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SpaceX Falcon 9 greeted by iconic Florida sunset after first rocket landing of the decade
After completing its fourth flawless orbital-class launch and landing in 16 months, SpaceX’s latest reusable Falcon 9 rocket has successfully returned to dry land and was greeted by a spectacular Florida sunset during its port arrival.
Safely secured aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) by SpaceX’s famous Octagrabber robot, which uses claws its tank-like heft to physically hold the rocket down, Falcon 9 booster B1049 passed through the mouth of Port Canaveral on January 9th. This effectively marked the end of its third drone ship recovery and fourth landing overall since its orbital-class launch debut in September 2018, averaging a SpaceX launch every four months.
B1049.4 supported SpaceX’s second launch of upgraded Starlink v1.0 communications satellites and the 60 spacecraft it helped send to orbit almost certainly catapulted the company into the position of owning the world’s largest private satellite constellation – now measuring some 175 operational spacecraft strong. Those 60 new Starlink satellites have since deployed their solar arrays, performed basic systems checkouts, activated their krypton-fueled ion thrusters, and begun raising their orbits to around 350 km (220 mi). After arriving at 350 km, SpaceX will carefully analyze the performance of each satellite and send all healthy spacecraft to their final operational altitude of 550 km (340 mi).
Teslarati photographer Richard Angle was present for both sides of Falcon 9 B1049’s fourth orbital-class launch and landing, capturing the booster’s January 6th liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 40 (CCAFS LC-40) and its January 9th Port Canaveral arrival aboard drone ship OCISLY. Given the spectacular Florida sunset that greeted the rocket, B1049 clearly has a preferred color palette – fire.
Falcon 9 B1049 is powered by nine Merlin 1D engines capable of burning liquid oxygen and refined kerosene (RP-1) to produce a maximum thrust of 7600 kN (1.7 million lbf), giving it a thrust to weight ratio of more than 1.4 even when fully loaded with some 525 metric tons (1.2 million lb) of propellant.
According to SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk, Falcon 9’s newest Block 5 boosters – debuted in May 2018 and expected to be the last major upgrade to the family – are designed to be capable of at least 10 orbital-class launches each. A step further, they could potentially be able to perform dozens of missions before retirement is unavoidable, although that would reportedly require the same sort of in-depth overhauls that are routine for modern airliners. Regardless of SpaceX’s aspirations of 10-100 flights per booster, the company is making great progress but undeniably has a long ways to go.
Still, it’s not actually as long as it may seem. On January 6th, Falcon 9 B1049 became the second SpaceX booster to successfully launch four times, following in the footsteps of B1048’s record-breaking fourth flight – completed in November 2019. Now in possession of two consecutively-built Falcon 9 boosters with four flights under each of their belts, SpaceX should be able to quickly determine whether its fleet of reusable rockets can be trusted with four launches (and more).
Additionally, after two months for technicians and engineers to inspect and repair the booster, B1048 could be ready for its fifth launch far sooner than later. SpaceX wrapped up B1049’s fourth post-recovery processing on January 13th – a relatively brisk three and a half days from port arrival to horizontal transport. The booster was moved to one of SpaceX’s many Cape Canaveral hangars, where – just like B1048 – it will be inspected, refurbished, and turned around for its fifth launch sometime in the near future.
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Tesla is updating Cybertruck owners on its timeline of a massive feature that has yet to ship: Powershare with Powerwall.
Powershare is a bidirectional charging feature exclusive to Cybertruck, which allows the vehicle’s battery to act as a portable power source for homes, appliances, tools, other EVs, and more. It was announced in late 2023 as part of Tesla’s push into vehicle-to-everything energy sharing, and acting as a giant portable charger is the main advantage, as it can provide backup power during outages.
Cybertruck’s Powershare system supports both vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-home (V2H), making it flexible and well-rounded for a variety of applications.
However, even though the feature was promised with Cybertruck, it has yet to be shipped to vehicles. Tesla communicated with owners through email recently regarding Powershare with Powerwall, which essentially has the pickup act as an extended battery.
Powerwall discharge would be prioritized before tapping into the truck’s larger pack.
However, Tesla is still working on getting the feature out to owners, an email said:
“We’re writing to let you know that the Powershare with Powerwall feature is still in development and is now scheduled for release in mid-2026.
This new release date gives us additional time to design and test this feature, ensuring its ability to communicate and optimize energy sharing between your vehicle and many configurations and generations of Powerwall. We are also using this time to develop additional Powershare features that will help us continue to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Owners have expressed some real disappointment in Tesla’s continuous delays in releasing the feature, as it was expected to be released by late 2024, but now has been pushed back several times to mid-2026, according to the email.
Foundation Series Cybertruck buyers paid extra, expecting the feature to be rolled out with their vehicle upon pickup.
Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, Wes Morrill, even commented on the holdup:
As a Cybertruck owner who also has Powerwall, I empathize with the disappointed comments.
To their credit, the team has delivered powershare functionality to Cybertruck customers who otherwise have no backup with development of the powershare gateway. As well as those with solar…
— Wes (@wmorrill3) December 12, 2025
He said that “it turned out to be much harder than anticipated to make powershare work seamlessly with existing Powerwalls through existing wall connectors. Two grid-forming devices need to negotiate who will form and who will follow, depending on the state of charge of each, and they need to do this without a network and through multiple generations of hardware, and test and validate this process through rigorous certifications to ensure grid safety.”
It’s nice to see the transparency, but it is justified for some Cybertruck owners to feel like they’ve been bait-and-switched.
Tesla has opened its northernmost Supercharger in Fairbanks, Alaska, with eight V4 stalls located in one of the most frigid cities in the U.S.
Located just 196 miles from the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks’s average temperature for the week was around -12 degrees Fahrenheit. However, there are plenty of Tesla owners in Alaska who have been waiting for more charging options out in public.
There are only 36 total Supercharger stalls in Alaska, despite being the largest state in the U.S.
Eight Superchargers were added to Fairbanks, which will eventually be a 48-stall station. Tesla announced its activation today:
North America’s northernmost Supercharger Fairbanks, AK (8 stalls) opened to public. https://t.co/M4l04DZ6B5 pic.twitter.com/zyL6bDuA93
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) December 12, 2025
The base price per kWh is $0.43 at the Fairbanks Supercharger. Thanks to its V4 capabilities, it can charge at speeds up to 325 kW.
Despite being the northernmost Supercharger in North America, it is not even in the Top 5 northernmost Superchargers globally, because Alaska is south of Norway. The northernmost Supercharger is in Honningsvåg, Norway. All of the Top 5 are in the Scandanavian country.
Tesla’s Supercharger expansion in 2025 has been impressive, and although it experienced some early-quarter slowdowns due to V3-to-V4 hardware transitions, it has been the company’s strongest year for deployments.
🚨🚨 Tesla Supercharging had a HUGE year, and they deserve to be recognized.
🍔 Opened Tesla Diner, a drive-in movie theater with awesome, Chef-curated cuisine
🔌 Gave access to Superchargers to several EV makers, including Hyundai, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Lucid, Toyota,… pic.twitter.com/yYT2QEbqoW
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 10, 2025
Through the three quarters of 2025, the company has added 7,753 stations and 73,817 stalls across the world, a 16 percent increase in stations and an 18 percent increase in stalls compared to last year.
Tesla is on track to add over 12,000 stalls for the full year, achieving an average of one new stall every hour, an impressive statistic.
Recently, the company wrapped up construction at its Supercharger Oasis in Lost Hills, California, a 168-stall Supercharger that Tesla Solar Panels completely power. It is the largest Supercharger in the world.
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Tesla shocks with latest Robotaxi testing move
Why Tesla has chosen to use a couple of Model S units must have a reason; the company is calculated in its engineering and data collection efforts, so this is definitely more than “we just felt like giving our drivers a change of scenery.”
Tesla Model S vehicles were spotted performing validation testing with LiDAR rigs in California today, a pretty big switch-up compared to what we are used to seeing on the roads.
Tesla utilizes the Model Y crossover for its Robotaxi fleet. It is adequately sized, the most popular vehicle in its lineup, and is suitable for a wide variety of applications. It provides enough luxury for a single rider, but enough room for several passengers, if needed.
However, the testing has seemingly expanded to one of Tesla’s premium flagship offerings, as the Model S was spotted with the validation equipment that is seen entirely with Model Y vehicles. We have written several articles on Robotaxi testing mules being spotted across the United States, but this is a first:
🚨 Tesla is using Model S vehicles fitted with LiDAR rigs to validate FSD and Robotaxi, differing from the Model Ys that it uses typically
Those Model Y vehicles have been on the East Coast for some time. These Model S cars were spotted in California https://t.co/CN9Bw5Wma8 pic.twitter.com/UE55hx5mdd
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 11, 2025
Why Tesla has chosen to use a couple of Model S units must have a reason; the company is calculated in its engineering and data collection efforts, so this is definitely more than “we just felt like giving our drivers a change of scenery.”
It seems to hint that Tesla could add a premium, more luxury offering to its Robotaxi platform eventually. Think about it: Uber has Uber Black, Lyft has Lyft Black. These vehicles and services are associated with a more premium cost as they combine luxury models with more catered transportation options.
Tesla could be testing the waters here, and it could be thinking of adding the Model S to its fleet of ride-hailing vehicles.
Reluctant to remove the Model S from its production plans completely despite its low volume contributions to the overall mission of transitioning the world to sustainable energy, the flagship sedan has always meant something. CEO Elon Musk referred to it, along with its sibling Model X, as continuing on production lines due to “sentimental reasons.”
However, its purpose might have been expanded to justify keeping it around, and why not? It is a cozy, premium offering, and it would be great for those who want a little more luxury and are willing to pay a few extra dollars.
Of course, none of this is even close to confirmed. However, it is reasonable to speculate that the Model S could be a potential addition to the Robotaxi fleet. It’s capable of all the same things the Model Y is, but with more luxuriousness, and it could be the perfect addition to the futuristic fleet.
Tesla updates Cybertruck owners about key Powershare feature
Tesla’s northernmost Supercharger in North America opens
