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SpaceX just caught its first rocket nosecone in 5 months (and the booster landed, too)
One of SpaceX’s net-outfitted recovery ships has just completed the company’s first successful Falcon 9 nosecone (payload fairing) catch in more than five months, although the ship’s twin was not so lucky.
Known as GO Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven) and GO Ms. Chief, today’s recovery attempt marked the second time ever that both ships simultaneously attempted to catch both halves of a Falcon 9 payload fairing. Outfitted with giant nets, those ships are meant to keep those featherweight fairings – flying with the help of GPS-guided parafoils – out of corrosive saltwater by being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time some 700-1000+ km (430-620+ mi) downrange. Unsurprisingly, consistently catching Falcon fairings has proven to be incredibly challenging — perhaps even more so than recovering Falcon 9 boosters.
As evidence, on today’s attempt – despite both ships being present in almost identical conditions, only one ship – Ms. Tree – managed to catch its assigned fairing half, while Ms. Chief missed her shot. For fairing recovery in general, this is SpaceX’s first successful catch in more than five months and third successful catch ever since attempts first began in early 2018.
Given the mechanics of the feat, it’s not all that surprising that Falcon fairing recovery has proven so exceptionally challenging. First and foremost, Falcon payload fairings are only worth around $6 million total – less than 10% of Falcon 9’s current base price and even less for Falcon Heavy, advertised with a base price of $90M per launch. If, for example, SpaceX ends up spending $100-200 million developing fairing recovery, it will take a bare minimum of 15-30+ flawless recoveries (of both halves, no less) to recoup the company’s investment.
Still, given that SpaceX will need no fewer than 75-190+ dedicated Falcon 9 launches to orbit its entire licensed Starlink constellation, it’s not surprising that the company has deemed the investment and major challenges worth it. While the payload fairing only represents 10% of the cost of a new Falcon 9, accounting for the booster reuse that is more or less guaranteed on all Starlink missions means that the fairing could actually represent more like 30%+ of the cost to SpaceX for each internal Starlink launch.
Ultimately, even on the low end of Starlink’s required Falcon 9 launches, recovering and reusing payload fairings could save SpaceX hundreds of millions of dollars. Not only that, reliable fairing recovery would mean that SpaceX can close the recovery loop on both Falcon 9 boosters and fairings, representing some 75-80% of the rocket’s total cost. In other words, recovering fairings could allow SpaceX to lower the cost of launch to something like $15 or $20M for each Starlink mission — simply inconceivable and definitely unbeatable for more than 15 metric tons (33,000 lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO).
Meanwhile, some 35 minutes before Ms. Tree caught her third Falcon fairing, Falcon 9 booster B1051 nailed its third drone ship landing in 10 months, setting the rocket up for a fourth launch and landing sometime in the near future.
A little over an hour after liftoff, Falcon 9’s second stage spun itself up like a propeller and released the fourth batch of 60 Starlink satellites, completing the company’s third flawless launch of 2020 and taking SpaceX a step towards providing Starlink internet to customers around the world.
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Tesla Optimus V3 gets early third-party feedback, and it’s eye-opening
Jason Calacanis’ remarks, which were shared during a discussion at CES 2026, offered one of the first third-party impressions of the yet-to-be-unveiled robot
Angel investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis shared some insights after he got an early look at Tesla’s upcoming Optimus V3. His remarks, which were shared during a discussion at CES 2026, offered one of the first third-party impressions of the yet-to-be-unveiled robot.
Calacanis’ comments were shared publicly on X, and they were quite noteworthy.
The angel investor stated that he visited Tesla’s Optimus lab on a Sunday morning and observed that the place was buzzing with energy. The investor then shared a rare, shocking insight. As per Calacanis, Optimus V3 will be so revolutionary that people will probably not even remember that Tesla used to make cars in the future.
“I don’t want to name drop, but two Sundays ago, I went to Tesla with Elon and I went and visited the Optimus lab. There were a large number of people working on a Sunday at 10 a.m. and I saw Optimus 3. I can tell you now, nobody will remember that Tesla ever made a car,” he noted.
The angel investor also reiterated the primary advantage of Optimus, and how it could effectively change the world.
“They will only remember the Optimus and that he is going to make a billion of those, and it is going to be the most transformative technology product ever made in the history of humanity, because what LLMs are gonna enable those products to do is understand the world and then do things in the world that we don’t want to do. I believe there will be a 1:1 ratio of humans to Optimus, and I think he’s already won,” he said.
While Calacanis’ comments were clearly opinion-driven, they stood out as among the first from a non-Tesla employee about Optimus V3. Considering his reaction to the humanoid robot, perhaps Elon Musk’s predictions for Optimus V3 might not be too far-fetched at all.
Tesla has been careful with its public messaging around Optimus V3’s development stage. Musk has previously stated on X that Optimus V3 has not yet been revealed publicly, clarifying that images and videos of the robot online still show Optimus V2 and V2.5, not the next-generation unit. As for Calacanis’ recent comments, however, Musk responded with a simple “Probably true” in a post on X.
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Tesla taps Samsung for 5G modems amid plans of Robotaxi ramp: report
The move signals Tesla’s growing focus on supply-chain diversification and next-generation communications as it prepares to scale its autonomous driving and robotaxi operations.
A report from South Korea has suggested that Samsung Electronics is set to begin supplying 5G automotive modems to Tesla. If accurate, this would mark a major expansion of the two companies’ partnership beyond AI chips and into vehicle connectivity.
The move signals Tesla’s growing focus on supply-chain diversification and next-generation communications as it prepares to scale its autonomous driving and Robotaxi operations.
Samsung’s 5G modem
As per industry sources cited by TheElec, Samsung’s System LSI division has completed development of a dedicated automotive-grade 5G modem for Tesla. The 5G modem is reportedly in its testing phase. Initial supply is expected to begin in the first half of this year, with the first deployments planned for Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Texas. A wider rollout to consumer vehicles is expected to follow.
Development of the modem began in early 2024 and it required a separate engineering process from Samsung’s smartphone modems. Automotive modems must meet stricter durability standards, including resistance to extreme temperatures and vibration, along with reliability over a service life exceeding 10 years. Samsung will handle chip design internally, while a partner company would reportedly manage module integration.
The deal represents the first time Samsung has supplied Tesla with a 5G vehicle modem. Tesla has historically relied on Qualcomm for automotive connectivity, but the new agreement suggests that the electric vehicle maker may be putting in some serious effort into diversifying its suppliers as connectivity becomes more critical to autonomous driving.
Deepening Tesla–Samsung ties
The modem supply builds on a rapidly expanding relationship between the two companies. Tesla previously selected Samsung’s foundry business to manufacture its next-generation AI6 chips, a deal valued at more than 22.7 trillion won and announced in mid-2025. Together, the AI chip and 5G modem agreements position Samsung as a key semiconductor partner for Tesla’s future vehicle platforms.
Industry observers have stated that the collaboration aligns with Tesla’s broader effort to reduce reliance on Chinese and Taiwanese suppliers. Geopolitical risk and long-term supply stability are believed to be driving the shift in no small part, particularly as Tesla prepares for large-scale Robotaxi deployment.
Stable, high-speed connectivity is essential for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, supporting real-time mapping, fleet management, and continuous software updates. By pairing in-vehicle AI computing with a new 5G modem supplier, Tesla appears to be tightening control over both its hardware stack and its global supply chain.
Tesla’s new Full Self-Driving pricing strategy will eliminate one recurring complaint that many owners have had in the past: FSD transfers.
In the past, if a Tesla owner purchased the Full Self-Driving suite outright, the company did not allow them to transfer the purchase to a new vehicle, essentially requiring them to buy it all over again, which could obviously get pretty pricey.
This was until Q3 2023, when Tesla allowed a one-time amnesty to transfer Full Self-Driving to a new vehicle, and then again last year.
Tesla is now allowing it to happen again ahead of the February 14th deadline.
The program has given people the opportunity to upgrade to new vehicles with newer Hardware and AI versions, especially those with Hardware 3 who wish to transfer to AI4, without feeling the drastic cost impact of having to buy the $8,000 suite outright on several occasions.
Now, that issue will never be presented again.
Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on X that the Full Self-Driving suite would only be available in a subscription platform, which is the other purchase option it currently offers for FSD use, priced at just $99 per month.
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Having it available in a subscription-only platform boasts several advantages, including the potential for a tiered system that would potentially offer less expensive options, a pay-per-mile platform, and even coupling the program with other benefits, like Supercharging and vehicle protection programs.
While none of that is confirmed and is purely speculative, the one thing that does appear to be a major advantage is that this will completely eliminate any questions about transferring the Full Self-Driving suite to a new vehicle. This has been a particular point of contention for owners, and it is now completely eliminated, as everyone, apart from those who have purchased the suite on their current vehicle.
Now, everyone will pay month-to-month, and it could make things much easier for those who want to try the suite, justifying it from a financial perspective.
The important thing to note is that Tesla would benefit from a higher take rate, as more drivers using it would result in more data, which would help the company reach its recently-revealed 10 billion-mile threshold to reach an Unsupervised level. It does not cost Tesla anything to run FSD, only to develop it. If it could slice the price significantly, more people would buy it, and more data would be made available.
Tesla Optimus V3 gets early third-party feedback, and it’s eye-opening
Tesla taps Samsung for 5G modems amid plans of Robotaxi ramp: report
