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SpaceX fairing recovery ships return to port with Falcon 9 nosecone and battle scars
Four days after they headed out into the Atlantic Ocean, twin SpaceX fairing recovery ships Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief have returned to port with both halves of a Falcon 9 fairing, although they appear to have picked up some battle scars along the way.
Ms. Tree and its near-identical sibling Ms. Chief departed Port Canaveral on December 14th and arrived on station – 790 km (490 mi) off the coast of Florida – some 36 hours later. Each outfitted with a quartet of arms and pair of nets, it was the first time both ships successfully made it out into the Atlantic for a simultaneous fairing catch attempt, having been foiled by high seas during a prior November outing.
For unknown reasons, after the duo’s November false start, both ships stopped for almost two weeks at a South Carolina port, perhaps indicating that SpaceX was concerned about the structural integrity of the ships’ seemingly fragile net mechanism. In February 2019, Mr. Steven (now Ms. Tree) lost two of its four arms while heading downrange for an attempted catch, apparently broken off by pitching caused by high seas. Further strengthening the case that their net mechanisms are rather fragile, both Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief again suffered damage after their Kacific-1/JCSAT-18 Falcon 9 fairing recovery attempt.
Both ships arrived back at Port Canaveral on December 18th and were caught by Teslarati photographer Richard Angle while passing through the narrow mouth of the port. GO Ms. Chief took the lead, revealing a Falcon 9 fairing half snugly secured with a tarp on her deck – the ship’s very first launch vehicle hardware recovery.
First (partially) successful fairing recovery quite literally under wraps, Ms. Chief nevertheless did not make it through the rite of passage unscathed. Oddly, it appears that just one of the ship’s eight white arm supports is missing (the rear right or aft starboard arm), visibly resulting in the arm slouching a bit compared to its siblings. Intriguingly, it appears that the arm is partially stretching – and thus potentially resting on – Ms. Chief’s net and rigging.
The fact that only one of the arm’s two beams (of eight total) seems to have failed is more immediately indicative of possible human error during installation or a defective attachment mechanism, although it’s entirely possible that a fluke of weather could have damaged just the one beam.


Thankfully, Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven) appears to have made it through the recovery mission with all four arms fully intact, although the ship clearly struggled with a separate mechanism. Notably, Ms. Tree seems to have struggled to use its secondary net to lift its fairing half out of the sea and onto her deck, with that smaller net clearly suffering a multitude of rips and tears at some point during the process. Her recovered fairing half is somewhat awkwardly strewn on the deck with no obvious attempt to rectify the issue, indicating that the net may have torn mid-lift, causing the fairing to fall maybe 5-10 feet.
If it did actually fall onto Ms. Tree’s deck, that will almost certainly be visible in the form of damage to its aluminum-composite honeycomb structure and white insulation coating.
Ultimately, fairing recovery continues to prove itself to be a major challenge, although SpaceX obviously has no intention of giving up. With two successful catches already in hand, it’s clear that fairing recovery is undeniably possible and is more a matter of tweaking existing systems than starting from scratch. Much like Falcon 9 booster recovery had and its fair share of failed landings even after the first success, it will likely take quite a while for SpaceX to optimize fairing recovery to the point that it can be considered reliable.
For now, routine fairing recovery and reuse will likely continue to be Falcon 9’s white whale, at worst adding to the excitement of every SpaceX satellite launch.
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Tesla Sweden faced with fresh strike from elevator company
Telecom and elevator service providers are the latest to join the widening labor blockade against the EV maker.

Tesla’s operations in Sweden are facing fresh pressure as multiple unions intensify their long-running dispute against the electric vehicle maker. Industrial groups IF Metall and Seko have announced new blockades affecting elevator maintenance and telecom services, escalating their ongoing conflict with Tesla Sweden.
Work stoppages expand to elevator maintenance
Starting October 29, elevator manufacturer Cibes Kalea Sverige will halt all service and maintenance work at Tesla’s facilities under a full blockade ordered by IF Metall. The union’s move targets elevator service visits, which are typically required four times a year in Sweden. Cibes Kalea employs around 70 workers across six sites in Sweden and provides both passenger and freight elevator systems to clients, including Tesla, as noted in a report from Dagens Arbete.
The industrial action follows months of escalating measures from IF Metall, which has aimed to pressure Tesla into signing a collective bargaining agreement. Since early September, the union has initiated several blockades across Tesla’s Swedish network, including work stoppages involving suppliers like Holtab and Linde Material Handling.
This was despite Sweden’s Mediation Institute throwing in the towel at the unions and Tesla’s conflict. “We have tried in every possible way to get the parties to come closer to each other in a way that allows this conflict to end. But now we have come to the end of the road and have realized that it is just as good to end the case,” Director General Irene Wennemo said.
Telecom workers join expanding blockade
In a separate escalation, Seko, another major Swedish union, announced a strike targeting Tesla’s telecommunications infrastructure. “We are now putting a notice on the telecom area and this means that when it comes to networks, fiber or telephony, for example, we will not help where Tesla needs either service, maintenance or new installation of these parts,” Seko chair Gabriella Lavecchia told Sveriges Radio.
Seko has already initiated blockades against Tesla’s postal service and charging stations. The union expects the telecom blockade to have even broader effects given Tesla’s reliance on connectivity for its charging and digital services. “There aren’t many companies in Sweden today that don’t need telephony, fiber, networks, and I would guess that Tesla needs it more than many others,” Lavecchia said.
With 12 strike notices issued in just a few weeks, the conflict shows no signs of easing as unions continue to coordinate pressure through multiple sectors.
News
Tesla shares rare glimpse of Giga Shanghai, posts bullish teaser for Model Y L deliveries
The video was shared by the electric vehicle maker on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Tesla China has posted a rather optimistic teaser of Giga Shanghai and this quarter’s Model Y L deliveries. The video was shared by the electric vehicle maker on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Giga Shanghai on full throttle
The recently shared Weibo video featured a rather rare glimpse of the exterior of Giga Shanghai, which, unlike Giga Texas, the Fremont Factory, and Giga Berlin, reportedly no longer allows drone flyovers. As noted by Tesla China in its Weibo post, Giga Shanghai has finished its vehicle shipping center, which allows the company to ship cars efficiently.
Tesla China posted a video of numerous Model Y vehicles being loaded onto car carrier trucks. And as could be seen in the video, a good number of the Model Ys being shipped from Giga Shanghai were Model Y L units, the all-electric crossover’s six-seat, extended wheelbase variant that only started deliveries last month.
Insurance registration reports
Tesla China does seem to be moving at full throttle this Q4 2025. Whisper numbers from industry watchers have suggested that the electric vehicle maker recorded 16,500 new vehicle registrations in the week of October 13-19. Considering that Tesla China typically focuses on exports during the first weeks of a quarter, the company’s numbers this Q4 could be quite impressive.
For context, Tesla China saw 5,020 new vehicle registrations in the week ending October 5 and 11,300 new vehicle registrations in the week ending October 12, 2025. The momentum of the Model Y L is also building up, with previous reports stating that the extended wheelbase, six-seat Model Y variant was able to help boost Tesla China’s wholesale numbers to 90,812 units in September, becoming the country’s fourth best-selling mid-to-large SUV in the process.
News
Tesla is looking to conduct FSD tests in new Swedish city: report
The proposal appears to have been received rather positively by one of the city’s officials.

Recent reports have suggested that Tesla is looking at another city in Sweden to test its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system on public roads. The proposal appears to have been received rather positively by one of the city’s officials.
Tesla FSD tests in Sweden
FSD has already been deployed in numerous territories such as the United States, China, and Australia. However, the system is yet to be released in Europe. As per a recent report from Värmlands Folkblad, Tesla has sent a request for FSD testing to the capital of Värmland, Karlstad. As noted in a CarUp report, Tesla is already testing FSD on motorways after the company secured permission from the Swedish Transport Agency.
The Municipality of Karlstad has reportedly not issued a decision regarding Tesla’s request yet, though lawmakers seem open to the idea of FSD being tested on public roads. In a comment to VF, municipal councilor Linda Larsson stated that FSD tests in Karlstad “sounds interesting.” Tesla’s FSD tests, if they are approved, will still use safety drivers behind the wheel who will be ready to intervene at any time.
Tesla pledges to work with the municipality
In its request, Tesla noted that Karlstad is an interesting municipality in which to conduct its tests. The company also stated that it would conduct its operations and tests in close collaboration with the municipality, as well as local entities. Considering the municipal councilor’s comments, it does appear that Tesla might have a solid chance at attaining permission to test FSD on Karlstad’s roads.
Tesla’s success for FSD tests in Sweden has been mixed. A few months ago, reports emerged stating that the company’s request to test FSD in Stockholm had been rejected by the Swedish Traffic Department.
“The Traffic Office is currently working on updating its approach to automation. At the same time, the city and the office are under heavy pressure from other ongoing innovation tests. Our ambition is to actively participate in and learn from the continued development in the field of automation.
“Based on this, and in combination with the fact that the current test is the first of its kind, which entails certain risks for both infrastructure and third parties, and that it is planned to be carried out throughout the city, the City of Stockholm considers it is currently not possible to approve the implementation of the test,” the Swedish Traffic Department stated.
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