News
SpaceX’s mystery “Optimus Prime” drone ship robot spotted testing ahead of BulgariaSat-1 mission
Just a little over three months ago, in mid March, fans of SpaceX caught their first full glimpses of a mysterious robot aboard the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) while it was docked in Port Canaveral, Florida.
Rapidly deemed “Roomba” and later heard to be internally nicknamed “Optimus Prime”, it was approximately 50 feet (15 meters) across at its widest point and appeared to be extremely heavy due to the way it was handled on the side of the docks, as well as the presence of tracks rather than wheels. The SpaceX community quickly came to the conclusion that it was some sort of robotic tool for remotely securing Falcon 9 first stages following landings aboard SpaceX’s drone ship fleet, as first stages had a tendency to rather precariously slide about drone ships in high seas.
- Optimus Prime roving around OCISLY on June 13th. (Brady Kenniston/NASAspaceflight.com)
- Optimus Prime captured by helicopter while conducting tests in March earlier this year. (Source: Reddit /u/riddlerthc)
This speculation was proven correct during a press conference following the successful launch of SES-10 and SpaceX’s first successful reuse; the Roomba/Optimus Prime was indeed a measure to more rapidly and safely secure first stages after landing aboard drone ships. The primary reason for this robot existing is to better ensure the safety of those working aboard active drone ships. Removing the requirement for people to be aboard a barge with an unsecured 50,000 kilogram rocket that has a tendency to explode violently after falling over.

The hallowed remains of the Falcon 9 that successfully launched Jason-3 but was somewhat less successfully recovered. (NASAspaceflight)
It is currently unclear whether the robot is intended to be a precaution only used in high seas or a tool to be used for every autonomous spaceport drone ship recovery. But the fact that it was seen conducting tests aboard OCISLY just a day before SpaceX’s static fire test for the upcoming launch of BulgariaSat-1 indicates that the upcoming launch may be the robot’s first truly operational test. It is also possible that SpaceX may simply choose to recover the stage and bring it back to port before conducting tests with the robot and an actual Falcon 9 S1 aboard OCISLY, with this latter option forcing less reliance upon a currently unproven (but nevertheless rather simple) technology.
Aside from the morally prescient goal of removing safety hazards for the Falcon 9 recovery crew, the ability to remotely secure Falcon 9 first stages will also avoid the time consuming practice of welding the landing legs and hydraulic jacks to the deck of the barge. This will likely remove hours of cautious procedures designed to protect those working aboard the barge once a stage has landed. As previously discussed on Teslarati, the possibility of weekly launches occurring from Cape Canaveral later this winter or sometime in 2018 gives SpaceX significant motivation to increase the availability of OCISLY, its only East coast-based drone ship.

A Falcon 9 S1 secured the old-fashioned way with leg shoes welded to the deck and hydraulic lifts to keep weight off the legs. (NASAspaceflight)
While the several days typically required to sail several hundred miles to the barges’ recovery destinations are not about to change, the ability to remotely secure recovered stages will both drastically improve the safety of the recovery crew and allow OCISLY to spend less time on station in the Atlantic, and thus more time back in port to offload its Falcon 9 payload and prepare for the next recovery.
For SpaceX’s goal of rapid reusability, every day and even every hour that can be removed from the process of launching, recovering, and relaunching is time that could theoretically be spent launching the payloads of paying customers, or launching SpaceX’s own payloads of revenue-producing broadband satellites and data-producing Red Dragons. As the saying goes, time is money.
News
Tesla surges Robotaxi fleet ahead of Cybercab launch event
Tesla’s unsupervised robotaxi fleet quietly grew sevenfold in three weeks just before Cybercab Day arrives.
Tesla’s unsupervised Robotaxi fleet has grown far faster than the public numbers suggested, and the timing lines up with the company’s biggest autonomy showcase yet. According to data compiled by the crowdsourced Robotaxi Tracker, Tesla now has nearly 200 vehicles operating without a safety monitor across Austin, Dallas and Houston, yielding a roughly 7X increase in about three weeks.
The jump lands four days before this week’s Tesla Cybercab launch event in Austin, where the company plans to show off its purpose-built, two-seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals in a live commercial setting for the first time. Stick with us on X and Facebook for live reporting from the event.
The strategic logic is straightforward. Tesla has spent the past year scaling Robotaxi in small, deliberate steps, first widening geofences, then extending operating hours, then quietly growing fleet size, usually with little advance notice. Ashok Elluswamy told investors on the Q2 earnings call that the program had logged more than 380,000 unsupervised miles with zero notable incidents, a safety record the company has leaned on to justify moving slowly. Critics have used the flip side of that caution, a fleet that appeared stuck around two dozen vehicles for months, as evidence that Tesla’s driverless ambitions were outrunning its actual deployment.
A fleet quietly scaling to nearly 200 vehicles right before Cybercab Day undercuts that argument without Tesla having to say anything about it directly. It also sets up the event to do double duty. Rather than simply introducing new hardware, Tesla can point to an operating base of unsupervised Model Ys already running at meaningful scale, then argue the Cybercab, which uses the same underlying Full Self-Driving stack according to earlier coverage of the fleet’s software upgrades, is a natural next steps. Tesla has separately been registering the two-seat Cybercabs with Texas regulators this week, with the count climbing from seven to 45 in a matter of days.
The two ramps, one in software-driven Model Y deployment and one in physical Cybercab registrations, are happening in parallel rather than in sequence. That suggests Tesla wants Thursday’s event to land as proof that the robotaxi business is already running at scale, not just a reveal of a new vehicle shape. Whether the unsupervised numbers hold up once Cybercabs start mixing into the same fleet is the detail worth watching once the event wraps.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck windshield protection just got cheaper
Tesla is lowering the monthly price of its Cybertruck Windshield Protection Plan from $35 to $25. The new rate will apply to the first payment on or after October 1, 2026. Tesla has told subscribers that all other benefits stay the same.
The plan covers unlimited repairs for chips and minor cracks on the front windshield. It also includes one full replacement every 12 months at no extra charge. Additional replacements in the same year carry a $100 deductible. Service is performed with Tesla glass and camera calibration, which matters because Autopilot and Full Self-Driving rely on those lenses behind the windshield.
Looks like Tesla is decreasing the Cybertruck windshield protection plan price from $35 to $25
Awesome https://t.co/MRlTU1XTbf pic.twitter.com/PWkMZt1H7G
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2026
There is no long-term contract. Coverage applies only to the front glass and does not include collision, vandalism, or weather damage.
The Cybertruck’s large, complex windshield has been more expensive to replace than glass on Tesla’s cars, which is why the pickup started at a higher subscription price. The $10 monthly cut reduces the annual cost from $420 to $300. Tesla has not publicly explained the change. The timing coincides with a year of claims data after the plan was extended to the Cybertruck.
Tesla sells several related protection products as monthly subscriptions through the Tesla app. The Windshield Protection Plan is also offered on other models. Model 3 and Model Y currently cost $16 a month. Those passenger-car rates are unchanged in the latest Cybertruck notice.
The Wheel and Tire Protection Plan covers road-hazard damage such as potholes, nails, and debris. Repairs are unlimited. Each wheel or tire replacement appointment has a $25 deductible. Pricing varies by model and whether the vehicle is a Performance version. Tesla is raising some of those rates on the same October 1 date.
Reported examples include Model 3 Performance moving from $16 to $24 and Model Y Performance from $20 to $24. Cybertruck wheel-and-tire coverage has been listed at $20 a month for the standard configuration.
A separate Luxe Package bundles four years of windshield coverage, wheel-and-tire coverage, and recommended maintenance on certain new Model S, Model X, and Cyberbeast orders, although the Model S and X are now defunct.
Tesla also offers an Extended Service Agreement after the basic vehicle warranty ends. That product covers many Tesla-manufactured parts rather than glass or tires. Together, the plans give owners a menu of targeted, cancel-anytime coverage instead of relying only on auto insurance.
News
Tesla Cybercab fleet grows in Austin ahead of launch event
UPDATE: The number has now been updated to 45 units, up from 7!
Here we go! Tesla has just added another 38 Cybercabs to its Robotaxi fleet, bringing the total up to 45, according to the Texas DMV.
Robots on robots on robots! This Thursday’s launch event is gonna be awesome🤖🤖🤖 pic.twitter.com/3HF24rHK4T
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 31, 2026
Tesla is bolstering its Cybercab fleet with the State of Texas’s regulatory bodies ahead of the planned launch of the all-electric ride-hailing vehicle this Thursday.
Seven purpose-built Tesla Cybercabs have been added to Texas’s official automated vehicle registry, appearing in the Texas Motor Carrier Credentialing System (TxMCCS) public lookup just three days before Tesla’s invite-only Cybercab launch event in Austin on September 3.
The records, visible through TxDMV’s Motor Carrier and Automated Motor Vehicle Operator Lookup, list seven 2026 Tesla Cybercabs under Tesla Robotaxi, LLC. Their VINs begin with the 5YJA prefix, distinct from the 7SAYG Model Y robotaxis that already dominate Tesla’s Texas fleet.
Community trackers that scrape the same public database recorded the new entries on August 31, bringing Tesla’s authorized Texas robotaxi total to 276 vehicles: 269 Model Ys and the seven Cybercabs:
🚨 There are now SEVEN Tesla Cybercabs registered with the state of Texas
We are just three days from Cybercab! pic.twitter.com/ndwhuFYsep
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 31, 2026
Texas Senate Bill 2807, which took effect in late May 2026, created a self-certification framework for commercial Level 4 operations. Operators file through TxMCCS, attest to SAE Level 4 capability, maintain insurance, and keep an active vehicle list.
Tesla completed that process months earlier for its existing Model Y Robotaxi service, which has carried paying passengers in Austin, Dallas, Houston and other markets. Adding the Cybercabs to the same authorization means the new two-seat, steering-wheel-free vehicles are now legally recognized for commercial use on Texas roads.
The timing is deliberate as Tesla scheduled the September 3 event at its Austin campus after sending invitations to selected Robotaxi riders and other guests. The company has described the evening as a chance to “experience the future of full autonomy” and plans to livestream it.
Production Cybercabs, which lack pedals and a steering wheel, have been rolling off the Giga Texas line for months; some earlier examples still carried temporary driver controls for data collection. Registering a small fleet of the finished design immediately before the public event signals that Tesla intends to move the purpose-built vehicle from factory and test tracks into the same Robotaxi app already used by Model Y passengers.
The seven units remain a tiny fraction of Tesla’s overall Texas authorization and far smaller than competing fleets. Registration does not automatically equal unsupervised public rides; it is the legal prerequisite.
Still, the sudden appearance of Cybercab VINs in the state’s lookup system, after a year of Model Y-only listings, is the clearest official confirmation yet that Tesla’s dedicated robotaxi hardware is entering the regulatory pipeline at the same moment the company is preparing to show it to invited guests and a global livestream audience.
Whether those seven vehicles appear at the September 3 event or begin carrying passengers shortly afterward, their presence in TxMCCS marks a concrete regulatory step that has been anticipated since the Cybercab concept was first revealed.

