

News
SpaceX Falcon booster completes 10th launch and landing in 19 months
Falcon 9 booster B1058 has successfully completed SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission, acing its tenth orbital-class launch and landing in record time in the process.
The rocket lifted off as planned from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) at 10:25 am EST (15:25 UTC), Thursday, January 13th with 105 small satellites in tow, marking SpaceX’s third dedicated Smallsat Rideshare Program launch since January 2021. Beginning in 2022, the company aims to conduct three such rideshare launches annually, operating Falcon 9 a bit like an orbital bus service with the capacity for hundreds of small satellites from virtually any person, institution, or company on Earth – all for the unprecedentedly low price of approximately $5,000 per kilogram.
As such, it’s no surprise that SpaceX’s Smallsat Rideshare Program has received as much demand as it has. While relatively insignificant in the scope of the rest of the company’s substantial launch and services revenue, SpaceX has now safely delivered 323 small satellites to orbit for 100+ customers with just three dedicated Transporter missions. As an example, that means that in less than 12 months, SpaceX has launched about three times as many small satellites as dedicated small satellite launch company Rocket Lab has launched in the last four years. It’s no surprise, then, that Rocket Lab has already announced plans to develop a far larger, more reusable rocket after just 20 successful Electron launches.
Meanwhile, as dozens of other startups work on similar small rockets that aim to launch around 500-1500 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO), SpaceX – who began its existence developing the much smaller Falcon 1 rocket – almost immediately abandoned small rockets to focus on the much larger Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles. Thanks to reusability, even a moderately loaded two-stage Falcon 9 with a flight-proven booster almost certainly costs SpaceX several times less per kilogram launched than a fully-loaded Falcon 1.
The booster that launched Transporter-3 is a perfect example. Depending on how one measures it, the launch likely cost SpaceX between $15M and $30M to deliver 105 satellites – likely weighing 3-4 tons total – to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). SpaceX charges customers a fixed price of $1 million for a 200 kg (440 lb) slot on a Transporter mission, meaning that a 4-ton payload would theoretically net the company $20M. In comparison, in 2005, SpaceX was selling Falcon 1 – designed to launch 1 ton to LEO and ~400 kg to SSO – for the equivalent of around $8 million today. In other words, Falcon 1 customers would have paid about $20,000/kg versus $5,000/kg for a slot on a reusable Falcon 9.
The kicker: Transporter-3 was Falcon 9 B1058’s tenth orbital-class launch in just 19 months, averaging one launch every 59 days. Technically, before a major downtick in SpaceX launch activity beginning in mid-2021, B1058 had actually managed eight launches in less than a year – one launch every ~45 days. Transporter-3 isn’t even its first dedicated rideshare mission – the same booster launched another 133 customer smallsats on Transporter-1 almost exactly a year ago. B1058 has also launched two astronauts, two Dragons, a South Korean geostationary communications satellite, and approximately 290 Starlink spacecraft, amounting to around 120 tons (~260,000 lb) of payload delivered to orbit in a year and half – roughly equivalent to an entire Saturn V launch to low Earth orbit for a tiny fraction of even the marginal cost of the giant Moon rocket.
SpaceX has plans for another two Transporter rideshare launches later this year. The company has as many as three more Falcon 9 launches scheduled for the second half of January, including Starlink 4-6 on January 17th and Italy’s CSG-2 Earth observation satellite on January 27th. Starlink 4-7 is expected to launch around the same time as CSG-2.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk sends stern warning to Tesla vandals, doubters
Elon Musk sent another warning to vandals that have attacked Tesla for political reasons.

Elon Musk has sent a stern warning to Tesla vandals, doubters, and attackers, who have subjected the company and its owners to political violence through arson and other modes of retaliation.
Over the past few months, Tesla showrooms and vehicles have been hit with numerous attacks from those who have opposed Musk and his political involvement with the Trump Administration. Although Musk has stepped back from his role within government significantly since the start of May, the company is still looked at as a political target.
While the White House has put a clear-cut line on the acts, calling them domestic terrorism and holding those responsible for the damage they have done, there are still numerous and daily instances of keying cars or worse.
Yesterday, Musk continued to send stern warnings to those who oppose Tesla and choose to handle their distaste for the company with violence and vandalism. In a Bloomberg interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk was asked if he took what has happened to Tesla “over the past few months personally.”
Musk replied simply but sternly: “Yes.”
“Did you take what happened to Tesla over the past few months personally?”
“Yes.” –@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/mNbgkpgZEo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 20, 2025
He went on to say that not only will those who vandalized the company and its products owned by consumers be held to the fullest extent of the law, but also those who fund it.
Musk also said during a CNBC interview yesterday that very few people buy a company’s products because of the CEO’s political beliefs, and many people do not even know where those CEOs stand on various social issues.
Although Musk has gone out of his way to be transparent about his beliefs, he has a valid point. He obviously felt that, because of his influence, he held a duty to uphold American values and protect what he felt was an attack on free speech and human rights.
Disagreeing with Musk and his political stances is totally reasonable, but damaging products that consumers bought from his companies is not impacting him directly. Instead, it is making consumers’ lives more difficult.
News
Tesla Model 3 gets perfect 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating
Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today.

Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today. Based on recent findings from the Euro NCAP, the 2025 Model 3 sedan continues this tradition, with the vehicle earning a 5-star overall safety rating from the agency.
Standout Safety Features
As could be seen on the Euro NCAP’s official website, the 2025 Model 3 achieved an overall score of 90% for Adult Occupants, 93% for Child Occupants, 89% for Vulnerable Road Users, and 87% for Safety Assist. This rating, as per the Euro NCAP, applies to the Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range All Wheel Drive, and Performance All Wheel Drive.
The Euro NCAP highlighted a number of the Model 3’s safety features, such as its Active Hood, which automatically lifts during collisions to mitigate injury risks to vulnerable road users, and Automatic Emergency Braking System, which now detects motorcycles through an upgraded algorithm. The Euro NCAP also mentioned the Model 3’s feature that prevents initial door opening if someone is approaching the vehicle’s blind spot.
Standout Safety Features
In a post on its official Tesla Europe & Middle East account, Tesla noted that the company is also introducing new features that make the Model 3 even safer than it is today. These include functions like head-on collision avoidance and crossing traffic AEB, as well as Child Left Alone Detection, among other safety features.
“We also introduced new features to improve Safety Assist functionality even further – like head-on collision avoidance & crossing traffic AEB – to detect & respond to potential hazards faster, helping avoid accidents in the first place.
“Lastly, we released Child Left Alone Detection – if an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will turn on HVAC & alert caregivers via phone app & the vehicle itself (flashing lights/audible alert). Because we’re using novel in-cabin radar sensing, your Tesla is able to distinguish between adult vs child – reduced annoyance to adults, yet critical safety feature for kids,” Tesla wrote in its post on X.
Below is the Euro NCAP’s safety report on the 2025 Tesla Model 3 sedan.
Euroncap 2025 Tesla Model 3 Datasheet by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
Elon Musk
USDOT Secretary visits Tesla Giga Texas, hints at national autonomous vehicle standards
The Transportation Secretary also toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk.

United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy recently visited Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas complex, where he toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk. In a video posted following his Giga Texas visit, Duffy noted that he believes there should be a national standard for autonomous vehicles in the United States.
Duffy’s Giga Texas Visit
As could be seen in videos of his Giga Texas visit, the Transportation Secretary seemed to appreciate the work Tesla has been doing to put the United States in the forefront of innovation. “Tesla is one of the many companies helping our country reach new heights. USDOT will be right there all the way to make sure Americans stay safe,” Duffy wrote in a post on X.
He also praised Tesla for its autonomous vehicle program, highlighting that “We need American companies to keep innovating so we can outcompete the rest of the world.”
National Standard
While speaking with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the Transportation Secretary stated that other autonomous ride-hailing companies have been lobbying for a national standard for self-driving cars. Musk shared the sentiment, stating that “It’d be wonderful for the United States to have a national set of rules for autonomous driving as opposed to 50 independent sets of rules on a state-by-state rules basis.”
Duffy agreed with the CEO’s point, stating that, “You can’t have 50 different rules for 50 different states. You need one standard.” He also noted that the Transportation Department has asked autonomous vehicle companies to submit data. By doing so, the USDOT could develop a standard for the entire United States, allowing self-driving cars to operate in a manner that is natural and safe.
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla Cybertruck Range Extender gets canceled
-
Elon Musk6 days ago
Tesla seems to have fixed one of Full Self-Driving’s most annoying features
-
Lifestyle2 weeks ago
Anti-Elon Musk group crushes Tesla Model 3 with Sherman tank–with unexpected results
-
News2 weeks ago
Starlink to launch on United Airlines planes by May 15
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla Semi gets new adoptee in latest sighting
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla launches its most inexpensive trim of new Model Y
-
News2 weeks ago
US’ base Tesla Model Y has an edge vs Shanghai and Berlin’s entry-level Model Ys
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla Cybertruck owners get amazing year-long freebie