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SpaceX fairing catcher Mr Steven armless once more for maintenance and upgrades
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 fairing catcher ship Mr Steven has had all four new arms removed as the company’s recovery engineers and technicians continue to iterate on his fairing recovery mechanism and operational strategy.
The purpose of this round of arm removal is unknown, but the work going on at Berth 240 is nevertheless a fascinating glimpse into SpaceX’s preferred mode of operations, mainly focusing on constant improvement, tireless iteration, and minimized bureaucratic burden.
Two of Mr Steven’s arms were laying dockside yesterday. Perhaps adjustments due to last week’s fairing drop tests? Getting close to next fairing recovery attempt mid-September. #SpaceX #mrsteven @Teslarati pic.twitter.com/Ev3r2N2bBv
— Pauline Acalin (@w00ki33) August 19, 2018
Originally spotted testing the behavior of a Falcon 9 fairing half in Mr Steven’s new net around August 13th, West Coast recovery technicians had completely removed all four of the vessel’s large arms and all eight of his arm booms just one week later, leaving the boat armless for the first time in roughly two months.
The speed of that seemingly significant hardware removal alone is rather interesting, suggesting that routine removal of Mr Steven’s arms could be wholeheartedly feasible for short-term requirements, be it a clearance issue for traversing canals or perhaps even some sort of modular recovery setup that could optimize Mr Steven for catching Falcon fairings, Dragons, and perhaps even Falcon upper stages.
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- A gif demonstrates just how taut Mr Steven’s net can be, thanks to mechanized rigging. 08/13/18 (Pauline Acalin)
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- Mr Steven sans two arms, August 19th. Note the red and black inflatable structure floating at his bow. (Pauline Acalin)
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- Just two arms and a dream. (Pauline Acalin)
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- Mr Steven sans arms once more, August 21st. (Pauline Acalin)
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Wild speculation aside, it can be said with certainty that the ability to remove Mr Steven’s arms so rapidly will make the lives and work of the technicians and engineers tasked with maintaining, testing, and improving the vessel’s recovery mechanisms considerably easier, demanding just a few days of work for complete disassembly. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk did note around the time of the upgraded arm and net installation that those new arms would be retractable and “springy, like a highly damped trampoline.”
The inclusion of large white damping booms to support that supposed springiness was indeed visually confirmed while SpaceX was testing the vessel’s net with a real Falcon 9 fairing, but it’s quite clear that no retraction mechanism was included on the first iteration of Mr Steven’s upgraded arms. Chances are good that this full-up arm removal is related in some way to Musk’s retraction reference, perhaps triggered by observations made during that aforementioned testing with a real fairing half, just days after which arm removal had already been half-completed.
Yes, and springy, like a highly damped trampoline
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018
Mr Steven’s next shot at catching a Falcon 9 fairing will follow the launch of Argentinian Earth-sensing satellite SAOCOM-1A, to be followed up soon after with the SpaceX launch of SAOCOM-1B. 1A is currently targeting late September or early October for its journey to orbit.
Meanwhile, the lightweight payload (~1600 kg/~3500 lb) and relatively low orbit (near-polar, 620 km/385 mi) have aligned to allow the Falcon 9 Block 5 booster the chance to be the first SpaceX rocket to debut the company’s West Coast rocket landing zone, companion to the pad’s two well-worn East Coast brethren.
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!
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Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car
