News
SpaceX eyes major drone ship fleet upgrades and a new rocket recovery robot
SpaceX has kicked off a series of major upgrades planned for its East Coast fleet of drone ships, centered around Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) and most recently culminating in the apparent fabrication of a second tank-like rocket recovery robot.
Back in Q4 2019, West Coast drone ship JRTI officially departed the Port of Los Angeles berth it operated out of for 3+ years — traversing the Panama Canal, making a weeks-long pit-stop in a Louisiana port, and ultimately arriving at Port Canaveral on December 11th. The modified barge spent more than a month relatively untouched – as was the somewhat mysterious cargo it had brought with it from the Gulf Coast – before SpaceX began JRTI’s long-awaited upgrades around a month ago.
For almost half a year, it’s looked like that SpaceX would move its West Coast drone ship to Florida after the company’s Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) pad entered a major lull in launch activities in early 2019. Aside from one launch in June 2019, SpaceX’s West Coast pad has remained unused and that isn’t expected to change anytime soon. With Cape Canaveral potential reopening its dormant polar launch corridor just weeks from now, it’s entirely possible that SpaceX will be able to perform all of its planned launches from Florida alone for at least the next 6-12 months. Targeting more than 30 East Coast launches in 2020 alone, SpaceX could also benefit from at least one additional drone ship to continue high-volume Falcon booster recoveries without ship availability becoming a major launch constraint. Thankfully, JRTI may be the perfect solution.
Informally known as ‘Octagrabber’, a reference to the robot’s primary function, SpaceX has been using the only operational instance of the vehicle on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) for more than two years, beginning in 2017. While far from autonomous, Octagrabber helps SpaceX’s maritime rocket recovery team minimize the risks workers are subjected to and gives the company a bit more flexibility to attempt Falcon booster landings in less-than-pristine ocean weather.
While Falcon boosters are relatively stable once landed, thanks to the vast majority of their empty mass being concentrated around their nine Merlin 1D engines, even moderate waves can cause them to slip and slide around the drone ship deck.
In fact, the best operational demonstration of the value of Octagrabber-style recovery robots came after SpaceX’s historic Falcon Heavy triple-booster recovery in April 2019 – the first time all three of the rocket’s first stage boosters successfully landed after liftoff. As it turns out, thanks to moderate hardware differences between Falcon Heavy center core boosters and normal Falcon 9 boosters, OCISLY’s Octagrabber robot did not have the attachment mechanisms needed to ‘grab’ the center core (B1055, in this case). In theory, this could be a non-issue but the drone ship unfortunately ran into high seas, making its deck to pitch and tilt and ultimately causing to B1055 to tip over, breaking in half and effectively destroyed the booster.
With Octagrabber robots, drone ships should almost never lose recovered boosters because of high seas (within reason). As such, it should come as no surprise at all that SpaceX is building a new recovery robot for drone ship JRTI – the newest addition to its Florida fleet.
Aside from the discovery of a second Octagrabber being built at SpaceX’s former East Coast Starship factory, the nature of other upgrades planned for drone ship JRTI are more mysterious. For several months, the rocket landing platform has had almost a dozen massive generators and new thruster pods stored on its deck, seemingly waiting on an unknown impetus for their installation. In recent weeks, visible work to prepare the new hardware for installation has begun.
Notably, the thrusters and power supplies that seem destined for installation on JRTI would make for a dramatic upgrade, potentially giving the drone ship more power than the tug boats that must currently tender and tow them to landing zones. In other words, that’s a complicated way of saying that SpaceX may be trying to make drone ship JRTI almost entirely independent of contracted tugboats, potentially simplifying and lowering the cost of booster recoveries.
While less likely, it’s also possible that SpaceX is finally in a position to fully realize the “autonomous” namesake of its autonomous spaceport drone ships (ASDS), with high-powered thrusters potentially giving JRTI the ability to leave port, cruise to Atlantic Ocean landing zones, deploy an Octagrabber, and return to port with a booster – all without humans in the loop. That capability is likely still on the horizon but powerful thrusters and generators would bring port-to-port drone ship autonomy within SpaceX’s grasp in the near future.
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GM CEO Mary Barra says she told Biden to give Tesla and Musk EV credit
“He was crediting me, and I said, ‘Actually, I think a lot of that credit goes to Elon and Tesla…You know me, Andrew. I don’t want to take credit for things.”
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in a new interview on Wednesday that she told President Joe Biden to credit Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, for the widespread electric vehicle transition.
She said she told Biden this after the former President credited her and GM for leading EV efforts in the United States.
During an interview at the New York Times Dealbook Summit with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Barra said she told Biden that crediting her was essentially a mistake, and that Musk and Tesla should have been explicitly mentioned (via Business Insider):
“He was crediting me, and I said, ‘Actually, I think a lot of that credit goes to Elon and Tesla…You know me, Andrew. I don’t want to take credit for things.”
GM CEO Mary Barra said to Andrew Sorkin at the New York Times Dealbook Summit that she pulled President Biden aside and said Tesla CEO @elonmusk deserved the credit for EVs:
“He was crediting me, and I said, ‘Actually, I think a lot of that credit goes to Elon and Tesla,'” Barra… pic.twitter.com/OHBTG1QfbJ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 3, 2025
Back in 2021, President Biden visited GM’s “Factory Zero” plant in Detroit, which was the centerpiece of the company’s massive transition to EVs. The former President went on to discuss the EV industry, and claimed that GM and Barra were the true leaders who caused the change:
“In the auto industry, Detroit is leading the world in electric vehicles. You know how critical it is? Mary, I remember talking to you way back in January about the need for America to lead in electric vehicles. I can remember your dramatic announcement that by 2035, GM would be 100% electric. You changed the whole story, Mary. You did, Mary. You electrified the entire automotive industry. I’m serious. You led, and it matters.”
People were baffled by the President’s decision to highlight GM and Barra, and not Tesla and Musk, who truly started the transition to EVs. GM, Ford, and many other companies only followed in the footsteps of Tesla after it started to take market share from them.
Elon Musk and Tesla try to save legacy automakers from Déjà vu
Musk would eventually go on to talk about Biden’s words later on:
“They have so much power over the White House that they can exclude Tesla from an EV Summit. And, in case the first thing, in case that wasn’t enough, then you have President Biden with Mary Barra at a subsequent event, congratulating Mary for having led the EV revolution.”
In Q4 2021, which was shortly after Biden’s comments, Tesla delivered 300,000 EVs. GM delivered just 26.
News
Tesla Full Self-Driving shows confident navigation in heavy snow
So far, from what we’ve seen, snow has not been a huge issue for the most recent Full Self-Driving release. It seems to be acting confidently and handling even snow-covered roads with relative ease.
Tesla Full Self-Driving is getting its first taste of Winter weather for late 2025, as snow is starting to fall all across the United States.
The suite has been vastly improved after Tesla released v14 to many owners with capable hardware, and driving performance, along with overall behavior, has really been something to admire. This is by far the best version of FSD Tesla has ever released, and although there are a handful of regressions with each subsequent release, they are usually cleared up within a week or two.
Tesla is releasing a modified version of FSD v14 for Hardware 3 owners: here’s when
However, adverse weather conditions are something that Tesla will have to confront, as heavy rain, snow, and other interesting situations are bound to occur. In order for the vehicles to be fully autonomous, they will have to go through these scenarios safely and accurately.
One big issue I’ve had, especially in heavy rain, is that the camera vision might be obstructed, which will display messages that certain features’ performance might be degraded.
So far, from what we’ve seen, snow has not been a huge issue for the most recent Full Self-Driving release. It seems to be acting confidently and handling even snow-covered roads with relative ease:
FSD 14.1.4 snow storm Ontario Canada pic.twitter.com/jwK1dLYT0w
— Everything AI (@mrteslaspace) November 17, 2025
I found the steepest, unplowed hill in my area and tested the following:
• FSD 14.2.1 on summer tires
• FSD 14.2.1 on winter tires
• Manual drivingBut I think the most impressive part was how FSD went DOWN the hill. FSD in the snow is sublime $TSLA pic.twitter.com/YMcN7Br3PU
— Dillon Loomis (@DillonLoomis) December 2, 2025
Well.. I couldn’t let the boys have all the fun!
Threw the GoPro up and decided to FSD v14.2.1 in the snow. Roads were not compacted like the other day, a little slippery, but overall doable at lower speeds. Enjoy the video and holiday music 🎶
Liked:
Took turns super slow… pic.twitter.com/rIAIeh3Zu3— 🦋Diana🦋 (@99_Colorado) December 3, 2025
Moving into the winter months, it will be very interesting to see how FSD handles even more concerning conditions, especially with black ice, freezing rain and snow mix, and other things that happen during colder conditions.
We are excited to test it ourselves, but I am waiting for heavy snowfall to make it to Pennsylvania so I can truly push it to the limit.
News
Tesla hosts Rome Mayor for first Italian FSD Supervised road demo
The event marked the first time an Italian mayor tested the advanced driver-assistance system in person in Rome’s urban streets.
Tesla definitely seems to be actively engaging European officials on FSD’s capabilities, with the company hosting Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Mobility Assessor Eugenio Patanè for a hands-on road demonstration.
The event marked the first time an Italian mayor tested the advanced driver-assistance system in person in Rome’s urban streets. This comes amid Tesla’s push for FSD’s EU regulatory approvals in the coming year.
Rome officials experience FSD Supervised
Tesla conducted the demo using a Model 3 equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised), tackling typical Roman traffic including complex intersections, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and mixed users like cars, bikes and scooters.
The system showcased AI-based assisted driving, prioritizing safety while maintaining flow. FSD also handled overtakes and lane decisions, though with constant driver supervision.
Investor Andrea Stroppa detailed the event on X, noting the system’s potential to reduce severe collision risks by up to seven times compared to traditional driving, based on Tesla’s data from billions of global fleet miles. The session highlighted FSD’s role as an assistance tool in its Supervised form, not a replacement, with the driver fully responsible at all times.
Path to European rollout
Tesla has logged over 1 million kilometers of testing across 17 European countries, including Italy, to refine FSD for local conditions. The fact that Rome officials personally tested FSD Supervised bodes well for the program’s approval, as it suggests that key individuals are closely watching Tesla’s efforts and innovations.
Assessor Patanè also highlighted the administration’s interest in technologies that boost road safety and urban travel quality, viewing them as aids for both private and public transport while respecting rules.
Replies on X urged involving Italy’s Transport Ministry to speed approvals, with one user noting, “Great idea to involve the mayor! It would be necessary to involve components of the Ministry of Transport and the government as soon as possible: it’s they who can accelerate the approval of FSD in Italy.”
GM CEO Mary Barra says she told Biden to give Tesla and Musk EV credit
Tesla Full Self-Driving shows confident navigation in heavy snow
