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SpaceX’s first Cargo Dragon 2 recovery delayed by Atlantic Ocean weather
Update: The first undocking, orbital reentry, and splashdown of SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft was aborted by NASA ground controllers minutes before the process was scheduled to begin. According to NASA, weather in the preferred recovery zone – off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida – was to blame.
“As a result of adverse weather conditions at the targeted splashdown zone off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida, SpaceX has waved off today’s planned departure of an upgraded SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft. Teams are currently assessing weather conditions to determine the next opportunity for undocking.”
NASA – January 11th, 2021
SpaceX’s upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft is just a day or two away from its first International Space Station (ISS) departure, Earth reentry, and ocean splashdown.
The uncrewed Dragon capsule (known as C208) and its expendable trunk section are currently scheduled to depart from the ISS no earlier than the morning (EST) of January 12th – set to be the first time an uncrewed US cargo spacecraft autonomously undocks from the orbital outpost. Previous US cargo vehicles – including SpaceX’s own Cargo Dragon – have relied on berthing, rendezvousing with the ISS and hovering close by while a giant robotic arm was used to capture and secure each spacecraft.
Cargo Dragon 2 wont be the first outright to do so: the uncrewed European ATV and Russian Progress vehicles both used the Russian Docking System (RDS) to deliver cargo to the ISS over the last two decades. However, Dragon’s CRS-21 departure will be the first time an uncrewed cargo spacecraft completes a full mission with the help of NASA’s new International Docking Adapter (IDA), as well as an IDA’s third round-trip use ever.
In fact, SpaceX is solely responsible for the four total uses of the Space Station’s twin IDA ports – both fittingly delivered by Cargo Dragons in 2016 and 2019. In March 2019, Crew Dragon – flying without astronauts on its Demo-1 mission – became the first spacecraft ever to autonomously dock with and undock from an IDA port. In May and August 2020, a separate Crew Dragon spacecraft repeated the feat, autonomously docking and undocking with two NASA astronauts onboard.
In November 2020, SpaceX launched Crew Dragon on its first operational ferry mission with four astronauts. The spacecraft safely docked to the ISS and is scheduled to remain there until at least March or April 2021. Most recently, SpaceX launched its first Cargo Dragon 2 on December 6th, 2020, and the spacecraft docked without issue a day later. Now scheduled to undock as early as January 12th, a successful departure, reentry, and splashdown will truly mark the start of a new era of autonomous SpaceX spacecraft.
Unlike the largely manual berthing method used by Japanese HTV, Orbital ATK Cygnus, and SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon 2 vehicles took advantage of IDA’s mechanical differences to heavily automate the cargo and crew delivery process. Using LiDAR, cameras, complex software, SpaceX’s new Dragons effectively dock themselves, ultimately requiring less training and work for the station astronauts that would otherwise need to manually support berthing operations.
Used to support refrigerated or otherwise power-intensive cargo, Cargo Dragon 2 features twice as many “powered lockers” as its predecessor and is scheduled to return an impressive ~2360 kg (5200 lb) of cargo – including dozens of science experiments – to Earth. More than a decade after Dragon became the first private spacecraft to successfully reenter Earth’s atmosphere, Cargo Dragon is still the only spacecraft in the world capable of delivering substantial cargo from Earth to orbit and from orbit to Earth.
After detaching from its expendable trunk section and reentering Earth’s atmosphere, Cargo Dragon C208 will also become the first cargo spacecraft to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico thanks to SpaceX’s decision to consolidate its California and Florida Dragon recovery operations on the East Coast.
Also used to recover Crew Dragons, SpaceX ship GO Searcher departed Port Canaveral for its central role in CRS-21’s imminent splashdown. Once Cargo Dragon C208 splashes down at one of four available recovery zones, SpaceX recovery teams will grab and secure the spacecraft and open its hatch. Uniquely time-sensitive cargo can then be transferred to a waiting helicopter for an unprecedentedly rapid return to researchers back on land,
Stay tuned for SpaceX and NASA’s live coverage of Cargo Dragon 2’s first ISS departure and recovery on January 12th or 13th.
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Elon Musk gives honest take on when Tesla will see serious FSD competition
Musk’s comments came on the heels of NVIDIA’s announcement of its Alpamayo system, which also uses AI to accelerate the development of autonomous driving solutions.
Elon Musk has provided a candid estimate on potential challengers to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.
Musk’s comments came on the heels of NVIDIA’s announcement of its Alpamayo system, which also uses artificial intelligence to accelerate the development of autonomous driving solutions.
Elon Musk on NVIDIA’s Alpamayo
Following NVIDIA’s announcement, Tesla community members took to X to ask the CEO about his thoughts on Alpamayo, which seemed like a direct competitor to FSD. The fact that Alpamayo also uses AI to navigate real-world roads resulted in many arguing that the system could spell the end of Tesla’s autonomous driving aspirations.
In a response on X, Musk acknowledged that NVIDIA’s Alpamayo is doing exactly what Tesla is doing. And while he seriously hopes NVIDIA will succeed, Musk predicted that “they will find is that it’s easy to get to 99% and then super hard to solve the long tail of the distribution.”
FSD’s competition
In later posts, Musk also responded to a post discussing FSD’s progress and its potential competition in the future. In response to a longtime Tesla community member who noted that Alpamayo’s arrival does not mean FSD is doomed, Musk stated that this will indeed be the case. He then noted that, given how Tesla’s rivals operate, solutions like Alpamayo will only exert competitive pressure on Tesla in about 5-6 years, or perhaps longer.
“You’re right. The actual time from when FSD sort of works to where it is much safer than a human is several years. The legacy car companies won’t design the cameras and AI computers into their cars at scale until several years after that. So this is maybe a competitive pressure on Tesla in 5 or 6 years, but probably longer,” Musk wrote in his response on X.
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Tesla rolls out tasty new trade-in deal for a limited time
Tesla has rolled out a tasty new trade-in deal in the United Kingdom for a limited time, knocking just over the equivalent of $5,000 off of the price of a new or inventory Model 3 or Model Y.
Tesla has rolled out a tasty new trade-in deal in the United Kingdom for a limited time, knocking just over the equivalent of $5,000 off of the price of a new or inventory Model 3 or Model Y.
The move, which could be a great way to incentivize sales in the United Kingdom, will take off £3,750 ($5,043) from the price of either of Tesla’s two most popular models, but it’s only valid until March 31, 2026. It requires the order and delivery to take place within the first quarter to qualify for the discount.
NEWS: Tesla UK is offering a £3,750 ($5,043 USD) trade-in bonus towards a new Tesla if you trade in your current car.
Must order and take delivery before March 31, 2026. pic.twitter.com/ZBLoZaLMvT
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 2, 2026
The bonus is designed to lower the cost barrier for switching to electric vehicles, stacking the £3,750 on top of the actual trade-in value of any eligible car — this includes petrol, diesel, or even an EV from another automaker. It applies to both new builds and inventory vehicles, including test drive and showroom models, but excludes certified pre-owned Teslas.
This promotion comes amid intensifying competition in the European EV sector. Chinese giant BYD, which snatched the EV sales title from Tesla for 2025, has been aggressively expanding in the European market, undercutting prices and capturing market share with its widely affordable models, including the Seagull.
Tesla’s strategy echoes similar incentives that have been offered in other markets at different times. With UK EV adoption hovering around 20 percent of new car sales in 2025, such deals could accelerate the transition, especially as government mandates phase out fossil fuels by 2035.
There have been enthusiastic reactions to the offer on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. These incentive programs are few and far between, and are never predictable in terms of availability. However, Tesla could be using this discount to get the year off to a good start.
For potential buyers, the deal underscores Tesla’s agility in a competitive landscape. As EV infrastructure improves and battery tech advances, incentives like this could tip the scales for those who might be more hesitant to make the jump.
With Q1 2026 deliveries ramping up and Tesla coming off a yearly decline in deliveries, the company is undoubtedly looking to push things forward and get the year off to a great start.
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Lucid and Uber team with Nuro for new robotaxi program with Gravity SUV
The plan currently is to launch it to the public in the Bay later this year.
Lucid and Uber are teaming up with Nuro to launch an autonomous robotaxi program utilizing the automaker’s Gravity SUV. The project will be unveiled at CES 2026, introducing an in-cabin rider experience completely designed by Uber, the world’s largest ride-sharing service.
Back in 2025, the partnership between the three companies was announced, aiming to launch a unique ride-sharing platform using over 20,000 Lucid vehicles equipped with the Nuro Driver technology. The vehicles are owned and operated by Uber.
The companies have already initiated some testing in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is a big step in the right direction for the project. The plan currently is to launch it to the public in the Bay later this year. Nuro will lead the testing using robotaxi engineering prototypes that are supervised by autonomous vehicle operators.
Currently, there are over 100 robotaxis in the Engineering Test Fleet.
The Gravity vehicles are fitted with a next-gen sensor array featuring high-res cameras, solid-state LiDAR sensors, and radars that will provide a 360-perception model, as well as a “purpose-built roof-mounted halo designed to maximize sensor visibility,” which is seen on top of the Gravity unit above.
The halo also has integrated LEDs to help riders more easily identify the correct vehicle by displaying their initials. The halo will also provide clear status updates from pickup through dropoff.
These units for the robotaxi program between the three companies will start being produced later this year at Lucid’s Arizona AMP-1 factory.
Uber chose the Lucid Gravity specifically due to its “unprecedented comfort” and its reputation, as it was named to Car and Driver’s 10 Best for 2026. But Uber is customizing some things for the Gravity so that it is specifically catered to robotaxi riders:
- For the first time, Uber is designing the in-vehicle rider experience, which will include interactive screens with entertainment and climate control options, as well as support contacts and vehicle maneuver requests, like a request to pull over.
- It will also have in-vehicle visualization, showing what the robotaxi sees and its path in real-time. This will be a nice transition for those who are skeptical about driverless vehicles, and will show what the vehicle and its sensors, LiDAR, and cameras see.
- The Gravity is also a sizeable SUV, which will give riders space for themselves and their luggage.
This is the latest application of a ride-hailing platform that leans on autonomy for its operation, essentially phasing out the need for human drivers in various markets, starting with the Bay Area.
More companies are dipping their toes in the project, giving them the opportunity to establish some early momentum, as there are only a handful of companies that are currently operating this in the United States. Uber, Lucid, and Nuro aim to be the next, and initiating this program at this time is big for their chance at success.
Elon Musk gives honest take on when Tesla will see serious FSD competition
Tesla rolls out tasty new trade-in deal for a limited time
