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SpaceX’s latest Falcon Heavy launch captured from a rare perspective
NASA cameras installed on the International Space Station happened to be in the right place and at the right time to capture SpaceX’s latest Falcon Heavy launch from orbit.
Thanks to its timing, January 15th launch was already one of SpaceX’s most spectacular yet. A twilight liftoff emphasized and lit up the rocket’s miles-long exhaust plume against a darkening sky, producing a show that – while familiar – was still exceptional. Somehow, the timing of Falcon Heavy’s USSF-67 launch also allowed the ISS to see the show hundreds of miles above Earth’s surface and away from the launch pad.
The update that's rolling out to the fleet makes full use of the front and rear steering travel to minimize turning circle. In this case a reduction of 1.6 feet just over the air— Wes (@wmorrill3) April 16, 2024
It’s not the first time a rocket launch has produced a show for the astronauts (or, at least, cameras) who live aboard the ISS. But it is the first time the rare launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket was spotted from orbit. Similar in concept to the contrails produced by aircraft at high altitudes, Falcon Heavy produced a giant exhaust plume as it climbed out of Earth’s atmosphere, and that exhaust – containing a small amount of water vapor – created artificial clouds.
Those contrails are especially noticeable at the limits of Earth’s atmosphere, around 50 miles (80 km) up, where they can they can catch sunlight hours before or after the sun sets or rises at the surface. Falcon Heavy’s artificial noctilucent clouds lasted for several minutes, allowing cameras on the NASA side of the space station to take photos of the clouds as it flew over the Atlantic Ocean far downrange. Physically, Falcon Heavy was catching up to the ISS as it flew east and both were traveling with Earth’s rotation, slightly extending the rare window of opportunity. Had Falcon Heavy launched just a few minutes later, the ISS would have likely been out of view.
The station’s photos of the launch were taken about seven minutes after Falcon Heavy lifted off, shortly before the upper stage reached low Earth orbit (LEO) and the rocket’s twin side boosters touched down back in Florida. By then, the rocket’s sacrificial center booster was freefalling towards the ocean and likely moments away from being destroyed by atmospheric reentry.
Falcon Heavy’s upper stage would operate for another six or so hours in orbit before deploying two US military spacecraft – carrying several satellites and payloads – into a geosynchronous orbit (GSO) around 35,250 kilometers (~21,900 mi), some 21,650 miles higher than the ISS orbits. The extremely challenging mission was ultimately a complete success and was SpaceX’s second such Falcon Heavy launch for the US military in less than three months.
Falcon Heavy has already won multiple NASA launch contracts since its successful February 2018 launch debut, including the basis of the agency’s Gateway lunar space station, the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter, and the Psyche mission to an asteroid made of metal. Originally scheduled to launch in the second half of 2022, Psyche will be Falcon Heavy’s first dedicated launch for NASA and could lift off as early as October 2023.
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Watch the first true Tesla Robotaxi intervention by safety monitor
Watch the first Tesla Robotaxi intervention by a safety monitor.

Nearly 60 hours into the launch of the Tesla Robotaxi platform, it appears we have our first true intervention that required the in-car safety monitor to intervene.
We’ve seen and heard about a handful of minor issues with the Robotaxi fleet thus far, one of which included a risky, but very human-like behavior of navigating across yellow lines to a turn lane after missing a turn.
While that is not necessarily a legal maneuver, it is something that you’d see commonly from human drivers, and although aggressive, it is sometimes reasonable to perform depending on traffic conditions.
For what it’s worth, the car seemed very confused by the situation, and while the safety monitor did not get involved and the car handled the situation with no real issue, it is something as a rider you’d like to see less of.
First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more
As previously stated, that specific example did not require any intervention by a safety monitor. On Tuesday, we saw a video of the first true intervention that required the safety monitor who sits in the passenger seat to intervene by pressing a button on the center touchscreen.
During a ride that Tesla investor and YouTuber Dave Lee was taking in Austin in a Robotaxi, the vehicle seemed to get a little confused by a UPS truck that was parallel parking in front of it. The monitor pressed the “Stop in Lane” button on the touchscreen:
This is the first intervention we’ve seen with Robotaxi (via @heydave7): https://t.co/5mp431Z5P8 pic.twitter.com/B9ji3iLa3a
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 24, 2025
This appears to be one of the first errors shared by Tesla Robotaxi Early Access Program users that required the monitor to actually intervene. We have not seen any of it yet. You could also see the UPS truck is also a bit at fault here, as the space it pulled into did not seem even remotely large enough to fit the entire vehicle.
The car may not have anticipated that the truck would park there. You can see how the UPS truck was parked below, and it seems reasonable that the Tesla might not have thought it would attempt to fit there:

Credit: Dave Lee
The Model Y’s steering wheel was also turning sharply right into this spot, it appears. Dave ended his ride here, and stated that this was his dropoff spot. The UPS truck might have just cut off the Tesla, which led to the intervention.
It is a testament to Tesla’s strategy with this Robotaxi rollout. The company is obviously confident enough in the Full Self-Driving suite that it does not feel a human needs to be in the driver’s seat. However, it is still requiring someone, as of now, to sit in the passenger’s seat for instances just like this one.
Safety is the company’s priority with the launch of Robotaxi, and CEO Elon Musk has reiterated that. It is expected that we’d eventually see some kind of intervention that requires a monitor to step in. Everyone was safe.
Obviously, these things happen with autonomous vehicles. We’ve seen Waymos get stuck at intersections in very strange scenarios at times:
Waymo turned into oncoming traffic on the way to work.
It sat there confused for 45 seconds with its hazards on.
Then it proceeded to back up into oncoming traffic.
And they’re about to let these guys on the freeway 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZLRKx2loo1
— Jake Glaser | LA Multifamily (@LAMultiBroker) January 31, 2025
It is proof that autonomous tech is still in a growth phase and engineers are still learning about its capabilities. Tesla and other companies will learn from these rare cases and become better companies, and offer safer technologies because of it.
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Tesla removed from Charlotte’s approved EV list due to ‘safety issues’
City reps say it’s not because of Elon Musk’s political involvement, but instead because of safety issues.

Tesla has been removed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, City Council’s list of pre-approved electric vehicles that the city can purchase.
It’s not because of Elon Musk, Democratic council member LaWana Mayfield said, who urged her colleagues to remove Tesla. Instead, she claims it is because of “safety issues.”
She said (via WFAE):
“So it is not just the particular owner of this product. It is the fact that this product has been in multiple lawsuits because of safety issues, and there are multiple concerns.”
Recent data from Tesla shows that its vehicles are about half as likely to be involved in an accident when being driven normally. When Autopilot technology is used, it is about ten times safer than the average driver in the U.S., statistically.
Tesla Vehicle Safety Report shows Autopilot is 10x better than humans
Republican City Council member Ed Driggs stood up for Tesla, saying that:
“I think we just set a dangerous precedent if we have reasons that aren’t related to the cost and the performance of purchased items for excluding them. We already have Teslas in the fleet.”
If they’re so dangerous, why are they already in the fleet?
The NHTSA also shows that Ford is the most recalled car company in 2025, with 81 total recalls. Tesla has just five for the year.
Driggs said to Mayfield during the meeting:
“We are not identifying names on this list. You are singling out one name on this list for political reasons. You don’t have enough data on Tesla compared to the other car companies to suggest they shouldn’t be here. I object to trying to disguise this as anything other than a politically motivated desire to not have this name on this list.”
Tesla was successfully removed by a 6-3 vote. Democrats Danté Anderson, Malcolm Graham, Renee Johnson, Victoria Watlington, and Tiawana Brown supported Tesla’s removal. Republican Edwin Peacock, along with Driggs and Democrat Dimple Ajmera, all voted no on removing Tesla.
The City of Charlotte will buy 45 new electric vehicles, and Teslas would likely be the best option. Many local law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have utilized them and have shown that the vehicles contribute to massive maintenance and cost of ownership reductions due to the lack of overall upkeep.
Tesla police fleet is saving taxpayers $80k per year on fuel costs: report
This is not the first time that a city in the U.S. has chosen to go in a different direction with its EV fleet plans. Tesla was chosen over Ford by the City of Baltimore for a $5 million expenditure that would bolster its fleet with EVs.
However, earlier this year, Baltimore said it “decided to go in a different direction,” and although it was not directly confirmed, the move seemed to be political.
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Tesla threatened in France with claims of ‘deceptive’ practices
Tesla has been threatened by the Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control Office in France after the agency said it is participating in “deceptive business practices” related to its semi-autonomous driving capabilities.

Tesla has been threatened by the Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control Office in France after the agency said it is participating in “deceptive business practices” related to its semi-autonomous driving capabilities.
Investigators in the government office said that Tesla has engaged in deceptive commercial practices over the capabilities of its cars. In the past, other agencies and even some skeptics have said that Tesla’s use of the phrases “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” is inaccurate in terms of its capabilities.
Tesla Autopilot gets stone cast in its direction by Pete Buttigieg
However, Tesla has been transparent with consumers and regulatory agencies that its cars are not yet fully autonomous, meaning drivers could sleep, play on their phones, or pay no attention to the road. The car would take care of steering and speed.
Tesla has never maintained that its cars are capable of this. On its website and in its Owner’s Manuals, it says that drivers are required to pay attention and be prepared to take over in case of an emergency.
The office began the investigation back in 2023 and, this week, ordered Tesla to comply with regulations within the next four months. If it does not, it will face fines of €50,000 per day.
This is not the first time Tesla has had some pushback from regulators regarding the naming of its semi-autonomous driving platforms. Back in 2023, then Secretary of Transportation in the United States, Pete Buttigieg, said the name “Autopilot” was not accurate because it is still a hands-on system:
“I don’t think that something should be called, for example, an Autopilot, when the fine print says you need to have your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times. We call balls and strikes. I view it as something where it’s very important to be very objective. But anytime a company does something wrong or a vehicle needs to be recalled or a design isn’t safe, we’re going to be there.”
He then said that Autopilot and its interaction with the person operating the car is a “real concern.”
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