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SpaceX Falcon 9 ends year as the most-launched rocket of 2020
With just a few global launches left before 2021 and SpaceX’s last December launch behind it, it’s now safe to say that Falcon 9 has officially ended the year as the world’s most-launched rocket of 2020.
On December 19th, Falcon 9 booster B1059 lifted off for the fourth time, carrying a secretive US spy satellite to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and marking SpaceX’s 26th successful launch and 23rd landing of 2020 – an exactly biweekly annual launch cadence. Barring several surprise launches, Falcon 9 will end the year as the world’s most-launched rocket and – by best measures – the world’s most reliable rocket, setting SpaceX up for a potentially unprecedented 2021.
Perhaps thanks to Starlink and any number of unknown hardware, software, and operational refinements, SpaceX has crushed its previous annual launch record – 21 flights, set in 2018 – by almost 25%. In 2020, Starlink missions represented more than half of Falcon 9’s 26 launches, placing almost 840 operational satellites in orbit over the course of 14 flights.
Thanks to Falcon 9’s record-breaking performance, in a single year, Starlink has become world’s largest satellite constellation by at least a factor of three to four, if not five or more.
Following SpaceX’s NROL-108 mission, perhaps two or three more international launches are planned between now and 2021. Altogether, the world’s launch providers are on track to successfully complete around 103 launches, almost a quarter of which can be credited to Falcon 9 alone. No other single rocket came close: Russia’s R-7 (Soyuz 2.1) family managed 14 successful flights, while five fairly distinct variants of China’s Long March 2, 3, and 4 rockets completed 24 launches in 2020.
In general, China is on track to complete 38 orbital launch attempts (33-34 of which were successful) in 2020, either narrowly edging out or tying the US (37 attempts; 34 successes).*
*Data gathered from Ed Kyle’s wonderfully diligent Launch Logs
Perhaps most importantly, in large part thanks to a continuous stream of Falcon 9 reusability firsts, SpaceX appears to be on track to crush its impressive 2020 launch record in 2021. Checking off the first fourth, fifth, and sixth reuses of Falcon 9 boosters, as well as the first flight of a payload fairing for the third time, very little doubt remains that SpaceX will be able to achieve (and likely surpass) a 10-flight goal set for each Falcon booster back in 2018.
In the final three months of 2020, SpaceX managed an impressive 10 orbital launches, including milestone missions like Crew Dragon’s operational astronaut launch debut, the first flight of an upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft, and Falcon 9’s first West Coast launch in ~18 months.
Ultimately, by completing almost 40% of its annual launches in a single quarter, SpaceX has proven that an annual cadence of 40+ launches – and CEO Elon Musk’s stated goal of 48 flights – is well within reach next year.
Tesla will increase its Full Self-Driving subscription price, meaning it will eventually be more than the current $99 per month price tag it has right now.
Already stating that the ability to purchase the suite outright will be removed, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this week that the Full Self-Driving subscription price would increase when its capabilities improve:
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD).”
This was an expected change, especially as Tesla has been hinting for some time that it is approaching a feature-complete version of Full Self-Driving that will no longer require driver supervision. However, with the increase, some are concerned that they may be priced out.
$99 per month is already a tough ask for some. While Full Self-Driving is definitely worth it just due to the capabilities, not every driver is ready to add potentially 50 percent to their car payment each month to have it.
While Tesla has not revealed any target price for FSD, it does seem that it will go up to at least $150.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Additionally, the ability to purchase the suite outright is also being eliminated on February 14, which gives owners another reason to be slightly concerned about whether they will be able to afford to continue paying for Full Self-Driving in any capacity.
Some owners have requested a tiered program, which would allow people to pay for the capabilities they want at a discounted price.
Unsupervised FSD would be the most expensive, and although the company started removing Autopilot from some vehicles, it seems a Supervised FSD suite would still attract people to pay between $49 and $99 per month, as it is very useful.
Tesla will likely release pricing for the Unsupervised suite when it is available, but price increases could still come to the Supervised version as things improve.
This is not the first time Musk has hinted that the price would change with capability improvements, either. He’s been saying it for some time. In 2020, he even said the value of FSD would “probably be somewhere in excess of $100,000.”
The FSD price will continue to rise as the software gets closer to full self-driving capability with regulatory approval. It that point, the value of FSD is probably somewhere in excess of $100,000.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2020
Tesla has chosen to axe the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright from a select group of cars just days after CEO Elon Musk announced the company had plans to eliminate that option in February.
The company is making a clear-cut stand that it will fully transition away from the ability to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that has brought differing opinions throughout the Tesla community.
Earlier this week, the company also announced that it will no longer allow buyers to purchase Full Self-Driving outright when ordering a pre-owned vehicle from inventory. Instead, that will be available for $99 per month, the same price that it costs for everyone else.
The ability to buy the suite for $8,000 for a one-time fee at the time of order has been removed:
NEWS: Tesla no longer allows buyers to purchase FSD outright in the U.S. when ordering a pre-owned vehicle directly from inventory. Tesla now gives you the option to either subscribe for $99/month, or purchase FSD outright after taking delivery (available until February 14th). pic.twitter.com/1xZ0BVG4JB
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 23, 2026
This is a major move because it is the first time Tesla is eliminating the ability to purchase FSD outright for one flat fee to any of its vehicles, at least at the time of purchase.
It is trying to phase out the outright purchase option as much as it can, preparing people for the subscription-based service it will exclusively offer starting on February 14.
In less than a month, it won’t be available on any vehicle, which has truly driven some serious conversation from Tesla owners throughout the community.
There’s a conflict, because many believe that they will now lose the ability to buy FSD and not pay for it monthly, which is an attractive offer. However, others believe, despite paying $8,000 for FSD, that they will have to pay more money on top of that cost to get the unsupervised suite.
Additionally, CEO Elon Musk said that the FSD suite’s subscription price would increase over time as capabilities increase, which is understandable, but is also quite a conflict for those who spent thousands to have what was once promised to them, and now they may have to pay even more money.
News
Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys
These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.
Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature that is not available on typical Model Ys that people like you and me bring home after we buy them. The feature is something that many have been wanting for years, especially after the company adopted a vision-only approach to self-driving.
After Tesla launched driverless Robotaxi rides to the public earlier this week in Austin, people have been traveling to the Lone Star State in an effort to hopefully snag a ride from one of the few vehicles in the fleet that are now no longer required to have Safety Monitors present.
BREAKING: Tesla launches public Robotaxi rides in Austin with no Safety Monitor
Although only a few of those completely driverless rides are available, there have been some new things seen on these cars that are additions from regular Model Ys, including the presence of one new feature: camera washers.
With the Model Y, there has been a front camera washer, but the other exterior “eyes” have been void of any solution for this. For now, owners are required to clean them manually.
In Austin, Tesla is doing things differently. It is now utilizing camera washers on the side repeater and rear bumper cameras, which will keep the cameras clean and keep operation as smooth and as uninterrupted as possible:
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
Rear Camera Washer on Tesla Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/P9hgGStHmV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 24, 2026
These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.
This is the first time we are seeing them, so it seems as if Safety Monitors might have been responsible for keeping the lenses clean and unobstructed previously.
However, as Tesla transitions to a fully autonomous self-driving suite and Robotaxi expands to more vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet, it needed to find a way to clean the cameras without any manual intervention, at least for a short period, until they can return for interior and exterior washing.
Tesla to increase Full Self-Driving subscription price: here’s when
Tesla starts removing outright Full Self-Driving purchase option at time of order
