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Musk talks Tesla Model 3 giveaway and Martian food firm on Reddit AMA
In a recently held Reddit AMA session, Kimbal Musk shared a number of details about his fully-loaded Tesla Model 3, revealing some unique aspects of the electric car he is giving away as part of his nonprofit’s latest fundraiser.
According to Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal, his blue Tesla is quite special in the way that it is quite literally one of the first Model 3s to be made. Being VIN#006, Kimbal stated that his car was manufactured rather differently than most Model 3s on the road today. Musk also expressed his fondness for his vehicle, calling it one of the most beautiful cars in the world.
โThe most special thing about my Model 3 that I’m giving away is that it is one of the first ever made. The early models are made a lot by hand, and it is one of the most beautiful cars in the world. It is so special to imagine someone out there having one of the first Model 3s in the world,โ Musk said in his AMA.
While most of Kimbal’sย Reddit AMA was dedicated to his food and farming programs, he did mention Big Green’s Model 3 raffle again. Responding to a member of the online community who asked if his Model 3 would include any special items, Kimbal candidly stated that there would indeed be other freebies for the lucky winner of his nonprofit’s fundraiser. Whatโs more, Musk stated that he would be happy to sign the electric car, effectively making his Model 3 even more unique.
โI would be happy to sign the car. Some freebies ideas will be announced soon as well.โ
Showing a dash of classic Musk humor, Kimbal quipped that after he gives away his personal Model 3, he is planning to start walking more.
On a rather humorous note, Kimbal revealed that he had an opportunity to send a special package with Starman during the Falcon Heavyโs maiden flight. According to Kimbal, he was supposed to write a letter that would be placed together with the Roadster’s other cargo, but he ended up struggling with what he really wanted to say. Thus, he ultimately just decided to watch his older brotherโs electric car get launched into space.
โI had an opportunity to send a letter up, but when I sat down to write it, I really struggled on what to say. In the end, I decided to just take the whole thing in and enjoy the launch,โ Kimbal wrote in his AMA.
Kimbal also responded to a query asking if he would help his brother’s Mars colonization plan with his mastery of organic farming and food production. While Kimbal seemed careful to not divulge any concrete information about a partnership with SpaceX, he did joke about what he would call his Martian food company. According to Musk, his Martian firm will be called “All your food are belong to us!”
Kimbal’s joke about his Martian food firm is a direct reference toย Zero Wing, a game for the Sega Genesis released in 1992. The game, which was originally in Japanese, was ported to the West, though its dialogue featured some of the most iconic instances of English mistranslations in gaming history, the most prominent of which was the meme-worthy sentence “All your base are belong to us.”
As we noted in a recent report, Kimbal Musk is giving away his personal early edition Model 3 to a lucky donor for Big Green, his nonprofit food literacy program for children in public schools. Anyone interested in acquiring the rare, signed Model 3 could put in donations for the nonprofit, with as little as $10 translating to 100 entries for the mass market electric car. Those interested in joining Kimbalโs Model 3 raffle can click here.
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Tesla starts testing its Starlink-integrated Cybercab on public roads
Tesla has been testing its all-electric, two-seater Cybercab on public roads for months now.
Nearly two years after its unveiling, the Cybercab has been seen by perhaps tens of thousands as the company has expanded testing to a handful of states, including Texas, California, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, and New York, among several others.
However, nobody has seen one like this quite yet.
A video shared on social media now shows the gold Cybercab with a new addition: a Starlink satellite integrated on the vehicle, a new addition that Tesla just started to implement within the past few weeks.
@lottaherm More cybercabs being spotted now with Starlink integrated ๐ #cybercab #tesla #elonmusk #houston #htx โฌ original sound – ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐น๐น๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ข๐๐น๐|๐
Just a week ago, Tesla announced that it had built its first Cybercab with Starlink integration and showed it off at Gigafactory Texas. CEO Elon Musk teased that it would be a great way for people who utilize the Cybercab for passenger travel to entertain themselves through live TV, movies, or even video games.
Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said it is also a huge advantage for Tesla as it will enable constant connectivity between the company and the fleet of Cybercabs it has. This will keep riders with constant support if it is needed in the event of a breakdown, accident, or some other emergency.
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you
It appears that this particular unit was spotted in Houston, Texas, a location where the company’s Robotaxi platform is already active. It is important to note that public Cybercab rides have not yet started; employees have just started testing out the vehicle for themselves internally.
Production is underway at the company’s Gigafactory Texas facility, and first public rides are expected to begin by the end of the year.
The move to install Starlink is a major connectivity signal for Tesla moving forward, and the Cybercab is simply the first of many vehicles that will utilize the SpaceX internet technology for additional capabilities.
Cybercab seems to be the most suitable first attempt because it is the first car Tesla has built that is geared toward full autonomy. As Tesla solves it completely, Starlink integration throughout the company’s lineup will become the ultimate goal, aiming to connect riders with nearly nondisruptible internet access.
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Tesla is building its largest Supercharger on the East Coast in New York City
Tesla is building its largest East Coast Supercharger in New York City, planning to bring a 64- to 68-stall station to Queens, New York.
It will end up being tied for the largest Supercharger on the East Coast with this number of stalls. The largest on the Eastern Seaboard is located in Halifax, North Carolina, and is also 68 stalls.
Tesla is currently building a new 64-stall Supercharger station in Queens, New York. This will be the biggest Supercharger station on the East Coast of the U.S.
It will also have two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. Thx for the pics @LetsCleanNYC. pic.twitter.com/CCo0dIoHin
โ Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 16, 2026
The location is also set to be fitted with two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. We’ve seen Tesla implement these types of parking spots at newer locations as EV ownership continues to expand to those who do more than simply drive their cars.
There are plenty of Superchargers in the New York City metro, but they are mostly located in boroughs outside of Manhattan. There are five Superchargers in various neighborhoods of Manhattan, but there are limited plugs; usually only four per location. There are plenty of Destination Chargers in the Big Apple, though.
Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn have become popular locations for companies to build out charging infrastructure for those who live in the highly populated boroughs. There is simply much more real estate to build effective EV charging stations.
The Supercharger will be located in Maspeth, Queens, at 48-26 54th Road. Maspeth has I-495 running through it, so this will be a great location for Tesla owners to hop off the highway on their way to Long Island or to Manhattan to charge up before continuing their journey.
Tesla has done a really great job of expanding its charging footprint throughout the past several years, especially by building large-scale projects that cater to areas that have a high volume of traffic and are main routes of travel to major areas. Tesla is making an effort to make charging less stressful and more widely available in these concentrated regions.
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SpaceX just launched a secret payload from California
SpaceX launched a classified Space Force mission from Vandenberg, revealing almost nothing about its payload.
SpaceX launched a classified Falcon 9 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday night, and the government released almost nothing about what was on board. The mission, designated USSF-366, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E with a window that opened at 9:52 p.m. ET and ran into the early hours of Sunday, according to SpaceX’s own mission page, which described the payload only as classified. SpaceX confirmed the launch on its X account and pointed viewers to a livestream that began roughly ten minutes before liftoff.
Watch Falcon 9 launch the USSF-366 mission from pad 4E in California https://t.co/FFEzeYOds1
โ SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 16, 2026
The lack of detail did not stop analysts from filling in the blanks. Independent tracking of the rocket’s stage drop zones matched the pattern SpaceX has used on previous Starlink Group 15 missions, according to reporting from Outer Space Today, which pointed to Starshield as the likely payload rather than a one off government satellite. Starshield is SpaceX’s national security product, a version of the Starlink satellite bus built to Pentagon specifications for earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. Unlike consumer Starlink, government agencies do not have to disclose what Starshield satellites are actually doing once they reach orbit.
USSF-366 is the latest entry in a steady flow of classified and semi classified work between SpaceX and the Space Force. The company picked up a $178.5 million task order in April to launch missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, as Teslarati reported at the time, and followed that in July with a $1.6 billion award covering 18 more Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg through the end of 2027, also detailed by Teslarati. Add those contracts up and SpaceX’s Pentagon business for 2026 alone tops $8 billion.
SpaceX scores another massive Pentagon deal to support military satellites
The Falcon 9 that flew Saturday landed back near the launch site, producing the sonic booms that have become routine for residents near Vandenberg. What is less routine is how little the public will likely ever learn about what the rocket carried. SpaceX and the Space Force have not confirmed the Starshield connection, and government satellite programs built on commercial buses rarely get identified beyond a mission number and a general orbit. For a company that live streams almost everything else it does, from Starship test flights to Optimus robot demos, USSF-366 is a reminder that some of SpaceX’s busiest work now happens entirely out of public view.
