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Amazon chooses everyone but SpaceX to launch its Starlink competitor

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Amazon has announced a series of record-breaking launch contracts that will place a “majority” of its 3,236-satellite Project Kuiper constellation in orbit in the hope of blanketing the Earth with high-quality internet alongside OneWeb, Starlink, Telesat, and others.

Of 68 firm launch contracts and a total of 83 contracts including unexercised options, SpaceX – the world’s most cost-effective, available launch provider – is fully absent. Instead, Amazon, has awarded three batch contracts to United Launch Alliance (ULA), Arianespace, and Blue Origin. Prior to this announcement, Amazon had already purchased two launches of prototype satellites on startup ABL Space’s RS1 rockets and nine operational launches on ULA Atlas V rockets, rounding out what is undoubtedly the most expensive set of commercial launch purchases in spaceflight history.

More likely than not, Amazon is paying a bare minimum of $100 million per launch, though $150-200 million is probably closer to reality. All three of the rockets now scheduled to launch most Kuiper satellites have yet to fly. Arianespace’s Ariane 6 and ULA’s Vulcan Centaur could debut in late 2022, though 2023 is more likely. Blue Origin’s partially reusable New Glenn is unlikely to fly before 2024 or even 2025.

Amazon has now purchased:

  • 9 Atlas V launches, each likely costing $150-200 million.
  • 12 New Glenn launches, with options for 15 more. Blue Origin says New Glenn will be able to carry 61 satellites per launch. The company has yet to reveal pricing but $100 million per launch is a probable floor.
  • 18 Ariane 6 launches carrying 35-40 satellites apiece. As of 2014, the rocket’s most capable variant was expected to cost at least €115 million (~$125 million) per launch.
  • 38 Vulcan Centaur launches carrying 45 satellites apiece. ULA wants the cheapest Vulcan variant to cost ~$100 million. Project Kuiper, which likely needs the most expensive Vulcan variant, will probably pay closer to $125-150 million per launch.
New Glenn.
An Ariane 6 constellation launch.
Vulcan Centaur.

All told, assuming Atlas V can launch at least 15-20 satellites apiece, Amazon’s latest contract likely means that the company has secured enough launch capacity to fully launch the first phase of its Project Kuiper constellation without exercising options. Those 77 operational launches will likely cost the company a minimum of $9.5-10 billion before accounting for the cost of Kuiper satellites or payload adapters.

According to NASA’s ELVPerf calculator, which uses official data provided by each company, Vulcan’s heaviest VC6 variant can launch ~27 tons (~60,000 lb) and New Glenn can launch ~35 tons (~77,000 lb) to a low 300-kilometer (~190 mile) insertion orbit. Ariane 6’s most capable ’64’ variant will likely be able to launch about 20 tons (~44,000 lb) to the same orbit, though official info is only available for a circular 500-kilometer orbit. Assuming Project Kuiper launches are not volume constrained, meaning that most of each rocket’s available performance is being taken advantage of, each Kuiper satellite likely weighs no more than 500-600 kilograms (1100-1300 lb).

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Falcon 9 recently broke an internal payload record with the successful launch of 16.25 tons of Starlink satellites to a similarly low insertion orbit. Including the mass of a payload adapter and deployment mechanism, Falcon 9’s true performance was likely closer to 17-18 tons. Combined with Falcon 9’s cheapest public commercial launch contract (~$50 million), it’s possible that SpaceX’s partially reusable Falcon 9 rockets could have launched 25-30 Kuiper satellites apiece for an average cost of ~$1.7 to $2 million per satellite – around 50-80% cheaper than Kuiper’s likely average.

Falcon 9 has launched more than 2250 operational Starlink satellites in less than three years. (Richard Angle)
Starship will need to surpass Falcon 9 by almost a full magnitude to launch SpaceX’s planned 30,000-satellite Starlink Gen2 constellation. (SpaceX)

Those significant savings don’t consider SpaceX’s next-generation Starship launch vehicle, which will likely reach orbit and begin commercial launches at least a year before New Glenn. Starship could feasibly carry 100-150 Kuiper satellites per launch and, if full reusability is achieved, might cost less than Falcon 9 despite offering at least five times the performance.

Per Amazon’s Project Kuiper FCC constellation license, the company will need to launch half of its constellation – 1618 satellites – by July 2026. It’s not actually clear if Arianespace, ULA, and Blue Origin will be able to collectively complete the roughly 36 launches that will require over the next four years. In the last four years, Arianespace’s Ariane 5 and ULA’s Atlas and Delta rockets have collectively launched 38 times. The first Kuiper satellite prototype is scheduled to launch no earlier than late 2022, meaning that operational launches are unlikely to begin before mid-2023.

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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Analyst: Elon Musk’s $1 trillion Tesla pay deal modest against robot market potential

Jonas highlighted Tesla’s longer-term ambitions in robotics as a key factor in his assessment.

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Credit: Tesla

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, one of Wall Street’s most ardent Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) bulls today, has described Elon Musk’s newly proposed $1 trillion performance-based compensation package as a “good deal” for investors. 

In a note shared this week, Jonas argued that the package helps align the interests of Musk and Tesla’s minority shareholders, despite its shockingly high headline number.

Future market opportunities

Jonas highlighted Tesla’s longer-term ambitions in robotics as a key factor in his assessment. “Yes, a trillion bucks is a big number, but (it) is rather modest compared to the size of the market opportunity,” Jonas wrote. He added that the humanoid robot market could ultimately surpass the size of today’s global labor market “by a significant multiple.”

“We have entertained scenarios where the humanoid robot market can exceed the size of today’s global labor market… by a significant multiple,” Jonas wrote, as shared on X by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt.

The analyst likened the arrival of AI-powered robotics to the transformative effect of electricity, noting that “contemplating future global GDP before AI robots is like contemplating global GDP before electricity.” The Morgan Stanley analyst’s insights align with the idea that as much as 80% of Tesla’s future valuation could be tied to its Optimus humanoid robot program.

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Elon Musk’s pay package

Tesla’s board has tied Elon Musk’s proposed compensation package to some of the most ambitious targets in corporate history. The 2025 CEO Performance Award requires the automaker’s valuation to soar from roughly $1.1 trillion today to $8.5 trillion over the next decade, a level that would make Tesla the most valuable company in existence.

The plan also demands a leap in Tesla’s operating profit, from $17 billion in 2024 to $400 billion annually. It also ties the CEO’s compensation to a number of product milestones, including the delivery of 20 million vehicles in total, 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, 1 million Tesla Bots, and 1 million Robotaxis in operation. Tesla’s board emphasized that Musk’s leadership was fundamental to achieving such ambitious goals, with Chair Robyn Denholm noting the award would align the CEO’s incentives with long-term shareholder value.

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Tesla China posts strongest registrations of Q3 so far with first Model Y L deliveries

Tesla posted 14,300 insurance registrations in China during the week of September 1–7.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla posted 14,300 insurance registrations in China during the week of September 1–7, a 14.4% increase from the previous week’s 12,500 units. 

The figure marks Tesla’s highest weekly performance so far this quarter so far, despite the company’s year-over-year figures still being below 2024’s numbers.

Weekly registrations

The week’s registrations broke down to 5,000 Model 3s and 8,400 Model Ys, including the first 900 units of the newly launched Model Y L variant, as per estimates from industry watchers. On a quarterly basis, Tesla China is tracking 41.3% growth compared to the previous quarter, which bodes well for the company’s results this Q3 2025.

For the month of August, Tesla sold 57,152 vehicles in China, down 9.93% from the same period in 2024 but up 40.7% from July’s 40,617 units, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). Year-to-date, Tesla’s China sales are 7.2% lower compared to the previous year.

Model Y L first deliveries

The week ending September 7 was the first week that included the newly released Model Y L, a six-seat extended wheelbase version of the company’s best-selling all-electric crossover. Industry watchers estimate that last week, the first 900 units of the Model Y L have been registered, though this number is expected to increase in the coming weeks as deliveries of the vehicle hit their pace.

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Citing information from a Tesla store in Beijing, Chinese media outlet Cailianshe stated that the Model Y L has been seeing a lot of interest among car buyers. “(The Model Y L) is selling very well. Since its launch, 120,000 orders have been received, with nearly 10,000 orders placed every day. The first batch of customers began receiving deliveries in the past two days,” a Tesla representative stated.

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Tesla launches MultiPass to simplify charging at non-Tesla stations

With the new service, Tesla owners can activate charging either through the Tesla app or by using their existing Tesla key card.

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tesla nacs charger
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has introduced MultiPass, a new feature that allows owners to use their Tesla account to charge at non-Tesla charging stations. 

The service launched this week in the Netherlands, giving drivers the ability to find chargers, start sessions, and view charging history directly within the Tesla app.

Streamlining third-party charging

With MultiPass, Tesla owners can activate charging either through the Tesla app or by using their existing Tesla key card. This eliminates the need for separate accounts or additional cards from third-party networks. Tesla Charging highlighted the convenience of managing charging sessions in one location in a post on X, while Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging for North America, emphasized that the update removes unnecessary friction.

“Nobody likes creating more accounts with payment details and passwords. For charging, this can even mean needing a third-party charging card mailed to your house. Starting in the Netherlands today, your Tesla App and your existing (!) Tesla keycard can start charging at third-party chargers. We’ll expand this to more countries quickly if customers love it. To make ownership effortless, the Tesla App should really be the only thing you need,” the Tesla executive wrote in a post on X.

Third-party payments and a familiar name

Tesla owners could pay for their third-party charging session with their Tesla accounts, as per the electric vehicle maker on its official website. Payments are drafted from users’ default payment method in the Tesla App, though charging costs will still vary depending on the third-party charger that is used.

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Interestingly, the MultiPass name also echoes a pop culture reference. In the 1997 sci-fi film The Fifth Element, Leeloo Dallas-505 carried a futuristic “Multipass” smart card that functioned as her ID, passport, and ticket to space travel. Her accented repetition of “Multipass!” became one of the film’s most memorable lines, and it highlighted the card’s all-in-one convenience.

Tesla has not provided a timeline for Multipass’ U.S. rollout, though the service could become an important addition to the growing but often fragmented landscape of DC fast charging.

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