

News
SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 rockets hours apart for back to back launches
SpaceX has fired up two separate Falcon 9 rockets at two separate Florida launch pads in less than 16 hours ahead of back to back launches for Starlink and the US military.
Around 6:30 pm local on June 24th, SpaceX successfully static fired Falcon 9 B1051 as one of the last steps before the booster’s fifth launch, making it the third SpaceX rocket to reach that five-flight milestone in just three months. B1051.4 just narrowly missed SpaceX’s booster turnaround record, falling just a few days short of the current 62-day record after some minor delays. Originally scheduled to launch as early as June 22nd, the ninth batch of Starlink v1.0 satellites (Starlink V1 L9 or Starlink-9) is now scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 4:18 pm EDT (20:18 UTC) on Friday, June 26th.
A little over fifteen hours after B1051’s – apparently – successful static fire (there was no SpaceX tweet confirmation for the first time ever) at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A), new Falcon 9 booster B1060 performed its own ignition test at SpaceX’s separate Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) LC-40 pad. SpaceX confirmed that that static fire was successful, putting the new Falcon 9 rocket on track to launch the US military’s third upgraded GPS satellite (GPS III SV03) no earlier than (NET) 3:56 pm EDT (19:56 UTC) on Tuesday, June 30th.
If SpaceX manages to complete both the Starlink-9 and GPS III SV03 missions on schedule, June 2020 will be the company’s first four-launch month ever. Even if the latter US military mission is delayed to July 3rd or 4th, SpaceX will still have technically completed four launches in a month’s worth of days (30-31). Normally, the odds of the second in a pair of back-to-back launches being delayed would be quite high, given that any delay to the first mission would inherently roll over onto the follow-up. For SpaceX, that likelihood is more than doubled because of the need for drone ship availability for booster recovery.
However, SpaceX debuted a second East Coast drone ship – Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) on June 3rd, complimenting drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) to double the company’s sea recovery capacity on the East Coast. Formerly stationed at Port of Los Angeles to support SpaceX launches out of California, the West Coast manifest rapidly dried up and made drone ship JRTI’s move East all but inevitable.
On top of having a second drone ship available for booster recoveries just days or even hours apart, SpaceX also recently began pushing the limits of its East Coast launch capacity by performing launches just days apart from its two separate Florida pads. While the occasional back-to-back launch from LC-40 and Pad 39A isn’t unprecedented, SpaceX appears to be intent on sustaining launches from each pad every 10-20 days, give or take. As such, SpaceX’s Starlink-9 and GPS III SV03 missions will launch from separate pads and land on separate drone ships.
Cadence ambitions aside, Starlink-9 and GPS III SV03 are also significant missions for their own reasons. Up first, Starlink-9 will hopefully follow on the heels of SpaceX’s successful June 13th Starlink-8 launch to become the second Starlink rideshare mission, sending two BlackSky imaging satellites into orbit along with 57 Starlink v1.0 satellites. The fact that booster B1051 has nearly broken SpaceX’s rocket reuse turnaround record also suggests that the company is already confident in the flightworthiness of Falcon 9 boosters heading into their fifth launches.
Meanwhile, GPS III SV03 is special because – unlike SpaceX’s first GPS III SV01 launch in December 2018 – the US Air (Space) Force will allow Falcon 9 booster B1060 to attempt a drone ship landing. On SpaceX’s first GPS III launch, the USAF more or less arbitrarily limited Falcon 9’s available performance to leave extreme safety margins in the apparent event of one or more booster engines failing during launch. As a result, Falcon 9 B1054 became the first highly-reusable Block 5 booster to intentionally launch just once. For B1060, the booster will thankfully have a shot at recovery and a long and productive life of 5-10+ more launches. A successful landing could also give the US military its first shot at certifying and reusing a Falcon 9 booster on an operational military satellite launch.
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News
Tesla adjusts one key detail of Robotaxi operations in Austin

Tesla is adjusting one key detail of Robotaxi operations in Austin: service hours.
Tesla’s Robotaxi platform in Austin has been active since late June and has been running smoothly since then. It has its limits, as Tesla has set hours that Robotaxis can operate, as well as a distinct Service Area, also known as a geofence, which has expanded three times already.
While the geofence is currently approximately 170 square miles in size, Tesla has recently enabled freeway drives, which also necessitated an adjustment to the company’s strategy with its “Safety Monitors.”
Tesla explains why Robotaxis now have safety monitors in the driver’s seat
Traditionally, they sit in the passenger’s seat. During highway driving, they move to the driver’s seat.
These are just a few adjustments that have been made over the past two and a half months. Now, Tesla is adjusting the service hours of Robotaxi operation in Austin, but only slightly.
Tesla will now operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., extending the hours by two hours. It previously shut down at midnight.
🚨 Tesla Robotaxi operation in Austin now will end at 2 a.m., a two-hour extension from its previous end time of midnight.
Its new service hours are now 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. local time pic.twitter.com/wXdYO6ARPB
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 13, 2025
Tesla has implemented a variety of safeguards to ensure riders and drivers are safe during Robotaxi rides, and they have made it a point to adjust things when they feel confident that it will not cause any issues.
Many people have been critical of Robotaxi, especially because a person sits in the front of the car.
However, an accident or some type of mistake could do more damage to the autonomous travel sector than anything else. This would not just impact Tesla, but any company operating an autonomous ride-hailing service in the country.
News
Tesla Model Y ownership two weeks in: what I love and what I don’t
With any new car, I don’t really find things I dislike within the first few months; the novelty of a shiny new vehicle usually wears off eventually.

I am officially two weeks into Tesla ownership, having picked up my Model Y Long Range All-Wheel-Drive on Saturday, August 30. I have many things I really love, and I’ll do my best to come up with a few things I don’t, although I find that to be very difficult currently.
With any new car, I don’t really find things I dislike within the first few months; the novelty of a shiny new vehicle usually wears off eventually. In the past, I’ve had a car I only kept for nine months, but I loved it for the first two months. I am sure down the road, some things about the Tesla will bother me, but right now, I don’t have too much to complain about.
As for the things I love, I’ll try to keep it to just five, and as I continue to write about my ownership experience in the coming months, I’ll see if these things change.
A Quick Rundown
In the two weeks I have had my new Model Y, I have driven 783 miles. I have driven it manually, used Full Self-Driving, navigated tight city streets in Baltimore, and driven spiritedly on the winding back roads of Pennsylvania.
I traded my ICE vehicle for a Tesla Model Y: here’s how it went
I have had the opportunity to put it to the test in a variety of ways, and I feel like I have a great idea of this car and how it handles and drives just two weeks in.
Here’s my vehicle ownership lineage:
’98 VW Jetta K2 > 2002 Ford Taurus > 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid > 2019 Honda Civic > 2021 Ford Bronco Sport > 2026 Tesla Model Y https://t.co/BXTC9XThwe
— Joey Klender (@KlenderJoey) September 2, 2025
What I Love About My Tesla Model Y
I am only going to pick a handful of things, but do not take this list as a complete one. I truly have so many things I love about this car, but I want to mention the ones that are not necessarily “novelties.” I love the A/C seats, but it’s not something I feel deserves a mention here, because it would not likely sway someone to consider the car.
Instead, I want to highlight what I feel are things that truly set the Model Y apart from cars I’ve had in the past.
Tesla Full Self-Driving
Available on all Teslas, Full Self-Driving is something I use every day. It is not only a convenience thing, but it is also truly a fun feature to track improvements, and it’s been fun to show a lot of my friends who are not familiar with its capabilities just how safe and impressive it is.
My Fiancè and I have watched Full Self-Driving make slight changes in performance in the two weeks we’ve been using it. I tracked one instance on a Pennsylvania back road when the car stopped at an “Except Right Turn” Stop Sign. Initially, the car stopped, holding up traffic behind it. Just days later, FSD proceeded through that same Stop Sign cautiously, but without coming to a complete stop, which is the proper way to navigate through it.
I took the same route home last night as I did when I took this drive last week. FSD has *already* improved.
✅ Model Y did not stop at the “Except Right Turn” Stop Sign, and instead proceeded through at a confident, yet careful rate of speed in a safe manner
I believe the… https://t.co/E38lsipT46
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 11, 2025
This quick adjustment was very impressive, and it even caught the attention of my better half. I will say it has been very fun to watch her fall in love with this car after being very reluctant to watch me get rid of our Bronco Sport.
The Handling
Tesla refined the suspension with the new Model Y, and you can surely feel it. Coming from a larger SUV, I did miss being able to really push the limits of my car on a beautiful, sunny, and warm day, and the winding roads of Pennsylvania are calling me for a drive.
The way this car hugs turns and genuinely puts a smile on my face when I’m pushing it. Dare I say I like driving it more than I like it driving me?
Interior Storage
One of my biggest complaints about my Bronco Sport was that, despite being an SUV, it felt smaller than it was supposed to be. I had trouble fitting golf bags and luggage in the back without having other storage options. It led me to install a roof rack and get a cargo container. I would have to put longer clubs in the back seat so the bags could lie without clubs getting bent.
I don’t seem to have a significant problem with this in the Model Y. Plus, the frunk and the additional cargo under the floor of the trunk are great for bags and other things. It offers 10 cubic feet more of space with the seats down than the Bronco Sport does.
The Entertainment
Not only is the sound system in this car absolutely unbelievable, but I also really enjoy the Tesla Theater, which is really something that has revolutionized how we spend our time in the car.
Charging at the Superchargers has become a new way for us to spend time together. Even if it’s just 30 minutes, my Fiancé’s busy work schedule at the hospital means we don’t get to spend as much time together as we would like. The charging lets us go grab a snack, watch a movie or show in the car, and just be with each other.
It’s honestly my favorite thing about the car so far, that we’ve both truly enjoyed what it has done for us. It put a smile on my face to hear her say, “It’s just so much fun to be in this car” last night when we met friends for dinner.
What I Don’t Love
I’m just going to get nitpicky here, because I don’t have much to complain about.
The Paint
I love the Diamond Black, and it gets so many compliments. However, it sure does get dirty fast. I feel like I’m going to have to invest in a car wash membership or set aside time each week to clean it. This is not a Tesla-specific problem, of course.
Climate Control
Another “first-world problem,” but sometimes I do have trouble getting the A/C to go right where I need it. I feel like, to feel the air, I have to put the fan speed to 7 or higher.
Swing Mode has been a real savior in this sense, but my Fiancè sometimes complains that my cold air will hit her when she’s already freezing. I think this is just something I need to get used to, as the vents are significantly different than any other car. It’s really not that bad, but it is worth mentioning that we’ve both said we are still adjusting to it early on.
Cybertruck
Tesla brings closure to head-scratching Cybertruck trim

Tesla has ended the production and sale of a Cybertruck trim level that had many people scratching their heads. The move comes after slow sales on the trim, as many Cybertruck buyers opted for other configurations that seemed to be a better value for the money.
On Friday, Tesla officially brought closure to the Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck, a build that was introduced earlier this year at a lower price point than its All-Wheel-Drive counterparts, but missed many of the key features that made the Cybertruck, the Cybertruck.
Rolling the variant out at a price of $69,990, only $10,000 less than that of the All-Wheel-Drive configuration. However, it was also void of many other things:
- Single Motor
- Textile Seats instead of Leather
- 7-Speaker Audio System instead of 15-Speakers
- No Rear Touchscreen
- No Powered Tonneau Cover for Truck Bed
- No 120v/240v outlets
For $79,990, just $10,000 more, owners could receive all of these premium features, plus a more capable All-Wheel-Drive powertrain, which truly made this Rear-Wheel-Drive build of the Cybertruck a sitting duck for criticism.
It was simply not enough meat for the price, and demand was evidently low. From those I spoke to, orders were few and far between; people simply found more value in the All-Wheel-Drive configuration based solely on the additional motor. Adding all the premium interior and functionality features made it a no-brainer.
In a way, it seems Tesla was overly optimistic about the Rear-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck, but even after it was launched, plenty of loyal fans were confused by it:
AWD worth $10k more imo
— Zack (@BLKMDL3) April 11, 2025
Sorry. It just isn’t worth that much. I would buy the dual motor at that price, before incentives. I guess I’ll just have to wait longer. The old F150 still runs good. There is nothing compelling at that price point.
— Cat Herder (@Christo87184657) April 11, 2025
The Cybertruck is a great vehicle, and it is among the best vehicles in the company’s lineup. However, it really missed a price point for the Rear-Wheel-Drive configuration that was effective enough to drive people toward it. Many said they would have considered it if Tesla could have brought the price down into the high $40,000 or low $50,000 range.
I took a Tesla Cybertruck weekend Demo Drive – Here’s what I learned
It seems it just did not have the appeal to keep up. Now, Tesla has the All-Wheel-Drive and Cyberbeast for $72,490 and $114,990, respectively.
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