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SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returns to port on upgraded drone ship
Upgraded SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall Of Gravitas (ASOG) returned to Port Canaveral on Tuesday, August 31st after a flawless inaugural Falcon 9 booster landing.
In a pleasant coincidence, the brand new drone ship was greeted by an even newer member of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet, which had arrived just hours before after bidding farewell to the Louisiana port it was upgraded at the week prior. Named after Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, the NASA astronauts that helmed Crew Dragon on its crewed orbital launch debut, Doug was the first to arrive and reached its Port Canaveral berth around 9pm EDT on August 30th. Returning to port with a rocket on board for the first time, drone ship ASOG berthed beside Doug just 12 hours later.
Side by side, ASOG and Doug effectively represent the next evolution of at-sea recovery for SpaceX, a company famous for continuously striving for improvement and optimization.
Notably, confirmed unequivocally by a SpaceX engineer during NASA’s CRS-23 pre-launch briefing, a mission that was also ASOG’s very first, the drone ship has been designed to navigate to the correct position, precisely station-keep during landing, secure the landed booster, and transport that booster back to port “completely autonomously.” Up to now, every one of SpaceX’s 76 at-sea landing attempts to date has required a tugboat to tow the drone ship to the recovery zone and a second ship (usually GO Quest or NRC Quest) to support the crew of SpaceX technicians that maintain the drone ship, fix problems, and secure landed boosters.
In 2017, SpaceX improved those procedures to a degree and debuted a robot known as Octagrabber on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). Designed to remotely grab the same Falcon booster ‘hold-down’ hardpoints used by the launch pad, Octagrabber allows SpaceX’s recovery team to remain safe aboard their support ship, avoiding the undeniable danger of working in close proximity to a sliding 25 ton (~50,000 lb) object in all but the worst conditions.
While Octagrabber has undeniably been a boon for the recovery crew, all SpaceX ocean recoveries since have still required tugboats and a crew support ship. Now, thanks to unspecified upgrades, SpaceX believes that A Shortfall of Gravitas will be able to recover Falcon boosters with zero human intervention. It’s likely that SpaceX will still need to arrange a tugboat and pilot to take ASOG to and from the mouth of Port Canaveral and humans will certainly still be involved in the process of retracting landing legs and lifting boosters off the drone ship, but what SpaceX proposes would still be a major upgrade.
However, perhaps the biggest hurdle for SpaceX to operate truly autonomous drone ships will be securing regulatory approval to do so. Perhaps anticipating that gap between technical and legal readiness, SpaceX has bought two new support ships – Bob and Doug – outright. Set to be the largest traditional ships in SpaceX’s fleet, Bob and Doug appear to be designed to do it all. Each outfitted with a large crane and winch, both ships should be able to recover Falcon fairings, tow drone ships, and host crews of technicians (if needed). Additionally, they appear to have space for a helipad and could potentially be modified to triple as Dragon recovery assets.
In other words, even if it takes a while before ASOG and Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) are able to operate autonomously, Bob and Doug should feasibly allow SpaceX to save money on recovery operations by combining fairing recovery, tugboat, and crew support roles into one vessel.
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Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development.
Tesla has released an epic year-in-review video for 2025, recapping some of its major achievements from refreshed models to autonomy breakthroughs and production ramps.
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development while looking ahead to an even bigger 2026.
Tesla’s 2025 highlights recap
Tesla has had a busy 2025, as highlighted in the recap video. The video opened with Elon Musk explaining the company’s pursuit of sustainable abundance. A number of milestones were then highlighted, such as the rollout of FSD v14, Optimus’ numerous demos, the opening of the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, LA, the completion of the world’s first autonomous car delivery, and the launch of the Robotaxi network in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tesla also highlighted several of its accomplishments over the year. As per the company, the Model Y was the year’s best-selling vehicle globally again, and Teslas became more affordable than ever thanks to the Model 3 and Model Y Standard. Other key models were also rolled out, such as the refreshed Model S and X, as well as the new Model Y, the new Model Y Performance, and the six-seat, extended wheelbase Model Y L.
The Megablock was also unveiled during the year, and the Supercharger Network grew by 18%. Over 1 million Powerwalls were also installed during the year, and the Cybertruck became the first EV truck to get both an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and an NHTSA 5-Star safety rating.
Cybercab production confirmed
Interestingly enough, Tesla also confirmed in its 2025 recap video that the production of the Cybercab has started. This bodes well for the vehicle, as it could result in the vehicle really being mass-produced in the first half of 2026. Elon Musk confirmed during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that Cybercab production should earnestly start around April 2026.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab will be Tesla’s highest-volume vehicle yet, with the company aiming for an annual production rate of about 2 million units. “If you’ve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesn’t look like a normal car manufacturing line,” Musk said earlier this year. “It looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line. In fact, the line will move so fast that actually people can’t even get close to it.”
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Tesla Cybercab is changing the look of Austin’s roads, and it’s not even in production yet
Videos and photos showed the sleek, two-seat autonomous vehicles navigating traffic.
Even before entering production, Tesla’s Cybercab is already transforming the appearance of Austin’s streets, with multiple prototypes spotted testing in downtown areas recently.
Videos and photos showed the sleek, two-seat autonomous vehicles navigating traffic. Interestingly enough, the vehicles were equipped with temporary steering wheels and human safety drivers.
Recent Cybercab sightings
Over the weekend, enthusiasts captured footage of two Cybercabs driving together in central Austin, their futuristic silhouettes standing out amid regular traffic. While the vehicles featured temporary steering wheels and side mirrors for now, they retained their futuristic, production-intent exterior design.
Industry watcher Sawyer Merritt shared one of the vehicles’ videos, noting the increasing frequency of the autonomous two-seater’s sightings.
Previewing the autonomous future
Sightings of the Cybercab have been ramping in several key areas across the United States in recent weeks. Sightings include units at Apple’s Visitor Center in California, the Fremont factory test track, and in Austin’s streets.
The increased activity suggests that Tesla is in overdrive, validating the autonomous two-seater ahead of its planned volume production. Elon Musk confirmed at the 2025 Shareholder Meeting that manufacturing begins around April 2026 with ambitious targets, and during an All-Hands meeting earlier this year, Musk hinted that ultimately, Tesla’s factories should be able to produce one Cybercab every 10 seconds.
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Tesla celebrates 9 million vehicles produced globally
The achievement, announced by Tesla Asia on X, celebrated not just the Shanghai team’s output but the company’s cumulative production across all its factories worldwide.
Tesla has achieved a new milestone, rolling out its nine millionth vehicle worldwide from Giga Shanghai.
The achievement, announced by Tesla Asia on X, celebrated not just the Shanghai team’s output but the company’s cumulative production across all its factories worldwide. The milestone came as 2025 drew to a close, and it inspired praise from some of the company’s key executives.
Tesla’s 9 million vehicle milestone
The commemorative photo from Tesla Asia featured the Giga Shanghai team assembled on the factory floor, surrounding the milestone Model Y unit, which looked pristine in white. The image was captioned: “Our 9 millionth vehicle globally has just rolled off the production line at Giga Shanghai. Thanks to our owners and supporters around the world.”
Senior Vice President of Automotive Tom Zhu praised Tesla’s factory teams for the remarkable milestone. He also shared his gratitude to Tesla owners for their support. “Congrats to all Tesla factories for this amazing milestone! Thanks to our owners for your continued support!” Zhu wrote in a post on X.
Giga Shanghai’s legacy
Tesla’s nine million vehicle milestone is especially impressive considering that just 207 days ago, the company announced that it had built its eight millionth car globally. The eight millionth Tesla, a red Model Y, was built in Giga Berlin. The fact that Tesla was able to build a million cars in less than seven months is quite an accomplishment.
Giga Shanghai, Tesla’s largest factory by volume, has been instrumental to the company’s overall operations, having reached four million cumulative vehicles earlier in 2025. The plant produces Model 3 and Model Y for both domestic Chinese and export markets, making it the company’s primary vehicle export hub.
Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production
Tesla Cybercab is changing the look of Austin’s roads, and it’s not even in production yet
