News
SpaceX nails first reuse of its next-gen Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket
SpaceX has successfully reused the first Falcon 9 Block 5 booster less than three months after the rocket’s major reliability and reusability upgrade debuted. This milestone may feel small in the shadow of SpaceX’s accomplishments over the last ~18 months but make no mistake: the second flight of a Block 5 booster is by far the company’s most significant achievement in recent years.
First and foremost, this is by no means meant to demean the awe-inspiring reality of what SpaceX has managed over the last several years, which includes the first successful Falcon 9 landing, the first commercial orbital-class rocket reuse (also Falcon 9), and the first commercial reuse of an orbital spacecraft (Cargo Dragon), and many others. Rather, it really is the case that the first Block 5 reuse is one of the most important things ever done by SpaceX.
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2’s rocket exhaust and crystal-clear skies made for an extraordinary plume. (Tom Cross)
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2’s rocket exhaust and crystal-clear skies made for an extraordinary plume. (Tom Cross)
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2’s rocket exhaust and crystal-clear skies made for an extraordinary plume. (Tom Cross)
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- A view of Falcon 9 B1046.2’s first stage engine plume expanding as the rocket reaches thinner air. (SpaceX)
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2 lifts off from Pad 40 for its second launch. (SpaceX)
Why is this launch so significant?
As noted by webcast host and engineer Lauren Lyons, the second successful drone ship recovery of Falcon 9 Booster 1046 (B1046) paves the way for the SpaceX’s first-ever third launch of the same rocket. The number “3” may not immediately feel significant, but in the case of Falcon 9, the third reuse of a booster has always remained out of reach for older versions of the rocket, walled off by the exponentially greater cost and effort required to refurbish non-Block 5 rockets after their first reuse. Block 5 is different, and that’s by design.
Put very simply Falcon 9 Block 5 is an iteration of the venerable launch vehicle that best represents SpaceX moving from reusable rockets as experimental prototypes to a successfully developed and implemented technology – with Block 5, SpaceX is effectively proclaiming that Falcon 9’s reusability design has been completed and optimized thanks to dozens of rocket landings (28) and reuses (15).
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2 successfully landed aboard OCISLY after its second launch, paving the way for its third mission and beyond. (SpaceX)
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2 stands at Pad 40 for its second launch. (Tom Cross)
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2 stands at Pad 40 for its second launch. (Tom Cross)
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- Falcon 9 B1046.2 stands at Pad 40 for its second launch. (Tom Cross)
With the third reuse now explicitly on the table for B1046 “later this year”, Falcon 9 has broken a two-launch ceiling that long loomed over its older predecessors. The third reuse will pave the way for the 4th, 5th, 10th, 50th … reflight of individual Falcon 9 boosters, an absolutely integral requirement for SpaceX to achieve its ultimate goals of sustainably colonizing the solar system – starting with Mars – and thus ‘backing up’ humanity.
B1046’s second suborbital jaunt and landing aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You will almost undoubtedly be a turning point in the future history of SpaceX. For those that missed the stream or just want to watch again, catch the milestone launch below.
For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet (including fairing catcher Mr Steven) check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what the company reported compared to what Wall Street analysts expected.
The earnings results come after Tesla reported a massive beat on vehicle deliveries for the second quarter, delivering 489,126 vehicles and building 451,758 cars during the three-month span.
This was a major shock for those on Wall Street as they anticipated somewhere around 400,000 deliveries for the quarter, and showed Tesla still has plenty of demand for its vehicles around the world and in the U.S. despite losing the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year.
Tesla Q2 2026 Earnings Results
- Non-GAAP EPS – $0.33 reported vs. $0.53 expected
- Revenues – $28.236 billion reported vs. $26.4 billion expected
- Free Cash Flow- -$1.092B
- Profit -$ 4.751B
Tesla (beat/missed) analyst expectations, so the market response to the company’s quarter is what we will look for next.
Tesla shares closed today down just over 1 percent, trading at $374.01.
In the past, it has been anyone’s guess with what Tesla shares will do after they report earnings. Strong quarters have resulted in sharp drops, while lackluster quarters have seen the stock shoot up considerably.
Tesla will hold its Q2 2026 Earnings Call in about 90 minutes at 5:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Remarks will be made by CEO Elon Musk and other executives, who will shed some light on the investor questions that we covered earlier this week.
You can stream it below. Additionally, we will be doing our Live Blog on X and Facebook.
Q2 2026 Earnings Call https://t.co/zZS6ii2TWK
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla is about to make parking in busy parking lots at businesses and other points of interest less stressful than ever by allowing drivers more control over where they park and how, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
Tesla has been working to improve the parking performance of vehicles utilizing the Full Self-Driving suite, but now it is looking to add more customization, allowing drivers to choose the specific space they park in, but also potentially the orientation the car pulls into the spot:
It’s coming soon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2026
Musk has reiterated on X twice over the past several weeks that Tesla is working to make things with the FSD suite based more on the driver’s specific preferences and behaviors that were seen in past drives.
Essentially, it sounds like if you tend to park away from a business to avoid other vehicles, Tesla FSD will soon recognize that preference of yours and start parking further away as well. Additionally, the prospect of assigned parking spaces has been something many owners have voiced concerns about.
Living in a community with assigned parking spaces makes using FSD incredibly difficult as it will rarely park in the correct spot when there are so many to choose from. This is also pertinent in work settings where there are sometimes assigned parking spaces.
The updates to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite in terms of listening to driver preferences with parking are also extending to routing. Tesla announced yesterday that with the release of its 2026 Summer Update, it was adding Automatic Navigation and Preferred Routes:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla has always maintained the idea that any human input is bad input, and that, ideally, Tesla Full Self-Driving will always make the right decision. Of course, this is all in theory, but the issue is that so many of Tesla’s interventions have come because it does something that is not necessarily wrong, but perhaps not what the driver would prefer.
Taking these preferences into account will help Tesla alleviate some of the potentially unnecessary interventions that drivers perform.
Tesla is starting to prepare for the launch of the Optimus robot in its smartphone app, new coding strings show. Elon Musk has referred to Optimus as what will be the greatest-selling product of any kind of all time, and now, Tesla is getting ready for its launch.
Tesla’s smartphone app had several first-time mentions of the Optimus program, according to Tesla App Updates, who intially reported on the appearance. Here’s what they found:
A Dedicated “Robot” Phone Key Authentication
Tesla is working on a Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, authentication that is specifically for robots. This does not only apply to Optimus, though, as Robotaxi, which is Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, might also identify vehicles within the fleet as robots as well.
Tesla shows rapid teardown of Model S and X lines, paving the way for Optimus at Fremont
Essentially, pairing your phone as a key to anything Tesla identifies as a robot to a “whitelist” of authorized devices. Optimus, Robotaxi, or other products that fall into this category will only respond if the device trying to communicate with it is authorized.
This is a great security feature that will eliminate at least face-value and low-level threats.
Home Data Collection and System Alerts
This appears to be somewhat of a neural network for Optimus within your house. There will be a dedicated screen that asks for consent to collect both video and spatial data while Optimus performs in-home tasks. Everything from vacuuming, washing dishes, dusting, and other activities will be tracked.
There will also be a comprehensive alert system that will track everything from low battery to mechanical issues.
Other Changes
Most of the changes tracked in this particular app update are related to Tesla’s 2026 Summer Update, and include things such as image assets for new features, a preview of the new custom wraps feature, and other unique features.
You can check out our coverage on what is included with the 2026 Summer Update here:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla is about to make parking in busy lots less stressful than ever
