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SpaceX expends third Falcon booster in one month
SpaceX has expended a Falcon booster for the third time this month, breaking an odd internal record for a company famous for reusable rockets.
Demonstrating why SpaceX often attempts to launch even when weather forecasts predict a 10% chance of favorable conditions, Falcon 9’s second launch attempt of the day went off without a hitch after the first attempt – Cargo Dragon’s CRS-26 space station resupply mission – was scrubbed by weather six hours prior. Flying for the eleventh and final time, Falcon 9 booster B1049 lifted off from SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) LC-40 pad at 9:57 pm EST (02:57 UTC) carrying French communications provider Eutelsat’s Eutelsat 10B satellite.
B1049 – the oldest booster in SpaceX’s fleet – took advantage of the extra performance enabled by removing landing hardware and propellant reserves and reached a peak velocity of 2.75 kilometers per second (~6150 mph) before separating from Falcon 9’s upper stage. Lacking the propellant needed to slow down, B1049 was likely destroyed when it reentered Earth’s atmosphere. The upper stage performed nominally, entering a parking orbit around 300 kilometers (200 mi) before igniting for a second time to boost the 5.5-ton (~12,000 lb) Eutelsat 10B satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
Thanks to B1049’s sacrifice, that GTO will be “supersynchronous,” meaning that the high end of the elliptical orbit – with the other end still around 300 kilometers – will likely end up around 60,000 kilometers (~37,500 mi) above Earth’s surface. A geosynchronous orbit is a circular orbit at an altitude of around 35,800 kilometers (~22,250 mi), where orbital velocity matches the speed of Earth’s rotation and allows a satellite to hover over a region of choice.
A supersynchronous GTO allows a satellite to circularize its orbit more efficiently, saving a significant amount of propellant. The relatively low cost of geostationary stationkeeping means that saving even a modest amount of propellant can add years of life to a satellite, increasing the maximum amount of revenue it can generate in its lifetime. Additionally, the higher orbit should allow Eutelsat 10B to begin serving customers a few weeks earlier. While Eutelsat likely had to pay an unknown fee (perhaps tens of millions of dollars) for SpaceX to expend B1049, the benefits must outweigh that added cost.
Culling the herd
The unprecedented culling of SpaceX’s rocket ‘herd’ began on November 1st when the company intentionally expended one of three Falcon Heavy boosters (B1066) during the massive rocket’s first launch since June 2019. Four launches into its life, SpaceX has never successfully recovered a Falcon Heavy center core – a trend that appears unlikely to end anytime soon thanks to a string of 2023 launches that will all reportedly demand extra performance from the rocket.
Next, on November 12th, SpaceX launched Intelsat’s Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 satellites to a similar supersynchronous transfer orbit, expending Falcon 9 booster B1051 in the process. Following B1049’s demise on November 22nd, SpaceX has expended a record three Falcon boosters in one month. The last time SpaceX intentionally expended two Falcon boosters in the same month was June 2018.
SpaceX’s rocket fleet now has 14 flight-proven Falcon boosters with an average of 8.7 launches per core. At least two new reusable boosters (B1076 and B1078) will enter the fleet within the next several months.
News
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 received a price target boost from Morgan Stanley, according to a new note on Monday morning, but there is some considerable caution also being communicated over the next year or so.
Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco took over Tesla coverage for the firm from longtime bull Adam Jonas, who appears to be focusing on embodied AI stocks and no longer automotive.
Percoco took over and immediately adjusted the price target for Tesla from $410 to $425, and changed its rating on shares from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Equal Weight.’
Percoco said he believes Tesla is the leading company in terms of electric vehicles, manufacturing, renewable energy, and real-world AI, so it deserves a premium valuation. However, he admits the high expectations for the company could provide for a “choppy trading environment” for the next year.
He wrote:
“However, high expectations on the latter have brought the stock closer to fair valuation. While it is well understood that Tesla is more than an auto manufacturer, we expect a choppy trading environment for the TSLA shares over the next 12 months, as we see downside to estimates, while the catalysts for its non-auto businesses appear priced at current levels.”
Percoco also added that if market cap hurdles are achieved, Morgan Stanley would reduce its price target by 7 percent.
Perhaps the biggest change with Percoco taking over the analysis for Jonas is how he will determine the value of each individual project. For example, he believes Optimus is worth about $60 per share of equity value.
He went on to describe the potential value of Full Self-Driving, highlighting its importance to the Tesla valuation:
“Full Self Driving (FSD) is the crown jewel of Tesla’s auto business; we believe that its leading-edge personal autonomous driving offering is a real game changer, and will remain a significant competitive advantage over its EV and non-EV peers. As Tesla continues to improve its platform with increased levels of autonomy (i.e., hands-off, eyes-off), it will revolutionize the personal driving experience. It remains to be seen if others will be able to keep pace.”
Additionally, Percoco outlined both bear and bull cases for the stock. He believes $860 per share, “which could be in play in the next 12 months if Tesla manages through the EV-downturn,” while also scaling Robotaxi, executing on unsupervised FSD, and scaling Optimus, is in play for the bull case.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
Meanwhile, the bear case is placed at $145 per share, and “assumes greater competition and margin pressure across all business lines, embedding zero value for humanoids, slowing the growth curve for Tesla’s robotaxi fleet to reflect regulatory challenges in scaling a vision-only perception stack, and lowering market share and margin profile for the autos and energy businesses.”
Currently, Tesla shares are trading at around $441.
News
Tesla Optimus dramatically collapses after teleoperator mishap
It seemed blatantly obvious that whoever was controlling the Optimus robot from behind the scenes did not disconnect their ability to manipulate its movements
Tesla Optimus dramatically collapsed after a teleoperator mishap at the company’s “Future of Autonomy Visualized” event in Miami this past weekend.
It seemed blatantly obvious that whoever was controlling the Optimus robot from behind the scenes did not disconnect their ability to manipulate its movements, then left the controls, causing Optimus to collapse.
A video captured at the event shows Optimus doing a movement similar to taking a headset off, likely what the teleoperator uses to hear guest requests and communicate with other staff:
🚨 Tesla Optimus mishap at the Miami event
To be fair, don’t we all want to do this around the Holidays? pic.twitter.com/EJ5QKenqQd
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 8, 2025
After the headset removal motion was completed, Optimus simply collapsed backward, making for an interesting bit of conversation. While it was a mishap, it was actually pretty funny to watch because of the drama displayed by the robot in the situation.
This was obviously a mistake made by the teleoperator, and does not appear to be a spot where we can put any sort of blame on Optimus. It would have likely just stood there and waited for controls to resume if the teleoperator had disconnected from the robot correctly.
However, details are pretty slim, and Tesla has not announced anything explaining the situation, likely because it seems to be a pretty face-value event.
Tesla Optimus shows off its newest capability as progress accelerates
The Tesla Optimus program has been among the most hyped projects that the company has been working on, as CEO Elon Musk has extremely high hopes for what it could do for people on Earth. He has said on several occasions that Optimus should be the most popular product of all time, considering its capabilities.
Obviously, the project is still a work in progress, and growing pains are going to be part of the development of Optimus.
In its development of Optimus Gen 3, Tesla has been working on refining the forearm, hand, and fingers of Optimus, something that Musk said is extremely difficult. However, it’s a necessary step, especially if its capabilities will not be limited by hardware.
All in all, Optimus has still been a very successful project for Tesla, especially in the early stages. The company has done an excellent job of keeping Optimus busy, as it helps with serving customers at events and the Tesla Diner, and is also performing tasks across the company’s manufacturing plants.
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
Tesla gets price target boost, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows
