News
RebelRoam cofounder tests Starlink on a yacht & said service was “surprisingly good”
RebelRoam cofounder Tarvo Topolev put his new Starlink equipment to the test sailing around the Greek islands, Business Insider reported. RebelRoam provides passenger WiFi on public transportation. Topolev told Insider that he ordered Starlink in July and received the kit a week later. He bought Starlink’s RV package because RebelRoam wanted to test its services in various locations.
A total of nine employees including Topolev took the Starlink kit to Athens then took a yacht, attached the Starlink dish to a pole, and traveled throughout the Greek islands. They tested the network for a week near Kea, Mykonos, Syros, and Kythnos.
Topolev said that the network suffered outages when it was nearby other boats’ masts or when the yacht made sharp turns. But the network worked well at sea when the cellular connectivity dropped out after the boat was far from shore.
“It was surprisingly good,” he told Insider. “There were some outages and sometimes we had to manually reboot it … but basically it worked … almost all the time.”
“We see it’s a very good solution because big cruise ships are using geostationary satellites, which have a huge latency and it’s ridiculously expensive for the speeds that they’re getting.”
RebelRoam plans to continue testing Starlink to see how well it will work for its customers. Topolev said that Starlink had a good business case and noted that it would be used frequently. “Especially in areas where there is no other ways to have connectivity.”
Although it’s a different Starlink product, Royal Caribbean recently announced that it will deploy Starlink on all of its cruise lines. Starlink has a Maritime product where it provides oceangoing vessels with up to 350 Mbps download while at sea.
SpaceX and T-Mobile also announced a partnership where the two will enable T-Mobile phones to have connectivity in the most remote places. This, I assume, would also include out at sea.
Your feedback is important. If you have any comments, or concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @JohnnaCrider1
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets. The company also completed deployment of its first-generation Direct to Cell constellation, launching over 650 satellites in just 18 months to enable cellular connectivity.
SpaceX highlighted Starlink’s impressive 2025 progress in an extensive report.
Key achievements from Starlink’s 2025 Progress
Starlink connected over 4.6 million new customers with high-speed internet while bringing service to 35 more regions worldwide in 2025. Starlink is now connecting 9.2 million people worldwide. The service achieved this just weeks after hitting its 8 million customer milestone.
Starlink is now available in 155 markets, including locations that are unreachable by traditional ISPs. The service has also change the game in airline internet, serving over 21 million airline passengers with high speed internet connectivity.
Starlink Direct to Cell
The Direct to Cell constellation, more than 650 satellites strong, has already connected over 12 million people at least once, marking a breakthrough in global mobile coverage. With Starlink Direct to Cell, even locations that are severely underserved are able to get connectivity.
“This year, SpaceX completed deployment of the first generation of the Starlink Direct to Cell constellation, with more than 650 satellites launched to low-Earth orbit in just 18 months. Starlink Direct to Cell has connected more than 12 million people, and counting, at least once, providing life-saving connectivity when people need it most,” SpaceX wrote.
News
Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
Tesla’s Giga Nevada has reached an impressive milestone, producing its 6 millionth drive unit as 2925 came to a close.
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
6 million drive units
The achievement was shared by the official Tesla Manufacturing account on social media platform X. “Congratulations to the Giga Nevada team for producing their 6 millionth Drive Unit!” Tesla wrote.
The photo showed numerous factory workers assembled on the production floor, proudly holding golden balloons that spelled out “6000000″ in front of drive unit assembly stations. Elon Musk gave credit to the Giga Nevada team, writing, “Congrats on 6M drive units!” in a post on X.
Giga Nevada’s essential role
Giga Nevada produces drive units, battery packs, and energy products. The facility has been a cornerstone of Tesla’s scaling since opening, and it was the crucial facility that ultimately enabled Tesla to ramp the Model 3 and Model Y. Even today, it serves as Tesla’s core hub for battery and drivetrain components for vehicles that are produced in the United States.
Giga Nevada is expected to support Tesla’s ambitious 2026 targets, including the launch of vehicles like the Tesla Semi and the Cybercab. Tesla will have a very busy 2026, and based on Giga Nevada’s activities so far, it appears that the facility will be equally busy as well.
News
Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network had its biggest year ever in 2025, delivering a record 6.7 TWh of electricity to vehicles worldwide.
To celebrate its busy year, the official @TeslaCharging account shared an infographic showing the Supercharger Network’s growth from near-zero in 2012 to this year’s impressive milestone.
Record 6.7 TWh delivered in 2025
The bar chart shows steady Supercharger energy delivery increases since 2012. Based on the graphic, the Supercharger Network started small in the mid-2010s and accelerated sharply after 2019, when the Model 3 was going mainstream.
Each year from 2020 onward showed significantly more energy delivery, with 2025’s four quarters combining for the highest total yet at 6.7 TWh.
This energy powered millions of charging sessions across Tesla’s growing fleet of vehicles worldwide. The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets. This makes the Supercharger Network loved not just by Tesla owners but EV drivers as a whole.
Resilience after Supercharger team changes
2025’s record energy delivery comes despite earlier 2024 layoffs on the Supercharger team, which sparked concerns about the system’s expansion pace. Max de Zegher, Tesla Director of Charging North America, also highlighted that “Outside China, Superchargers delivered more energy than all other fast chargers combined.”
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted the achievement as proof of continued momentum post-layoffs. At the time of the Supercharger team’s layoffs in 2024, numerous critics were claiming that Elon Musk was halting the network’s expansion altogether, and that the team only remained because the adults in the room convinced the juvenile CEO to relent.
Such a scenario, at least based on the graphic posted by the Tesla Charging team on X, seems highly implausible.
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
