News
SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy reaches milestone as third booster arrives in FL
A new SpaceX rocket was spotted traveling into Florida yesterday on its way to one of the company’s several Cape Canaveral booster storage and processing hangars. More likely than not, this particular booster is the second Falcon Heavy center core ever built, a heavily modified variant of Falcon 9’s first stage.
With the presumed center core’s arrival, all three Falcon Heavy boosters are now at or near SpaceX Launch Complex 39A, a major step forward for the second flight of the super heavy-lift launch vehicle, currently NET March 2019. Aside from the first stage, it appears that Falcon Heavy Flight 2’s payload fairing may have also arrived at Cape Canaveral around the end of January.
Captured by SpaceX Facebook group member Joshua Murrah on the morning of February 11th, the shrinkwrapped Falcon booster and truck were stopped at a weigh station on the border of Alabama and Florida, a now-common location for core spottings thanks to its adjacency to Mr. Murrah’s daily commute. No more than an 8-10 hour drive from Florida’s East Coast and Kennedy Space Center, the rocket likely arrived at its destination sometime within the last 12 or so hours.
While Falcon Heavy hardware would normally be expected to head straight for SpaceX’s hangar at Pad 39A, the only facility currently capable of launching the triple-booster rocket, the company faces a mild logistical challenge thanks to the terminally delayed launch debut of Crew Dragon. As of now, Crew Dragon, Falcon 9, and 39A’s transporter/erector (T/E) are integrated inside the pad’s hangar, leaving very little space for additional rocket processing as a result of the sheer scale of the T/E. Past photos of SpaceX’s 39A hangar illustrate that it can nominally house 4 or 5 Falcon boosters with ease, but space becomes far more limited once the T/E is rolled inside.
there might actually be juuuust enough room to literally fit them per FH Flight 1 processing pics, but only enough for Falcon Heavy integration if the TE remains outside. Will be very curious to see how SpaceX handles this, it's one hell of a logistical puzzle 😅 pic.twitter.com/D5BFXQnQ3V
— Eric Ralph (@13ericralph31) January 30, 2019
In essence, Falcon Heavy Flight 2 will likely have to wait until Crew Dragon has completed its launch debut before SpaceX technicians and engineers can begin integrating its three boosters and verifying that all is healthy, only the second time SpaceX will have performed those procedures. Crew Dragon’s uncrewed demonstration mission (DM-1) is currently scheduled for NET March 2nd, although there is a high probability that it will slip at least a few more days into March, if not further. Prior to its latest March 2nd launch target, Crew Dragon was expected to launch sometime in mid-to-late January as of December 2018, a date that has effectively remained 30+ days away ever since.
It’s ambiguous what the causes of those delays are and SpaceX and NASA clearly have no interest in directly tackling an explanation, but the most likely reason can be found in a painfully mundane reality: paperwork, worsened by a record-length US goverment shutdown. While both partners are likely culpable in some way, the fact remains that SpaceX has a long history of doing difficult things faster and cheaper than the old guard perceives as possible, while NASA has its own decades-long history of doing difficult things with extreme caution (for better or for worse).
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- The second (and third) flight of Falcon Heavy is even closer to reality as the first new side booster heads to Florida after finishing static fire tests in Texas. (Reddit /u/e32revelry)
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- SpaceX Facebook group member Joshua Murrah captured two great photos of the second Falcon Heavy side booster to arrive in Florida in the last month. (Joshua Murrah, 01/17/19)
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- SpaceX Facebook group member Joshua Murrah also captured what is likely the third Falcon Heavy booster’s Florida arrival. (Joshua Murrah, 02/11/19)
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- Falcon Heavy ahead of its inaugural launch. (SpaceX)
With any luck, Crew Dragon will successfully launch into orbit for the first time in the first several days of March, leaving enough buffer for SpaceX to rapidly integrate, checkout, and static-fire Falcon Heavy for an operational launch debut – carrying communications satellite Arabsat 6A – near the end of March. If all goes well, Falcon Heavy’s third launch – the USAF’s second Space Test Program mission (STP-2) – could occur as early as April 2019, potentially just a month after Flight 2.
Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings results
Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2025 earnings come on the heels of a quarter where the company produced over 434,000 vehicles, delivered over 418,000 vehicles, and deployed 14.2 GWh of energy storage products.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has released its Q4 and FY 2025 earnings results in an update letter. The document was posted on the electric vehicle maker’s official Investor Relations website after markets closed today, January 28, 2025.
Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2025 earnings come on the heels of a quarter where the company produced over 434,000 vehicles, delivered over 418,000 vehicles, and deployed 14.2 GWh of energy storage products.
For the Full Year 2025, Tesla produced 1,654,667 and delivered 1,636,129 vehicles. The company also deployed a total of 46.7 GWh worth of energy storage products.
Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2025 results
As could be seen in Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2025 Update Letter, the company posted GAAP EPS of $0.24 and non-GAAP EPS of $0.50 per share in the fourth quarter. Tesla also posted total revenues of $24.901 billion. GAAP net income is also listed at $840 million in Q4.
Analyst consensus has Tesla earnings per share falling 38% to $0.45 with revenue declining 4% to $24.74 billion, as per estimates from FactSet. In comparison, the consensus compiled by Tesla last week forecasted $0.44 per share on sales totaling $24.49 billion.
Below is Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2025 update letter.
TSLA-Q4-2025-Update by Simon Alvarez
Tesla has rolled out a new Supercharging safety feature in the United States, one that will answer concerns that some owners may have if they need to leave in a pinch.
It is also a suitable alternative for non-Tesla chargers, like third-party options that feature J1772 or CCS to NACS adapters.
The feature has been available in Europe for some time, but it is now rolling out to Model 3 and Model Y owners in the U.S.
With Software Update 2026.2.3, Tesla is launching the Unlatching Charge Cable function, which will now utilize the left rear door handle to release the charging cable from the port. The release notes state:
“Charging can now be stopped and the charge cable released by pulling and holding the rear left door handle for three seconds, provided the vehicle is unlocked, and a recognized key is nearby. This is especially useful when the charge cable doesn’t have an unlatch button. You can still release the cable using the vehicle touchscreen or the Tesla app.”
The feature was first spotted by Not a Tesla App.
This is an especially nice feature for those who commonly charge at third-party locations that utilize plugs that are not NACS, which is the Tesla standard.
For example, after plugging into a J1772 charger, you will still be required to unlock the port through the touchscreen, which is a minor inconvenience, but an inconvenience nonetheless.
Additionally, it could be viewed as a safety feature, especially if you’re in need of unlocking the charger from your car in a pinch. Simply holding open the handle on the rear driver’s door will now unhatch the port from the car, allowing you to pull it out and place it back in its housing.
This feature is currently only available on the Model 3 and Model Y, so Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck owners will have to wait for a different solution to this particular feature.
News
LG Energy Solution pursuing battery deal for Tesla Optimus, other humanoid robots: report
Optimus is expected to be one of Tesla’s most ambitious projects, with Elon Musk estimating that the humanoid robot could be the company’s most important product.
A recent report has suggested that LG Energy Solution is in discussions to supply batteries for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot.
Optimus is expected to be one of Tesla’s most ambitious projects, with Elon Musk estimating that the humanoid robot could be the company’s most important product.
Humanoid robot battery deals
LG Energy Solution shares jumped more than 11% on the 28th after a report from the Korea Economic Daily claimed that the company is pursuing battery supply and joint development agreements with several humanoid robot makers. These reportedly include Tesla, which is developing Optimus, as well as multiple Chinese robotics companies.
China is already home to several leading battery manufacturers, such as CATL and BYD, making the robot makers’ reported interest in LG Energy Solution quite interesting. Market participants interpreted the reported outreach as a signal that performance requirements for humanoid robots may favor battery chemistries developed by companies like LG.
LF Energy Solution vs rivals
According to the report, energy density is believed to be the primary reason humanoid robot developers are evaluating LG Energy Solution’s batteries. Unlike electric vehicles, humanoid robots have significantly less space available for battery packs while requiring substantial power to operate dozens of joint motors and onboard artificial intelligence processors.
LG Energy Solution’s ternary lithium batteries offer higher energy density compared with rivals’ lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are widely used by Chinese EV manufacturers. That advantage could prove critical for humanoid robots, where runtime, weight, and compact packaging are key design constraints.
Tesla (TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings results
Tesla rolls out new Supercharging safety feature in the U.S.
