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SpaceX’s first Starlink launch of the year up next after schedule shuffle

Falcon 9 booster B1049 is probably just a few days from its eighth launch and SpaceX's first Starlink mission of the new year. (Richard Angle)

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Update: SpaceX’s Starlink-16 mission is now scheduled to launch no earlier than 8:45 am EST (13:45 UTC) on Monday, January 18th.

SpaceX’s first Starlink launch of the year is now up next after a major rideshare mission’s delays forced a schedule shuffle.

Known as Starlink-16 or Starlink V1 L16, the mission will be SpaceX’s 16th launch of operational v1.0 communications satellites and its 17th Starlink launch overall. Originally scheduled to follow SpaceX’s first dedicated Smallsat Program rideshare launch on January 14th, that Transporter-1 mission slipped to no earlier than (NET) January 21st after a rapid-fire series of chaotic events earlier this year.

Scheduled to launch NET 1:23 pm EST (18:23 UTC) on January 17th, Starlink-16 thus became SpaceX’s defacto second launch of the year. Progress towards that working date became visible when, drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) quickly offloaded its most recent Falcon 9 booster ‘catch’ and departed Port Canaveral for the second time this year on January 13th. Headed some 633 km (~400 mi) northeast, the autonomous rocket landing platform is right on schedule (and set to be in the right place) to support a Starlink launch around January 17th.

Reading between the lines of comments made on January 12th by a 45th Space Wing colonel, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) expect to support many as 53 launches in 2021, some 42-44 of which can be attributed to SpaceX.

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That figure meshes with CEO Elon Musk’s recent note that SpaceX is aiming to complete as many as 48 launches this year, 4-6 of which will likely fly out of the company’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, California facilities. If SpaceX does manage 40+ Florida launches in 2021, it’s safe to say that half – if not more – will be Starlink missions. In other words, SpaceX’s imminent Starlink-16 launch is likely the first of roughly two-dozen planned over the next 12 months, potentially orbiting almost 1500 satellites in a single year.

Falcon 9 B1049 completed its seventh launch and returned to port in late November 2020. (Richard Angle)
B1058 completed its fourth launch in early December 2020. (SpaceX)

Perhaps just three days out from Starlink-16’s scheduled launch, which of SpaceX’s five readily-available Falcon 9 boosters is assigned to support the mission. Falcon 9 B1049 is (numerically speaking) the best candidate, having last launched in late November – 54 days prior to January 17th. Falcon 9 B1058 is the next ‘oldest’ in the sense that it’s the second to last most recently launched, giving SpaceX roughly 40 days to turn the booster around for Starlink-16.

Regardless of the booster SpaceX selects, it’s all but guaranteed to result in one of the fastest Falcon 9 turnarounds ever – an increasingly less significant milestone as the company works to aggressively cut the average time between booster launches. Chances are also good that Starlink-16 will sport at least one flight-proven fairing half as SpaceX continues to gain experience recovering and reusing the carbon composite nosecones.

Assuming Starlink-16 features the usual 60 spacecraft, success will mean that SpaceX has officially launched more than 1000 Starlink satellites since dedicated launches began a year and a half ago in May 2019. Altogether, a successful launch would leave SpaceX with roughly 940 functional spacecraft in orbit – half or more of which are currently either raising or phasing their orbits.

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 Diner to transition to full-service restaurant as Chef heads for new venture

“I am leaving the Tesla Diner project to focus on the opening of Mish, my long-desired Jewish deli. Projects like Mish and the Tesla Diner require a sharpness of focus and attention, and my focus and attention is now squarely on Mish.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Diner, the all-in-one Supercharging and dining experience located in Los Angeles, will transition to a full-service restaurant in January, staff said, as Chef Eric Greenspan said he would take on a new project.

A report from the Los Angeles Times says Greenspan confirmed through a text that he would leave the Diner and focus on the opening of his new Jewish deli, Mish.

Greenspan confirmed to the paper:

“I am leaving the Tesla Diner project to focus on the opening of Mish, my long-desired Jewish deli. Projects like Mish and the Tesla Diner require a sharpness of focus and attention, and my focus and attention is now squarely on Mish.”

Greenspan took on the job at the Tesla Diner and curated the menu back in March, focusing on locally-sourced ingredients and items that would play on various company products, like Cybertruck-shaped boxes that hold burgers.

Tesla Cybertruck leftovers are the main course at the Supercharger Diner

The Tesla Diner has operated as somewhat of a self-serve establishment, where Tesla owners can order directly from their vehicles through the center touchscreen. It was not exclusive to Tesla owners. Guests could also enter and order at a counter, and pick up their food, before sitting at a booth or table.

However, the report indicates Tesla is planning to push it toward a sit-down restaurant, full of waiters, waitresses, and servers, all of which will come to a table after you are seated, take your order, and serve your food.

It will be more of a full-featured restaurant experience moving forward, which is an interesting move from the company, but it also sounds as if it could be testing for an expansion.

We know that Tesla is already considering expanding locations, as it will be heading to new areas of the country. CEO Elon Musk has said that Tesla will be considering locations in Palo Alto near the company’s Engineering HQ, and in Austin, where its HQ and Gigafactory Texas are located.

Musk said that the Diner has been very successful in its first few months of operation.

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Tesla adds new surprising fee to Robotaxi program

“Additional cleaning was required for the vehicle after your trip. A fee has been added to your final cost to cover this service. Please contact us if you have any questions.”

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Credit: Grok

Tesla has added a new and somewhat surprising fee to the Robotaxi program. It’s only surprising because it was never there before.

Tesla shocked everyone when it launched its Robotaxi platform and offered riders the opportunity to tip, only to tell them they do not accept tips. It was one of the company’s attempts at being humorous as it rolled out its driverless platform to people in Austin.

As it has expanded to new cities and been opened to more people, as it was yesterday to iOS users, Tesla has had to tweak some of the minor details of the Robotaxi and ride-hailing platforms it operates.

First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more

With more riders, more vehicles, and more operational jurisdictions, the company has to adjust as things become busier.

Now, it is adjusting the platform by adding “Cleaning Fees” to the Robotaxi platform, but it seems it is only charged if the vehicle requires some additional attention after your ride.

The app will communicate with the rider with the following message (via Not a Tesla App):

“Additional cleaning was required for the vehicle after your trip. A fee has been added to your final cost to cover this service. Please contact us if you have any questions.”

The cost of the cleaning will likely depend on how severe the mess is. If you spill a soda, it will likely cost less than if you lose your lunch in the back of the car because you had a few too many drinks.

This is an expected change, and it seems to be one that is needed, especially considering Tesla is operating a small-scale ride-hailing service at the current time. As it expands to more states and cities and eventually is available everywhere, there will be more situations that will arise.

The messes in vehicles are not a new situation, especially in a rideshare setting. It will be interesting to see if Tesla will enable other fees, like ones for riders who request a ride and do not show up for it.

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Tesla Model Y sold out in China for 2025

Customers who wish to get their cars by the end of the year would likely need to get an inventory unit.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

It appears that the Model Y has been sold out for 2025 in China. This seems to be true for the four variants of the vehicle that are currently offered in the country. 

Tesla China’s order page update

A look at Tesla China’s order page for the Model Y shows a message informing customers that those who wish to guarantee delivery by the end of the year should purchase an inventory unit. This was despite the Model Y RWD and Model Y L showing an estimated delivery timeline of 4-8 weeks, and the Model Y Long Range RWD and Model Y Long Range AWD showing 4-13 weeks. 

As per industry watchers, these updates on the Model Y’s order page suggest that Tesla China’s sales capacity for the remainder of 2025 has been sold out. The fact that estimated delivery timeframes for the Model Y Long Range RWD and AWD extend up to 13 weeks also bodes well for demand for the vehicle, especially given strong rivals like the Xiaomi YU7, which undercuts the Model Y in price. 

Tesla China’s upcoming big updates

What is quite interesting is that Tesla China is still competing in the country with one hand partly tied behind its back. So far, Tesla has only been able to secure partial approval for its flagship self-driving software, FSD, in China. This has resulted in V14 not being rolled out to the country yet. Despite this, Tesla China’s “Autopilot automatic assisted driving on urban roads,” as the system is called locally, has earned positive reviews from users.

As per Elon Musk during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, however, Tesla is expecting to secure full approval for FSD in China in early 2026. “We have partial approval in China, and we hopefully will have full approval in China around February or March or so. That’s what they’ve told us,” Musk said.

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