News
SpaceX’s Pacific rocket recovery fleet heads to sea for Western Block 5 debut
SpaceX drone ship Just Read The Instructions was spotted by Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin departing Port of Los Angeles on the evening of July 22, while fairing catcher Mr Steven completed final checkouts and full installation of his massive new net, hopefully just days away from the first successful fairing catch. Their call to action, Iridium NEXT-7, is scheduled to launch NET 04:39 PDT/11:39 UTC, July 25th.
Over the course of July, both vessels have been undergoing significant maintenance and upgrades. Mr Steven’s was perhaps the most extreme – his original arm and net apparatus was removed in its entirety and replaced with a massively upgraded system of arms, booms, and a brand new net, well and truly expanding the vessel’s catching area by a factor of four.
With a new net and arm span stretching at least 60 meters by 60 meters, Mr Steven’s improved fairing catching mechanism is now almost the same size as the landing area aboard SpaceX’s two autonomous spaceport drone ships – roughly 200ft x 300ft (60m x 90m). While presumably a pure coincidence, the size parallels apparently necessary to recover two very different components of Falcon 9 – the booster rocket and the payload fairings – is rather satisfying.
A last hurrah?
Intriguingly, ASDS Just Read The Instructions has stoically remained at SpaceX’s Port of San Pedro, CA berth for more than nine months, wholly unused despite the fact that the company has completed four additional missions since its last tasked booster recovery (October 2017, Iridium-3). It’s not a coincidence that all four of those Vandenberg AFB missions featured boosters that had already successfully launched and landed once before – SpaceX made a habit over the last four months of intentionally expending Falcon 9 boosters after their second missions, even when the launch conditions would allow for booster recovery.
This mission will thankfully bring an end to that understandable but still-painful practice, thanks to Iridium-7’s new Block 5 booster, B1048. Many of the months JRTI spent at berth were without the pod thrusters the drone ship needs to keep itself at the proper landing point once at sea, but JRTI departed the port with a full complement of four blue thrusters on the evening of July 22. However, it’s unclear how much SpaceX will need the vessel within just a month or two from today.
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- A SpaceX technician works aboard the rain-soaked drone ship Just Read The Instructions, March 2018. (Pauline Acalin)
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- More recently, all four thrusters were installed and tested both while berthed and at sea. May 11. (Pauline Acalin)
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- JRTI captured conducting sea-trials by photographer Chuck Bennett. (Instagram, @chuckbennett)
At long last, SpaceX’s planned, built, and now-patiently-waiting West Coast landing zone is finally finished, permitted, and in the green to begin supporting Falcon 9 return-to-launch-site (RTLS) recoveries at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Effectively a basic copy of SpaceX’s now well-worn landing zone pair in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the company’s VAFB LZ-1 has been hinted at in two FCC launch permits for launches as early as the first and last weeks of September. Aside from Iridium launches, of which just one will remain after Iridium-7, nearly all of SpaceX’s West Coast launches are for fairly lightweight payloads that should easily allow Falcon 9 RTLS recoveries.
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- Iridium-1’s successful and scenic landing on Pacific drone ship JRTI, January 2017. This could be an increasingly rare occurrence in the Pacific, thanks to SpaceX’s new land-based landing zone. (SpaceX)
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- SpaceX’s West Coast landing zone is preparing for its debut, currently NET October 6th 2018. (Pauline Acalin/Teslarati)
Environmental conditions mean that JRTI will still be needed regularly for a handful of months (March through June) to avoid disrupting baby seals (pups, technically), but the vessel’s recovery efforts this week may be one of the last ‘off-season’ examples for months or even years to come. On the plus side, RTLS recovery at SpaceX’s VAFB landing zone will be an absolute dream for recovery technicians, as the LZ is directly beside the launch pad and hangar, where recovered Block 5 boosters can likely be refurbished or at least easily packaged and shipped to the Hawthorne factory.
For more sneak peeks and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet, including drone ship Just Read The Instructions, be sure to subscribe to our exclusive membership program!
Energy
Tesla Powerwall distribution expands in Australia
Inventory is expected to arrive in late February and official sales are expected to start mid-March 2026.
Supply Partners Group has secured a distribution agreement for the Tesla Powerwall in Australia, with inventory expected to arrive in late February and official sales beginning in mid-March 2026.
Under the new agreement, Supply Partners will distribute Tesla Powerwall units and related accessories across its national footprint, as noted in an ecogeneration report. The company said the addition strengthens its position as a distributor focused on premium, established brands.
“We are proud to officially welcome Tesla Powerwall into the Supply Partners portfolio,” Lliam Ricketts, Co-Founder and Director of Innovation at Supply Partners Group, stated.
“Tesla sets a high bar, and we’ve worked hard to earn the opportunity to represent a brand that customers actively ask for. This partnership reflects the strength of our logistics, technical services and customer experience, and it’s a win for installers who want premium options they can trust.”
Supply Partners noted that initial Tesla Powerwall stock will be warehoused locally before full commercial rollout in March. The distributor stated that the timing aligns with renewed growth momentum for the Powerwall, supported by competitive installer pricing, consumer rebates, and continued product and software updates.
“Powerwall is already a category-defining product, and what’s ahead makes it even more compelling,” Ricketts stated. “As pricing sharpens and capability expands, we see a clear runway for installers to confidently spec Powerwall for premium residential installs, backed by Supply Partners’ national distribution footprint and service model.”
Supply Partners noted that a joint go-to-market launch is planned, including Tesla-led training for its sales and technical teams to support installers during the home battery system’s domestic rollout.
Elon Musk
Tesla Giga Berlin growth could stall if not “free from external influences”: Elon Musk
The comments were delivered in a pre-recorded video discussion.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly warned that future expansion of Gigafactory Berlin could be jeopardized if the site does not remain “free from external influences.”
Musk’s comments were delivered in a pre-recorded video discussion with employees and came at a sensitive moment for the facility, where union representation has been a recurring issue.
According to reports from Handelsblatt and Der Spiegel, citing participants at the event, Musk suggested that if Giga Berlin is no longer “free from external influences,” further expansion would become unlikely. He did not, however, hint that the plant would shut down.
While Musk did not name IG Metall directly, his remarks were widely interpreted as referencing the union, which is currently the largest faction on the works council but does not hold a majority, as noted in an electrive report.
The video conversation was conducted between Musk in Austin and Grünheide plant manager André Thierig, then played back to the workforce in Germany. Works council elections are scheduled for early March, heightening the tension between management and organized labor.
The CEO has previously voiced concerns that stronger union influence could limit Tesla’s operational flexibility and long-term strategy in Germany.
Despite the warning on expansion, Musk praised the Giga Berlin site during the same address, describing it as one of the most advanced factories worldwide and highlighting its cleanliness and team culture.
The discussion also reportedly touched on battery cell production. According to attendees cited in German media, Musk indicated that Tesla has begun ramping cell production at the site. That would mark a notable shift from earlier expectations that large-scale cell manufacturing in Brandenburg would not begin until 2027.
Elon Musk
Tesla Full Self-Driving’s newest behavior is the perfect answer to aggressive cars
According to a recent video, it now appears the suite will automatically pull over if there is a tailgater on your bumper, the most ideal solution for when a driver is riding your bumper.
Tesla Full Self-Driving appears to have a new behavior that is the perfect answer to aggressive drivers.
According to a recent video, it now appears the suite will automatically pull over if there is a tailgater on your bumper, the most ideal solution for when a driver is riding your bumper.
With FSD’s constantly-changing Speed Profiles, it seems as if this solution could help eliminate the need to tinker with driving modes from the person in the driver’s seat. This tends to be one of my biggest complaints from FSD at times.
A video posted on X shows a Tesla on Full Self-Driving pulling over to the shoulder on windy, wet roads after another car seemed to be following it quite aggressively. The car looks to have automatically sensed that the vehicle behind it was in a bit of a hurry, so FSD determined that pulling over and letting it by was the best idea:
Tesla appears to be implementing some sort of feature that will now pull over if someone is tailgating you to let the car by
Really cool feature, definitely get a lot of this from those who think they drive race cars
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
We can see from the clip that there was no human intervention to pull over to the side, as the driver’s hands are stationary and never interfere with the turn signal stalk.
This can be used to override some of the decisions FSD makes, and is a great way to get things back on track if the semi-autonomous functionality tries to do something that is either unneeded or not included in the routing on the in-car Nav.
FSD tends to move over for faster traffic on the interstate when there are multiple lanes. On two-lane highways, it will pass slower cars using the left lane. When faster traffic is behind a Tesla on FSD, the vehicle will move back over to the right lane, the correct behavior in a scenario like this.
Perhaps one of my biggest complaints at times with Full Self-Driving, especially from version to version, is how much tinkering Tesla does with Speed Profiles. One minute, they’re suitable for driving on local roads, the next, they’re either too fast or too slow.
When they are too slow, most of us just shift up into a faster setting, but at times, even that’s not enough, see below:
What has happened to Mad Max?
At one point it was going 32 in a 35. Traffic ahead had pulled away considerably https://t.co/bjKvaMVTNX pic.twitter.com/aaZSWmLu5v
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 24, 2026
There are times when it feels like it would be suitable for the car to just pull over and let the vehicle that is traveling behind pass. This, at least up until this point, it appears, was something that required human intervention.
Now, it looks like Tesla is trying to get FSD to a point where it just knows that it should probably get out of the way.
Tesla Powerwall distribution expands in Australia
Tesla Giga Berlin growth could stall if not “free from external influences”: Elon Musk
