News
SpaceX Falcon 9 breaks NASA Shuttle reuse record, catches full rocket nosecone
A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster has broken a decades-old NASA Space Shuttle reuse record after successfully launching a South Korean military satellite and landing on drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI).
Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX also managed to catch both payload fairing (nosecone) halves for the first time ever – an achievement more than three years and a dozen failed attempts in the making.
Known as launch turnaround, the record SpaceX now holds refers to the time it takes for a reusable rocket to launch twice. Prior to today, NASA set that record in 1985 when it launched the same Space Shuttle orbiter (STS Atlantis) twice in 54 days – a truly incredible feat for such a complex vehicle.
On July 20th, however, Falcon 9 booster B1058 lifted off for the second time in 51 days, beating the Space Shuttle’s 35-year-old turnaround record by a slim margin. Prior to its successful launch of South Korea’s Lockheed Martin-built ANASIS II military communications satellite, B1058 supported Crew Dragon’s inaugural NASA astronaut launch, a historic moment and arguably the most important mission in SpaceX’s 18-year history. Now, less than two months later, the booster has broken what is arguably the most significant record in the history of reusable rockets.
Coincidentally, both Space Shuttle Atlantis and Falcon 9 booster B1058 set their respective turnaround records on their first and second launches. Shuttle Atlantis ultimately went on to launch 31 more times after two major overhauls in 1989 and 1997 and was also the last Space Shuttle to launch when it completed the STS-135 mission in June 2011.
As such, Falcon 9 booster B1058 – the rocket that ended nine years without a domestic astronaut launch capability – could scarcely be more deserving as the new world record holder for orbital-class rocket turnaround. The symmetry of that handoff is extraordinarily improbable and made even more impressive by the fact that less than two weeks after B1058 launched Demo-2, NASA appeared to give SpaceX permission to launch future astronauts on flight-proven Dragons and Falcon 9 boosters.
Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed that the ANASIS II mission was host to yet another major rocket reusability milestone (and technically a record). For the first time ever, SpaceX has successfully caught both halves of Falcon 9’s payload fairing with twin recovery ships GO Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief, the first time in history that an orbital-class rocket’s deployable payload fairing has been fully recovery. SpaceX began experimenting with fairing recovery more than three years ago and started trying to catch fairing halves in February 2018. In 12 attempts, SpaceX managed to catch three single fairing halves, although many more were recovered and even reused after soft ocean landings.
The first successful double fairing catch comes after two failed attempts with both ships, suggesting that SpaceX has either made some significant improvements or got extremely lucky. Either way, it’s a huge step forward for a program that could ultimately save SpaceX up to $6 million (~10%) of the cost of every Falcon 9 satellite launch, while also acting as a multiplier for fairing production without requiring actual factory expansion. SpaceX’s next two launches are expected to occur within the next two weeks, giving the company plenty of opportunities to (hopefully) replicate today’s historic fairing recovery success.
Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms Grok 4 launch on July 9 with livestream event
The rollout will be accompanied by a livestream at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.
Elon Musk has officially confirmed that Grok 4, the latest version of xAI’s large language model, will launch on July 9. The rollout will be accompanied by a livestream at 8 p.m. Pacific Time, hosted on xAI’s official account on X.
xAI goes straight to Grok 4
Back in May, leaks indicated that xAI was getting ready to ship Grok 3.5. Considering Musk’s recent comments, however, it appears that the artificial intelligence startup would be focusing on the large language model’s fourth iteration instead. As noted in a Financial Express report, users on X have sighted references to Grok 4 in the lead up to the update’s launch, such as “grok-4-prod-mimic” and “Grok 4 Code.”
Musk’s Grok 4 announcement comes as AI competition intensifies between major players including OpenAI, Google, and xAI. With Musk’s Colossus supercomputer fully operational in Memphis, xAI appears to be accelerating its AI product roadmap.
Musk pushes Grok toward political neutrality
Grok 4’s launch also follows a recent controversy involving political bias, as noted in a CNN report. Last week, Grok responded to a user on X stating that political violence in the U.S. since 2016 had come more from the political right than the left. The chatbot noted in a later reply that its answer was based on information from sources like Reuters, the Journal of Democracy, and University of Maryland studies.
Musk stated that Grok’s response was a “major fail.” “Major fail, as this is objectively false. Grok is parroting legacy media. Working on it,” he wrote in a post on X. By the end of June, Musk noted that he was “grinding all night with the xAI team” and that they were making “good progress.” He also stated that the model “Will be called Grok 4. Release just after July 4th. Needs one more big run for a specialized coding model.”
News
Tesla opens massive solar Supercharger station in California
The Supercharger opened to customers ahead of Fourth of July weekend, while Tesla continues phase two of construction on the site.
Tesla has officially launched the first several Supercharging posts at a massive station in California, notably including solar canopies and grid-scale batteries to offer completely renewable charging.
Last week, Tesla announced on X that it opened the first 84 Supercharger stalls of a planned 168-stall station in Lost Hills, California. Additionally, the massive Supercharger project features 11MW of solar canopies and 10 Megapack batteries for off-grid charging powered entirely by solar energy.
Tesla completed the first phase of the project just days ahead of the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend, adding that initial construction took just eight months. In addition to the remaining charging stalls, Tesla says it’s building a set of lounge areas, renderings of which can be seen below alongside current photos of the site.
Notably, the site also includes V4 charging posts for the company’s latest available charging speeds, and it’s located near the busy junction between I-5 and Highway 46 in Kern County.
“Thank you [Kern County] and [PG&E] for collaboration and approvals,” Tesla wrote in a follow-up post.
Credit: Tesla Charging | X
Credit: Tesla Charging | X
Credit: Tesla Charging | X
Credit: Tesla Charging | X
Tesla Supercharger Maps for North America, Europe, and Asia pic.twitter.com/0U5r0XRPyo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 2, 2025
READ MORE ON TESLA SUPERCHARGERS: Tesla launches ultra-fast V4 Superchargers in China for the first time
Testing at the LA Diner, plus Musk update on potential Tesla solar Gigafactory
The huge Tesla Supercharger station completed phase one of construction fairly quickly, especially given how long Tesla has been working on its unique Los Angeles diner, drive-in, and Supercharger location. Still, the company was seen performing some testing at the nearly-completed charging station earlier this month, and will reportedly be holding a job fair.
Elon Musk also responded on Monday morning to a post on X, suggesting that Tesla is “thinking about” building a U.S.-based solar Gigafactory in order to help support increased power needs with AI growth, and to bolster domestic solar production.
Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country
News
Tesla driver walks away from major accident with minor injuries
The driver sustained only minor injuries, and the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The driver of a Tesla Model Y survived and walked away from a harrowing accident on Monday in California, only sustaining minor injuries despite the vehicle being impaled by a guardrail.
On Monday morning around 4:34 a.m., the Los Banos division of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to the accident on I-5 near Panoche Road, involving a 23-year-old in a Tesla Model Y. According to a post on social media, the driver veered off the road for unknown reasons in the northbound lane, before crashing directly into the guardrail and impaling the vehicle.
You can read the full message and photos from Los Banos CHP below, as were shared in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon.
This morning a Tesla model y was traveling in the #1 northbound lane of I-5 north of Panoche Rd. For unknown reasons driver allowed V-1 to veer off the roadway, travel through a dirt center divide, and crashed into the fixed metal guardrail. Lucky for the driver he only sustained minor injuries and was able to walk away. Driving a vehicle requires 100% attention to the road. Avoid distractions and focus on driving.
Credit: CHP Los Banos (via Facebook)
Credit: CHP Los Banos (via Facebook)
Credit: CHP Los Banos (via Facebook)
In a statement to SFGate, CHP officer Myles Anderson said that the driver only sustained minor injuries, while no arrests are made and drugs and alcohol are not suspected to have been involved. The report also notes that Tesla’s “cruise control and lane assistance features” were activated, according to Anderson. However, it’s not entirely clear if this is referring to Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD), or to the cruise control and lane assist features baked into Autopilot.
At the time of writing, CHP has not yet responded to Teslarati’s request for clarification and additional details on the matter.
Tesla Crash Safety Ratings across its lineup: pic.twitter.com/ny30R7ceji
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 1, 2025
READ MORE ON TESLA SAFETY: Tesla rolls out crucial new safety feature aimed at saving children
The news comes after Tesla has touted its vehicles as incredibly safe for many years. In December, for example, the company highlighted receiving top safety scores from regulators on four different continents throughout the world, including from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) in the U.S.
Tesla has also listed the goal of making its vehicles the safest on the road throughout the years, both in the overall design of its vehicles and in its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) programs.
Tesla Model 3 ranks as the safest new car in Europe for 2025, per Euro NCAP tests
Elon Musk confirms Grok 4 launch on July 9 with livestream event
Tesla opens massive solar Supercharger station in California
Tesla driver walks away from major accident with minor injuries
-
Elon Musk1 week agoTesla investors will be shocked by Jim Cramer’s latest assessment
-
News2 weeks agoTesla Robotaxi’s biggest challenge seems to be this one thing
-
News2 weeks agoWatch the first true Tesla Robotaxi intervention by safety monitor
-
Elon Musk2 weeks agoA Tesla just delivered itself to a customer autonomously, Elon Musk confirms
-
News2 weeks agoTesla Robotaxi rollout proves that Elon Musk still delivers, even if it’s late
-
Elon Musk2 weeks agoxAI welcomes Memphis pollution results, environmental groups push back
-
Elon Musk2 weeks agoElon Musk commends Tesla team on successful Robotaxi launch
-
Elon Musk2 weeks agoElon Musk confirms Tesla Optimus V3 already uses Grok voice AI