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SpaceX fires up next eight-flight Falcon 9 booster for Tuesday Starlink launch

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Update: SpaceX has confirmed a good static fire and Starlink-17’s 6:19 am, February 2nd launch target.

Ending a few-day delay, SpaceX has successfully static-fired Falcon 9 B1049 at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A – now set to become the company’s second eight-flight booster as early as 6:19 am EST (11:19 UTC).

Originally scheduled to occur as early as Friday, January 29th, Falcon 9 B1049’s static fire test was delayed for unknown reasons and then aborted late into the countdown on the 30th before SpaceX was able to complete the test on Sunday afternoon. Pending official confirmation that the test results were positive, B1049 should now be on track to launch SpaceX’s 17th batch of Starlink v1.0 satellites (and 18th dedicated Starlink mission overall) this Tuesday.

Towed by tugboat Finn Falgout, drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) is en route to a landing zone roughly 630 km (390 mi) northeast of Cape Canaveral after a partially aborted departure (the loop visible below). The ships should arrive on-site within the next ~24 hours to support Falcon 9 B1049’s eighth landing attempt.

Simultaneously, tugboat Lauren Foss departed Port Canaveral with drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) in tow on January 30th, headed towards a recovery zone more or less identical to JRTI’s destination. OCISLY is scheduled to support Falcon 9 booster B1059’s sixth launch and landing no earlier than (NET) 1:19 am EST (06:19 UTC), February 4th, delivering Starlink-18 to orbit as few as 42 hours after Starlink-17.

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Stay tuned for updates as SpaceX gets ready for an extraordinarily busy first week of February.

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y earn Euro NCAP Best in Class safety awards

“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East

Tesla won dual categories in the Euro NCAP Best in Class awards, with the Model 3 being named the safest Large Family Car and the Model Y being recognized as the safest Small SUV.

The feat was highlighted by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official account on social media platform X.

Model 3 and Model Y lead their respective segments

As per a press release from the Euro NCAP, the organization’s Best in Class designation is based on a weighted assessment of four key areas: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road User, and Safety Assist. Only vehicles that achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP rating and were evaluated with standard safety equipment are eligible for the award.

Euro NCAP noted that the updated Tesla Model 3 performed particularly well in Child Occupant protection, while its Safety Assist score reflected Tesla’s ongoing improvements to driver-assistance systems. The Model Y similarly stood out in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist, reinforcing Tesla’s dual-category win. 

“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.

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Euro NCAP leadership shares insights

Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen said the organization’s Best in Class awards are designed to help consumers identify the safest vehicles over the past year.

Van Ratingen noted that 2025 was Euro NCAP’s busiest year to date, with more vehicles tested than ever before, amid a growing variety of electric cars and increasingly sophisticated safety systems. While the Mercedes-Benz CLA ultimately earned the title of Best Performer of 2025, he emphasized that Tesla finished only fractionally behind in the overall rankings.

“It was a close-run competition,” van Ratingen said. “Tesla was only fractionally behind, and new entrants like firefly and Leapmotor show how global competition continues to grow, which can only be a good thing for consumers who value safety as much as style, practicality, driving performance, and running costs from their next car.”

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Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the upcoming update in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla will be ending one-time purchases of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system after Valentine’s Day, transitioning the feature to a monthly subscription-only model.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the upcoming update in a post on social media platform X.

No more FSD one-time purchases

As per Elon Musk in his post on X, “Tesla will stop selling FSD after Feb 14. FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription thereafter.” This marks a shift in how Tesla monetizes its FSD system, which can now be purchased for a one-time fee or accessed through a monthly subscription. 

FSD’s subscription model has been $99 per month in the United States, while its one-time purchase option is currently priced at $8,000. FSD’s one-time purchase price has swung wildly in recent years, reaching $15,000 in September 2022. At the time, FSD was proficient, but its performance was not on par with v14. This made its $15,000 upfront price a hard sell for consumers.

Tesla’s move to a subscription-only model could then streamline how the company sells FSD. It also lowers the entry price for the system, as even price-conscious drivers would likely be able to justify FSD’s $99 monthly subscription cost during periods when long-distance travel is prevalent, like the holidays. 

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Musk’s compensation plan and FSD subscription targets

Tesla’s shift to a subscription-only FSD model comes amidst Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, which was approved by Tesla shareholders at the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting with roughly 75% support. Under the long-term compensation plan, Musk must achieve a series of ambitious operational milestones, including 10 million active FSD subscriptions, over the next decade for his stock awards to vest.

The 2025 CEO Performance Award’s structure ties Musk’s potential compensation to Tesla’s aggressive targets that span market capitalization, vehicle deliveries, robotics, and software adoption. Apart from his 10-million active FSD subscription target, Musk’s compensation is also tied to Tesla producing 20 million vehicles cumulatively, delivering 1 million Tesla bots, and having 1 million Robotaxis in operation. He must also lead Tesla to a market cap of $8.5 trillion.

If successful, Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award could make him the world’s first trillionaire. It could also help Tesla become the world’s most valuable company by market cap by a notable margin. 

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Tesla plans for new 300+ stall Supercharger with a special surprise for Semi

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(Credit: Tesla Owners East Bay/Twitter)

Tesla is planning for a new 300+ stall Supercharger station that will be an expansion of an existing facility, and the company is planning to add a surprise for the Semi.

The Firebaugh, California Supercharger is currently 72 Superchargers, but Tesla filed for an expansion that will add 232 additional plugs for passenger vehicles, and it also plans to add 16 Semichargers.

This will be the biggest Supercharger station Tesla will have to date, just months after it finished the Supercharger Oasis in Lost Hills, California, which has 168 stalls. This will have 304 total Supercharger stalls, and then the additional 16 Megachargers.

The Firebaugh Supercharger is located on I-5, which is a major reason for why Tesla has chosen the location for additional Megacharger plug-ins, as Tesla Semi Program Manager Dan Priestley said on X earlier today.

The project was revealed by MarcoRP, a Supercharger tracker.

The expansion is a massive signal for charging demand, especially as Tesla’s Superchargers are opened to numerous automakers and are no longer exclusive to the company’s EVs. Additionally, the installation of Megachargers is a good sign to come for the Tesla Semi program, which aims to truly ramp up this year.

Tesla plans to launch production of the Semi later this year.

It could also mean Tesla is going to expand its footprint of large-scale Supercharger projects in the coming years, which would be a big boost as EV adoption continues to soar in the United States.

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