News
SpaceX rocket booster makes it back to port after hard drone ship landing
SpaceX has completed its third rocket launch of 2020 and the most recent booster to launch safely returned to Port Canaveral on Saturday after an exceptionally hard drone ship landing.
Falcon 9 booster (first stage) B1051 lifted off for the third time on January 29th, following up two prior orbital-class missions by placing SpaceX’s fourth batch of 60 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). B1051 debuted on March 2nd, 2019 when it became the first Falcon 9 rocket to launch SpaceX’s next-generation Crew Dragon spacecraft, successfully sending the vehicle on its way to what would end up being a flawless rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). Less than four months later, B1051 completed its second mission, this time lifting off from SpaceX’s Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California facilities before landing in zero-visibility fog conditions just a thousand feet from the pad.
Compared to some of the higher-energy geostationary (high orbit) launches SpaceX often performs, B1051’s two prior launches allowed for relatively gentle reentries and landings. On January 29th, 2020, after sending SpaceX’s 3rd batch of upgraded Starlink v1.0 satellites (Starlink V1 L3) on their way to space, the Falcon 9 booster experienced the hardest successful landing seen after a SpaceX launch in quite some time.
With Starlink V1 L3 complete, SpaceX has officially launched an incredible 120 satellites weighing some 32 metric tons (70,500 lb) in a single month – 22 days, to be precise. If everything goes as planned, those two monthly Starlink launches should become SpaceX’s average over the rest of 2020, necessary to satisfy the company’s goal of completing 20-24 Starlink launches this year alone. If SpaceX replicates its January successes this month, the company’s Starlink constellation – already ~230 satellites strong – may even be ready to start serving internet to customers in the northern US and Canada as early as March 2020, less than two months from now.
Meanwhile, the mission marked SpaceX’s second Falcon 9 landing and recovery of the new year, as well as the sixth time an orbital-class SpaceX booster has completed three launches. SpaceX continues to push the envelope of reusable rocketry ever since it debuted Falcon 9’s Block 5 upgrade in May 2018.
Designed to enable no less than 10 launches per booster with minimal refurbishment in between, SpaceX’s Block 5 reusability milestones have gotten much closer together ever since the company began dedicated Starlink launches, reusing a payload fairing for the first time and launching two Falcon 9 boosters for the fourth time in just the last two and a half months. In fact, SpaceX already has plans to launch Falcon 9 booster B1048 for the fifth time – another major reusability first – as early as the next 4-5 weeks.
Hard landing; tough rocket
Starlink V1 L3’s launch followed a trajectory almost exactly identical to the two V1 missions that preceded it in November 2019 and January 2020 and Falcon 9 B1051 ignited its central Merlin 1D engine for the last time around eight minutes after liftoff. Twenty seconds or so later, the Falcon 9 booster rapidly shut down its landing engine, visibly falling several feet onto the deck of drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY).
The results of that unintentionally hard landing are extremely apparent in photos taken of the same booster after its first (March 2019) and third (Jan 2020) landings on drone ship OCISLY, compared above. Taken from almost identical perspectives as the drone ship passed through the mouth of Port Canaveral, the difference in the booster’s height and stance are hard to miss, with B1051’s engine bells and the black ‘belt’ of its heat-shielded engine section clearly sitting several feet lower after Starlink V1 L3.
While subtle, the most important difference is near the tips of each visible landing leg’s telescoping boom, visible in the form of a final, smaller cylinder on the left (earlier) image. On the right, that cylinder has effectively disappeared. This is actually an intentional feature of Falcon 9’s landing leg design: known as a ‘crush core’, the tip of each leg boom holds a roughly 1m (3ft) long cylinder of aluminum honeycomb, optimized to lose structural integrity (crush) only after a specific amount of force is applied. In essence, those crush cores serve as dead-simple, single-use shock absorbers that can be reused as long as a given booster’s landing is gentle enough.
B1051’s third landing was definitely not gentle enough, but it appears that the booster’s rough fall onto the drone ship’s deck was just within the safety margins those crush cores provide. Why B1051 fell onto the deck is unclear, potentially caused by the drone being at the bottom of a swell or a last-second anomaly with the booster’s landing engine. Thankfully, regardless of the cause of the anomaly, B1051’s crush cores can be quite easily replaced, meaning that the booster can remain operational as long as its hard landing didn’t cause any less-visible damage or stress elsewhere on the rocket.
In short, SpaceX smart design decisions very likely allowed a part worth just a few thousand dollars to save a Falcon 9 booster worth tens of millions of dollars from the scrap heap. With a little luck, B1051 should have at least several more launches in its future before entering retirement.
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk teases massive new Tesla-xAI joint project known as ‘Digital Optimus’
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Elon Musk teased a massive new project, to be developed jointly by Tesla and xAI, called “Digital Optimus” or “Macrohard,” the first development under Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Musk announced on X that Digital Optimus will “be capable of emulating the function of entire companies.”
Macrohard or Digital Optimus is a joint xAI-Tesla project, coming as part of Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2026
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Essentially, it will be an AI version of a desk worker in many capacities, including accounting, HR tasks, and others.
Musk said:
“Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software. You can think of it as Digital Optimus AI being System 1 (instinctive part of the mind) and Grok being System 2. (thinking part of the mind).”
Its key applications would be used for enterprise automation, simulating entire companies, high-volume repetitive tasks, and potentially, future hybrid use with the Optimus robot, which would handle physical tasks, while Digital Optimus would handle the clerical work.
The creation of a digital AI suite like Digital Optimus would help companies save time and money, as well as become more efficient in their operations through massive scalability. However, there will undoubtedly be concerns from people who are skeptical of a fully-integrated AI workhorse like this one.
From an energy consumption perspective and just a general concern for the human workforce, these types of AI projects are polarizing in nature.
However, Digital Optimus would be a great digital counterpart to Tesla’s physical Optimus robot, as it would be a hyper-efficient addition to any company that is looking for more production for less cost.
Musk maintains that there is no other company on Earth that will be able to do this.
Elon Musk
Tesla China posts strong February wholesale growth at Gigafactory Shanghai
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla China sold 58,599 vehicles wholesale in February, reflecting strong year-over-year growth. The figure includes both domestic deliveries in China and vehicles exported to international markets.
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla’s February wholesale result represents a 91% increase year over year, compared with 30,688 vehicles in February 2025. Month over month, the result was down 15.2% from January, when Tesla China recorded 69,129 wholesale units.
The February total reflects combined sales of the Model 3 and Model Y produced at Gigafactory Shanghai. The facility produces the two vehicles for both domestic sales and exports.
Gigafactory Shanghai continues to serve as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, supplying vehicles to markets across Asia and Europe. Data compiled by Tesla watchers shows that 18,485 vehicles were sold domestically in China in January 2026, while exports accounted for 50,644 units during the same period.
Tesla has also been extending financing programs in China as it pushes to strengthen domestic demand. The company recently extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing programs through March 31, marking the second extension of the promotion this year.
The financing initiative was first introduced on January 6 as a strategy aimed at offsetting higher ownership costs ahead of China’s planned 5% NEV purchase tax in 2026. The promotion was originally scheduled to expire at the end of January before being extended to February and then again through the end of the first quarter.
Tesla’s efforts come amid growing competition in China’s EV market. According to data compiled by CNEV Post, Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China reached 625,698 vehicles, representing a 4.78% year-over-year decline. Part of that decline was linked to the Model Y changeover to its updated variant in early 2025, which temporarily reduced deliveries during the transition period.
News
Tesla Model Y L spotted on transport trucks in Australia
One of the sightings was reported along Victoria Parade in Melbourne, and it showed multiple Model Y L vehicles on a transport carrier.
Tesla’s upcoming Model Y L has been spotted on transport trucks in Australia. Sightings of the six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y variant have been reported on social media platform X by members of the Australian Tesla community.
One of the sightings was reported along Victoria Parade in Melbourne, and it showed multiple Model Y L vehicles on a transport carrier.
The sighting follows earlier observations by Tesla enthusiasts in Sydney, where a covered vehicle believed to be a Model Y L was spotted at a Supercharger.
The Sydney sighting drew attention after observers noted that the vehicle’s tare weight appeared to match the ADR approval listing for the Model Y L, suggesting it could indeed be the extended wheelbase variant of the electric SUV.
Tesla has previously confirmed that the Model Y L will launch in Australia and New Zealand in 2026. The confirmation was reported by techAU following a media release from Tesla Australia and New Zealand.
The Model Y L expands the existing Model Y lineup with seating for six passengers. The vehicle features a longer body compared with the standard Model Y in order to accommodate a spacious second and third row.
Tesla has opted for a 2-2-2 seating configuration instead of a traditional seven-seat layout for the Model Y L. The design includes two individual seats in the middle row to provide easier access to the third row and additional passenger space.
Tesla Australia and New Zealand has also stated that the Model Y L will be covered under the company’s updated warranty structure beginning in 2026.
Tesla has not yet announced pricing or official range figures for the Model Y L in Australia.
Elon Musk teases massive new Tesla-xAI joint project known as ‘Digital Optimus’
Tesla China posts strong February wholesale growth at Gigafactory Shanghai
