

News
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 Giga Berlin makes big move amid strong sales and demand
“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”

Tesla is making a big move at its factory in Germany, known as Giga Berlin, as managers at the plant have indicated the company plans to increase its production rate for the remainder of the year.
Giga Berlin is responsible for manufacturing Model Y vehicles for several markets worldwide, including those outside of Europe. It was opened in March 2022, and it recently built its 500,000th Model Y in March and its 100,000th new Model Y just three weeks ago.
Due to some encouraging sales figures in the markets it provides vehicles for, Tesla said it is planning to increase production at the factory for the remainder of the year.
Andrè Thierig, plant manager at Giga Berlin, said to German news outlet DPA on Sunday that market data has encouraged a move to be made regarding the production at the factory:
“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”
It is interesting to see this kind of narrative from Thierig, especially as data has shown Tesla has struggled in various markets, including Germany, this year.
Sales drops have been reported, but other markets are holding strong, especially those in Northern Europe, such as Norway, where the Model Y saw a nearly 39 percent increase in sales in August compared to the same month the previous year.
Gigafactory Berlin supplies vehicles for other markets, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which are strategically important to avoid tariffs. It also builds cars for the Middle East.
Thierig reiterated this point during the interview with DPA:
“We supply well over 30 markets and definitely see a positive trend there.”
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.
One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Dorsheimer said in the note:
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”
Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.
He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.
Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.
In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:
“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”
Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.
News
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas dubs Tesla FSD a “game changer” after marathon drive
Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles.

Morgan Stanley’s analyst Adam Jonas shared a notable endorsement of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after completing a 1,400-mile round trip from New York to Michigan in his Model Y.
Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles, calling the system “a game changer” for long-distance driving.
Hands-free experience
Jonas drove his 2021 Tesla Model Y equipped with Hardware 3 and FSD Supervised v12.6.4, and he used the system nearly the entire trip. “Having your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals for nearly 12 hours of driving is a real game changer that is hard to appreciate without experiencing it for yourself,” he noted.
He explained that outside of two heavy downpours, one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and another in suburban Detroit, plus some light maneuvering in fast food parking lots, FSD handled the drive without any human intervention. “FSD made no mistakes or close calls that I recall. The system handles highways very safely and confidently. I cannot imagine buying another EV without FSD.”
Broader implications
Jonas added that he has used FSD consistently over the past 18 months, and the $8,000 he paid for the feature feels like a bargain considering the value. He also praised Tesla’s Supercharging network, which supported his trip without issue.
Jonas has been one of Wall Street’s most closely followed voices on Tesla, and his comments add weight to the ongoing debate about the role of autonomy in the company’s future. His current price target for Tesla stock stands at $410. During Morgan Stanley’s 13th Annual Laguna Conference, he echoed similar experiences with Tesla’s software, emphasizing that FSD “probably drove well over 99% of the miles” on his recent trips.
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