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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.
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- Optimus Prime roving around OCISLY on June 13th. (Brady Kenniston/NASAspaceflight.com)
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- 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.
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Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the vehicle being reported across social media this week.
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the autonomous two-seater being reported across social media this week. Based on videos of the vehicle that have been shared online, it appears that Cybercab tests are underway across multiple states.
Recent Cybercab sightings
Reports of Cybercab tests have ramped this week, with a vehicle that looked like a production-ready prototype being spotted at Apple’s Visitor Center in California. The vehicle in this sighting was interesting as it was equipped with a steering wheel. The vehicle also featured some changes to the design of its brake lights.
The Cybercab was also filmed testing at the Fremont factory’s test track, which also seemed to involve a vehicle that looked production-ready. This also seemed to be the case for a Cybercab that was spotted in Austin, Texas, which happened to be undergoing real-world tests. Overall, these sightings suggest that Cybercab testing is fully underway, and the vehicle is really moving towards production.
Production design all but finalized?
Recently, a near-production-ready Cybercab was showcased at Tesla’s Santana Row showroom in San Jose. The vehicle was equipped with frameless windows, dual windshield wipers, powered butterfly door struts, an extended front splitter, an updated lightbar, new wheel covers, and a license plate bracket. Interior updates include redesigned dash/door panels, refined seats with center cupholders, updated carpet, and what appeared to be improved legroom.
There seems to be a pretty good chance that the Cybercab’s design has been all but finalized, at least considering Elon Musk’s comments at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting. During the event, Musk confirmed that the vehicle will enter production around April 2026, and its production targets will be quite ambitious.
News
Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Swedish union Vision has withdrawn its sympathy blockade against Tesla’s planned service center and showroom in Kalmar. As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Vision’s decision to pull the blockade
Vision announced the blockade in early December, stating that it was targeting the administrative handling of Tesla’s facility permits in Kalmar municipality. The sympathy measure was expected to start Monday, but was formally withdrawn via documents sent to the Mediation Institute and Kalmar Municipality last week.
As noted in a Daggers Arbete report, plans for the strike were ultimately pulled after employer group SKR highlighted potential illegality under the Public Employment Act. Vision stressed its continued backing for the Swedish labor model, though Deputy negotiation manager Oskar Pettersson explained that the Vision union and IF Metall made the decision to cancel the planned strike together.
“We will not continue to challenge the regulations,” Petterson said. “The objection was of a technical nature. We made the assessment together with IF Metall that we were not in a position to challenge the legal assessment of whether we could take this particular action against Tesla. Therefore, we chose to revoke the notice itself.”
The SKR’s warning
Petterson also stated that SKR’s technical objection to the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla strike framed the protest as an unauthorized act. “It was a legal assessment of the situation. Both for us and for IF Metall, it is important to be clear that we stand for the Swedish model. But we should not continue to challenge the regulations and risk getting judgments that lead nowhere in the application of the regulations,” he said.
Vision ultimately canceled its planned blockade against Tesla on December 9. With Vision’s withdrawal, few obstacles remain for Tesla’s long-planned Kalmar site. A foreign electrical firm completed work this fall, and Tesla’s Careers page currently lists a full-time service manager position based there, signaling an imminent opening.
Tesla Semi Program Director Dan Priestly teased the major improvements to the all-electric Class 8 truck on Thursday night, following the company’s decision to overhaul the design earlier this year.
Priestley said he drove the Semi on Thursday, and the improvements appear to be welcomed by one of the minds behind the project. “Our customers are going to love it,” he concluded.
Just drove the redesigned Semi. Our customers are going to love it. https://t.co/KZ88sf1CDL
— Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley) December 19, 2025
The small detail does not seem like much, but it is coming from someone who has been involved in the development of the truck from A to Z. Priestley has been involved in the Semi program since November 2015 and has slowly worked his way through the ranks, and currently stands as the Director of the program.
Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
Tesla made some major changes to the Semi design as it announced at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that it changed the look and design to welcome improvements in efficiency.
Initially, Tesla adopted the blade-like light bar for the Semi, similar to the one that is present on the Model Y Premium and the Cybertruck.
Additionally, there are some slight aesthetic changes to help with efficiency, including a redesigned bumper with improved aero channels, a smaller wraparound windshield, and a smoother roofline for better aero performance.
All of these changes came as the company’s Semi Factory, which is located on Gigafactory Nevada’s property, was finishing up construction in preparation for initial production phases, as Tesla is planning to ramp up manufacturing next year. CEO Elon Musk has said the Semi has attracted “ridiculous demand.”
The Semi has already gathered many large companies that have signed up to buy units, including Frito-Lay and PepsiCo., which have been helping Tesla test the vehicle in a pilot program to test range, efficiency, and other important metrics that will be a major selling point.
Tesla will be the Semi’s first user, though, and the truck will help solve some of the company’s logistics needs in the coming years.
Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
