EU antitrust regulators are scrutinizing SES’s $3.1 billion bid to acquire Intelsat, probing whether SpaceX’s Starlink poses a credible rival in the satellite communications market. The European Commission’s review could shape the future of Europe’s space industry.

The Commission has sought feedback from customers of SES and Intelsat to assess Starlink’s competitive impact. According to Reuters, the questionnaire asks if low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite providers like Starlink and Eutelsat’s OneWeb are viable competitors for two-way satellite capacity. It also explores whether LEO suppliers are winning tenders and contracts and their potential to influence competition over the next five years. Additionally, regulators are evaluating customers’ bargaining power and ability to switch to rival suppliers.

SES operates a fleet of about 70 multi-orbit satellites for video broadcasting, government communications, and broadband internet. It aims to scale up through the acquisition of Intelsat. The move is part of a broader push in Europe to bolster home-grown satellite solutions, countering U.S. giants like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper.

SES is in talks with the EU Commission and a few European governments to complement Starlink services, addressing concerns over reliance on foreign providers.

“Now the discussions are much more strategic in nature. They’re much more mid-term, long-term. And what we’re seeing is that all of the European governments are serious about increasing their defense spending. There are alternatives, not to completely replace Starlink, that’s not possible, but to augment and complement Starlink,” said SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh.

The EU Commission’s preliminary review of the SES-Intelsat deal is expected to conclude by June 10. The preliminary review will determine whether the SES-Intelsat deal is cleared outright, requires concessions, or faces a full-scale investigation if significant concerns arise. As Europe seeks to strengthen its space-based communication resilience, the outcome could redefine competitive dynamics in the satellite sector.

With Starlink’s LEO technology disrupting traditional satellite services, the Commission’s findings will signal how Europe balances innovation with strategic autonomy. SES’s efforts to scale and collaborate with governments underscore the region’s ambition to remain competitive, potentially reshaping the global satellite landscape as demand for reliable connectivity grows.

Tesla has been contacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding its planned rollout of a Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas.

The agency sent a letter to Tesla Field Quality Director Eddit Gates, seeking more information on exactly how the company plans to operate the fleet in poor weather conditions. The NHTSA wants to know how Tesla’s technology and operational use cases will “assess the ability of Tesla’s system to react appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions.”

Additionally, the NHTSA said it would like additional information on Tesla’s development of technologies for use in ‘robotaxi’ vehicles to understand how Tesla plans to evaluate its vehicles and driving automation technologies for public roads.

Tesla has already started operating a supervised version of the Robotaxi platform for employees in both Austin and San Francisco. This limited rollout has completed thousands of rides already, but differs from the version it plans to roll out in the coming weeks in Austin, as it currently has a driver sitting in the driver’s seat.

Tesla says it has launched ride-hailing Robotaxi teaser to employees only

They are there to supervise the vehicle and ensure safety early on in the program.

The letter that was sent to Tesla on May 8 is part of a greater investigation that was opened by the NHTSA on October 17, titled “FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions.”

The agency said the purpose of the “Preliminary Evaluation of FSD” was to assess:

• The ability of FSD’s engineering controls to detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions;
• Whether any other similar FSD crashes have occurred in reduced roadway visibility conditions and, if so, the contributing circumstances for those crashes; and
• Any updates or modifications from Tesla to the FSD system that may affect the performance of FSD in reduced roadway visibility conditions. In particular, this review will assess the timing, purpose, and capabilities of any such updates, as well as Tesla’s assessment of their safety impact.

Tesla is required to respond to the NHTSA’s request by June 19.

INIM-PE24031-62887 by Joey Klender on Scribd

Tesla has been very secretive about the “more affordable models” that it intends to start producing in the first half of 2025, but the company does seem to be quite busy testing something interesting in the Giga Texas complex. This was, at least, as per recent aerial footage from a longtime Giga Texas watcher.

The recent footage featured an apparent test car that looks very similar to a vehicle that was spotted in the Fremont Factory last month. 

New Giga Texas Sighting

In a post on X, longtime Giga Texas watcher and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer noted that he recently spotted a rather unique test car in the factory complex. The vehicle was under a car cover, but it was evidently missing its body panels and roof. Interestingly enough, it seemed to be shaped like a Model Y (it even had Model Y wheels), though it looked a bit more compact than another Model Y that was parked next to it.

Interestingly enough, a rather similar test car was spotted at another Tesla plant, the Fremont Factory in California, last month. Tesla watcher Met God in Wilderness, who has been posting aerial videos of the Fremont Factory for years, shared some footage from a drone flyover in mid-April. One of the vehicles captured in the flyover was an apparent test car that was parked next to fully-built Model Y and Model S vehicles. The test car in this sighting also looked like a compact crossover, and it was also missing its roof and body panels. 

Tesla’s Affordable Cars

In the Q1 2025 Update Letter, Tesla noted that “plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025.” In the Q1 earnings call, Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy stated that Tesla’s affordable cars would resemble the company’s existing vehicles, though they will be more affordable.

These comments suggested that Tesla’s affordable cars, which have been informally dubbed by the EV community as the “Model 2 or Model Q,” will look a lot like its two mass market vehicles, the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y crossover. “Models that come out in the next months will be built on our lines and will resemble, in form and shape, the cars we currently make. And the key is that they’ll be affordable, and you’ll be able to buy one,” Moray stated.