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SpaceX Inspiration4 Dragon, Falcon 9 booster return to port after flawless mission
After acing a flawless commercial astronaut launch debut, SpaceX’s Inspiration4 Crew Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9 booster, and the four private astronauts they carried have been safely returned to dry land.
Simultaneously, thanks to a decently executed media strategy, a well-received Netflix documentary, and the spectacular overall success of the Inspiration4 launch, a senior SpaceX engineer and manager says that the company is seeing a major influx in new demand from the ultrawealthy for more private free-flyer missions to orbit. In fact, the amount of interest is so significant that SpaceX may even consider building one or more Dragon spacecraft that would be solely dedicated to private astronaut missions.
Around 8:03pm EDT on Wednesday, September 15th, a twice-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 booster and a new expendable upper stage flawlessly delivered a once-flown Crew Dragon spacecraft and the world’s first all-private crew of astronauts to orbit. As is now routine, Falcon 9 booster B1062 landed on a drone ship without issue, where a robot and human team secured the booster for transport back to Florida. On September 18th, after spending almost three days in orbit, reaching heights higher than any private astronauts have ever experienced, and enjoying the first flight of the world’s largest window in space, Crew Dragon lowered its orbit and completed its fourth successful orbital reentry, descent, and splashdown.
In a post-splashdown press conference, after plenty of congratulations, SpaceX Director of Dragon Mission Management Benji Reed revealed that Inspiration4 appears to have inspired a dramatic uptick in the amount of interest the company’s private spaceflight sales and marketing teams are experiencing. More specifically, Inspiration4 has effectively proven that free-flyer missions in a spacecraft as small as Crew Dragon are not only doable – but potentially enjoyable, too.
As a result, SpaceX is suddenly seeing far more interest in similar free-flyer missions. While not nearly as extensive as one or two-week-long private missions to the International Space Station (ISS), of which SpaceX already has several under contract, free-flyer missions are both substantially cheaper (likely >$25M) and a magnitude easier to coordinate. Due to a combination of apparently poor planning on NASA’s part and a years-old SpaceX launch failure in 2015, the ISS only has two docking ports available to US crewed spacecraft – one of which is likely to be almost permanently occupied for the indefinite future. That lone free port is the only place SpaceX’s new Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft can dock and must also host a second Crew Dragon (or Boeing Starliner, eventually) every ~6 months during crew hand-offs.
That ultimately means that the slots for additional crew or cargo spacecraft in need of those specific docking ports are incredibly few and far between, while the few that do exist are fickle at best given the high probability of minor launch delays when planning missions months or even years in advance. Put simply, if SpaceX’s prospective private spaceflight customers are interested enough in free-flyer missions to overlook the tradeoffs, it would allow the company to fly private astronauts far more easily, frequently, and cheaply.
Thanks in large part to reusability, which also made Inspiration4 possible anywhere close to the timeframe it actually happened in, private orbital spaceflight could also become far more accessible than it’s ever been as SpaceX gains experience and confidence in Crew Dragon reuse. Prior to Inspiration4, a total of seven private citizens (all extremely wealthy) were able to pay approximately $30M in 2021 dollars to launch to the ISS in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and spent around two weeks in orbit. Using a flight-proven Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 booster, it’s entirely possible that SpaceX could eventually sell free-flyer missions for as little as $15-20M per seat – and possibly even less – while still ensuring a small profit.
For now, according to Eric Berger and SpaceX customer Axiom Space, that price is closer to ~$40M per free-flyer seat and $55M for a seat on a ~10-day Axiom mission to and from the ISS. It’s quite likely that with those prices, SpaceX’s profit margins on four-person private astronaut launches approach 50%, if not more.
News
Tesla adds a new feature to Navigation in preparation for a new vehicle
After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.
Tesla has added a new feature to its Navigation and Supercharger Map in preparation for a new vehicle to hit the road: the Semi.
After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Semi will enter high-volume production this year
One of those changes has been the newly-released information regarding trim levels, as well as reports that Tesla has started to reach out to customers regarding pricing information for those trims.
Now, Tesla has made an additional bit of information available to the public in the form of locations of Megachargers, the infrastructure that will be responsible for charging the Semi and other all-electric Class 8 vehicles that hit the road.
Tesla made the announcement on the social media platform X:
We put Semi Megachargers on the map
→ https://t.co/Jb6p7OPXMi pic.twitter.com/stwYwtDVSB
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) February 10, 2026
Although it is a minor development, it is a major indication that Tesla is preparing for the Semi to head toward mass production, something the company has been hinting at for several years.
Nevertheless, this, along with the other information that was released this week, points toward a significant stride in Tesla’s progress in the Semi project.
Now that the company has also worked toward completion of the dedicated manufacturing plant in Sparks, Nevada, there are more signs than ever that the vehicle is finally ready to be built and delivered to customers outside of the pilot program that has been in operation for several years.
For now, the Megachargers are going to be situated on the West Coast, with a heavy emphasis on routes like I-5 and I-10. This strategy prioritizes major highways and logistics hubs where freight traffic is heaviest, ensuring coverage for both cross-country and regional hauls.
California and Texas are slated to have the most initially, with 17 and 19 sites, respectively. As the program continues to grow, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Washington, New York, and Nevada will have Megacharger locations as well.
For now, the Megachargers are available in Lathrop, California, and Sparks, Nevada, both of which have ties to Tesla. The former is the location of the Megafactory, and Sparks is where both the Tesla Gigafactory and Semifactory are located.
Elon Musk
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.
In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.
Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.
Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it
Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.
Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.
Cramer recognizes this:
“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”
He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:
“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”
Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.
Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.
Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.
Elon Musk
SpaceX secures win as US labor board drops oversight case
The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX.
SpaceX scored a legal victory after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided to dismiss a case which accused the company of terminating engineers who were involved in an open letter against founder Elon Musk.
The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX. The update was initially shared by Bloomberg News, which cited a letter about the matter it reportedly reviewed.
In a letter to the former employees’ lawyers, the labor board stated that the affected employees were under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (NMB), not the NLRB. As a result, the labor board stated that it was dismissing the case.
As per Danielle Pierce, a regional director of the agency, “the National Labor Relations Board lacks jurisdiction over the Employer and, therefore, I am dismissing your charge.”
The NMB typically oversees airlines and railroads. The NLRB, on the other hand, covers most private-sector employers, as well as manufacturers such as Boeing.
The former SpaceX engineers have argued that the private space company did not belong under the NMB’s jurisdiction because SpaceX only offers services to “hand-picked customers.”
In an opinion, however, the NMB stated that SpaceX was under its jurisdiction because “space transport includes air travel” to get to outer space. The mediation board also noted that anyone can contact SpaceX to secure its services.
SpaceX had previously challenged the NLRB’s authority in court, arguing that the agency’s structure was unconstitutional. Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB general counsel under former United States President Joe Biden, rejected SpaceX’s claims. Following Abruzzo’s termination under the Trump administration, however, SpaceX asked the labor board to reconsider its arguments.
SpaceX is not the only company that has challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB. Since SpaceX filed its legal challenge against the agency in 2024, other high-profile companies have followed suit. These include Amazon, which has filed similar cases that are now pending.
Tesla adds a new feature to Navigation in preparation for a new vehicle
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
