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SpaceX will transition all launches to Falcon 9 Block 5 rockets after next mission

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SpaceX’s 13th reuse of a Falcon 9 booster marked the second-to-last orbital mission of older boosters before the rocket’s highly reusable Block 5 upgrade takes over all future commercial launches.

If only for the staggering rise of SpaceX’s program of reusable rockets, June 4’s Falcon 9 launch was novel and thrilling in part because its flight-proven booster was intentionally stripped of all reuse-related hardware to bestow as much performance as possible on the mission’s large geostationary communications satellite payload, named SES-12. While this practice of intentionally expending non-Block 5 flight-proven boosters after launch has actually been fairly common over the course of the last seven Falcon 9 reflights, excluding Falcon Heavy – SpaceX is, in essence, betting heavily on the viability and success of the rocket’s quasi-final Block 5 upgrade.

SpaceX’s second to last commercial launch with a non-Block 5 Falcon 9 was completed around 1 am EST June 4. It’s once flight-proven booster ended its life in the Atlantic soon after liftoff. (Tom Cross)

Following June 4’s SES-12 launch, after which Falcon 9 S1 (B1040, previously flown on the September 2017 launch of a classified X-37B spaceplane) arced down its final parabola into the Atlantic, SpaceX has just a single commercial launch of a Block 4 booster scheduled. In fact, that launch happens to be next up on the company’s manifest: currently no earlier than (NET) June 28, CRS-15 will see the same booster (B1045) that launched NASA’s TESS exoplanet observatory scarcely ten weeks prior send a refurbished Cargo Dragon to the International Space Station. After CRS-15, which will also see its booster expended in the Atlantic, just one flightworthy Block 4 rocket will remain in SpaceX’s fleet, and that Falcon 9 booster is understood to be undergoing refurbishment for its final reflight. That mission, however, is a suborbital demonstration designed to prove that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft can wrest its human passengers out of harm’s way in the event of a launch vehicle failure during flight (SpaceX already proved it can accomplish the same task while the rocket is still on the launch pad in a 2015 demo).

https://twitter.com/_TomCross_/status/1003509362906853376

No turning back now

While a critical path for SpaceX’s future of reliably delivering crew to orbit, its suborbital nature makes categorically distinct from past and future Falcon launches, all of which have been conducted with the intent of placing payload(s) into Earth orbit. Thus we arrive back at B1045 and CRS-15, currently scheduled as both SpaceX’s next launch and the final orbital mission before Falcon 9/Heavy Block 5 becomes the company’s only operational route to space for at least the next two years, give or take half a year. It’s thus somewhat poetic that the booster tasked with CRS-15 will easily smash SpaceX’s previous record for refurbishment (135 days) by almost a factor of two, going from drone ship recovery to reflight in as few as 71 days. Whatever it becomes, that refurbishment record will likely be broken by the first Block 5 reflight, a trend that will almost certainly continue until SpaceX reaches Musk’s fabled 24-hour turnaround, perhaps before the end of next year.

Extrapolating from the launch company’s recent history, the culmination of CRS-15 will potentially leave SpaceX with as few as two Falcon 9 Block 5 boosters as its entire flight-ready rocket fleet, despite anywhere from 12 to 16 launches remaining on the second half of the company’s 2018 manifest. Currently standing at six boosters produced in 2018, roughly eight to be completed before the end of the year per COO and President Gwynne Shotwell (in this case likely boosters B1048-1056), an achievement that would grow the ranks of the company’s fleet of new Block 5 boosters to ten total. But, assuming a core is delivered from the Hawthorne factory every month, SpaceX will need to reuse Block 5 boosters as early as July to prevent considerable delays to their 2018 manifest, delays that would undoubtedly push multiple missions into 2019.

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Here’s to hoping that the Block 5 upgrade is as incredible of a success as SpaceX has designed it to be. Follow the Teslarati team for real-time updates, glimpses behind the scenes, and photos from Teslarati’s East and West Coast photographers.

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Tom CrossTwitter

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Eric Ralph Twitter

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck undergoes interior mod that many owners wanted

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tesla cybertruck diy bench seat
Credit: @blueskykites | X

Tesla Cybertruck is significantly different from traditional pickups on the market in a lot of ways. However, one feature that was recently modified with its interior was a highly requested characteristic that is present in other trucks, but was void from Cybertruck.

Tesla went with a five-seat configuration with Cybertruck: two in the front and three in the back. The spacious interior is matched with plenty of storage, especially up front, as a pass-through, center console, and other storage options, but some Tesla fans wanted something different: bench seating.

Bench seating is popular in many full-size pickups and allows three passengers to sit up front. The middle seat is usually accompanied by a fold-down storage unit with cupholders.

Tesla decided to opt for no bench seating up front, despite the fact that it equipped bench seating in the unveiling in 2019. Interior photos from the unveiling event from nearly six-and-a-half years ago show Tesla had originally planned to have a six-seat configuration.

This was adjusted after the company refined the design:

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tesla cybertruck initial interior

(Tesla Cybertruck interior configuration in 2019)

Despite Tesla abandoning this design, it does not mean owners were willing to accept it. One owner decided to modify their Tesla Cybertruck interior to equip that third seat between the driver’s and passenger’s thrones.

The fit is snug, and while it looks great, it is important to remember that this does not abide byregulations, as it would require an airbag to be technically legal. Please do not do this at home with your own Cybertruck:

The Cybertruck is a popular vehicle in terms of publicity, but its sales have been underwhelming since first delivered to customers back in 2023. It’s hard to believe it’s been out for two-and-a-half years, but despite this, Tesla has not been able to come through on its extensive order sheet.

This is mostly due to price, as Cybertruck was simply not as affordable as Tesla originally planned. Its three configurations were initially priced at $39,990, $49,990, and $69,990. At release, Cybertruck was priced above $100,000.

This priced out many of those who had placed orders, which is the main reason Cybertruck has not lived up to its expectations in terms of sales. The adjustments to the specific features, like the removal of the bench seat, likely did not impact sales as much as pricing did.

This modification shows some creativity by Tesla owners, but also shows that the Cybertruck could always be the subject of a potential refresh to include some of these features. Tesla routinely adjusts its vehicle designs every few years, so maybe the Cybertruck could get something like this if it chooses to refresh its all-electric pickup.

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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk drops massive bomb about Cybercab

“And there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface,” Musk said.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk dropped a massive bomb about the Cybercab, which is the company’s fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicle that will enter production later this year.

The Cybercab was unveiled back in October 2024 at the company’s “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles, and is among the major catalysts for the company’s growth in the coming years. It is expected to push Tesla into a major growth phase, especially as the automaker is transitioning into more of an AI and Robotics company than anything else.

The Cybercab will enable completely autonomous ride-hailing for Tesla, and although its other vehicles will also be capable of this technology, the Cybercab is slightly different. It will have no steering wheel or pedals, and will allow two occupants to travel from Point A to Point B with zero responsibilities within the car.

Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production

Details on the Cybercab are pretty face value at this point: we know Tesla is enabling 1-2 passengers to ride in it at a time, and this strategy was based on statistics that show most ride-hailing trips have no more than two occupants. It will also have in-vehicle entertainment options accessible from the center touchscreen.

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It will also have wireless charging capabilities, which were displayed at “We, Robot,” and there could be more features that will be highly beneficial to riders, offering a full-fledged autonomous experience.

Musk dropped a big hint that there is much more to the Cybercab than what we know, as a post on X said that “there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface.”

As the Cybercab is expected to enter production later this year, Tesla is surely going to include a handful of things they have not yet revealed to the public.

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Musk seems to be indicating that some of the features will make it even more groundbreaking, and the idea is to enable a truly autonomous experience from start to finish for riders. Everything from climate control to emergency systems, and more, should be included with the car.

It seems more likely than not that Tesla will make the Cybercab its smartest vehicle so far, as if its current lineup is not already extremely intelligent, user-friendly, and intuitive.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla Q4 delivery numbers are better than they initially look: analyst

The Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner shared his thoughts in a post on his website.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Longtime Tesla analyst and Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster has shared his insights on Tesla’s Q4 2025 deliveries. As per the analyst, Tesla’s numbers are actually better than they first appear. 

Munster shared his thoughts in a post on his website. 

Normalized December Deliveries

Munster noted that Tesla delivered 418k vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, slightly below Street expectations of 420k but above the whisper number of 415k. Tesla’s reported 16% year-over-year decline, compared to +7% in September, is largely distorted by the timing of the tax credit expiration, which pulled forward demand.

“Taking a step back, we believe September deliveries pulled forward approximately 55k units that would have otherwise occurred in December or March. For simplicity, we assume the entire pull-forward impacted the December quarter. Under this assumption, September growth would have been down ~5% absent the 55k pull-forward, a Deepwater estimate tied to the credit’s expiration.

For December deliveries to have declined ~5% year over year would imply total deliveries of roughly 470k. Subtracting the 55k units pulled into September results in an implied December delivery figure of approximately 415k. The reported 418k suggests that, when normalizing for the tax credit timing, quarter-over-quarter growth has been consistently down ~5%. Importantly, this ~5% decline represents an improvement from the ~13% declines seen in both the March and June 2025 quarters.

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Tesla’s United States market share

Munster also estimated that Q4 as a whole might very well show a notable improvement in Tesla’s market share in the United States. 

“Over the past couple of years, based on data from Cox Automotive, Tesla has been losing U.S. EV market share, declining to just under 50%. Based on data for October and November, Cox estimates that total U.S. EV sales were down approximately 35%, compared to Tesla’s just reported down 16% for the full quarter.  For the first two months of the quarter, Cox reported Tesla market share of roughly a 65% share, up from under 50% in the September quarter.

“While this data excludes December, the quarter as a whole is likely to show a material improvement in Tesla’s U.S. EV market share.

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