News
SpaceX’s most important Falcon 9 booster yet returns to port with a lean
On November 19th, what is likely SpaceX’s most important Falcon 9 booster yet returned to Port Canaveral with a surprise – perhaps the most dramatic lean ever observed on one of the recovered rockets.
Tilted a solid 10+ degrees from vertical, the lean was immediately visible as soon as the top of the rocket crest the horizon, and it later became clear that one of Falcon 9 booster B1061’s four landing legs had no contact at all with drone ship Just Read The Instruction’s (JRTI) deck. Four days prior, Falcon 9 (and B1061) became the first commercially-developed rocket in history to be certified to launch NASA astronauts, a feat it pulled off flawlessly. Crew Dragon safely delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station on November 16th, marking the culmination of more than half a decade of (mostly) uninterrupted work.
Even before Crew Dragon and Falcon 9’s momentous Crew-1 launch, though, NASA had already revealed some details that would make parts of Crew-1 even more important and the follow-up Crew-2 launch – scheduled as early as March 2021 – perhaps the most significant mission in SpaceX’s history.
In short, less than a month after SpaceX’s equally flawless Crew Dragon Demo-2 astronaut launch debut, NASA contract modifications revealed that the agency had permitted SpaceX to reuse both Dragon capsules and Falcon 9 boosters on upcoming astronaut launches.
“In a wholly unexpected turn of events, a modification to SpaceX’s ~$3.1 billion NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) contract was spotted on June 3rd. Without leaving much room for interpretation, the contract tweak states that SpaceX is now “[allowed to reuse] the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Crew Dragon spacecraft beginning with” its second operational astronaut launch, known as Post Certification Mission-2 (PCM-2) or Crew-2.”
Teslarati.com — June 9th, 2020
A few short months after that discovery, NASA itself specifically announced that it had given SpaceX the go-ahead to reuse Demo-2 Crew Dragon capsule C206 and Crew-1 Falcon 9 booster B1061 on Crew-2, the company’s second operational astronaut launch. Scheduled no earlier than March 31st, 2021, Crew-2 will most likely launch before the Crew-1 Crew Dragon departs the space station and returns its four crew members to Earth, a milestone expected sometime in April.
For almost anyone who has followed NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and its attitude towards SpaceX’s reusability efforts from the beginning, the space agency’s rapid willingness to trust its most important cargo – humans – to flight-proven Dragons and Falcon 9 boosters came as a huge surprise. If SpaceX is able to reuse both capsule C206 and booster B1061 as planned, Crew-2 will without a doubt be the most significant milestone in commercial spaceflight history, simultaneously proving that astronauts can be safely launched on commercial flight-proven rockets and spacecraft.
Of course, while Demo-2 Crew Dragon capsule C206 may have already been successfully recovered, SpaceX still had to land Falcon 9 booster B1061 and safely return it to port after Crew-1 before it could consider reusing it on Crew-2. Based on the rocket’s appearance upon its arrival at Port Canaveral, B1061 had an extremely close call. With what can be intuited from observation alone, it appears that sometime after B1061 landed and before the drone ship’s tank-like ‘Octagrabber’ robot could secure the booster, a stray swell or sudden burst of high seas must have bucked Just Read The Instructions about, causing B1061 to slide around on the slippery deck.
That would explain why the Falcon 9 first stage arrived in port on one of the far corners of drone ship JRTI – also sign that B1061 likely hit the yellow barrier included specifically to prevent boosters from sliding off drone ship decks. At the same time, B1061 must have had a moderately rough landing, causing at least one of its four legs to expend a large portion of a single-use shock absorber called a “crush core,” leaving the booster sitting at an angle. Based on photos of the arrival, that tilt likely left JRTI’s Octagrabber unable to latch onto all four of Falcon 9’s hold-down clamps, forcing recovery technicians to improvise and manually chain the rocket to the deck where the robotic solution fell short.
Thankfully, the SpaceX recovery team’s apparent heroics and luck proved to be enough and the sturdy Falcon 9 booster was returned to dry land without issue, lifted off of JRTI’s deck around 24 hours after arriving in port. Based on photos of the crush cores at the bottom tip of each leg, B1061’s rough landing and eventful journey was fairly mild as far as they come and, as CEO Elon Musk notes, crush core replacement is likely all that’s needed to make the rocket good as new.
Had B1061 been lost at sea, Crew-2 would have almost certainly been delayed to give SpaceX enough time to come up with an entirely new Falcon 9 first stage. Luckily for SpaceX, that didn’t happen and the company’s plans to launch astronauts on the flight-proven booster are still in play.
News
Elon Musk confirms cryptic X post was related to SpaceX, not TSLA stock
Musk shared his update in a post on social media platform X.
Elon Musk has confirmed that a cryptic post he shared earlier this month was related to his private sale enterprise, SpaceX, not electric vehicle maker Tesla.
Musk shared his update in a post on social media platform X.
Musk’s cryptic post
Earlier this month, the CEO posted the cryptic words “You’ll Thank Me Later” on X. The post quickly gained attention on social media, as Tesla watchers and Elon Musk fans speculated on what the words could mean. With the announcement that Musk has purchased $1 billion of TSLA stock in the open market, some speculated that the cryptic post was a teaser of sorts to shareholders.
Musk’s massive TSLA purchase was the biggest in history, and it also stood as a notable vote of confidence for the company as it attempts to enter a new era led by robots, AI, and autonomous driving. This was likely one of the reasons why Tesla stock saw a notable rise on Monday’s trading. In another post, however, Musk confirmed that his cryptic post was not in any way related to his stock purchase.
All SpaceX
Considering that all the words in Musk’s post started with an uppercase letter, some space fans immediately speculated that the CEO was teasing something related to SpaceX. The company’s three drone ships, Just Read the Instructions (JRTI), Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY), and A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG), after all, follow similar naming styles.
This was one of the reasons why some TSLA shareholders noted on X that Musk’s post was likely SpaceX-related. In response to one of these comments, Musk stated that these speculations are “Correct.”
The only question now is what exactly Musk was referring to in his post. Perhaps the CEO really was hinting at the name of the drone ship that will be tasked to retrieve Starship in the middle of the ocean.
News
Tesla Model Y leads as weekly registrations in China hit Q3 high
Out of Tesla China’s 15,350 registrations, the Model Y once again accounted for the majority.
Tesla recorded 15,350 insurance registrations in China during the week of September 8–14, marking a 7.3% increase compared to the prior week. The figure also represents the highest weekly result so far in the third quarter of 2025.
Model Y still leads demand
Out of the 15,350 registrations, the Model Y once again accounted for the majority. Data shows 9,460 registrations for the standard Model Y, complemented by 1,030 units of the newly launched extended wheelbase, six-seat Model Y L. Tesla also logged 4,860 Model 3 sedans for the week as well, as noted in a CNEV Post report.
The Model Y L, which debuted in late August, registered a modest uptick from the 900 registrations it saw the week before. Volumes remain relatively low, suggesting that the variant will not meaningfully change Tesla’s third-quarter sales trajectory. That being said, Tesla China’s previous comments about the Model Y L’s demand suggest that an uptick in registrations may be coming in the next weeks.
The ramp of the Model Y L will likely be a notable topic among Tesla watchers, as its ramp will still be quite a task despite the vehicle being just a new variant of the all-electric crossover. With this in mind, meaningful numbers of Model Y L registrations may hit their pace in the next quarter instead.
Tesla China’s momentum
As per data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla’s retail sales in August 2025 totaled 57,152 units. That figure marked a 9.9% decline from August 2024’s 63,456 units, but a significant 40.7% increase from July’s 40,617 deliveries.
Quarter-to-date, Tesla China’s results show a 34.4% gain compared to the previous quarter but remain down 11% year-over-year. Year-to-date, Tesla is down about 7% in China versus the same period in 2024. With only a couple more weeks before the end of the third quarter, Tesla China’s registrations may help determine whether the company could catch up to its 2024 numbers this year.
News
Tesla Supercharger access has proven to be a challenge for one company
Interestingly, it seems to be the Volkswagen brand specifically that is having issues with compatibility with Tesla Superchargers. Other brands under the VW umbrella, like Audi and Porsche, have already gained access to the charging network.
Tesla Supercharger access has proven to be quite the challenge for one company, as it continues to delay the date that it will enable its owners to charge at the most expansive network in the world.
Tesla Superchargers have been opening up to other brands for well over a year, and many car companies that are manufacturing electric vehicles now have access to the vast network that has over 70,000 locations worldwide.
Tesla to launch Supercharger access for VW owners later this year
However, one brand has experienced some issues with what it is calling “technical challenges,” specifically failing to enable cross-compatibility between its vehicles and Tesla Superchargers.
Volkswagen has had to delay its ability to enable customers to charge at Superchargers because there have been some difficulties getting things to run smoothly. A report from PCMag cites a quote from a Volkswagen spokesperson who said there are still plans to deliver this year, but there have been some delays:
“Volkswagen looks forward to making it possible for ID. Buzz and ID.4 vehicle owners to gain access to the Tesla NACS Partner Superchargers. The timeline has been delayed by technical challenges, and we ask for customers’ patience. We still expect to deliver access this year.”
Interestingly, it seems to be the Volkswagen brand specifically that is having issues with compatibility with Tesla Superchargers. Other brands under the VW umbrella, like Audi and Porsche, have already gained access to the charging network.
Volkswagen EV owners will need to use an official VW adapter to access the Tesla Supercharger Network once the issues are resolved. It still plans to launch access to its owners later this year, but its spokesperson did not announce any planned timeline.
Elon Musk confirms cryptic X post was related to SpaceX, not TSLA stock
Tesla Model Y leads as weekly registrations in China hit Q3 high
Tesla Supercharger access has proven to be a challenge for one company
-
Elon Musk2 weeks agoTesla’s next-gen Optimus prototype with Grok revealed
-
News1 week agoTesla launches new Supercharger program that business owners will love
-
Elon Musk1 week agoTesla Board takes firm stance on Elon Musk’s political involvement in pay package proxy
-
News2 weeks agoTesla appears to be mulling a Cyber SUV design
-
News2 weeks agoTesla deploys Unsupervised FSD in Europe for the first time—with a twist
-
News2 weeks agoTesla explains why Robotaxis now have safety monitors in the driver’s seat
-
News2 weeks agoTesla is already giving Robotaxi privileges hours after opening public app
-
Elon Musk2 weeks agoElon Musk says Tesla will take Safety Drivers out of Robotaxi: here’s when