

News
SpaceX’s next rocket fairing reuse milestone within reach after latest recovery
SpaceX’s next major Falcon 9 fairing reuse milestone is now within reach after the company managed to successfully recover an entire reused nosecone with both halves intact.
On June 13th, a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on the seventh Starlink mission of 2020 and ninth launch overall, also marking SpaceX’s third reuse of a payload fairing since the first flight-proven nosecone flew in November 2019. As usual, Falcon 9’s upper stage commanded fairing deployment around three minutes after launch, leaving the house-sized shells to coast to an apogee of ~150 km (~93 mi) before falling back down to Earth. Once safely through reentry, both halves deployed GPS-guided parafoils and flew in the direction of two recovery ships, gliding for more than half an hour.
Unfortunately, although they likely got close, recovery ships GO Ms Tree and Ms Chief were unable to catch the parasailing fairings in their football field-size nets, leaving them to gently splash down in the Atlantic Ocean. Technicians were able to fish them out of the water with smaller onboard nets soon after and the ships sailed into port less than 36 hours later.
Preventing a vast majority of seawater exposure, a catch with Ms. Tree or Ms. Chief may always be preferable for fairing reuse but the fact remains that all three successful reuses up to this point have been achieved with fairing halves that landed in the ocean. That success means that SpaceX has found a way to fully prevent or mitigate any potential corrosion that might result from seawater immersion. Given that that problem must have been a showstopper for the ~2.5 years SpaceX was able to recover – but not reuse – intact fairings, it’s safe to say that the company’s engineers have more or less solved the problem of corrosion.


In fewer words, although there has yet to be any official confirmation that Falcon 9 fairings are capable of flying more than twice, there’s good reason to believe that the design upgrade that enabled one reuse had some built-in headroom. If that’s true, then one or both of the twice-flown fairing halves that safely returned to dry land on June 14th could fly for the third time just a few months from now – less than a year after the first reuse. For reference, it took SpaceX some ~33 months to go from the first reuse of a Falcon 9 first stage to the second reuse (third flight) of a single booster.
With as many as 13-17 more Starlink launches still on SpaceX’s 2020 manifest, there will be no shortage of opportunities for such a fairing reuse milestone – if possible – over the next six months. SpaceX’s next Starlink launch – the third launch in June alone and tenth mission overall – is scheduled no earlier than (NET) 6:20 pm EDT (22:20 UTC), June 22nd.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk commends Tesla team on successful Robotaxi launch
Tesla CEO Elon Musk commended the company on the successful launch of Robotaxi.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the company’s launch of the Robotaxi platform, which officially went live to a small group on Sunday in Austin, Texas.
It is the first time Tesla has offered driverless rides through the ride-hailing platform it has worked to activate for several years, and it was overwhelmingly successful based on early reviews.
The launch was coupled with the release of the first-ever looks at the Tesla Robotaxi app, which does more than allow riders to summon vehicles for transportation. It also allows the rider to adjust climate settings in the car before it arrives for a comfortable ride, and it will sync entertainment and streaming settings to keep occupants entertained.
Tesla Robotaxi riders tout ‘smooth’ experience in first reviews of driverless service launch
The first rides are being performed with a safety monitor in the passenger’s seat. These monitors have no control over the vehicle, and are there just to ensure smooth operation.
The first reviews called rides “smooth” and “comfortable,” and commended Tesla for its hard work over the past few years to make this happen. Many were impressed with the cars’ ability to keep pedestrians safe, avoid congested parking lots, and the efficiency of the rides, as the time from the ride request to the Robotaxi accepting the ride was extremely fast.
Musk has been at the forefront of this operation for a decade, as Tesla has been working to release a version of the Robotaxi through the development of Full Self-Driving. This has been an effort that included seeking top-tier engineering talent and taking incredible leaps of faith, including switching to a Vision-only approach for Full Self-Driving.
Musk commended the Tesla team for its hard work:
Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!!
Culmination of a decade of hard work.
Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 22, 2025
It’s truly an incredible accomplishment, as many considered Robotaxi a “failure” despite it not even being rolled out. In May, we reported on media outlets calling the Robotaxi rollout a total failure, despite Tesla always maintaining the launch would happen in June:
Tesla Robotaxi deemed a total failure by media — even though it hasn’t been released
Hundreds of rides have already been taken, and there have not been many complaints. It’s an incredible jump forward for Tesla.
Elon Musk
Tesla Robotaxi riders tout ‘smooth’ experience in first reviews of driverless service launch
The first reviews of Tesla Robotaxi are in, and those riders are impressed and astounded with the smooth and comfortable nature of the service.

Tesla Robotaxi riders are touting their awesome experiences in their first rides using the automaker’s new driverless ride-hailing service, which launched to a limited number of people yesterday for the first time.
On Sunday, Tesla officially launched Robotaxi, its driverless ride-hailing service, in downtown Austin. A select group of people were chosen to receive early access to the program, as well as the new Robotaxi app, which is used to request a ride and will sync everything from climate preferences to streaming settings with each pickup.
Teslarati gained access to the Early Access riders program and the Robotaxi app, giving us a first-hand look at the experience. We will be in Austin soon to test out the Robotaxi fleet for ourselves.
However, those who were there for the initial rides on Sunday had nothing but great things to say. Hundreds of rides were taken during the first hours of the Robotaxi program, and neither the company nor the riders reported any issues.
Here’s what people said about their experiences:
- “Extremely smooth stops,” and great awareness of road conditions, including pedestrians, speed bumps, and busy parking lots, were all handled with ease:
Robotaxi slows down really nice for speed bumps. Extremely smooth stops as well pic.twitter.com/H8R2pXllWB
— Zack (@BLKMDL3) June 22, 2025
- Safe navigation around pedestrians who walked just off the sidewalk into the road:
Tesla Robotaxi stops for a man who veered off the sidewalk and onto the road as @JoeTegtmeyer and I were approaching Zilker Park earlier today. The stop was smooth and our Tesla Robotaxi allowed him to get back on the sidewalk and continue with our journey. This man is likely… pic.twitter.com/fozP6A7esK
— JC Christopher (@JohnChr08117285) June 23, 2025
- “Just as good as it is during the daytime” at night. There were no changes to report by riders who took rides during the day and evening:
Here is my experience in one of the first public nighttime @Tesla Robotaxi rides. It was smooth, comfortable and just as good as it is during the daytime. pic.twitter.com/7bDvVaWf3A
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 23, 2025
- Avoided expensive and stressful parking at local tourist hotspots like Terry Black’s Barbeque:
Here’s a huge benefit of Tesla Robotaxi-
Dropped us off in front of Terry Blacks, crazy hard to find parking here, yesterday it took me almost 30 minutes to find a spot and today, I got dropped off right in front.Didn’t have to pay for parking either. Game changing. @robotaxi pic.twitter.com/yZjQ8u4s8X
— Zack (@BLKMDL3) June 22, 2025
- “Comfortable and similar to existing Tesla cars with FSD,” intuitive and “surreal” experience:
My thoughts after 3 Robotaxi rides:
– Very smooth and comfortable. Similar to existing Tesla cars with FSD.
– App UI is intuitive but can use a couple upgrades (placing a pin anywhere, change trip while in car)
– It is completely and totally surreal.As a Tesla owner and…
— Farzad (@farzyness) June 22, 2025
- The app is quicker than other ride-sharing services. When a destination is chosen, Robotaxi is already on the way to your location:
My thoughts after 13 Robotaxi rides.
-Driving is very comfortable. It feels similar to our FSD, but braking is even better.
-The app is super fast, pick a destination and the robotaxi is simultaneously on the way.
-Yes our cars do well on FSD, but no one in the driver seat,… pic.twitter.com/pkuaXVxuMP
— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) June 23, 2025
News
Tesla Robotaxi rollout proves that Elon Musk still delivers, even if it’s late
Tesla is also still the company that makes the impossible feel late.

It took a long time, but Tesla has finally successfully rolled out its dedicated Robotaxi service in Austin this weekend. The initial rollout only involved a small fleet of cars operating in a small geofenced area in Texas, but it is still significant.
It does, if any, prove that Elon Musk is still capable of delivering on his promises, even if they are late. Tesla is also still the company that makes the impossible feel late.
Finally, a Rollout
Elon Musk has been predicting a Robotaxi rollout for years, so much so that even avid Tesla supporters have grown quite wary of his constant predictions. After a while, Elon Musk himself admitted that he has become the boy who cried FSD, though he still maintained that self-driving was really just around the corner.
This past weekend, Musk’s predictions finally came true. Actual paying customers used Tesla’s dedicated Robotaxi service for a small flat fee of $4.20 per ride. Elon Musk seemed quite happy with the Robotaxi’s initial launch, as evidenced by his congratulatory message to the Tesla AI team on X.
No More Tesla Vision Debates
One thing that is evident in Tesla’s initial Robotaxi rollout in Austin was the fact that the debate surrounding Tesla’s vision-only approach is completely gone now. With actual Robotaxis operating around Austin, there are no more questions about whether cars can navigate city streets on their own using only AI and cameras. They can, and safely too, at least based on Tesla’s initial fleet of Robotaxis.
The Beauty of Normalcy
The Robotaxi rides from Tesla owners who were fortunate enough to experience the first driverless rides from the EV maker’s fleet were quite uneventful. Comments on social media platforms such as X observed that the Robotaxis operated safely and cautiously, and their driving was actually smoother than some human drivers.
That may not sound very exciting at all, but that’s the beauty of it. Tesla’s Robotaxi service is designed to look and feel natural to people. And so far, it appears that Tesla is accomplishing this with its Robotaxi rollout.
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