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SpaceX’s orbit-ready Crew Dragon nears first trip out to Pad 39A atop Falcon 9
Now primarily reserved for launches involving the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX has begun touching up its Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) pad with new paint and hardware in anticipation of the first orbital launch of Crew Dragon, set to occur as early as the evening of January 17th.
A little over three weeks away from the milestone mission’s launch, SpaceX has – even more importantly – rolled Pad 39A’s transporter/erector (T/E) into an on-site hangar, where Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon C201 are awaiting final integration and fit checks prior to a series of careful dress rehearsals including a dry (mission) rehearsal, a wet rehearsal (WDR), and an on-pad static fire.
@NASASpaceflight looks SpaceX is giving the tower at 39A a fresh paint job pic.twitter.com/l6ZD6c6PvN
— Evan Richard (@TheEvangineer) December 21, 2018
Over the past month or two, SpaceX’s Florida pad technicians have gradually begun a number of small but important modifications to Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A, Pad 39A), primarily focused on what is known as its Fixed Service Structure (FSS), a tall and rectangular tower off to the side of SpaceX’s launch mount. Notably, SpaceX has completed the demolition and removal of all extraneous Pad 39A structures related to its decades of service under the Space Shuttle program and has further modified the FSS to allow for the installation of Crew Dragon’s Crew Access Arm (CAA), completed earlier in 2018.
With those major tasks complete, SpaceX workers have since subtly modified the pad’s transporter/erector (T/E) for Crew Dragon and begun to both paint and clad the tower, both designed to minimize wear and tear from regular launch operations and coastal Florida’s omnipresent sea breeze. Captured in photos from the November 2018 launch of Es’hail-2, the tower cladding appears to be made of double-layered sheets of half-opaque black plastic, while the paint of choice is gray (and black accents) to mesh with the tower’s minimalist arm.
Given CEO Elon Musk’s well-known preference that his companies, products, and facilities look “beautiful”, this is almost certainly being done on his whim, albeit for the best. A coat of paint and minimalist arm design are probably cost a minimal amount of money and effort, but the bare minimum still easily sets SpaceX’s facilities apart from competitors like ULA and even NASA.
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- A panorama of LC-39A in November 2017. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
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- Pad 39A seen after most extraneous Shuttle-era hardware had been removed, November 2018. (Tom Cross)
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- Falcon 9 B1047 lifts off from Pad 39A, November 2018. (Tom Cross)
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- A detailed look at SpaceX’s shiny new Crew Access Arm, installed on Pad 39A in August 2018. (Tom Cross)
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- Boeing/ULA’s Starliner Crew Access Arm (CAA) was installed at LC-41 in 2015. (NASA)
Crew Dragon closes in on orbital launches
For perhaps the first in the history of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), SpaceX revealed earlier this month that all the major hardware components needed for the first orbital launch of Crew Dragon were under one literal roof at the company’s Pad 39A launch complex. In the weeks and months prior, both Musk and COO/President Gwynne Shotwell stated rather explicitly that that hardware would indeed be physically ready to launch no later than the end of 2018, even suggesting that SpaceX engineers and technicians would attempt to conduct a dry (propellant-less) Mission Dress Rehearsal (MDR) to ensure everything fits together in late December.
omfg @spacex just posted some absolutely stunning photos inside Pad 39A's hangar: meet the first completed Crew Dragon and its Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket (B1051) 😀 In the far left (second photo), you can also see what is probably B1047 in the midst of refurbishment. pic.twitter.com/NWULyAEhpQ
— Eric Ralph (@13ericralph31) December 18, 2018
As of last week, 39A’s T/E disappeared from its launch mount, indicating that the pad crew had rolled the massive apparatus into the complex’s integration hangar, where the above Falcon 9(s) and Demo-1 Crew Dragon were stashed as of December 18th. Having spent a solid five days in the hangar, SpaceX technicians have likely begun or even completed the integration of Falcon 9 B1051 and Crew Dragon and proceeded to integrate that full rocket/spacecraft combo to the T/E. As such, the T/E could very well roll out of its hangar with Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon attached at almost any moment between now and 2019.
If all goes as planned and NASA and SpaceX can wrap up paperwork (certification, approvals, etc) in the next week or two, SpaceX could launch an uncrewed Crew Dragon into orbit as early as the evening of January 17th. The rocket’s rollout will be the be the next major milestone so stay tuned!
For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!
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 (NASDAQ: TSLA) will report its earnings for the second quarter of 2026 this evening after market close, and investors and analysts are waiting anxiously to see what the company will report for the second three-month span of the year.
Analysts have already put out their expectations from a financial standpoint for the company’s second quarter, but what’s unknown is what Tesla plans to discuss during the call.
Financial Expectations
Wall Street consensus expectations put Tesla’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) at $0.53, while revenues are expected to come in around $26.4 billion.
This would compare to an EPS of $0.39 and $22.19 billion compared to Tesla’s Q2 2025. Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.41 on $22.387 billion of revenue. Additionally in Q1, Tesla beat analyst expectations, but shares dropped over 3 percent the following trading day.
What We Expect
In terms of discussions, Tesla earnings are pretty sporadic and depend on a handful of things, including current events, investor questions, and more.
Tesla uses a platform called Say to field questions from investors and analysts. These questions are what will be used during the call. Here are the top 5 from the Retail side and top 3 from the Institutional side:
Retail:
“Tesla has missed short-term guidance on robotaxi 3 earnings reports in a row, from 50% coverage of USA by end of 2025 to most recently 7 new cities in 1H26. What is keeping Tesla back from accomplishing these short term goals that they’ve set for themselves?”
“What are the main constraints to expanding robotaxi operations faster, and how do you see that lining up with Cybercab production?”
“What’s the current status of Optimus Gen 3 production ramp, initial deployment in factories, and external sales timeline/volume for 2027? What tasks can we expect the Optimus to perform by end of 2027?”
“To reward long-term Tesla retail shareholders for their loyalty, can you commit to achieving at least half of the goals outlined in your 2025 compensation plan before considering any offers to acquire or merge Tesla?”
“Why has growth of robotaxi vehicles stalled? When will we see cybercab start customer rides?”
Institutional
“Previously, you’ve said Tesla would lead the R&D while SpaceX would lead production for Terafab. Can you provide an update on how that division of responsibilities is evolving, and any additional clarity on the expected capital contributions from Tesla and SpaceX?”
“For autonomous driving, Tesla’s fleet created a huge data advantage by collecting billions of real-world miles. That advantage doesn’t yet exist for Optimus. How should we think about data availability and its impact on Optimus development?”
“Why is it necessary to limit robotaxi operations within specific zones within cities to start? Will every city have to be rolled out this way?”
Tesla will report earnings for Q2 this evening with the Shareholder Deck at 4 p.m. ET, with the call starting around 5:30 p.m. ET.
Tesla is about to make parking in busy lots less stressful than ever
Tesla starts preparing for Optimus in its smartphone app
