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SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket’s drone ship return captured in stunning detail [gallery]

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Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin has captured SpaceX’s first West Coast Falcon 9 Block 5 booster recovery in the best detail yet seen of the rocket upgrade, well-worn after its first successful launch of Iridium NEXT-7, July 25.

Iridium-7 marked a number of important debuts for SpaceX: Falcon 9 Block 5 (Booster 1048, in this case) completed its first West Coast launch from SpaceX’s Vandenberg pad, drone ship Just Read The Instructions’ (JRTI) first rocket recovery attempt and success in nearly ten months, and recovery vessel Mr Steven’s first (albeit unsuccessful) attempt at catching a Falcon fairing with a dramatically enlarged net and arms.

Although inclement wind conditions foiled Mr Steven’s fairing catch effort and put pressure on Falcon 9 B1048’s journey to JRTI, Iridium-7 was flawlessly placed in orbit and Falcon 9 managed a slightly off-center but still thoroughly successful landing on the drone ship off the coast of California. With that launch and land debut on the West Coast and a second successful East Coast launch of a Block 5 rocket to the East just a few days prior, SpaceX has effectively demonstrated the basic functionality and reliability of the upgrade’s many far-reaching changes to the underlying Falcon 9 architecture.

Just Read The Instructions recovers a rocket

After nearly ten months largely spent berthed at SpaceX’s original Port of San Pedro dock space, drone ship JRTI has at long last returned to sea and successfully recovered a Falcon 9 booster, this time marking the West Coast launch and landing debut of the Block 5 rocket. Photos of the drone ship and rocket’s return to port were some of the best ever seen, thanks largely to the port’s layout and narrow mouth, which allowed Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin to put giant telephoto lenses and a unique top-down perspective to good use.

Iridium NEXT-7 thankfully brought an end to the understandable but still-painful practice of intentionally expending twice-flown Falcon 9 boosters in the ocean after launch. Thanks to Iridium-7’s new Block 5 booster, B1048, expending the rocket was out of the question, as it likely will be for most Block 5 launches in the future. A combination of several expendable missions and an unfortunate duo of recovery anomalies (a small fire after Koreasat 5A and the Falcon Heavy center core landing failure) led to JRTI sitting on the sidelines since October 2017, as a considerable subset of its critical thruster hardware had to be stripped in order to keep East Coast sister ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) operational for a handful of attempts in 2018.

Many of the months JRTI spent at berth were thus without the pod thrusters the drone ship needs to keep itself at the proper landing point once at sea. Still, JRTI departed the port with a full complement of four blue thrusters on the evening of July 22 and had a highly successful return-to-action. Sadly, it’s unclear how much SpaceX will need the vessel within just a month or two from today – after the final Iridium launch (NEXT-8) in November or December, perhaps all of SpaceX’s future Vandenberg launches will be lofting lightweight payloads that should allow the company to rely almost entirely on its brand-new rocket landing zone – conveniently colocated barely 1000 feet from the pad – for CA rocket recoveries.

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F9 Block 5 shows off its upgraded exterior

Falcon 9 Block 5 booster (B1048) arrived at Port of Los Angeles on July 27 after landing at sea aboard drone ship JRTI. Photos captured by Pauline arguably show the best details yet seen of the rocket upgrade, ranging from titanium grid fins to extraordinary shots of its sooty-but-still-sorta-shiny Merlin 1D engines.

 

Myriad others provide an amazing sense of place with SpaceX technicians conducting thorough post-landing checkouts, carefully documenting the booster’s condition, and generally wrenching on a massive, orbital-class rocket that completed a suborbital jaunt to space just days prior.

Of particular note are detailed views of the silky black “highly flame-resistant felt” now covering Falcon 9’s interstage (the top segment), landing legs, octaweb section, and raceways (the black lines traveling up and down the rocket). Compared to beat-up, older Falcon 9s, B1048’s shielded components look barely worse for wear, and it would genuinely be difficult to determine if the rocket had flown before without the telltale soot fingerprint present after every Falcon 9 recovery.

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The only mystery that still remains is what exactly Falcon 9 Block 5’s octaweb heat-shielding looks like, reportedly one of the most critical and research-intensive upgrades necessary for true rapid reusability and reliability through many, many flights. Now built largely of titanium bolted to the octaweb, among a number of other extremely heat-tolerant metals and materials and even active water-cooling in spots, the new heat-shield was designed to carry the brunt of the reentry heating Falcon 9 experiences with ease.

Perhaps we’ll get a glimpse of that yet-unseen heat-shield over the next few weeks and months. Many, many more launches to come, so stay tuned!


For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet (including fairing catcher Mr Steven) check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla launches first ‘true’ East Coast V4 Supercharger: here’s what that means

What truly distinguishes this installation from the hundreds of “V4” stalls already scattered across the network? Most existing V4 dispensers, rolled out since 2023, feature welcome upgrades like longer cables, built-in touchscreen displays, integrated credit-card readers for non-Tesla users, and improved ergonomics.

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Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Tesla has launched its first “true” V4 Supercharger on the East Coast, and while that may be sort of confusing, here’s what we mean by that.

Tesla has opened its first true V4 Supercharging station on the East Coast in Kissimmee, Florida, just south of Orlando.

The eight-stall site, powered by an advanced 1.2 MW V4 power cabinet, is capable of delivering up to 500 kW, making it one of only four fully operational 500 kW-capable V4 stations in the United States.

Pricing is dynamic and competitive, as Tesla owners pay $0.40 per kWh during peak hours (8 a.m. to midnight), dropping to an attractive $0.20/kWh off-peak (midnight to 8 a.m.).

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Non-Tesla EVs, which can now plug directly into the NACS ports thanks to the open standard, are charged a premium—$0.56/kWh peak and $0.28/kWh off-peak—reflecting Tesla’s strategy to monetize network access while rewarding its own customers.

What’s Makes This a “True” V4 Supercharger

What truly distinguishes this installation from the hundreds of “V4” stalls already scattered across the network? Most existing V4 dispensers, rolled out since 2023, feature welcome upgrades like longer cables, built-in touchscreen displays, integrated credit-card readers for non-Tesla users, and improved ergonomics.

Tesla confirms significant detail regarding V4 Supercharger

However, nearly all of these have been paired with legacy V3 power cabinets. These hybrid setups, sometimes informally called V3.5, deliver charging curves virtually identical to standard V3 stations, typically topping out at 250-325 kW depending on the vehicle and site conditions.

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In contrast, Kissimmee’s true V4 architecture incorporates next-generation 1.2 MW power cabinets. These support battery voltages up to 1,000 V (double the 500 V of V3 systems) and can push up to 500 kW per stall.

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One compact cabinet efficiently powers all eight stalls, slashing the physical footprint and reportedly keeping deployment costs under $40,000 per stall, far cheaper than earlier designs.

Right now, the primary beneficiary is the Cybertruck, which can achieve dramatically faster charging at low states of charge.

Everyday models like the Model 3 and Model Y see little immediate difference in peak speeds, but the hardware lays the groundwork for future vehicles with higher-voltage batteries.

Tesla launches faster Cybertruck charging at all V4 Superchargers

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This milestone signals Tesla’s accelerating push toward a high-power, future-proof Supercharger network.

As true V4 sites multiply, charging times will shrink, grid efficiency will improve, and the entire EV ecosystem, Tesla and non-Tesla alike, will benefit from the infrastructure lead Tesla continues to expand. For drivers in central Florida, the Kissimmee station is more than just another charging stop; it’s a glimpse of the faster, smarter charging era that’s finally arriving.

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Tesla reveals various improvements to the Semi in new piece with Jay Leno

Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and Semi Program Director Dan Priestley joined Leno in a 47-minute segment revealing all of the various things it did to make the Semi even better as it heads toward volume production this year.

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Credit: Jay Leno's Garage | YouTube

Tesla has revealed the various improvements it has made to the Semi with its redesign, which was unveiled late last year, on a new episode of Jay Leno’s Garage.

Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and Semi Program Director Dan Priestley joined Leno in a 47-minute segment revealing all of the various things it did to make the Semi even better as it heads toward volume production this year.

Last year, Tesla revealed it had updated the Semi design to fit the bill of its aesthetic, which, on its other vehicles, includes things like lightbars and a sleeker and more aerodynamic design. The changes were not all to appease the eye, but the drivers who will use the Semi on a daily basis to haul goods regionally as the program gets off the ground running.

Weight Reduction

Priestley revealed almost immediately that Tesla was able to cut out about 1,000 pounds of weight from the Semi compared to the previous version.

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This does several things, all of which are positive to the mission of a Class 8 truck, which is to haul goods and obtain more efficient travel to cut down on logistics costs.

Initially, this can increase payload capacity, which is often the biggest value driver for fleets that frequently hit gross vehicle weight limits. Tesla’s early Pilot Program members, like PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay, are large-scale companies. They will benefit from a decreased overall weight.

Lighter vehicles also require less energy to accelerate, climb hills, and maintain highway speeds. This new design has that advantage, and as Leno said in his first drive with the Semi as he hauled another unit behind, “I don’t feel like I’m pulling anything.”

Drag Coefficient

Franz said one of the goals of the Semi was to get the drag coefficient down below that of a Bugatti Veyron. This would increase efficiency tremendously, a major need with a large truck like a Semi.

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Drag coefficient is extremely valuable when it comes to electric vehicles, because the displacement of air is incredibly important for range ratings.

Franz said aerodynamic efficiency has been improved by 7 percent compared to the last model. He says the coefficient is around 0.4.

New Features and Improvements

Priestley shed some additional light on the Semi and some of the improvements the company has made under the hood.

These include:

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  • Fully Electric Steering Assist
  • Cybertruck actuators are being used for more strength
  • Tesla included a 48-volt architecture
  • Semi will utilize 4680 battery cells, which are designed to last 1 million miles

These changes come after Tesla rolled out the Semi to various companies for its Pilot Program, which yielded tremendous results. Due to the years it has been working with those companies, it knew what things it had to change and what it had to improve upon before selling the Semi openly.

Fleet Data

The fleet data Tesla has gathered from the Pilot Program has been one of the most widely discussed parts of the Semi program.

Franz and Priestley said that there are currently a few hundred Semi units in the real world, and Tesla has gathered 13.5 million miles. One of those units has traveled over 440,000 miles in the years it has been on the road.

Tesla Semi’s latest adoptee will likely encourage more of the same

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Pilot Program members have reported an uptime of 95 percent, and Tesla’s maintenance and Service teams have kept things running:

“80% of breakdowns if you have one, are returned back to the customer in less than 24 hours, and half are back in less than 1 hour.”

Demand

Priestley says demand for the Semi has never been higher, and due to the recent political climate and the impact things have had on gas prices, Tesla has never received more inquiries for the Semi than it has recently.

Many companies will be surprised to hear that the Semi Pilot Program has been an overwhelming success. As Tesla begins to build out the infrastructure for the vehicle, it will only benefit the all-electric Class 8 trucks that keep things moving.

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CEO Elon Musk said Tesla plans to start high-volume production this year. The company also plans to start deliveries this year.

 

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Tesla launches amazing new feature for shared vehicles

Tesla has quietly introduced one of its most practical software features yet in update 2026.8: real-time visibility of the active driver profile directly in the Tesla mobile app. Available under the Security & Drivers section, this new tool lets owners see exactly who is behind the wheel or who last drove the vehicle.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is launching an amazing new feature for shared vehicles, giving owners more transparency when they choose to have a Tesla ownership experience with another driver.

This is one of the many advantages of having a Tesla. New features are constantly rolled out through software updates and Over-the-Air fixes, which download directly to the car with an internet connection.

Tesla has quietly introduced one of its most practical software features yet in update 2026.8: real-time visibility of the active driver profile directly in the Tesla mobile app. Available under the Security & Drivers section, this new tool lets owners see exactly who is behind the wheel or who last drove the vehicle.

The feature works seamlessly. While the car is driving, the app displays the name of the currently selected driver profile in real time.

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When the vehicle is parked or asleep, it shows the last active profile.

Requiring both the 2026.8 vehicle software and the latest Tesla app, the update brings this capability to every model in the lineup, including legacy Model S and Model X vehicles, which are unfortunately being phased out of the company lineup later this year.

Tesla makes latest move to remove Model S and Model X from its lineup

The feature was first reported on by Not a Tesla App.

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Tesla driver profiles have always excelled at personalization, automatically adjusting seat positions, mirrors, steering wheel height, climate settings, navigation recents and favorites, and media preferences.

These profiles link to specific phone keys for automatic activation and support PIN protection for privacy and security. Restricted profiles for teens can also limit speed or features.

This feature shines brightest in single-car households with multiple drivers. Families, couples, and roommates frequently share one Tesla, leading to constant adjustments and questions about settings. Now, a quick app check reveals the current profile, allowing users to anticipate seat configurations or confirm usage without entering the vehicle.

Tesla’s cloud-synced driver profiles to bring custom settings across multiple cars

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Parents particularly benefit: they can verify that teens are driving under their assigned (and possibly restricted) profiles, adding a layer of safety oversight and peace of mind. Teslas are already so incredibly safe that many parents dream of putting their kids in one.

Two kids around the same age could now share a Tesla, and this feature would make that effort, which is likely to be a difficult one at times, more seamless.

Beyond convenience, it promotes accountability and reduces everyday friction. No more manual profile switching or arguments over mirror positions. Before approaching the car, anyone can check the app and know exactly what to expect, no more wasted minutes readjusting everything.

In multi-driver setups, it transforms the shared EV into a truly intelligent, user-aware machine that respects individual preferences while keeping the primary owner informed.

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Tesla’s commitment to over-the-air updates continues to enhance ownership value years after purchase.

This small but significant addition highlights how software can solve real-world problems in multi-user environments, making Tesla vehicles more family-friendly and practical than ever. For the millions of owners sharing a single car, the 2026.8 update delivers transparency, time savings, enhanced safety, and effortless personalization. It is a great new feature that is rolling out to vehicles now.

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