SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launched NASA’s Psyche spacecraft on Friday morning, completing the second-ever interplanetary mission for the rocket, with the first being the Tesla Roadster.
Liftoff officially happened at 10:19 A.M. EDT, as Falcon Heavy’s 27 first-stage Merlin engines launched NASA’s Psyche probe toward an asteroid under the same name. Psyche won’t reach the asteroid until July 2029, according to Space.com.
Liftoff of Falcon Heavy!
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2023
“This is the beginning of a suite of amazing science missions we have coming up on Falcon Heavy,” Julianna Scheiman, Director of Civil Satellite Missions at SpaceX, said during a post-launch briefing.
The probe will travel 2.2 billion miles over its six-year journey.
The spacecraft will now travel six years and ~2.2 billion miles to the asteroid Psyche, currently orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter https://t.co/29bfT6fod2
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2023
The Launch
About 150 seconds after launch, Falcon Heavy’s side boosters cut their engines off, detached from the central core stage, and made their way back to Florida.
Four minutes after liftoff, the core booster shut down and separated from the Falcon Heavy’s second stage. This was responsible for carrying Psyche the rest of the way to orbital escape velocity, Space.com said.
The core booster was not saved as others have been in the past. Instead, SpaceX allotted maximum fuel as Psyche’s trajectory needed to be ensured. The core was destroyed and is in the sea.
By the eighth minute post-liftoff, Falcon Heavy’s side boosters activated their landing burns and touched down a few seconds later at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2, which are “several miles downrange from Pad 39A.”
Falcon Heavy’s side boosters have landed pic.twitter.com/2yn0lpEkHt
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2023
It took just over 62 minutes for Psyche to be deployed from Falcon Heavy’s upper stage.
Psyche Asteroid
The Psyche Asteroid is one of the most metal-rich in our solar system, and NASA Science Mission Directorate Nicola Fox talked about the agency’s mission recently:
“Psyche is by far the largest, and that’s why we want to go to it because the smaller ones are more likely to have been changed by things impacting them, whereas the big one, we think, is going to be completely unchanged.”
The Psyche Asteroid measures 173 miles across and 144 miles long. Its exact appearance is unknown, but scientists know it’s covered in nickel and iron.
Once NASA’s Psyche probe reaches the asteroid, it will be responsible for 21 months of mapping and analyzing the surface.
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News
Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E
When ordering a new Ford Mustang Mach-E, you’ll now be hit with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
Ford is charging an additional fee for a basic EV feature on its Mustang Mach-E, its most popular electric vehicle offering.
Ford has shuttered its initial Model e program, but is venturing into a more controlled and refined effort, and it is abandoning the F-150 Lightning in favor of a new pickup that is currently under design, but appears to have some favorable features.
However, ordering a new Mustang Mach-E now comes with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
The frunk is the front trunk, and due to the lack of a large engine in the front of an electric vehicle, OEMs are able to offer additional storage space under the hood. There’s one problem, though, and that is that companies appear to be recognizing that they can remove it for free while offering the function for a fee.
Ford is now charging $495 on the Mustang Mach-E frunk (front trunk). What are your thoughts on that? pic.twitter.com/EOzZe3z9ZQ
— Alan of TesCalendar 📆⚡️ (@TesCalendar1) February 24, 2026
Ford is charging $495 for the frunk.
Interestingly, the frunk size varies by vehicle, but the Mustang Mach-E features a 4.7 to 4.8 cubic-foot-sized frunk, which measures approximately 9 inches deep, 26 inches wide, and 14 inches high.
When the vehicle was first released, Ford marketed the frunk as the ultimate tailgating feature, showing it off as a perfect place to store and serve cold shrimp cocktail.
Ford Mach-E frunk is perfect for chowders and chicken wings, and we’re not even joking
It appears the decision to charge for what is a simple advantage of an EV is not going over well, as even Ford loyal customers say the frunk is a “basic expectation” of an EV. Without it, it seems as if fans feel the company is nickel-and-diming its customers.
It will be pretty interesting to see the Mach-E without a frunk, and while it should not be enough to turn people away from potentially buying the vehicle, it seems the decision to add an additional charge to include one will definitely annoy some customers.
News
Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Tesla is looking to upgrade its Matrix Headlights, a unique and high-tech feature that is available on several of its vehicles. The headlights aim to maximize visibility for Tesla drivers while being considerate of oncoming traffic.
The Matrix Headlights Tesla offers utilize dimming of individual light pixels to ensure that visibility stays high for those behind the wheel, while also being considerate of other cars by decreasing the brightness in areas where other cars are traveling.
Here’s what they look like in action:
- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
As you can see, the Matrix headlight system intentionally dims the area where oncoming cars would be impacted by high beams. This keeps visibility at a maximum for everyone on the road, including those who could be hit with bright lights in their eyes.
There are still a handful of complaints from owners, however, but Tesla appears to be looking to resolve these with the coming updates in a Software Version that is currently labeled 2026.2.xxx. The coding was spotted by X user BERKANT:
🚨 Tesla is quietly upgrading Matrix headlights.
Software https://t.co/pXEklQiXSq reveals a hidden feature:
matrix_two_stage_reflection_dip
This is a major step beyond current adaptive high beams.
What it means:
• The car detects highly reflective objects
Road signs,… pic.twitter.com/m5UpQJFA2n— BERKANT (@Tesla_NL_TR) February 24, 2026
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Finally, the new system will prevent the high beams from glaring back at the driver. The system is made to dim when it recognizes oncoming cars, but not necessarily objects that could produce glaring issues back at the driver.
Tesla’s revolutionary Matrix headlights are coming to the U.S.
This upgrade is software-focused, so there will not need to be any physical changes or upgrades made to Tesla vehicles that utilize the Matrix headlights currently.
Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards.
Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD.
Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible.
The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.

