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SpaceX Crew Dragon to perform first space station “flyaround” in November
A member of a NASA safety advisory panel says that SpaceX’s second operational Crew Dragon spacecraft will perform the first International Space Station (ISS) “flyaround” in years.
In the days of the Space Shuttle, similar flyaround maneuvers were extremely common as the US and Russia slowly but surely assembled the ISS from nothing in low Earth orbit (LEO) – mainly serving to document that undeniably historic process. In 2011, NASA and Roscosmos planned what would become the last flyaround in seven years to capture Shuttle Discovery on its last mission (also the first of the Shuttle’s last three launches) and the more-or-less completed space station. While the occasional partial flyaround still occurred during rare spacecraft relocation maneuvers, it would be more than seven years until the next flyaround – again by a Soyuz spacecraft – was completed in October 2018, capturing excellent photos of the ISS ahead of its 20th anniversary in orbit.
Now, more than three years after Soyuz’s MS-08 flyaround, SpaceX is reportedly set to continue the tradition as early as November 2021, making Crew Dragon the third of three crewed visiting vehicles to do a full flyaround survey of the ~450 ton (million-pound) orbital outpost.
Barring changing plans, twice-flown Crew Dragon Endeavor (C206) will perform the maneuver immediately after it undocks from the space station for the second time (including one relocation maneuver) with Crew-2 ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur. According to the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) meeting where news of the flyaround was first broken, Crew-2’s ISS departure remains on track to occur in early to mid-November.
In the 5-6 weeks between then and now, SpaceX is scheduled to undock Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft C208 and return it to Earth, completing the CRS-23 resupply mission and capsule C208’s second trip to orbit and freeing up one of the ISS’ two American docking ports. Then, SpaceX is scheduled to launch yet another batch of astronauts to the ISS as part of Crew Dragon’s third operational crew transfer mission (Crew-3). Crew-3 remains on track to launch no earlier than (NET) October 31st, where it and astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer will briefly join Crew-2 and their Dragon at the ISS.
Hand-off complete, Crew-2 and Dragon Endeavor will then be free to depart the ISS, perform the first 360-degree flyaround survey in years, and return to Earth after more than six months in orbit. Due to years of continued technical and programmatic delays, Boeing – NASA’s other Commercial Crew partner – is unlikely to be ready to support operational astronaut launches until late 2022 at the earliest, likely guaranteeing that one or even two more Dragon-to-Dragon crew handoffs will occur before Starliner can give Dragon a break. SpaceX, in other words, is on track to singlehandedly ensure continuous NASA access to the International Space Station for two full years – and maybe even longer.
Elon Musk
Tesla Model Y tops California vehicle sales despite Elon Musk backlash
Data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) showed the Model Y outsold its nearest competitor by more than 50,000 units.
The Tesla Model Y was California’s best-selling new vehicle in 2025 for the fourth straight year, despite protests against CEO Elon Musk and a changeover to the Model Y’s updated variant that caused a pause in production and deliveries early in the year.
Data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) showed the Model Y outsold its nearest competitor by more than 50,000 units, according to KRON4.
The Model Y recorded 110,120 registrations in California in 2025. The second-best-selling vehicle, the Toyota RAV4, posted 65,604 units, followed by the Toyota Camry at 62,324. The Tesla Model 3 ranked fourth with 53,989 sales, ahead of the Honda Civic at 53,085 units.
Despite leading the state, Model Y sales have trended downward year-over-year. Registrations fell from 132,636 in 2023 to 128,923 in 2024, and then to 110,120 in 2025. Overall Tesla sales in California also declined, dropping from 238,589 in 2023 to 202,865 in 2024 and 179,656 in 2025.
The slowdown comes as the federal $7,500 EV tax credit ended, removing a key incentive that had supported electric vehicle demand for years.
“Tesla has a few advantages. Tesla, as a brand, has a status, cache, so I think folks in certain parts of the Bay. Owning a Tesla is a thing. I think that’s breaking down over time, especially given the political controversies surrounding Mr. Musk,” CNCDA President Brian Maas said.
California saw multiple anti-Musk protests in 2025, along with notable reports of consumer-owned Teslas being vandalized and attacked by protesters and activists. The fact that the Model Y and Model 3 remained strong performers in California is then a testament to the quality and value of the two vehicles.
Tesla’s sales of the Model Y and Model 3 might see an increase this year, as the company has announced that it is sunsetting its two more expensive cars, the Model S and Model X. With the Model S and Model X retired, more consumers will likely go for the Model Y and Model 3.
“Maybe the Model S has outlived its usefulness in terms of attracting customers. It’s no surprise the ones they kept are the Model Y and Model 3,” Maas noted.
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Tesla Supercharger left offline as Swedish court backs union strike
The completed Supercharger has been stalled for nearly two years amid Tesla’s conflict with the IF Metall union in Sweden.
Tesla’s Supercharger station in Ljungby, Sweden will remain without power after a Swedish administrative court rejected the company’s appeal to force a grid connection to the site. The completed Supercharger has been stalled for nearly two years amid Tesla’s conflict with the IF Metall union in Sweden.
The court ruled that the ongoing union strike against Tesla Sweden is valid grounds for the Supercharger’s connection delay, as noted in an Allt Om Elbil report.
The Ljungby Supercharger was one of the first charging stations that were denied grid access after IF Metall launched its strike against Tesla Sweden in late 2023. Electricians at local grid operator Ljungby Energinät were pulled into a sympathy strike by the Seko union, preventing the site’s connection.
Tesla reported both Ljungby Energinät and Gävle Energi Elnät AB to the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate, arguing that grid operators failed to meet their legal obligation to provide connection to the location within a reasonable time frame.
The regulator ruled that the strike represented a valid exception under Swedish law, however, citing constitutional protections for industrial actions.
Tesla responded by appealing to the Administrative Court in Linköping, claiming it had the right to connection within a reasonable period, generally no more than two years. Tesla Sweden also argued that the country’s Electricity Act conflicts with EU law. The court rejected those arguments.
“The Administrative Court today finds that granting the company’s request in practice applies to the same thing as the blockade and that it would mean that the blockade would be ineffective.
“Such a decision would contradict the principle that labor market conflicts should be resolved to the greatest extent possible by the labor market parties, not by the state. The industrial action is also constitutionally protected,” Chief Councilor Ronny Idstrand stated.
The court also concluded that the Electricity Act does not conflict with EU regulations and that special reasons justified the extended delay.
While the ruling was unanimous, Tesla Sweden may appeal the decision to a higher administrative court.
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Tesla China exports 50,644 vehicles in January, up sharply YoY
The figure also places Tesla China second among new energy vehicle exporters for the month, behind BYD.
Tesla China exported 50,644 vehicles in January, as per data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
This marks a notable increase both year-on-year and month-on-month for the American EV maker’s Giga Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y. The figure also places Tesla China second among new energy vehicle exporters for the month, behind BYD.
The CPCA’s national passenger car market analysis report indicated that total New Energy Vehicle exports reached 286,000 units in January, up 103.6% from a year earlier. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 65% of those exports.
Within that total, Tesla China shipped 50,644 vehicles overseas. By comparison, exports of Giga Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y units totaled 29,535 units in January last year and just 3,328 units in December.
This suggests that Tesla China’s January 2026 exports were roughly 1.7 times higher than the same month a year ago and more than 15 times higher than December’s level, as noted in a TechWeb report.
BYD still led the January 2026 export rankings with 96,859 new energy passenger vehicles shipped overseas, though it should be noted that the automaker operates at least nine major production facilities in China, far outnumering Tesla. Overall, BYD’s factories in China have a domestic production capacity for up to 5.82 million units annually as of 2024.
Tesla China followed in second place, ahead of Geely, Chery, Leapmotor, SAIC Motor, and SAIC-GM-Wuling, each of which exported significant volumes during the month. Overall, new energy vehicles accounted for nearly half of China’s total passenger vehicle exports in January, hinting at strong overseas demand for electric cars produced in the country.
China remains one of Tesla China’s most important markets. Despite mostly competing with just two vehicles, both of which are premium priced, Tesla China is still proving quite competitive in the domestic electric vehicle market.
Tesla Model Y tops California vehicle sales despite Elon Musk backlash
Tesla Supercharger left offline as Swedish court backs union strike
