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Signature Model X Deliveries Sighted Across North America

Sightings of Model X cars in shipment are beginning to occur in various parts of the country. Here are photos of one car headed for Florida at a stopover in Salt Lake City taken by a Teslarati tipster.

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Signature Red Tesla Model X [Source: Christian Staples via tips@teslarati.com]

Tesla has begun deliveries of the Model X Signature Series electric crossover to early reservation holders that placed the initial $40,000 deposit, some as far back as three years ago. Christian Staples, whose business is across the street from the Tesla Service Center in Salt Lake City, spotted a truck full of new Teslas being unloaded. According to Christian, he approached the Service Center as he normally does when new Teslas arrive, only to notice that one of them had a different paint color. It was a rare Signature Red Model X being unloaded from the truck.

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Signature Red Tesla Model X in Salt Lake City [Source: Christian Staples via tips@teslarati.com]

The car was quickly surrounded by Tesla employees who told Christian that the Model X was being temporarily rolled off the truck in order to make room for the truck full of Model S to be unloaded.

Christian a Model X reservation holder himself (#18557) was told by Tesla employees that the Signature X was making its way to an owner in Florida, and currently in “factory mode” meaning it was limited to a maximum of 10 mph with only the driver’s door being operational.

When questioning the Tesla employees about the popularity of the Model X, they further mentioned that the Model X is outselling the Model S by 3 to 1 in the Northwest region including Utah, though Utah had 40 Model X orders pending with 12 of them already configured.

Model-X-SaltLakeCity

Expectant Tesla owners are normally contacted by the company about one week before their car is ready to be delivered. Many are expecting calls this week, but so far few such calls have been received. Two members have posted on the TMC forum in the past few days that they have been contacted by Tesla and expect their cars before the end of the year.

Updated December 17, 2015 9:25pm – Signature #2 holder Bonnie Norman announces via Twitter that her Signature Model X will be available for pickup this coming weekend.

Another owner recently took delivery of his Signature Model X at the Syosset, NY Tesla Service Center and posted a photo of it on Plugshare.

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Model X Panoramic Windshield as seen looking in from the driver’s side door [Source: Christian Staples via tips@teslarati.com]

Tesla delivered a handful of Founders Series Model X during the unveil event back in September. Mark Templeton, former CEO of Citrix was one of them that took delivery of #00003 who recently shared his impressions of the Model X.

“It’s a sports car, a sedan, and an SUV. The multi-purpose aspect of the X is stunning. The storage space is amazing. In fact, the deep trunk allows two of the 34″ rolling luggage pieces to stand side-by-side! Add the folding third row — it far exceeds SUVs of similar size. The underseat space is great – more comfortable for passengers and added space for storage. The seats are by far the best of any vehicle I’ve owned – design, comfort and function. And, I love how the middle row sets tilt and slide.”

Templeton raves about the performance of his cobalt blue Model X. “As Elon said, it’s FAST! Ludicrous mode makes acceleration from 30 mph just like at 0 mph! Smooth, continuous, multi-G acceleration – pure joy at the tip of your foot!” The one word of caution he has for any new Model X owner is to be prepared for how much attention the car generates. According to Templeton, the Model X will draw a crowd everywhere it goes.

 

"I write about technology and the coming zero emissions revolution."

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SpaceX achieves incredible milestone with Starlink program

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has achieved an incredible milestone by launching its 11,000th Starlink satellite into orbit.

This accomplishment occurred during the Starlink Group 17-50 mission, which lifted off on August 19 at 04:01 UTC from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

A Falcon 9 rocket carried 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on this flight, successfully deploying them into low Earth orbit approximately one hour after liftoff. The first stage booster, identified as B1097 on its twelfth flight, landed successfully on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.

According to tracking data compiled around that date, this deployment brought the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to just over 11,000.

The Starlink program began with test satellites known as Tintin A and B, launched on February 22, 2018. The first operational batch of 60 Starlink satellites followed on May 24, 2019, when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Those initial satellites marked the start of a rapid expansion that has continued for more than seven years.

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SpaceX has conducted hundreds of dedicated Starlink missions since then, routinely launching batches of 20 to 30 satellites at a time using reusable Falcon 9 rockets. By mid-2026, the company had already surpassed 12,000 total satellites launched across all versions, with continuous replacements for units that deorbit as designed to manage space debris.

Looking ahead, SpaceX continues to expand the Starlink constellation to enhance global broadband coverage, capacity, and speed. The network already serves millions of users across more than 160 countries and supports applications ranging from residential internet to maritime, aviation, and emergency services.

Future plans center on next-generation hardware, including larger V3 satellites capable of delivering substantially higher throughput, which require the increased payload capacity of the Starship vehicle currently under development and testing.

In July, SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking authority for a Gen3 constellation of up to 100,000 satellites. These spacecraft would operate in very low Earth orbit shells at altitudes near 325 kilometers and 475 kilometers. The filing requests use of existing Ku, Ka, V, and E band spectrum along with new greenfield W and D band frequencies between 92 and 275 GHz.

SpaceX states that the expanded system aims to deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical broadband to consumers, enterprises, governments, and billions of AI-powered devices worldwide while handling a majority of global internet traffic. Approval and subsequent deployment would depend on regulatory review and the operational readiness of Starship for high-volume launches.

This ambitious scale reflects SpaceX’s ongoing commitment to providing ubiquitous high-speed connectivity from space.

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Tesla is opening Cybercab rides to a select few

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has opened a new sweepstakes to allow the public to be among the first to take an initial ride in a Cybercab. This all-electric, steering-wheel-less, pedal-less vehicle is the centerpiece of the company’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi.

There are two ways Tesla fans can get to Austin to take part in the first public rides of the Cybercab: by riding on the Robotaxi platform by August 23, or by mailing a very specific entry to their Headquarters at Gigafactory Texas.

Tesla announced the latter portion of the sweepstakes last night:

Tesla will give one entry into the sweepstakes if you mail a 3″ by 5″ piece of paper with your full name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, and date of birth to their address:

Tesla, Robotaxi Sweeps Event

1 Tesla Road,

Austin, TX 78725

There is a limit of one entry per stamped envelope. You can send as many as you’d like, but they must be in separate envelopes.

The company’s unique strategy to give people the opportunity to ride in a Cybercab before pretty much anyone else outside of the company is a hilarious but spot-on representation of how Tesla operates. In classic fashion, they had the perfect response to the event:

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Cybercab will launch later this month, it appears, especially as it plans to announce the winners of the sweepstakes on August 25. The car has already been operating internally, as employees have been able to utilize the Cybercab for rides in some capacity, something it announced earlier this month.

Tesla weirdly confirms Cybercab employee rides, a huge milestone

Moving forward, the big goal is to get Cybercab out on the roads and integrated into the public Robotaxi fleet, one that will pick up real-world ride-hailers and give them a ride from Point A to Point B.

No matter which way you cut it, it appears Tesla is close to putting a vehicle with no steering wheel and no pedals on the road to help people travel autonomously.

You can ride along with us in our first Cybercab ride from the We, Robot event in October 2024. The video is embedded below:

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Tesla reveals plans for Robotaxi charging hub in Austin

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Tesla has revealed plans through permit submissions for a massive Robotaxi charging hub in Austin, Texas.

Tesla plans to build the Supercharger hub in multiple phases, with the second phase potentially introducing wireless induction charging, something the company has been developing for the Robotaxi fleet.

Initially, 48 Tesla Robotaxi-geared Superchargers will be built on a lot just across from the St. Elmo, Texas, Service Center. There are about 80 additional spots that will not be impacted by phase 1 of the construction process.

Filings show that the second phase of the project will turn those 80 additional spots into wireless charging for Robotaxi, but it might be an error. The Key Notes state that item 3 is listed as “V4 Charging Cabinet to Support 80 Wireless Chargers in Phase 2. However, the drawings point to V3 Cabinets that are already tied to Superchargers:

There are roughly 128 total spots in the lot, but it is unclear if they will all be used for charging based on what appears to be some sort of typo in the blueprint.

This is among the first Robotaxi charging hubs Tesla has started to develop, as it currently has four others planned throughout various areas: one in Phoenix, one in San Antonio, another in Irving, which will serve the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and another in Las Vegas.

These projects are necessary as Tesla expands its Robotaxi program. Now that preparations have started for the public launch of Cybercab, Robotaxi will likely be expanding aggressively, especially over the next two to three years.

Last night, The Information reported that Tesla was planning to launch Cybercab as soon as the end of August. Hours later, Tesla then announced it was launching a competition for fans to potentially ride in Cybercab during its first public rides.

Tesla Cybercab launch preparations have begun

Tesla’s plan to expand its charging infrastructure in the regions where Robotaxi will initially operate is great preparation for the expanding service. There is still a lot to do, including launching the Cybercab on time.

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