fourth burn – a transfer burn – is intended to raise the capsule the final ten meters in orbital space to match that of the ISS. This burn will allow the capsule to begin its final approach toward the station. It will be completed by the SpaceX mission control ground station in Hawthorne, California while the crew sleeps. It will be a gentle burn of the Dracos lasting less than a minute.
The capsule will then burn the Draco thrusters once more for the final coelliptic burn matching its orbit directly with the ISS. At this time, the crew aboard both the Crew Dragon capsule and space station will be awake for a full day of work including the meticulous process of autonomously docking the capsule to the ISS, the opening of the hatch of Crew Dragon, and welcoming Behnken and Hurley aboard the station as members of the Expedition 63 crew.
Crew Dragon is expected to meet up with the ISS nineteen hours after liftoff. Docking with the station is set to occur on Sunday, May 31st around 10:30 am EDT/14:30 UTC. Behnken and Hurley will be welcomed aboard the station during a traditional crew welcoming ceremony that should occur about two hours after docking has been confirmed.
Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes.
News
Tesla begins deliveries of its affordable Model Y Standard
The ‘Standard’ Model Y is now getting ready to fall into customer hands, according to some owners, who are preparing for or have already taken delivery of the new model.

Tesla has officially started deliveries of the affordable Model Y ‘Standard’ less than three weeks after the company launched it on October 8.
Following the loss of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, Tesla launched the Model 3 and Model Y ‘Standard’ trims, both coming in at sub-$40,000 starting prices, but being stripped of many of the features that come in the ‘Premium’ configuration levels.
Tesla launches two new affordable models with ‘Standard’ Model 3, Y offerings
The vehicles are Tesla’s answer to the loss of the tax credit, which was phased out by the Trump Administration. Tesla said it has been developing these models for over a year, as it revealed in early 2024 that it was working to create new vehicles that would be more affordable.
It also said it was developing vehicles to be built on a new-generation platform, which is a likely reference to the Cybercab, which has also been spotted at both Gigafactory Texas and the Fremont Factory.
The ‘Standard’ Model Y is now getting ready to fall into customer hands, according to some owners, who are preparing for or have already taken delivery of the new model:
Delivery day fr fr 🤙🏽 https://t.co/2xHAqjgL50 pic.twitter.com/OkKLZRJlJk
— TESBROS (@teslabros) October 21, 2025
Tesla slated deliveries for November when the two vehicles launched on October 8, but that seems to be an underpromise and overdeliver type of situation.
The new features for the Model Y include:
- New athletically tuned exterior and new alloy wheels to improve aerodynamics
- 15.4″ touchscreen in the front, the same as the other trims
- Available in three colors: Stealth Grey (free), White ($1,oo0 extra), Diamond Black ($1,500 extra)
- Textile and vegan leather interior
- Range sits at 321 miles
- New front fascia
- Covered glass roof (textile on inside)
- Windows are not acoustically laminated for a quieter cabin
- Manual mirrors and seats
- Smaller frunk
- No rear infotainment screen
- No basic Autopilot
- 69 kWh battery
- New 19″ Aperture wheels
- 0-60 MPH in 6.8 seconds
- 7 speaker stereo, down from 15 speakers in premium models
@teslarati 🚨 Tesla’s Affordable Models are here! Let’s talk about them! #tesla #fyp #viral #teslaev #elonmusk ♬ Natural Emotions – Muspace Lofi
Investor's Corner
Tesla analyst says this common earnings narrative is losing importance
“Numbers are going down next year, but that’s ok because it’s all about autonomy.”

A Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) analyst is doubling down on the idea that one common earnings narrative is losing importance as the company continues to work toward new technologies and projects.
This week, Tesla will report earnings for the third quarter, and one thing people always pay attention to is deliveries. Although Tesla reveals its deliveries for the quarter well before it reports earnings, many investors will look for commentary regarding the company’s strategy for responding to the loss of the $7,500 tax credit.
Tesla has made a few moves already, including a lease deal that takes a substantial amount of money off, launching new Standard models, and cutting up to 23 percent off of lease pricing.
Tesla makes crazy move to spur short-term demand in the U.S.
However, analysts are looking at the company in a different light.
Aligning with the narrative that Tesla is not just a car company and has many different projects, Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management believes many investors need to look at another part of the business.
Munster said the delivery figures for Q3, which landed at 497,099, the highest in company history, were padded by customers rushing to showrooms to take advantage of the expiring tax credit.
He believes that deliveries will be more realistic in subsequent quarters, but investors should not worry because the focus on Tesla is not going to be on how many cars it hands over to customers:
“Numbers are going down next year, but that’s ok because it’s all about autonomy.”
Here’s the $TSLA preview. Numbers are going down next year, but that’s ok because it’s all about autonomy. pic.twitter.com/mUb9scFtCA
— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) October 17, 2025
Tesla has been working nonstop to roll out a dedicated Robotaxi platform in various cities across the United States, and has already launched in two states: Texas and California.
It has also received regulatory approvals to test driverless Robotaxis in Arizona and Nevada, while seeking permissions in Florida and other states, according to the company’s online job postings.
Munster continued:
“Most people are hyper-focused on the Robotaxi opportunity and not focused as much on FSD.”
While Robotaxi is incredibly important, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite is also extremely crucial moving forward, as it sets the stage for the company to roll out a formidable self-driving service.
Tesla rolled out its newest FSD software to more owners last night, and as it expands, the company is gaining valuable data to refine its performance.
Earnings will be reported tomorrow at market close.
News
Tesla rolled out a new feature with FSD v14 to fix a major complaint
One of the most crucial cameras for FSD operation is located at the top of the windshield, and some owners have complained about condensation or other debris accumulating here, which impacts FSD’s availability during drives.

Tesla rolled out a new feature with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.3 in an effort to fix a major complaint from owners.
Tesla’s approach to self-driving is significantly different than other companies as it only relies on cameras for operation. Tesla Vision was launched several years ago and completely axed any reliance the suite had on sensors, as CEO Elon Musk’s strategy was unorthodox and went against the grain.
However, it has proven to be effective, as Tesla still operates the most refined semi-autonomous driving suite in the United States.
There are some drawbacks, though, and one of them has to do with the obvious: cameras get dirty and need to be cleaned somewhat regularly.
One of the most crucial cameras for FSD operation is located at the top of the windshield, and some owners have complained about condensation or other debris accumulating here, which impacts FSD’s availability during drives:

Image Credit: The Kilowatts/Twitter
Tesla has been working to confront this issue, and in classic fashion, it used a software update to work on resolving it.
With the rollout of Full Self-Driving v14.1.3 and Software Version 2025.32.8.15, Tesla added a new feature that aims to clean the front camera efficiently without relying on the owner to do it manually.
Tesla Full Self-Driving’s new version officially gets a wider rollout
In its release notes for the suite, it said:
“Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher vehicle speed.”
If the camera starts to have some issues with visibility, the car will automatically clean the front windshield camera to avoid any issues:
Tonight was the first time I experienced the new @Tesla FSD V14 windshield wiper front camera self-cleaning feature.
Tesla: “Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher speed.” pic.twitter.com/Pu0vRa3tDx
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) October 21, 2025
This new addition is a small but mighty change considering all things. It is a necessary process to keep things operational and avoid any disruptions in FSD performance. It is also a testament to how much better Tesla vehicles can get with a simple software update.
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