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SpaceX's first NASA astronaut launch closer than ever as spacecraft and rocket near Florida

Crew Dragon arrived at the International Space Station on March 3rd, 2019 during Demo-1, its inaugural orbital launch. (NASA/Oleg Kononenko)

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According to an engineer’s February presentation, SpaceX is on the brink of shipping its first NASA astronaut-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center – arguably the company’s biggest milestone yet on the path to human spaceflight.

In the last year, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon program has undeniably stumbled a few times, suffering challenging parachute failures and the catastrophic explosion of the first flight-proven Crew Dragon capsule. However, the year has been filled with far more successes. By all appearances, Crew Dragon’s parachute issues have been completely solved, while SpaceX successfully static fired an upgraded Crew Dragon’s SuperDraco engines before launching a flawless in-flight abort (IFA) test just last month.

Prior to all of this, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft completed what NASA deemed a “flawless” and “phenomenal” orbital launch debut, docking with and departing the space station without issue before safely reentering Earth’s atmosphere and splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Now, ten months after that flawless debut, SpaceX is perhaps just a week or two away from reaching a major milestone ahead of its first NASA astronaut launch.

In just a few short months, this scene could be repeated – but with NASA astronauts at Crew Dragon’s helm. (NASA)

Part of some kind of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) event on February 1st or 2nd, SpaceX Director of Vehicle Integration Christopher Couluris gave an exceptionally insightful presentation that was apparently recorded and (very) briefly available on YouTube. Aside from a great deal of new and useful information on Falcon booster reusability, Starship manufacturing, and more, Couluris also teased some major news for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX has finally set the date for Crew Dragon's In-Flight Abort test. (Teslarati - Pauline Acalin)
Excluding Falcon 9, all pieces of SpaceX’s first astronaut-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft are visible in this one frame. (Teslarati – Pauline Acalin)
Assigned to Crew Dragon’s Demo-2 astronaut launch debut, SpaceX Falcon 9 booster B1058 successfully completed a routine static fire test back in August 2019. (SpaceX)

In short, Couluris revealed that the Crew Dragon spacecraft – capsule C206 and an expendable trunk – assigned to SpaceX’s ‘Demo-2’ NASA astronaut launch debut could arrive at the company’s Florida Dragon processing facilities as early as mid-February, just a week or two from now. At the same time, comments the SpaceX engineer made about the number of SpaceX rocket boosters currently in Florida heavily implied that the Falcon 9 rocket assigned to said astronaut launch debut is already at KSC Launch Complex 39A (or at least nearby).

In other words, after Crew Dragon arrives, SpaceX will have all the hardware on hand and ready for its first NASA astronaut launch – arguably the single most important mission in the company’s history. Barring calamity, all that will remain is a few weeks of processing and an indeterminately long period of NASA/SpaceX reviews and paperwork. Elon Musk recently stated that he was confident that Crew Dragon Demo-2 would be fully ready to launch as early as April 2020, although May or June are also a strong possibility.

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Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon stand vertical at Pad 39A for the second time ever on January 17th, 2020. (Richard Angle)

Funded by NASA and designed and built by SpaceX, Crew Dragon (Dragon 2) is an upgraded version of the company’s workhorse Cargo Dragon (Dragon 1) spacecraft, which has successfully performed 18 International Space Station (ISS) resupply missions in just eight years. While there’s a chance that SpaceX will ultimately use Crew Dragon for its own needs, like private orbital tourism, the spacecraft’s primary purpose is to routinely carry NASA astronauts to and from the Space Station – a capability the US has not had since NASA and Congress prematurely killed the Space Shuttle in 2011.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft – along with Boeing’s delayed Starliner – is intended to fill a void the Space Shuttle left in 2011. (Richard Angle)

Originally intended to launch as early as 2017, both SpaceX and Boeing suffered major delays as they worked through the many challenges associated with human spaceflight and grappled with several years of egregious Congressional underfunding.

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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 FSD mocks BMW human driver: Saves pedestrian from near miss

Tesla FSD anticipated a BMW driver’s lane drift before the human behind the wheel could react.

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A video posted to r/TeslaFSD this week put a sharp spotlight on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software being able to react to pedestrian intent than an actual human driver behind the wheel. In the Reddit clip, a BMW driver can be seen rolling through a neighborhood street completely unaware of a pedestrian stepping in to cross. At the same time, a Tesla  driving on FSD had already begun slowing down before the pedestrian even began their attempt to cross the street The BMW kept moving, prompting the pedestrian to hop back, while the Tesla came to a stop and provide right-of-way for the human to safely cross.

That gap between what the BMW driver saw and what FSD had already processed is the story. Tesla FSD wasn’t reacting to a person in the street, rather it was reading the signals that a person was about to enter it based on the pedestrian’s movement, trajectory, and their trajectory to telegraph intent.

Tesla’s FSD is now built on an end-to-end neural network trained on billions of real-world miles, learning to interpret subtle human behavioral cues the same way an experienced human driver does instinctively. The difference is consistency. A human driver distracted for two seconds misses what FSD does not.

Tesla sues California DMV over Autopilot and FSD advertising ruling

Reddit commenters in the thread were blunt about the BMW driver’s failure, with several pointing out that the pedestrian was visible well before the crossing. One response put it plainly that the car on FSD saw the situation developing before the human in the other car had registered there was a situation at all.

Tesla has published data showing FSD (Supervised) is 54% safer than a human driver, accumulated across billions of miles driven on the system. Elon Musk has said FSD v14 will outperform human drivers by a factor of two to three, and that v15 has “a shot” at a 10x improvement. Pedestrian safety is where the stakes are highest, and where intent prediction closes the gap fastest. At 30 mph, a car covers roughly 44 feet per second. An extra second of awareness from reading a person’s body language rather than waiting for them to step out is often the difference between a near miss and a fatality.

Video and community discussion: r/TeslaFSD on Reddit

FSD saves man from becoming a pancake. BMW driver nearly flattens him.
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Tesla Robotaxi gets a small but significant change

In the world of Tesla, where billion-dollar battery breakthroughs and autonomy milestones dominate headlines, a quiet design update can still pack a punch.

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Credit: David Moss | X

In the world of Tesla, where billion-dollar battery breakthroughs and autonomy milestones dominate headlines, a quiet design update can still pack a punch.

Last week in downtown Austin, sharp-eyed observers spotted a subtle but telling evolution on the Cybercab: a new “ROBOTAXI” logo graphic now graces the vehicle’s doors at Tesla’s Autonomy Popup.

What looks at first glance like a minor stylistic choice is, in fact, a deliberate rebranding move that hints at how the company envisions its robotaxi fleet fitting into everyday life.

The updated lettering is bold, graffiti-inspired, and unapologetically street-smart. Rendered in black with dripping white accents and a glowing yellow outline, the font evokes urban energy and playful irreverence.

Gone is the sleek, minimalist typography that defined earlier Cybercab prototypes. In its place is something more human, almost rebellious.

The new logo pops against the Cybercab’s smooth, metallic body, turning the autonomous pod into a rolling piece of public art rather than just another futuristic taxi.

Designers know that fonts are silent brand ambassadors. They shape perception before a single ride is taken. Tesla’s classic sans-serif aesthetic screams precision engineering and Silicon Valley cool.

The new Robotaxi script leans into accessibility and fun, suggesting the vehicle is approachable, not intimidating. For a product meant to ferry strangers through city streets 24/7, that matters. It signals that the robotaxi isn’t reserved for tech elites; it’s for everyone.

Tesla Cybercab spotted next to Model Y shows size comparison

The timing is no accident. With regulatory approvals for unsupervised autonomy advancing and Tesla preparing to scale Cybercab production, the company is shifting from prototype showcase to fleet deployment.

A fresh logo helps differentiate the vehicles visually in dense urban environments—crucial for rider recognition and brand recall. It also aligns with Elon Musk’s long-standing ethos: make the future feel exciting, not sterile.

Small changes like this often foreshadow a larger strategy. Tesla has always obsessed over details—door handles, screen interfaces, even the curvature of a steering wheel.

Updating the Robotaxi font reflects the same meticulous care now applied to consumer-facing autonomy. It’s not just paint on metal; it’s a statement that the ride of the future should feel personal, memorable, and undeniably cool.

In an industry racing toward self-driving fleets, Tesla’s willingness to evolve even the smallest visual cues shows confidence. A font won’t launch the robotaxi network, but it might just help millions climb aboard with a smile.

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Tesla makes latest announcement on Model S and Model X

The announcement follows Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s statement on the Q4 2025 earnings call in late January. Musk described the decision as an “honorable discharge” for the two vehicles, noting that production would wind down in Q2 2026.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially begun winding down production of its flagship Model S and Model X in the United States, notifying owners via email that the long-running models will soon reach the end of the line.

The email, sent to U.S. customers on March 27, opens with gratitude. “Model S and Model X marked the beginning of the world’s transition to electric transportation,” it reads. “These vehicles also made it possible for Tesla to develop the technology that would move our world toward autonomy.”

Tesla officially begins sunset of Model S and Model X

It then delivers the news directly: “As we make way for this autonomous future, Model S and Model X production will be ending. If you’d like to bring home a new Model S or Model X, order yours soon from our limited inventory.”

The message closes with a simple thank-you: “Thank you for being part of our journey.”

The announcement follows Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s statement on the Q4 2025 earnings call in late January. Musk described the decision as an “honorable discharge” for the two vehicles, noting that production would wind down in Q2 2026.

The move frees factory floor space at Fremont, California, for next-generation manufacturing, including Optimus humanoid robots and the upcoming Robotaxi platform.

Introduced in 2012 and 2015, respectively, the Model S and Model X were Tesla’s original halo cars. They proved EVs could outperform gasoline luxury vehicles in acceleration, range, and tech features while pioneering over-the-air updates and early autonomy hardware.

Although they never matched the volume of the Model 3 and Model Y, their engineering breakthroughs laid the foundation for the company’s current lineup and full self-driving development.

Early adopters highlighted how the cars convinced them to invest in Tesla stock and the EV movement. Some U.S. owners who had not yet received the note voiced mild frustration, and international customers confirmed the outreach remains U.S.-only for now.

Tesla has not detailed an exact final production date beyond the Q2 2026 target or confirmed immediate replacements. Speculation continues about a possible Cybertruck-derived SUV, but the company’s public focus has shifted squarely to autonomy and robotics.

For buyers still interested in the S or X, the window is closing. Inventory is described as limited, and Tesla’s Korean division has already set a March 31 cutoff for new orders in that market. The email serves as both a farewell and final sales push, an elegant close to a chapter that helped define modern electric driving.

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