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Tesla Navigate on Autopilot seamlessly handles construction zone with no lane lines

Simon Alvarez

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Posted on June 5, 2019


Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot continues to evolve at a rapid pace, as shown by a Model 3 owner who recently shared footage of his vehicle navigating a construction site in Goshen, IN without any issues. During the duration of the clip, the electric sedan was able to maintain highway speed despite the road having no lane lines on one side and traffic barrels populating the rest of the freeway.

In a message to Teslarati, Model 3 owner Jeremy Greenlee stated that he was actually skeptical of his vehicle’s capability to navigate the construction area while it had Navigate on Autopilot engaged. Nevertheless, as he entered the construction site, Greenlee was pleasantly surprised to see his Model 3 performing flawlessly. Based on the way the driver-assist system was able to handle the construction site, it almost seemed like the Model 3 was using the traffic barrels for lane approximation.

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The experience of the Model 3 owner with his vehicle’s Navigate on Autopilot system all but highlights the consistent improvements that Tesla is implementing in its driver-assist features. Teslas are unique vehicles in the way that their capabilities improve over time, especially with regards to their Autopilot capabilities. A key reason behind these improvements is the evolution of Tesla’s Neural Network, which gets better through fleet learning.

Explaining this during Tesla’s Autonomy Day event last April, AI Director Andrej Karpathy noted that the company trains its Neural Network through vehicles in Shadow Mode. According to Karpathy, it is these data from the fleet that allows Tesla’s Neural Network to handle numerous unexpected conditions on the road, such as other vehicles cutting into a lane.

Navigate on Autopilot is a critical component of Tesla and Elon Musk’s plans to achieve Full Self-Driving, particularly as the feature has the capability to travel from highway on-ramp to off-ramp, and change lanes on its own. When Tesla introduced the Standard Range and Standard Range Plus versions of the Model 3, the electric car maker even moved Navigate on Autopilot to its Full Self-Driving suite.

Musk, for his part, has remained optimistic about the technology, stating that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite will be “feature complete” by the end of the year. The CEO also noted that Tesla is investing heavily in its Full Self-Driving technology. “[Autonomy] is basically our entire expense structure,” Musk remarked while addressing the attendees of Autonomy Day.

Watch Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot seamlessly handle a construction site at highway speed in the video below.

Tesla Navigate on Autopilot seamlessly handles construction zone with no lane lines


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SpaceX Falcon 9 and $1B satellite trio set for first California launch in months

Eric Ralph

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Posted on June 5, 2019


After the better part of both half a year of launch delays and launch pad inactivity, SpaceX and Falcon 9 are ready to return the company’s California-based SLC-4 facilities to action with the launch of the $1 billion Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM).

Built by Maxar for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), RCM is a trio of remote-sensing spacecraft designed with large surface-scanning radars as their primary payload. Having suffered years of technical delays during Maxar’s production process, RCM was initially available for launch as early as November 2018. In an unlucky turn of events, issues on the SpaceX side of things took RCM’s assigned Falcon 9 booster out of commission and lead to an additional seven or so months of launch delays. At long last, RCM is just one week away from heading to orbit, scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) no earlier than 7:17 am PDT (14:17 UTC), June 11th.

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The Goldilocks booster

Once the three RCM satellites were effectively complete, a series of unfortunate circumstances combined to delay the constellation’s launch almost indefinitely. The first domino fell in December 2018, when Falcon 9 Block 5 booster B1050 – having successfully supported Cargo Dragon’s CRS-16 launch – suffered a failure that prevented a successful landing. Incredibly, the booster did survive its accidental Atlantic Ocean landing and is now sitting in a SpaceX hangar, but B1051 is unlikely to ever fly again.

This posed a problem for Maxar and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), who seem to have contractually requested that RCM launch on either a new or very gently flight-proven Falcon 9 booster. The problem: SpaceX had none of either option available for RCM after B1050’s unplanned swim and needed to balance the needs of several other important customers. Several Block 5 boosters were technically available but all had two or even three previous launches under their belts.

Moving into 2019, SpaceX is likely just months away from its next triple and quadruple-reuse milestones.
Falcon 9 B1046 completed SpaceX’s first triple-reuse of a booster just days after B1050’s failed landing. (Pauline Acalin)

Meanwhile, SpaceX’s booster production had been almost entirely focused (and would remain so months after) on building four new Falcon Heavy boosters and the first expendable Falcon 9 Block 5 booster, reserved for the US Air Force and a long-delayed customer. Since those five boosters were completed and shipped out, just one additional booster (B1056) has been finished, launching Cargo Dragon’s CRS-17 mission just one month ago.

In short, had Maxar/CSA waited for a new booster, RCM’s launch would likely be delayed at least another 30-60 days beyond its current target of June 11th. Instead, they downselected to Falcon 9 B1051, then in the midst of several months of prelaunch preparations for Crew Dragon’s launch debut (DM-1). DM-1 went off without a hitch in early March, after which the gently-used B1051 underwent a brisk ~45 days of inspection and refurbishment before heading west to SpaceX’s VAFB launch pad.

Falcon 9 B1051 was spotted by Jean-Michel Levesque traveling through Northern California on May 1st. (Twitter – Jean-Michel Levesque)

Billion Dollar Babies

From an external perspective, forgoing a twice or thrice-flown Falcon 9 Block 5 booster after nearly a dozen successful demonstrations does not exactly appear to be a rational decision. However, whether it was motivated by conservatism, risk-aversion, or something else, Maxar and CSA likely have every contractual right to demand certain conditions, as long as they accept the consequences of those requirements. In the case of RCM, the customers accepted what they likely knew would be months of guaranteed delays to minimize something they perceived as a risk.

To some extent, it’s hard to blame them. After going more than $400M over budget, the Maxar-built trio of upgraded Radarsat satellites are expected to end up costing more than $1 billion. CSA’s annual budget typically stands around $250M, meaning that this single launch is equivalent to four years of space agency’s entire budget. A failed launch would be a huge setback. Additionally, RCM will likely become the most valuable payload ever launched by SpaceX, beating out the Air Force’s ~$600M GPS III SV01 spacecraft by a huge margin. For RCM, mission assurance is definitively second to none.

SpaceX’s Vandenberg landing zone – deemed LZ-4 – is less than 1500 feet (500 meters) away from its SLC-4E launch pad. (SpaceX)
SpaceX christened its LZ-4 West Coast landing zone in October 2018. (Pauline Acalin)

If all goes as planned, Falcon 9’s RCM launch should also mark the second use of SpaceX’s West Coast landing zone (LZ-4), christened during the October 2018 launch of SAOCOM 1A – coincidentally, also a radar-carrying Earth observation satellite. This means that press photographers (including Teslarati’s Pauline Acalin and Tom Cross) will have their second chance ever to capture remote images of a SpaceX booster landing.

Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes

SpaceX Falcon 9 and $1B satellite trio set for first California launch in months


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Tesla showcases why the Model 3 is perfect for small parking spaces

Simon Alvarez

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Posted on June 5, 2019


Tesla is yet to start pushing the Model 3 to right-hand drive markets like Japan and Britain, but it is becoming more and more evident that the vehicle is specifically designed to work well on these countries. A recent video from Tesla Japan, for example, highlighted why the Model 3 is an incredibly compelling vehicle, even in cities and areas where parking spaces are notoriously scarce.

During Elon Musk’s recent appearance at the Tesla owner-enthusiast Ryan McCaffrey’s Ride the Lightning podcast, the CEO mentioned that the Model 3 actually fits Japan’s automated multistory parking machines. Musk’s comments were actually showcased by Tesla’s Japanese Twitter account late last month, but it went largely below the radar. In Tesla Japan’s post, the Model 3 could be seen perfectly fitting into an automated parking spot.

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This all but shows that Tesla designed the Model 3 not only to be competitive in markets such as the United States, but in areas such as Japan as well. The Model 3 is not a small vehicle by any means, but it is compact enough to be a perfect fit for markets where roads are fairly small and narrow, as is the case in Britain, and countries where parking spaces are difficult to find, such as Japan. This shows some notable foresight on Tesla’s part, as the company seemingly took the international market’s requirements in mind when designing the Model 3.

It should be noted that the Model 3 will be the first Tesla that will be compatible with Japan’s multistory automatic parking machines, as the Model S and Model X were usually too large for the facilities. With this, the Model 3 would likely be an attractive vehicle even for customers who live in an area where on-street parking is incredibly scarce.

Automated multistory parking systems are a common sight in Japan, particularly in densely populated areas. Using a system of conveyors, elevators, and a multistory structure, these facilities allow hundreds of vehicles to be stored or parked in a limited space. Automatic parking systems used to employ attendants during their early days, but today, these facilities are usually operated only through computers, making them a perfect match with Tesla’s tech-centric Model 3.

The Tesla Model 3 has already landed in numerous territories, and it has already made a notable impact on countries such as the United States and Norway. While Tesla’s Model 3 VINs have already reached the 400,000 range as of late, the vehicle’s international ramp is only partly complete. RHD markets such as Japan are yet to be saturated by the electric sedan, and the greater Chinese region is yet to be immersed in a wave of Model 3 that is locally produced from Gigafactory 3.

Tesla showcases why the Model 3 is perfect for small parking spaces


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Tesla owner evades pickup truck ‘rolling coal’ on his Model 3

Simon Alvarez

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Posted on June 5, 2019


A Tesla owner recently came across a truck driver who might have been preparing a dirty surprise for his Model 3. While driving at Amar Road in West Covina, CA, Tesla Model 3 owner Jeff Esguerra noticed a white pickup truck behaving rather strangely. Seconds later, he found out why: the vehicle’s driver was apparently preparing to roll some coal on his electric sedan.

While it is difficult to determine the exact motivations of the pickup truck driver, the man behind the wheel of the vehicle did change lanes twice and slowed down significantly to let the Model 3 catch up before gunning it and blowing out thick, black smoke from his tailpipes. Later comments from the Model 3 owner also indicated that he noticed the pickup truck driver seemingly spotting his electric car from his rearview mirror before conducting the coal-rolling maneuver.

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Fortunately for the Model 3 owner, he was able to change lanes just in time to avoid the pickup’s dirty surprise. Thanks to this, Esguerra was able to escape the thick, black clouds of smoke that came out of the large vehicle. The footage of the incident was also shared online, where it has resulted in debates about whether or not the pickup truck driver intentionally tried to roll coal on the Model 3, or if the event happened by accident.

Rolling coal involves the practice of intentionally blowing out excessive amounts of smoke from a diesel-powered vehicle. This is made possible by specifically modifying a truck’s motor to allow increased amounts of fuel to enter the engine. Other coal rolling enthusiasts take this concept further, with some even removing the particulate filter of their vehicles to increase the amount of smoke emitted by their trucks.

While arguably dirty, harmful for the environment, and even dangerous (vehicles that are coal-rolled lose their visibility due to all the black smoke), the practice has become some form of subculture among people that are either opposed to the rise of electric vehicles, or at least skeptical of climate change. This has caused green vehicles such as the Toyota Prius to become a popular target for coal rollers. Unfortunately for the coal roller from West Covina, the Tesla Model 3 was no Prius, and its driver was alert enough to avoid being engulfed by thick black smoke.

Watch a Tesla Model 3 avoid a coal-rolling pickup truck in the video below.

Tesla owner evades pickup truck ‘rolling coal’ on his Model 3


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Eric Ralph · June 4th, 2019

Welcome to the latest edition of DeepSpace! Each week, Teslarati space reporter Eric Ralph hand-crafts this newsletter to give you a breakdown of what’s happening in the space industry and what you need to know. To receive this newsletter (and others) directly and join our member-only Slack group, give us a 3-month trial for just $5.

In this week’s analysis, there is simply too much going on to focus on any single overarching theme. NASA awarded ~$250M to fund three commercial Moon landers, Russia revealed an impossibly ambitious schedule for its conceptual crewed Moon program, and NASA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report that did not look kindly on the management of the Europa Clipper spacecraft’s supposed plans for an SLS rocket launch.

While it is increasingly clear that the 2020s are likely to be the most exciting period of spaceflight activity in decades, it remains equally clear that most of the world’s space exploration – despite the incredible results often produced – is poorly and inefficiently managed. Upsets may well be served by commercial hopefuls like SpaceX, Blue Origin, iSpace, and others, but we are likely set to witness another decade or so of wasteful, results-phobic human spaceflight efforts lead on a wild goose chase after NASA’s Moon return ambitions. If it ends up being anything like the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft it is being artificially locked to, the Moon return may eventually accomplish something approximately half a decade behind schedule after vacuuming up at least $10-20B of federal funding.

At the same time, the robotic exploration expertise of NASA, ESA, Japan (JAXA), China (CNSA), India (ISRO), and Russia (Roscosmos) will be thrown at a bevy of spacecraft and landers with destinations throughout the solar system.

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Tesla’s Model 3 build quality improvements discussed in video review

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Posted on June 5, 2019


Tesla’s Model 3 build quality has received a fair amount of criticism since it began shipping to customers, particularly in terms of the finishing touches on seat stitching, paint, and lineups between panels and cabin components. However, a video review by Martin Welzl of Teslafinity assessing a recently delivered Model 3 indicated that significant improvements have been made to the midsize sedan. Overall, Welzl found that any quality variations in that particular Model 3 were in line with those found in cars produced by major auto manufacturers, none of which would recommend against purchase of the vehicle.

The white Model 3 in the video had a VIN in the 310,000+ range and was built in April 2019 for the European market. Only a few build quality issues were noted after the review. In particular, some corners and edges had a slightly uneven paint appearance, the driver’s side door speaker was hovered 1 mm above the door, and about 1 cm of stitching in the passenger seat was uneven. The Model 3’s panels were slightly off in spots, but significantly improved over older videos showing earlier builds. Given Tesla’s rapid rate of adjusting and improving its production process, any quality issues noted in the review may have already been addressed.

A Model 3 in the EU market is reviewed, delivery taken by Martin Welzl of Teslafinity. | Image: Martin Welzl/YouTube
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Taking delivery of the European Model 3 was also described as a somewhat frustrating experience with schedule delays creating most of the issues. The Model 3 was purchased by Welzl’s parents, and he took over communications with Tesla on their behalf to ensure their experience with their new car wasn’t affected by any delivery hiccups. Once the car was in hand, though, the process became forgivable. “It’s just a beautiful piece of engineering,” Welzl said in the video, referring to his reaction to delivery of the vehicle.

Tesla often finds itself under a microscope as a new car maker, especially while producing all-electric vehicles intended to upend an industry deeply rooted in gasoline and diesel-powered products. Scathing reviews have been infamously produced by a few industry professionals, and the California-based automaker has addressed both their inaccuracies and their fair criticisms. Panel gaps, for instance, have now been fine tuned to be competitive with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes models, according to Tesla.

Quality is expected to continue to improve even further as Model 3 sales continue to grow and Tesla ramps up production. A recently leaked email from CEO Elon Musk suggested that the midsize sedan is being produced at a steady 900/day currently, resulting in a run rate of 6,300 vehicles per week with component production rates helping to quickly close in on 7,000 cars per week. If achieved and matched with delivery output, Tesla could beat its Q4 2018 record deliveries which amounted to over 90,000 vehicles.

Watch the full Teslafinity European Model 3 build quality review below:

Tesla’s Model 3 build quality improvements discussed in video review


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Tesla rallies 8%, completes its best day in 2019 as Wall St. sentiments improve

Simon Alvarez

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Posted on June 4, 2019


It appears that a turnaround and a recovery are indeed realistic prospects for electric car maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). After meeting a perfect storm of lower-than-expected Q1 numbers, negative analyst sentiments, and concerns about the demand for its vehicles that drove its stock down nearly 3-year lows, Tesla ended Tuesday in a commanding fashion, up 8% and trading at $193.60.

Tuesday’s rally allowed Tesla to recover over $2 billion of its market cap, which has been decreasing at an accelerated pace since the company released its first-quarter production and delivery reports. It should be noted that despite its massive 8% rally on Tuesday, Tesla stock has still fallen almost 42% in 2019, placing it as the worst performer in the Nasdaq 100. Nevertheless, the company’s surprise rally on Tuesday does suggest that it might be far too early to dismiss Tesla just yet.

Inasmuch as the steep drop of Tesla stock over the past months was partly fueled by reservations from Wall St. analysts, it was also analysts who appear to have helped boost the company on Tuesday. During an appearance at CNBC’s Fast Money, Cornerstone Macro technical analyst Carter Worth noted that TSLA stock had fallen so much, it is now a good buy. “Tesla has undershot by such an amount that actually it’s so bad, it’s good,” he said.

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Even Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, who made headlines recently after he posted a $10 per share worst-case scenario for Tesla, reiterated his equal-weight rating and $230 price target for the company on Tuesday. Striking a notably more optimistic tone this time around, the Morgan Stanley analyst mentioned that the company’s stock has value, thanks to its full self-driving technologies. “Tesla has significant strategic value that we believe can potentially be crystallized in ways that may challenge traditional [valuation] techniques,” Jonas noted.

Quite notably, Tesla’s unique advantage in the electric vehicle market was emphasized strongly by TSLA bull Gene Munster of Loup Ventures last month, at a time when the company’s shares were being beaten down. In a taped interview that was only released today, Munster explained that in the electric car market, Tesla is simply in a league of its own.

“One is the battery performance, and this is critical because range anxiety is something that prevents people from buying electric cars. The second is the manufacturing process, which has been held up as a pain point for Tesla, and undoubtedly, it has been painful. But everything they’re doing is shifting the manufacturing from a traditional car to really a computer on wheels,” he said.

The winds might finally be shifting for the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker.

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

Tesla rallies 8%, completes its best day in 2019 as Wall St. sentiments improve


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Tesla (TSLA) stock is starting to resemble Netflix before its massive rally in 2011

Simon Alvarez

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Posted on June 4, 2019


The past few months have challenging for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) investors, but if recent signs are any indication, it appears that the electric car maker might show some recovery in the stock market soon. According to an advisory firm founder, Tesla stock has all but reached a point that is incredibly similar to that of Netflix back in 2011, right before it experienced an eight-year stretch of growth that propelled the company to its current place at the top of the on-demand streaming market.

Tesla currently trades at or near the $180 level, which corresponds to roughly half of the company’s peak of $385 last year. While this might feel alarming, it should be noted that Netflix’s investors experienced something far more harrowing back in 2011, when the company’s shares saw a full 80% stock decline. After a price increase and CEO Reed Hastings’ announcement that Netflix will be separating its streaming and DVD-by-mail business, the company saw a loss of 800,000 subscribers in a single quarter. That was a time when the company only had 24 million subscribers as well.

At the core of Netflix’s decision then was its sincere belief that online streaming services are the future of on-demand entertainment. They also believed in their pricing power. Eddie Yoon, a think tank and advisory firm founder, noted that Netflix’s high-stakes bets paid off. Since that 80% decline back in 2011, the company has increased its user base to 60 million in the US and 150 million worldwide. Netflix stock had also increased 39 times than its low point back in 2011.

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Tesla is in a similar boat. Just like Netflix in 2011, the electric car maker is dealing with the fallout of a quarter that rendered lower-than-expected numbers, which, together with several factors, has caused the company to post a loss after two profitable quarters. Nevertheless, Tesla is making a big bet on its belief that the demand for electric vehicles will grow exponentially over the next few years. So far, the company seems to be right on the money in this sense, as EV sales across the globe are increasing. In 2018 alone, electric car sales accounted for 2% of total new vehicles sold in the US. A study by AAA also noted that 20% of Americans want to own an electric car.

Yoon notes that if there is anything that Tesla could learn from Netflix, it would be to improve its communication. During Netflix’s steep drop in 2011, the company performed subpar when it came to communicating with its user base. This was true during times when Netflix would change its pricing, or if it would change aspects of its business. Tesla is quite around the same boat. Its pricing power is strong, and contrary to Bernstein’s recent note, Tesla’s brand holds a lot of value for an increasing number of customers. Despite this, the electric car maker still has notable areas of improvement when it comes to communication, partly evidenced by the misinformation surrounding the company today. If Tesla can refine this, then the company’s potential recovery would likely be smoother than expected.

The recent comparisons of Tesla to Netflix in 2011 appear to have been triggered by rumors that an investor who took a particular interest in the streaming giant at its lowest point. These rumors were recently related by Will Meade, a former PM at Goldman Sachs and a former editor at Forbes. “Rumor swirling that a big activist has taken a stake in Tesla $TSLA and he/she said it reminds them of $NFLX in 2011. Explains the almost $3 million of $TSLA Aug $250 calls swept right at the open. Could it be Icahn!” he wrote, referring to billionaire investor Carl Celian Icahn.

As of writing, Tesla stock is trading at 5.20% at $188.42 per share.

Tesla (TSLA) stock is starting to resemble Netflix before its massive rally in 2011


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SpaceX beats Falcon 9 recovery records after company’s heaviest launch ever

Eric Ralph

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Posted on June 4, 2019


Completed on May 30th, SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 booster recovery smashed several internal speed records, unofficially cataloged over the years by watchful fans.

In short, as the company’s experienced recovery technicians continue to gain experience and grow familiar with Falcon 9 Block 5, the length of booster recoveries have consistently decreased in the 12 months since Block 5’s launch debut. Already, the efficiency of recovery processing has gotten to the point that – once SpaceX optimizes Block 5’s design for refurbishment-free reuse – there should be no logistical reason the company can’t fly the same booster twice in ~24-48 hours.

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The road to rapid reusability

Rarely will it make headlines, but the fact remains that SpaceX’s ultimate goal is not just to reuse Falcon 9 (and other) boosters, but to do so with a level of routine efficiency approaching that of modern passenger aircraft. It’s reasonable to assume that chemical rockets might never reach those capabilities, but they may certainly be able to improve enough to radically change the relationship between humans and spaceflight.

Along that line of thinking, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk decided years ago that an excellent representative goal for Falcon 9 would be to launch the same booster twice in 24 hours. In the last year or so, that largely arbitrary target has changed a bit and is now believed to be a bit wider, aiming for booster reuse within a few days of recovery. This is a pragmatic adjustment more than a technical criticism of Falcon 9.

In general, Falcon 9 simply doesn’t have the performance necessary for routine reusability timelines measured in hours. The majority of SpaceX launches need enough of Falcon 9’s performance to necessitate recovery aboard one of SpaceX’s two drone ships, typically stationed at least a 200-300 km (100-200 mi) offshore. That fact alone almost single-handedly kills any chance of sub-24-hour booster reuse, given that the process of towing the booster-carrying drone ship back to port happens at a max speed of ~10 mph (15 km/h). Just gaining permission to enter the port itself often involves waits of 6+ hours a few miles offshore.

Low orbit, low mass Falcon 9 missions are much more promising for extremely rapid reusability, given that both of SpaceX’s West and East coast landing zones are located just a few miles (or less than 1500 feet, in the case of LZ-4) from their corresponding launch pads and processing facilities. However, these missions are quite rare, while SpaceX’s own low Earth orbit (LEO) Starlink launches will likely involve payloads so heavy that long-distance drone ship recoveries will be necessary.

Falcon 9 B1049 returns to port after its third successful launch and landing in eight months. (Tom Cross)

Finally, there are Falcon Heavy launches, most of which will allow for both side boosters to return to the Florida coast for landings at LZ-1/LZ-2. However, these pose their own barriers to rapid reuse, mainly due to the fact that side boosters – while technically just Falcon 9 boosters – would need major changes to support a single-stack Falcon 9 launch. Falcon Heavy launches simply aren’t going to happen back-to-back over a period of 24-48 hours, so that option is also out of the question.

This means that SpaceX’s only real option for practical rapid reuse is to instead focus on something closer to a weekly launch capability for Block 5 boosters, meaning that the same booster would be able to launch, land, return to shore, and prepare for the next launch in the same week. Even then, launch site readiness may still stand in the way of truly radical improvements in booster reuse and launch frequency. After each launch, SpaceX’s pads and transporter/erectors take a significant beating, requiring routine repairs and maintenance before returning to flight-readiness. Barring major improvements, SpaceX has demonstrated minimum launch-to-launch times of roughly 10 days, and cutting that figure by 50-90% will be a major challenge for a rocket as powerful as Falcon 9.

B1049 takes a step forward

Despite the many logistical reasons that Falcon 9 will likely never lend itself to routine ~24-hour reusability, having that latent capability would still mean that the hardware is advanced enough to offer that efficiency. Even if SpaceX can’t literally fly each booster at its operational capacity, nearly refurbishment-free reflights will still translate into dramatically lower launch costs. Modern civilian aircraft need not fly every second of every day to still be affordable to operate (excluding amortization costs).

Ultimately, SpaceX has been taking small steps in that direction ever since the company began recovering (and reusing) Falcon 9 boosters. Falcon 9 B1049’s third recovery has been one of the best (and most record-breaking) steps yet, but those records were only just broken The most significant statistic to come out of the post-Starlink v0.9 recovery is that B1049.3 took less than 30 hours to go from docking in port to being horizontal on a SpaceX booster transporter. The previous record-holder was Falcon 9 B1046.2, requiring approximately 40 hours for the same feat. B1049.3 also holds the record for fastest recovery overall – just 48 hours from docking to being transported to a SpaceX hangar – but only beat B1051 by about half an hour. In general, Falcon 9 Block 5 has been privy to consistently quick recovery operations and B1049 is just the latest in a long line of reusable SpaceX rockets.

Falcon 9 B1049.3 returned to Port Canaveral on May 28th. (Tom Cross)
B1049.3 bares its well-worn Merlin 1D engines and engine section. (Tom Cross)
(Tom Cross)

Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes

SpaceX beats Falcon 9 recovery records after company’s heaviest launch ever


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Rivian’s self-driving future in focus at Amazon’s re:MARS 2019 event

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Posted on June 4, 2019


Rivian is attending Amazon’s re:MARS 2019 event this week, an information and networking conference sponsored by the online retail giant focused on artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and other related Earth and space technologies, including self-driving.

The latest research, scientific advancements, and industry innovations are shared during four-days of networking, keynotes, and information sessions, and speakers from companies such as Walt Disney Imagineering and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are on the schedule. The event takes place from June 4-7 at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Amazon re:MARS Twitter account posted a tweet announcing Rivian’s appearance, which was then retweeted by CEO RJ Scaringe. “What happens when you combine a thirst for adventure with automotive tech and AI? Meet the world’s first Electric Adventure Vehicle at #reMARS to find out,” it said. The tweet was also tagged with “#alexaauto”, possibly indicating Rivian’s inclusion of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in its upcoming R1T truck and R1S SUV. Another electric car maker has already opted for this route – China’s Byton has Alexa integrated into its vehicle operating system.

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re:MARS stands for Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics, and Space, and the event is described on its website as follows:

“re:MARS brings together innovative minds with diverse skill sets who share an inventors spirit, a builders mentality, and a desire to use AI to initiate change and shape the future. The event is designed for business leaders and technical builders (including developers, engineers, data scientists, ML [machine learning] experts, and roboticists) who translate customer problems into real-world technology solutions using AI.”

Given re:MARS’s description, Rivian’s plans for including self-driving in its R1T and R1S make its presence particularly relevant to the focus of the event. The camera and radar hardware on Rivian’s production vehicles will be capable of Level 3 autonomous driving that’s upgradable via over-the-air software updates. The initial vehicles will ship with Level 2 capabilities and use data accumulated from its customers’ driving sent to the cloud to develop its Level 3 transition.

Amazon has also invested heavily into Aurora, a self-driving startup led by ex-Tesla and ex-Google executives, and an information session hosted by the company as part of the re:MARS event. Rivian’s self-driving plans could possibly cross over with Aurora’s autonomy developments as both companies share an Amazon business linkage. The description of the Aurora information session is as follows:

“The Future of Self-Driving Technology: Aurora is improving self-driving technology with the Aurora Driver, the computer system that powers and coordinates signals from its perception system to control vehicles of different makes, models and classes. Hear from Aurora to better understand the role of AI in self-driving technology and the longstanding impacts of self-driving cars for our future.”

A map of re:MARS’s tech showcase location shows Rivian mingled with Alexa & iRobot | Smart Home, and Cybic, an electric bike company using Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant.

Amazon’s re:MARS tech showcase map. | Image: Amazon

Amazon’s $700 million dollar investment into Rivian also likely plays a part in Rivian’s appearance at re:MARS. CEO Jeff Bezos recently referred to the electric car industry as “fascinating” and said he was excited to participate in its developments along with vehicle connectivity. Specifically referring to Rivian, he complimented Scaringe, saying he’s “one of the most missionary entrepreneurs I’ve ever met.”

RJ Scaringe has made reference to Rivian’s vehicles hosting self-guided tours fashioned like those seen in the classic 90s movie Jurassic Park. Given Amazon’s investment in the all-electric startup and the car maker’s subsequent appearance at an Alexa-focused event, perhaps the Rivian AI tour guide won’t be modeled after a classic Hollywood actor and narrator after all, an idea which was admittedly driven by imagination to begin with. “The voice you’re now hearing is Richard Kiley. Heh, we’ve spared no expense!” Richard Hammond, the fictional owner of Jurassic Park, exclaims in the movie while the tour group advanced through the dinosaur exhibits. Alexa, take me to the Tyrannosaurus rex, anyone?

While Rivian’s presence at Amazon’s re:MARS event hasn’t yet produced many details to confirm any speculations, it’s at the very least a nod towards the company’s exciting, technology-driven future.

Rivian’s self-driving future in focus at Amazon’s re:MARS 2019 event


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