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SpaceX wraps up Falcon 9 launch, sends drone ship to sea for the next one
SpaceX’s two East Coast drone ships have passed each other by as one returned from the company’s most recent Falcon 9 launch and the other headed to sea for the next one.
An unsurprising consequence of SpaceX’s extraordinary 2022 launch cadence goal, it just so happened that the company’s next launch was scheduled such that the upcoming Starlink mission’s drone ship left Port Canaveral at almost the exact moment that another drone ship was returning from its last launch. The timing was so perfect that the two converted barges sailed past each other just a thousand or so feet apart and just a few thousand feet outside of the mouth of the port both call home.
Drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) was returning to port after about a week at sea with Falcon 9 booster B1062, which successfully launched Egypt’s Nilesat-301 communications satellite into a supersynchronous geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) on June 8th. Heading in the opposite direction, drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG) – towed by support ship Doug – left port and began its journey about 650 kilometers (~400 mi) downrange to support Starlink 4-19, SpaceX’s next launch.
Nilesat-301 was SpaceX’s 23rd launch of 2022 and Falcon 9 B1062’s seventh launch overall, as well as the booster’s sixth launch in less than 12 months. In early 2022, CEO Elon Musk announced that SpaceX was targeting an average of one launch per week throughout the calendar year. He later revised that target to 60 launches or 1.15 launches per week after a few months of undeniable success. Set in 2021, SpaceX’s annual record is 31 Falcon launches, followed by 26 in 2020. In 2022, SpaceX is on track to launch more than 26 times in the first half of the year. In fact, after Nilesat-301, the company has another five missions tentatively scheduled to launch in June for a total of 28 in H1 2022 if all manage to avoid significant delays.
Starlink 4-19 is scheduled to launch from SpaceX’s NASA Kennedy Space Center LC-39A pad no earlier than (NET) 10:50 am EDT (14:50 UTC) on Friday, June 17th. SpaceX’s schedule for the mission will be exceptionally tight and likely offer few – if any – backup opportunities before the end of the month, owing to the company’s need to launch Cargo Dragon on a NASA space station resupply mission as early as June 28th. Unless CRS-25’s launch date has slipped again, the current schedule leaves SpaceX only a handful of days to convert Pad 39A back into its Dragon configuration immediately after Starlink 4-19.
While merely the 48th in a long line of dedicated Starlink internet satellite launches, Starlink 4-19 will be an important mission for SpaceX for a number of other reasons. First, it will be the 100th reuse of a Falcon booster since the first in March 2017. If all goes well, it will also mark SpaceX’s 50th consecutively successful Falcon booster landing. Perhaps most significantly, Starlink 4-19 could be Falcon 9’s 130th consecutively successful launch campaign – just four successes away from breaking the world record of 133 consecutive successes set by variants of Russia’s Soyuz/R-7 rocket.
SpaceX is also scheduled to launch Germany’s SARah-1 radar satellite and a group of rideshare payloads out of California no earlier than (NET) June 18th. Another mysterious launch is scheduled out of SpaceX’s LC-40 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) pad as early as June 19th. Finally, two more Falcon 9 rockets are scheduled to launch the SES-22 geostationary communications satellite on June 27th or 28th and Cargo Dragon’s CRS-25 resupply mission on June 28th.
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Elon Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX), is set to report its earnings for the second quarter today in what will be its first-ever earnings call since going public in July.
SpaceX is trading down roughly 25 percent from its IPO. These early stock signals are usually a bit tumultuous, and considering this is the first company actively launching rockets that is available on the stock exchange, investors might have a tendency to be a bit skittish.
However, there are going to be some details that investors will hear for the first time today on the earnings call. Here’s what to look for:
Wall Street Expectations
Revenue is expected to fall somewhere around $6.8 billion, and will be heavily driven by Starlink, which is SpaceX’s widely popular satellite internet platform that has been adopted by numerous airlines, cruise ships, and other maritime operations. It is also available for consumers at home or in their cars.
Earnings Per Share (EPS) expectations fall at a net loss of $0.23 per share. Wall Street sees this as a total net loss of roughly $1.9 billion.
EBITDA is expected to come in between $2 billion and $2.1 billion.
What Investors Want to Know
Tesla uses the Say platform to help work with both retail and institutional investors to answer relevant and quality questions that address concerns or questions that they might have.
However, SpaceX is doing things differently, as the company launched its own Investor Relations website where these questions are being fielded. Just like the Tesla questions, they seem to be less focused on the operational tasks and overall progress of the company, and more novelty.
Here are the top five:
- Has the team thought about what possibilities there are with your mascot Asteroid? Whether it’s starting additional foundations for kids in its name, helping kids learn about space, etc. Kids are our future, and Asteroid would be a fun and easy way to help.
- Baby Asteroid is already making a difference through charity around the world. Could SpaceX take it even further with programs that inspire kids to explore space?
- SpaceX has some legendary vehicle names. Would you ever allow the public to name a Starship, even knowing there is a 99% chance it becomes Shipy McShipface?
- When can we expect to see more footage of the Human Landing System?
- Will Asteroid (your mascot) go to Mars?
SpaceX will report its earnings today, August 4, at 4:30 P.M. EDT.
Lemonade has expanded its innovative Autonomous Car insurance program to Tennessee, giving Tesla owners in the state a substantial discount on Full Self-Driving (FSD) miles. Announced on August 3, the product offers 50 percent off every mile driven with FSD activated, positioning the digital insurer as a leader in pricing insurance around autonomous technology.
The program, marketed as Lemonade Autonomous Car insurance, uses a direct connection via Tesla’s Fleet API (with customer permission) to automatically distinguish FSD-engaged miles from manual driving. Policyholders pay a low base rate when the vehicle is stationary and a few cents per mile when moving, with the 50 percent reduction applied specifically to FSD miles.
If you’re driving a Tesla in Tennessee, FSD miles now cost 50% less to insure with Lemonade. Autonomous Car is now live in TN.https://t.co/4CDTuhyORi pic.twitter.com/QZk4LBIs6f
— Lemonade (@Lemonade_Inc) August 3, 2026
Coverage includes standard protections such as liability, collision, comprehensive, roadside assistance, and Tesla-specific benefits like access to certified repair shops and emergency crash services. Eligible vehicles require Hardware 4, as well as recent firmware.
Lemonade first unveiled the product on January 21 of this year, describing it as a first-of-its-kind offering designed for self-driving cars, starting with Tesla FSD. It began rolling out in Arizona on January 26, followed by Oregon about a month later. Subsequent expansions brought it to Indiana in early June 2026 and Colorado later that month.
Tennessee marks the fifth state.
Tesla Full Self-Driving gets outrageous insurance offer with insanely cheap rates
The discount rests on Lemonade’s strong belief in the safety of Tesla’s FSD system. The company cites Tesla’s data showing that FSD-driven miles are twice as safe as those driven manually, or associated with roughly a 50 percent crash reduction.
Lemonade Co-founder and President Shai Wininger has emphasized this distinction: “Traditional insurers treat a Tesla like any other car, and AI like any other driver. But a car that sees 360 degrees, never gets drowsy, and reacts in milliseconds can’t be compared to a human.”
He added that “Teslas driven with FSD are involved in far fewer accidents” and committed that as FSD software improves and becomes safer, Lemonade’s prices will drop further.
Tesla Full Self-Driving gets an offer to be insured for ‘almost free’
This approach leverages Lemonade’s existing pay-per-mile technology and AI-driven risk models, which analyze nuanced vehicle data including software version and sensor performance. The company expects the model to reward higher FSD usage with greater savings while supporting mixed households that include both Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles under one policy. Bundling with home, renters, or pet insurance can yield additional discounts.
As autonomous driving technology advances, Lemonade’s state-by-state expansion of usage-based pricing that directly reflects real-world safety data represents a notable shift in how insurers evaluate risk.
Tesla owners in the five available states – Arizona, Oregon, Indiana, Colorado, and now Tennessee – can obtain quotes quickly through the Lemonade app or website, potentially lowering the overall cost of ownership for vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems. Further states are expected as regulatory approvals progress.
Tesla has continued to flex the strength, rigidity, and robustness of its all-electric pickup, the Cybertruck. In fact, since 2019, Cybertruck’s ability to avoid dents, dings, and even gunfire has been one of the main selling points Tesla has used to attract buyers who are looking for a vehicle that can handle the most intense challenges.
But that does not mean Tesla is not still actively trying to make it even better.
In a new hardware update, Tesla has decided to change the material of the Cybertruck’s underbody panels from aluminum to carbon fiber, a move that aims to not only increase pricing efficiency but also improve strength.
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Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill confirmed the change was made to the Cybertruck recently after it was spotted by Coleton Guerin of Out of Spec. This particular trim level was a Cyberbeast, but it is being applied to all trims to keep supply chain efficiency high and have less variance across trim levels.
Morrill said that Tesla tested different materials for the underbody panel protection, and carbon fiber performed better than aluminum, which is what the company was using since its first deliveries in 2023.
Additionally, there are some efficiency improvements because Tesla can better form the areas around the bolts to keep underbody airflow cleaner than previously.
good eye – it’s a new material. Testing showed it to be more durable than the aluminum while being lower weight and cost. Also slight efficiency improvement since we can better form the areas around the bolts to keep the underbody airflow cleaner than what stamped aluminum allows
— Wes (@wmorrill3) July 30, 2026
Carbon fiber is traditionally lighter and more durable than aluminum, which is why it is such a popular material among luxury automakers, and EV makers will utilize some of the materials around battery packs to save weight.
This is the first instance of Tesla utilizing carbon fiber on the Cybertruck’s exterior to help with overall performance and strength. As previously mentioned, Tesla used aluminum to protect the underside of the body, but it is pretty typical for the company to continue making engineering changes that will improve the car in the future.
SpaceX to report first-ever earnings today: here’s what to expect
Tesla Full Self-Driving insurance program with heavy discount expands
