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PHOTOS: Northern Lights provide stellar U.S. views as Starlink put under pressure by solar storm
Last weekend, Earth was directly hit by a major Solar storm, and millions were treated to a view of the Northern and Southern lights for the first time.
The storm triggered the Northern Lights to descend much further south than normal, providing brilliant moving lights in the skies usually reserved for those in the far northern and southern hemispheres.
Despite its raw beauty, the storms were a major cause of concern among satellite operators, including SpaceX, which, as of this writing, has 5,999 Starlink satellites orbiting around Earth.
Elon Musk posted, acknowledging that it would be a major test for their constellation, which had previously lost satellites due to Solar storm activity.
Major geomagnetic solar storm happening right now. Biggest in a long time. Starlink satellites are under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far. pic.twitter.com/TrEv5Acli2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2024
The Vice President of Starlink Engineering, Michael Nicolls, posted that all of their Starlink satellites, including those recently launched, survived the storm. The satellites that were recently launched were at a much greater risk as atmospheric drag increases and could cause an unintentional de-orbit.
Here are some of our favorite pictures we spotted over on X.
We’re not done with #NorthernLights photos right? Still going through my treasure chest of content and I think I have a new favorite. The colors, banding, pillars and arcs were just unbelievable to watch explode in the northwestern sky during this solar storm substorm. pic.twitter.com/LuyMt7o4Zc
— Nick Stewart (@NStewWX) May 13, 2024
A beautiful view of the Aurora Borealis from Nick Stewart who was in South Dakota.
As noted earlier, the Northern Lights were visibly much further South, including South Florida. The red hue of the lights seen from Florida is due to the Aurora being at a much higher altitude than the greens and blues seen further North.
Occasional pillars, but mostly a diffuse red glow at this point. Still incredible this far south. Taken along US-27 west of Fort Lauderdale, FL at 11:45pm. #aurora @NWSMiami @TweetAurora @AuroraNotify pic.twitter.com/m22PdWkRVL
— Luke Culver (@LukeCulverWx) May 11, 2024
One of the last major storms, known as the Carrington Event, occurred in 1859 with Aurora being visible as far South as Cuba. That storm ignited telegraph lines at the time, causing major outages. While this storm wasn’t as strong, there is always a risk to our current infrastructure, and luckily, it seems no satellite operators suffered any major damage or losses, and ground power stations suffered no blackouts.
The Sunspot that caused the Coronal Mass Ejections has now rotated away from Earth, but it doesn’t mean we are out of the line of fire, as a new one could pop up at any time and send another one our way. This storm provided a great test for satellite operators who now have valuable data to help sturdy their satellites against future Solar storms.
Check out some other awesome photos of the Northern Lights:
Northern lights over Mount Shasta in California, during the historic solar storm last night! #aurora pic.twitter.com/g5EBmPQ7WX
— Jeff Boyce (@Negative_Tilt) May 11, 2024
I’m sorry I didn’t share this sooner. Check out this AMAZING shot of the Northern Lights that was taken between Friday night & Saturday morning. This photo features the trifecta: Aurora Borealis, Milky Way & Mount St. Helens. Thanks to Ian Reed for sharing! pic.twitter.com/aqRGyJfvWv
— Jeff Forgeron (@WeatherJefe) May 15, 2024
Northern lights over NE Ohio. pic.twitter.com/FrdW1pR9M5
— Michael Collier (@MikeACollier) May 11, 2024
A super rare display of aurora borealis / northern lights washed over the Bay Area early this morning ✨
? by Pankaj Bhargava @punksworld on IG pic.twitter.com/FlWGpLUIi3
— DoTheBay (@DoTheBay) May 11, 2024
Were you able to witness this possibly once-in-a-lifetime event? If so, where were you able to witness the Aurora from?
Questions or comments? Shoot me an email at rangle@teslarati.com, or Tweet me @RDAnglePhoto.
News
Rivian and Amazon announce huge milestone with EDV
The companies announced today that they had officially launched the EDV in Canada for Amazon, as the first 50 units are out and about in Vancouver, and the company said it was “marking an exciting milestone in our five-year history of operations in Canada.”
 
														Rivian and Amazon have announced a huge milestone with their Electric Delivery Vehicle (EDV), the van that the two companies developed for the e-commerce giant to sustainably deliver packages to customers.
The EDV was first unveiled back in September 2019, when Amazon announced a massive investment in Rivian and placed an order for 100,000 electric vans, aiming to deploy them by 2030 as part of the company’s sustainability goals.
Production started in 2021 in Normal, Illinois, and entered Amazon’s fleet of active delivery vehicles over the Summer of 2022. Amazon kept the initial vehicles in major metropolitan areas and eventually started rolling them out to more delivery hubs across the United States.
In December 2024, the companies announced they had successfully deployed 20,000 EDVs across the U.S. In the first half of this year, 10,000 additional vans were delivered, and Amazon’s fleet had grown to 30,000 EDVs by mid-2025.
Amazon’s fleet of EDVs continues to grow rapidly and has expanded to over 100 cities in the United States. However, it has just reached a new milestone, and it has nothing to do with the size of its fleet.
The companies announced today that they had officially launched the EDV in Canada for Amazon, as the first 50 units are out and about in Vancouver, and the company said it was “marking an exciting milestone in our five-year history of operations in Canada.”
The first Rivian Electric Delivery Vans have arrived in Canada as @amazon announced that 50 vans are hitting the road to serve the Vancouver area – marking an exciting milestone in our five-year history of operations in Canada. 🍁 https://t.co/rc6GvSRX2v pic.twitter.com/0jAQ3ABkYt
— Rivian (@Rivian) October 30, 2025
The EDV is a model that is exclusive to Amazon, but Rivian sells the RCV, or Rivian Commercial Van, openly. It detailed some of the pricing and trim options back in January when it confirmed it had secured orders from various companies, including AT&T.
The RCV starts at $83,000, and is one of the few electric vans on the market that is suitable for package delivery in a commercial setting because of its build and interior features.
Rivian prepares to launch the EDV outside of Amazon as the RCV – Here’s when
However, it also seems to be a great option as a service vehicle for companies, which is likely why AT&T is going to utilize it.
News
Tesla’s biggest rival in China reported a big profit decline once again
 
														Tesla’s biggest rival in China reported a big decline in its profitability for the second straight quarter, and a loss of one-third compared to the same quarter last year.
BYD overtook Tesla as the best-selling EV maker in China in the fourth quarter of 2023, finally surpassing the company in terms of sales in the region.
Is Tesla really losing to BYD, or just playing a different game?
The Chinese market is one of the most competitive in the world, especially for EVs, as the industry is healthy with young and scrappy companies looking to sell the best possible tech in their vehicles.
BYD reported its earnings on Thursday and said that its profit had slumped by 33 percent compared to the same quarter last year. For this year’s third quarter, BYD reported a net profit of 7.8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), a 32.6 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2024.
Its revenue was 195 billion yuan ($27.4 billion), which was only a 3 percent decrease compared to Q3 2024.
The drop in profits and revenue can mostly be attributed to the ongoing growth of competition in the Chinese market. The increased competition in China has pushed companies to turn to overseas markets in response, according to CnEVPost.
BYD is one of those companies, and it is attempting to push sales upward by entering new markets, especially in Europe, where the company sold more than 13,000 units in EU countries in September alone.
This was a 272 percent increase year over year, a major piece of evidence that it has a lot of potential in foreign markets.
The drop in financial figures is likely a short-term issue for BYD, as it has already established itself as a formidable competitor to many companies in many markets. In Q1, it reported an increase in profit by 100 percent compared to the same time span the year prior.
As it works to expand to even more markets in the world, it will continue to build upon its already-solid reputation.
News
GM takes latest step to avoid disaster as EV efforts get derailed
There was an even larger step taken this morning, as the Detroit Free Press reported that GM was idling its Factory Zero plant in Michigan until late November, placing about 1,200 workers on indefinite layoff status.
 
														General Motors has taken its latest step to avoid financial disaster as its electric vehicle efforts have been widely derailed.
GM’s electric vehicle manufacturing efforts started off hot, and CEO Mary Barra seemed to have a real hold on how the industry and consumers were starting to evolve toward sustainable powertrains. Even former President Joe Biden commended her as being a major force in the global transition to EVs.
However, the company’s plans have not gone as they’ve drawn them up. GM has reported some underwhelming delivery figures in recent quarters, and with the loss of the $7,500 tax credit, the company is planning for what is likely a substantial setback in its entire EV division.
Earlier this month, the company reported it would include a $1.6 billion charge in its quarterly earnings results from EV investments. It was the first true sign that things with GM’s EV projects were going to slow down.
There was an even larger step taken this morning, as the Detroit Free Press reported that GM was idling its Factory Zero plant in Michigan until late November, placing about 1,200 workers on indefinite layoff status.
This is in addition to the 280 employees it has already laid off after production cuts that happened earlier this year at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
After November 24, GM will bring back 3,200 people to work until January 5 to operate both shifts. On January 5, GM is expected to keep 1,200 workers on indefinite layoff.
GM is not the only legacy automaker to make a move like this, as Ford has also started to make a move that reflects a cautious tone regarding how far and how committed it can be to its EV efforts.
After the tax credit was lost, it seemed to be a game of who would be able to float their efforts longest without the government’s help. Tesla CEO Elon Musk long said that the loss of these subsidies would help the company and hurt its competitors, and so far, that is what we are seeing.
Elon Musk was right all along about Tesla’s rivals and EV subsidies
However, Tesla still has some things to figure out, including how its delivery numbers will be without the tax credit. Its best quarter came in Q3 as the credit was expiring, but Tesla did roll out some more affordable models after the turn of the quarter.
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