News
SpaceX nails first Falcon 9 booster launch debut in months [photos]
On December 5th, SpaceX pulled off a flawless Falcon 9 booster debut in support of the Cargo Dragon spacecraft’s CRS-19 space station resupply mission, marking the first launch of a new booster in months.
More specifically, the last time SpaceX launched a new Falcon 9 booster was on June 25th, 2019 during STP-2, Falcon Heavy Block 5’s second mission in two months. The mission featured two flight-proven side boosters – both reused from the Block 5 rocket’s April 11th launch debut – but also relied on a new center core (B1057). B1057 unfortunately failed moments before a planned touchdown on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) but still technically qualifies as the last new booster launched by SpaceX prior to CRS-19.
A few days shy of six months later, CRS-19’s brand new Falcon 9 booster (and an expendable upper stage) rolled out to SpaceX’s LC-40 launch pad, confirming suspicions that the mission would use a new booster instead of twice-flown B1056.
After the booster successfully launched CRS-17 and CRS-18 in May and July 2019, both SpaceX and NASA indicated that B1056 was the most likely candidate to launch CRS-19. Plans clearly changed, although SpaceX indicated in a prelaunch conference that the booster manifest swap was purely a scheduling move and didn’t indicate any technical issues or dissatisfaction from NASA.
In the history of SpaceX booster reuse, NASA has thus far only been comfortable flying on flight-proven boosters that had previously flown NASA missions only, meaning that it will likely be at least 12-18 months before the space agency has another twice-flown Falcon 9 booster ready for a NASA mission. Regardless, the space agency has been undeniably willing to support the technology far sooner than most would have expected, given its history of extreme conservatism over the two or so decades.
Regardless, after a brief wind-related 24-hour delay, Falcon 9 B1059 lifted off for the first time on December 5th, performing perfectly and ultimately landing on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) to leave the upper stage with enough fuel to perform experiments after deploying Cargo Dragon. The mission’s drone ship landing – unusual for Cargo Dragon launches – raised suspicions in the spaceflight community and SpaceX ultimately confirmed the above information, indicating that CRS-19’s upper stage would perform orbital coast tests (likely for the USAF).
As it turns out Falcon 9 B1059’s flawless landing aboard OCISLY also made it the 20th booster SpaceX has successfully recovered. All told, SpaceX has flown a total of 46 separate missions with flight-proven Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters, all of which have occurred since the technology’s March 2017 debut.
After reaching orbit for the third time ever, Cargo Dragon capsule C106 and a fresh trunk began the journey to the International Space Station (ISS) with around 2600 kg (5800 lb) of science experiments, consumables, and other cargo aboard. The spacecraft successful rendezvoused with the ISS on December 8th and was captured and berthed by the station’s massive robotic arm (Canadarm2) shortly thereafter. All told, SpaceX has now delivered roughly 41 metric tons (90,000 lb) of cargo for NASA over its 19 successful missions to the ISS.
Meanwhile, with its first launch and landing – and a relatively gentle one, at that – under its belt, Falcon 9 B1059 should theoretically be a prime candidate for rapid turnaround, although there’s a good chance that SpaceX will hold the booster to support CRS-20, Cargo Dragon 1’s last planned launch. That mission is expected no earlier than March 2020.
Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.
News
Tesla Robotaxi app update now tells riders if Cybercab is the better choice
Tesla’s Robotaxi app now shows ETAs, wait times and availability for Cybercab and Model Y.
Tesla has rolled out a new vehicle selection screen in its Robotaxi app, and it puts the numbers riders care about most in front of them before they book.
Version 26.11.0 of the app shows the estimated arrival time, the expected wait and current availability for each vehicle option on a single screen, according to a video shared by @gheeunit on X on November 7. Riders deciding between a Cybercab and a Model Y Robotaxi can now compare those figures side by side instead of picking a car first and learning how long it will take afterward.
Tesla first gave riders that choice on September 3, the day paid Cybercab rides began in Austin. The original version of the screen listed the Cybercab, which seats two, next to the Model Y, which seats four. A later build, 26.8.2, added a seating capacity indicator so groups knew which car would fit them. What it did not show was whether choosing the Cybercab meant standing on the curb a few extra minutes.
Newest version of @robotaxi app has a new vehicle selector UI for choosing between Cybercab and Model Y and shows you the fare for both simultaneously! https://t.co/7qoDQ0vACX — mantequilla 🧈 (@gheeunit) November 7, 2026
That question matters more now than it did two months ago. Tesla had 45 Cybercabs on the Texas DMV roster when rides started. By late October the state listed 573, alongside 631 Model Ys, and community trackers logged a record 1,576 Cybercab sightings across Austin on Halloween alone. With two large fleets sharing one service area, the closest car and the quickest pickup are not always the same vehicle.
Inline availability also changes what happens when demand spikes. If no Cybercab is free nearby, the rider sees that on the selection screen rather than after trying to book one.
For now the comparison is mostly an Austin feature. Riders in Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and the Florida markets are still matched with Model Y vehicles, though Tesla said on its third quarter earnings call that Cybercab rides would launch in Dallas this month.
The update follows a steady run of smaller changes to the rider experience. Late last month Tesla brought a quiet mode that blacks out the cabin screen to Model Y Robotaxis after first testing it in the Cybercab, and it has stretched Austin service to run from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
The Cybercab side of that selection screen is about to get much busier. Elon Musk said this week that Tesla will wind down Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of 2027 to make room for more Cybercab output, and Tesla has said it is aiming to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year.
Tesla has not published official release notes for version 26.11.0.
Tesla is ending Cybertruck production sometime in mid-2027, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Musk made the announcement on X last night, which came as a shock to many. He said that the Cybertruck will end production “to make room for increased Cybercab production” at Gigafactory Texas.
It is a huge blow to the fans of Tesla who have come to love the Cybertruck and identify with it as a symbol of their fandom. It has been the best-selling electric pickup, but it has had an underwhelming sales performance in terms of what was expected. This is mostly due to Tesla not meeting the prices it planned to offer the Cybertruck, as its unveiling and actual release were four years apart.
Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2026
Overall, the responses were mixed. Some fans understood the move toward Cybercab production, especially as Tesla is truly pushing the autonomous future through its Robotaxi platform. However, others did not understand it.
“Damn, how many Cybercabs do you guys need?” one response read. Another said it was “Sad but understandable.”Even analyst Gary Black had responded to the news, stating he hoped Tesla planned to replace it with a traditional pickup design.
It doesn’t seem like that will be the case.
Tesla is so hell-bent on delivering autonomy and eventually providing a driverless service that owning a car seems like an arbitrary idea, according to their thesis. Instead, Cybercabs will be available to pick you up and drop you off on demand, safely, without any human help.
As a result, Tesla has thinned its lineup considerably, and one can only ask where the vehicle lineup goes from here. Eventually, it seems like Cybercab could be the only vehicle that Tesla will sell.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15 and its first ship catch.
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, the mission the company plans to use for its first attempt at catching the ship itself with the launch tower.
SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev shared the date on stage at the UP.Summit on Thursday, according to Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, who was in attendance. It is the first launch target to come directly from a SpaceX executive. Until now, the public schedule had relied on FAA air traffic planning slides, which listed Flight 15 for no earlier than November 8 and later November 12. SpaceX has not posted an official mission page yet, and no launch time has been shared.
The date lands inside the window Elon Musk sketched out last month. Speaking at Giga Texas on October 10, Musk said the flight would “probably launch a little bit before Thanksgiving,” as Teslarati reported. On SpaceX’s third quarter earnings call ten days later, he confirmed that Flight 15 would try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the ship, and put the odds of a successful ship catch at “more likely than not.” SpaceX also aired an animation of the maneuver during that webcast, showing the ship swinging vertical over Starbase before dropping into the tower’s chopsticks.
The hardware is ready. Booster 22 fired all 33 of its Raptor engines for a full duration static fire at Pad 2 on October 25. Ship 42 followed with a single engine burn simulating a deorbit maneuver on October 26 and a 60 second firing of all six engines the next day, according to NASASpaceflight. Ship 42 had already rehearsed the catch in September, when the Pad 2 arms lifted it into position and crews connected the quick disconnect arm while the vehicle hung from the tower.
The remaining hurdle is regulatory. The FAA’s Starship page does not yet list a Flight 15 license. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in October that, after “significant constructive engagement with the FAA,” she expects the license to cover a return to the launch site and a tower catch for both stages. Bringing the ship home means a reentry path that heads toward land, rather than ending over open ocean as every Starship flight so far has.
SpaceX has caught Super Heavy three times, on Flights 5, 7 and 8, but the ship comes back from orbital velocity and has never been caught. Flight 14 on September 28 was the first Starship to reach orbit, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down despite an early engine shutdown that Musk blamed on engine computer software.
Musk has called a successful ship catch “the first time that there’s been full recovery of an orbital class rocket,” and he has already named the step after it: a Flight 16 where both the booster and the ship fly again. NASASpaceflight reports that Ship 43, the next vehicle in line, is set for static fire testing in December.
Tesla Robotaxi app update now tells riders if Cybercab is the better choice
Tesla is ending Cybertruck production
