News
SpaceX sets new Falcon 9 Block 5 reusability milestones for second half of 2019
Speaking at 2019’s Asia-Pacific Satellite (APSAT) Conference, SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Jonathan Hofeller – squeezed into a sea of breaking-news updates – announced that the company plans to launch the same Falcon 9 Block 5 booster for the fifth (or sixth) time by the end of 2019.
Just an add-on at the end of a number of updates focused on SpaceX’s next-generation Starship/Super Heavy rocket, the phrasing reported by SpaceNews.com technically means that there are plans for a Falcon 9 booster to launch for the sixth time in the second half of 2019. The demonstration of such an extreme level of operational reusability barely 18 months after Falcon 9 Block 5’s debut would make it clear that SpaceX’s latest Falcon upgrade has been a resounding success. In line with those positive signs, Hofeller also noted that SpaceX is already starting to transfer the fruits of those labors to its customers by permanently lowering the base price of Falcon 9 launch contracts.
Block 5 off to a spectacular start
First reported on by SpaceNews’ Caleb Henry, one of a few spaceflight journalists able to attend 2019’s Jakarta, Indonesia-based APSAT conference, details about the near-term future of Falcon 9 Block 5 reusability milestones were effectively tacked on at the end of much higher-profile breaking-news tidbits. Although wildly ambitious Starship goals led headlines (stay tuned for Teslarati’s own analysis later this week), the fact remains that ambitious development goals are inherently tenuous and likely to slip, particularly when the subject is large-scale, fully-reusable launch vehicles developed from a nearly blank slate.
What is not up for debate, however, is the fact that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Block 5 upgrade is already flying routinely and reliably. After a successful debut in May 2018, Block 5 took over all SpaceX launches less than two months later. Since then, a total of 12 freshly-built Block 5 boosters have supported 16 Falcon 9 and 2 Falcon Heavy launches, ten – more than half – of which involved flight-proven boosters. According to official statements made recently by SpaceX executives, Block 5 boosters are expected to support an additional 12-19* launches in the second half of 2019.
*Derived by stacking “2-6 dedicated Starlink launches” and SpaceX’s 2019 target of 18-21 non–Starlink launches
Tied directly to claims that the same Falcon 9 Block 5 booster will launch for the fifth or sixth time by the end of 2019, SpaceX already has three Falcon 9 boosters that have each completed a trio of launches, as well as an additional five with either one or two launches under their belts. Pictured at the top of the article, all three thrice-flown Falcon 9 boosters – B1046, B1048, and B1049 – could arguably be selected to become the next pathfinder as SpaceX prepares to put boosters through their fourth launches and beyond.
Rumored to be assigned to Crew Dragon’s in-flight abort (IFA) test prior to a major capsule anomaly on April 20th, B1046 could be off the manifest if SpaceX is confident that said IFA test can still be performed within the next several months. It’s currently unclear if that is a viable option for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon schedule, likely to remain uncertain until the failure investigation is fully completed and any necessary design/hardware/software fixes have been implemented. B1046 completed its third launch in December 2018 (a full six months ago), followed by B1048 in February 2019 and B1049 in May 2019. Although the “unknown territory” aspect of Block 5 reuse milestones is becoming less noteworthy, SpaceX is still likely to treat B104X’s fourth launch as a pathfinder, requiring extra time to dot I’s and cross T’s. With B1046 and B1048 potentially ready to go, that milestone could come any time now.
SpaceX customers already reaping financial benefits
Meanwhile, although certain heads-in-sand competitors continue to act and claim otherwise, SpaceX has reportedly normalized earlier prices for customers flying on flight-proven milestone missions. Speaking at APSAT, SpaceX’s Jonathan Hofeller indicated that that pricing is now the company’s “normal pricing”, pushing Falcon 9’s base price as low as ~$50M according to comments CEO Elon Musk made about a year ago. Two years prior to those comments and about six months prior to SpaceX’s first-ever booster reuse, COO and President Gwynne Shotwell reported that the company was offering discounts of ~10% for customers willing to contract launches on flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters.
In other words, SpaceX has cut Falcon 9’s base launch costs by anywhere from 10-20% over the last three years, a period in which the Falcon 9 V1.2 Full Thrust rocket’s capabilities were also dramatically upgraded from Block 1 (debut: December 2015) through Block 5 (debut: May 2018). Speaking during a press conference focused on Falcon 9 Block 5’s launch debut, CEO Elon Musk estimated that SpaceX has spent more than $1 billion to develop Falcon 9 reusability, while he previously estimated Falcon Heavy’s development costs to be well north of ~$500M. Musk and other execs have previously confirmed that SpaceX means to recoup some or all of that investment, indicating that the current margins of Falcon 9 launch contracts must be extremely favorable.
SpaceX has a healthy commercial manifest and will need to support dozens to hundreds of its own dedicated Starlink launches in order to orbit an operational and profitable constellation.
Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
Tesla Robotaxi services in Austin have been operating since last Summer, but Tesla has admittedly been delayed in its expansion of the geofence, fleet size, and other details in a bid to prioritize safety as new technology rolls out.
But those barriers are being broken with new guardrails being removed from the program.
Tesla has achieved a significant advancement in its autonomous ride-hailing program. As of May 4, the Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, has begun operating unsupervised during evening hours for the first time. This expansion moves beyond previous limitations that restricted unsupervised service to daylight hours, typically ending in mid-afternoon.
Tesla Robotaxi in Austin is operating unsupervised in the evenings for the first time today.
Previously in Austin, unsupervised operation ended mid-afternoon
— Robotaxi Tracker (@RtaxiTracker) May 4, 2026
The change brings Austin in line with operations in Dallas and Houston. Those cities have supported evening unsupervised runs since their initial launches in April, and both recently received additions of new unsupervised vehicles to their fleets. This coordinated progress across Texas strengthens Tesla’s regional presence and provides a broader testing ground for the technology.
This milestone carries substantial weight in the development of autonomous vehicles. Extending operations into low-light conditions meaningfully expands the Robotaxi’s operational design domain (ODD)—the specific environments and scenarios in which the system is approved to operate safely without human intervention.
Nighttime driving presents unique technical demands: diminished visibility, headlight glare from oncoming traffic, reduced contrast for identifying pedestrians and lane markings, and greater variability in camera sensor exposure.
Tesla’s pure vision approach, powered by neural networks trained on vast real-world datasets rather than lidar or pre-mapped routes, must handle these variables reliably. Demonstrating consistent unsupervised performance after sunset validates the robustness of the end-to-end AI stack and its ability to generalize across diverse lighting conditions.
Beyond technical validation, the expansion holds important operational and economic implications. Evening hours often coincide with peak urban demand for rides, including commutes, dining, and entertainment outings.
Enabling service during these periods increases daily vehicle utilization, allowing each Robotaxi to generate more revenue while gathering additional high-value training data. Higher utilization accelerates the virtuous cycle of data collection, model improvement, and further ODD growth.
Looking ahead, this step paves the way for more ambitious rollouts. Success in low-light environments positions Tesla to pursue near-24-hour operations, potentially integrating highways and expanding into varied weather patterns. Regulators worldwide frequently demand evidence of safe performance across day-night cycles before granting wider approvals.
Proven capability in Texas could expedite deployments in planned cities such as Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas during the first half of 2026.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi expansion plans with new cities and aggressive timeline
Moreover, scaling evening service supports Tesla’s long-term vision of a high-efficiency robotaxi network. Greater fleet productivity lowers the cost per mile, making autonomous mobility more accessible and competitive against traditional ride-hailing.
As the company iterates on software updates informed by nighttime data, reliability is expected to compound rapidly, unlocking denser urban coverage and longer-distance trips.
In summary, the introduction of an unsupervised evening Robotaxi service in Austin represents more than an incremental schedule adjustment. It signals a critical maturation of the underlying technology and sets the foundation for broader geographic and temporal expansion.
With Texas operations gaining momentum, Tesla is steadily advancing toward transforming urban transportation at scale.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybercab just rolled through Miami inside a glass box
Tesla paraded a Cybercab in a glass display at Miami’s F1 Grand Prix event this week.
Tesla set up an “Autonomy Pop-Up” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach from April 29 through May 3, 2026, embedded within the official F1 Miami Grand Prix Fan Fest. The centerpiece was a Cybertruck towing the Cybercab inside a glass display case marked “Future is Autonomous,” rolling through the beachfront crowd.
Miami is on Tesla’s confirmed list of cities for robotaxi expansion in the first half of 2026, making the promotion a strategic promotion that lays groundwork in a target market.
This was not Tesla’s first time using Miami as a showcase city. In December 2025, Tesla hosted “The Future of Autonomy Visualized” at its Miami Design District showroom, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. That event featured the Cybercab prototype and Optimus robots interacting with attendees. The F1 pop-up this week marks Tesla’s return to Miami and follows a pattern Tesla has been running since early 2026. Just two weeks before Miami, Tesla stationed Optimus at the Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 19 and 20, directly on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon, letting tens of thousands of runners and spectators meet the robot for free, generating massive earned media at zero advertising cost.
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year. On the production side, Musk told shareholders that the Cybercab manufacturing process could eventually produce up to 5 million vehicles per year, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds. Scaling robotaxis to 10 million operational units over the next ten years is a key condition of his compensation package, alongside selling 20 million passenger vehicles.
As for the Cybercab’s price, Musk has said buyers will be able to purchase one for under $30,000, with an average operating cost around $0.20 per mile. Whether those numbers hold through full production remains to be seen.
Cybercab at F1 Fan Fest in Miami
by
u/Joshalander in
teslamotors
Tesla owners keep coming back for more
Tesla Robotaxi service in Austin achieves monumental new accomplishment
