Ellie In Space is more than a YouTube channel dedicated to SpaceX and space in general. The host, Ellie, has a unique story of her own. In the video (at the end of the article), we interviewed one another and shared our stories.
This article is a short recap of my interview with Ellie.
From TV to Ellie In Space
Eliana (Ellie) Sheriff has a very interesting story. Her background is in media and broadcasting. She moved to Utah for a job that she later left to pursue her passions for space and TV.
Ellie worked as a TV news anchor and reporter for over eight years and is now applying those skills to full-time, independent space reporting. She, as I am, is inspired by Elon Musk I asked her about her story.
Ellie left her job as a TV station news anchor to pursue independent space reporting.
Elon Musk has often talked about how negative the media has become of late. He even brought it up during my own interview with him last month. His words may seem harsh to some but they also ring true for those having to face the negativity day in and day out.
Ellie was one of those people.
“I had been debating leaving for a couple of years due to various reasons. One of the biggest ones being the pay is not that great. And then, other things started to drain on me such as news is quite depressing.”
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“Most weeks, it would be like, ‘okay go cover that shooting that just happened and go interview victims or a family of the victim. Or, go cover this fire.’ You know, just stuff that wasn’t pleasant and that’s part of the job description.”
Ellie had another outlet for her creativity. She’d already started her YouTube channel which was already growing. Ellie asked herself ‘why don’t I just do what I’m doing now for a TV news station but instead, do it for my own brand and cover something that’s exciting and inspiring?’
Her channel had already started paying her rent for a year so it made sense for her to quit a depressing job and go full-time with Ellie in Space.
Why SpaceX and Elon?
Like me before I started writing full-time for CleanTechnica and then Teslarati, Ellie didn’t know much about Elon Musk, SpaceX, or Tesla.
“Like you, I didn’t know a lot about SpaceX and Tesla prior to covering it but that’s the thing. You learn about it. You interview people. And then you can be a source of information.”
From Airbnb to Starlink
Her former boyfriend encouraged her to start her YouTube channel and said that she’d be really good at it. She began sharing Airbnb vlogs and other things that weren’t getting much traction. But then, her former boyfriend received some good news from SpaceX.
He’d gotten approved to beta test Starlink. This was during a time when Starlink wasn’t accessible as it is now.
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Ellie didn’t know what Starlink was, however, it wound up taking her on a journey that has opened her up to many adventures.
“He was like, ‘we should make a video and do some speed tests or whatever and see how it goes. And I made this video and it started doing really well. And I just thought that as any journalist has a beat, you know maybe they are covering crime news or maybe they’re covering health news. I was like, ‘why don’t I just make this my beat, and I’ll cover Starlink news?’”
You can watch our double interview in the video below. My interview with Ellie begins just after 22 minutes into the video.
Disclaimer: Johnna is long Tesla.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @JohnnaCrider1
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Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car
