News
SpaceX techs work towards Falcon 9 fairing recovery with wacky series of experiments
Over the course of the past week, Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin has captured a multitude of unusual occurrences at SpaceX’s Port of Los Angeles dock space, each time involving a Falcon fairing recovery vessel like Mr Steven or NRC Quest, a Falcon fairing half (flight-proven or otherwise), and one of several attenuating circumstances.
More likely than not, what appears as a menagerie of weird and disconnected events on the sidelines is actually a reasonably organized leg of a larger program, in this case focused on experimentation and testing to close the fairing recovery loop and secure Mr Steven’s first successful fairing catch.
From @USCGLosAngeles – A captive carry test involving a helicopter picking an item from a vessel will be conducted 9/20, 11-1300, in the vicinity of San Clemente Island in the San Nicolas Basin. Mariners are requested to maintain a distance of 5NM from the operation. pic.twitter.com/nvy6Wo0IvF
— Marine Exchange (@MXSOCAL) September 19, 2018
The mystery of Catalina Island
Now-iconic fairing recovery vessel (or net-boat, or claw-boat) Mr Steven has been out of commission since late August, at which point SpaceX technicians removed all four of his arms and their eight complementary shock absorber booms towards unknown ends. If SpaceX’s past is any judge, those arms are probably in the process of being upgraded, but it’s impossible to judge thanks to the fact that they have simply disappeared from the Berth 240 docks where they were briefly stored. SpaceX certainly has a way with transporting massive, ungainly objects without stirring a whisper.
Despite lacking arms for more than a month, Mr Steven has still performed a number of sea-trials, ranging from average jaunts a few miles away to a mysterious armless test described in the tweet above. Why exactly Mr Steven was involved in an experiment involving a helicopter “picking an item” – in this case a flight-proven Falcon fairing – off of a vessel while entirely lacking the arms and net he would use to catch said fairing is entirely unclear. Perhaps it was meant to test a datalink or a change to fairing recovery hardware. Whatever transpired, a group of SpaceX technicians certainly flew to Catalina Island and were working alongside or with a Blackhawk helicopter capable of externally carrying up to 3600 kg (8000 lb) of cargo.
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- Shortly after completing the CRS-15 resupply mission, Cargo Dragon C110 is craned from NRC Quest to SpaceX’s Port of San Pedro berth, 08/05/18. (Pauline Acalin)
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- Mr Steven was out and about conducting high-speed maneuvers two days prior, and also joined NRC Quest near Catalina Island on the 20th. (Pauline Acalin)
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- NRC Quest returned to port with a Falcon fairing aboard after a long day doing *something* at sea. (Pauline Acalin)
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- Note the sooty tip of the fairing’s nose, a telltale sign that it previously flew on a Falcon 9 launch. (Pauline Acalin)
Multipurpose recovery vessel NRC Quest – nominally dedicated to Cargo Dragon spacecraft recoveries – returned to SpaceX-leased Berth 240 a few hours after the September 20th test window closed, sooty Falcon 9 fairing half in tow. Still, this certainly isn’t the weirdest Falcon fairing-related activity to occur last week.
Fairings aplenty
Meanwhile, over at Mr Steven’s old berth and drone ship Just Read The Instructions’ current berth, a different Falcon fairing half appeared sometime in the last several days in an unusual state, seemingly either fresh out of the factory or in an advanced state of disassembly. The base of this particular fairing half seems to be entirely missing the usual layer(s) of material (cork, among other things) used to waterproof and act as a lightweight heatshield. A new fairing half sitting out in the elements with zero protection would be exceptionally unusual, as CEO Elon Musk has noted that they each cost several million dollars ($3m to be precise), and exposure outside of a cleanroom could very well prevent this half from ever being operationally flown.
The next best conclusion to be drawn is that this unique fairing half is new or flight-proven (with skin and shielding removed), but sitting at SpaceX’s dock space in order to prepare for one or several active drop tests in pursuit of Mr Steven’s first successful fairing catch. But who really knows, to be honest. The fairing’s bare carbon fiber composite construction is certainly a sight to behold, one way or another.
Doing…something.
This leads us to the grand (perhaps… titanic) finale of wholly unexpected Falcon fairing activities over the last several days. Presumably making the best of an opportunity to test NRC Quest’s ability to recover Falcon fairings after splashdown (i.e. missing Mr Steven’s net), the pictures generally tell the story better than any words ever could. Keep your eyes peeled for Fairing Wrangler job openings.
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- Getting the (un)lucky half into the water. (Pauline Acalin)
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- One lucky dude. (Pauline Acalin)
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- Weeeeeeeeee. (Pauline Acalin)
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- NRC Quest then lifted the fairing half (likely from Iridium-7) aboard. (Pauline Acalin)
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- NRC Quest then lifted the fairing half (likely from Iridium-7) aboard. (Pauline Acalin)
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- This extraordinarily unusual operation lent an opportunity to see just how flexible and structurally optimized SpaceX’s payload fairings are. (Pauline Acalin)
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- After returning from a day at sea doing who-knows-what, Mr Steven’s captain attempted to use the 500 metric ton vessel to splash a fellow recovery tech. A for effort. (Pauline Acalin)
Up next for SpaceX, Mr Steven, and the West Coast recovery crew is SAOCOM-1A, scheduled to launch from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on the evening (Pacific Time) of October 6th.
For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!
Turn-by-turn navigation is not new technology.
For over two decades, drivers have relied on Garmin, TomTom, and later smartphone apps like Google Maps and Waze to receive precise, reliable directions. These systems have guided millions safely through unfamiliar cities, highways, and backroads with remarkable effectiveness. They handle real-time traffic, construction detours, and complex intersections with minimal fuss.
Yet Tesla, the company that promised revolutionary Full Self-Driving (FSD), continues to struggle with this foundational capability. As FSD (Supervised) v14.3.4 has started rolling out to cars this week, navigation remains its glaring Achilles’ heel, undermining the entire autonomous vision.
Tesla Summon got insanely good in FSD v14.3.2 — Navigation? Not so much
Tesla’s FSD excels in many driving behaviors—smooth acceleration, confident lane changes in ideal conditions, and responsive handling of visible obstacles. However, when it comes to following a route accurately, the system falters repeatedly.
Owners report wrong turns, missed exits, inefficient routing through local roads instead of highways, phantom speed limit errors, and even directing vehicles to building rear entrances. Interventions for navigation issues often outnumber those for core driving maneuvers. Tesla has begun surveying owners specifically about these errors, acknowledging the problem after years of complaints.
Navigation is perhaps my biggest complaint when it comes to FSD, because sometimes, we do know better. Some of us have been living in our areas for our entire lives, but even those who have not have years or even decades of experience driving on local roads. We might know a little better about routing.
But the navigation mistakes are more than just FSD potentially taking a slightly different route that may or may not save you a few minutes. Sometimes, they’re genuinely mind-boggling.
This isn’t just annoying; it cascades into broader failures. A flawed route plan confuses the AI’s decision-making, leading to hesitant behavior, unnecessary disengagements, or dangerous maneuvers like attempting impossible U-turns or ignoring clear ramps. In a system meant to operate with minimal supervision, unreliable navigation erodes trust.
More often than not, false or plain incorrect navigation is what causes me to interrupt FSD operation. Unfortunately, I believe the latest FSD version is the worst example of it, and it leads me to believe that Tesla might be making some changes; they’ve just made them in the wrong direction.
It makes you wonder: Why is a company that has done so much with the progress of FSD and autonomy struggling so much with navigation, something that is not new and has been around a long time?
Multiple Data Sources
First, Tesla’s navigation relies on a fragile patchwork of multiple data sources—Google Maps, TomTom, OpenStreetMap, Valhalla, and its own fleet-derived data—stitched together rather than a single authoritative map. When these conflict on lane geometry, road status, or turn details, the system hesitates or chooses incorrectly.
Traditional GPS providers maintain centralized, regularly validated databases with professional curation and rapid updates. Tesla’s hybrid approach, while innovative in crowdsourcing, introduces inconsistencies that a purely vision-based or end-to-end AI approach may not easily reconcile in real time.
Persistent Learning
FSD seems to struggle with persistent learning from driver interventions.
Unlike consumer apps that quickly adapt to repeated corrections or user preferences (e.g., avoiding certain routes or remembering habitual detours), Tesla’s FSD often fails to internalize fixes on the same trip or across similar scenarios. Owners note making the same manual override multiple times without the routing engine updating its behavior meaningfully.
This stems from the neural architecture prioritizing real-time perception and control over long-term route memory and personalization, making navigation feel rigid and “opinionated” compared to the adaptive logic in Waze or Google Maps.
I noticed that when I asked Grok to try and get me home a certain way (a way that FSD routinely took in the past because it was the most efficient), it had to place a waypoint between my location at the time and my house. When I went to edit the waypoint out, as Grok had placed it for a way to get FSD to get off the highway at the right exit, it was stumped again, rerouted, and took a longer way home.
The next thing I’ve noticed, and this might be controversial, is that Nav has gotten even worse.
I think that might actually be a good thing; Tesla seems to be adjusting it. They just need to adjust it the opposite way.
The car is taking extremely strange routes to very… https://t.co/UHg3tVfNA2
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 16, 2026
Reasoning, Scaling, and Intuition
Third, scaling navigation for unsupervised or robotaxi ambitions requires not just accuracy but adaptability and user-like reasoning. Current FSD often defaults to single routes that ignore driver preferences or real-world nuances like time-of-day traffic patterns. It fails to match the intuitive, context-aware planning that traditional systems have refined over the years.
Resolving navigation is critical for several reasons. Practically, it is the backbone of any autonomous journey: without trustworthy routing, the car cannot reliably reach destinations, rendering FSD useless for robotaxis or hands-free commutes. Safety depends on it—mismatched plans create hesitation in merges or intersections, increasing accident risk.
Economically, Tesla’s valuation and future hinge on FSD delivering unsupervised driving; persistent navigation flaws delay regulatory approval and erode consumer confidence. For owners who paid premiums for FSD, these issues represent unfulfilled promises. While it is unlikely Tesla will lose too many customers due to bad navigation, some will be frustrated with the constant need for human input.
Tesla has achieved miracles in electric vehicles and battery tech. Mastering turn-by-turn—technology Garmin nailed in the early 2000s—should not be this hard. By investing in tighter data integration, faster learning loops from interventions, and more intuitive routing algorithms, Tesla could close this gap.
Until then, FSD’s navigation struggles highlight a humbling truth: even the most ambitious innovator must sometimes master the basics before conquering the future.
A Tesla Cybertruck driver in the United Kingdom had their all-electric pickup seized by local police in the Greater Manchester area after the department cited “legitimate concerns.”
Last Thursday, police saw the pickup on the roads and decided to pull the driver over. Greater Manchester Police said:
“Whilst this may seem trivial to some, legitimate concerns exist around the safety of other road users or pedestrians if they were involved in a collision with the Cybertruck.”
🚨 A Tesla Cybertruck, which is illegal to drive in the UK due to safety concerns, has been seized by police in Greater Manchester
“Whilst this may seem trivial to some, legitimate concerns exist around the safety of other road users or pedestrians if they were involved in a… pic.twitter.com/cqhdPok3DM
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 16, 2026
The Cybertruck in question was, according to the BBC, registered and insured abroad and was confiscated. The driver, who is a UK resident, was reported.
The Greater Manchester Police Department then added:
“The Tesla Cybertruck is not road-legal in the UK and does not hold a certificate of conformity.”
The Cybertruck cannot be legally driven in the UK because it has no UK Type Approval for operation in the country. This is due to some safety concerns, which are related to its angular shape and design. The stainless steel exoskeleton has sharp edges and projections that violate UK/EU rules on pedestrian protection.
Tesla has considered creating what it referred to as an “international version” that would be approved for operation in Europe. However, there has been no real movement on that front by the company, as it has been focused on the Robotaxi rollout primarily.
A new report claims that Apple is in the process of developing what would be the missing link for Tesla to get CarPlay.
Apple and Tesla have been reportedly working together for some time to give Tesla owners the opportunity to utilize CarPlay within their vehicles. While many owners are more than happy with Tesla’s in-house UI, which is seamless, effective, and smooth, some still want CarPlay, which does have its advantages.
A report from 9to5Mac now states that a new CarPlay technology that was highlighted during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) would potentially be the bridge between Tesla and Apple. With the addition of a feature known as “Route Sharing,” which gives a navigation app the ability to share routing data with the vehicle, Tesla would be able to launch CarPlay in its vehicles, the report states.
CarPlay has not been a priority for Tesla because it has done extremely well with its in-house UI, but some drivers are just used to it. Additionally, it could improve Tesla’s subpar Navigation or offer improved app capabilities, especially with iMessage.
Route Sharing is an intended addition to CarPlay’s iteration in iOS 26.4, which was released in March:
The addition of CarPlay would undoubtedly be welcome, but at the same time, it seems like Tesla realizes it is not of the utmost priority. There are so many things that Tesla is working on currently within its own vehicles, especially attempting to solve self-driving.
Back in February, Bloomberg had reported that Tesla was still working on bringing CarPlay to its vehicles, but it had not due to app compatibility issues and incredibly low adoption rates of iOS 26.
This bottleneck could buy Tesla the proper amount of time to develop CarPlay for its vehicles. It would be a welcome addition, and could be brought on with either the Summer or Fall 2026 Software Updates.
Tesla’s Navigation Nightmare: Why the easiest part of FSD might be the hardest
Tesla Cybertruck driver gets pickup seized for ‘legitimate concerns’ in UK
