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SpaceX kicks off $750M investment round as BFR and Starlink infrastructure needs grow
Reuters reports that SpaceX has moved forward with an effort to raise capital through a leveraged loan and is now circulating a debt investment opportunity 50% greater than originally reported by Bloomberg.
With the maximum capital raise now capped at $750M with Bank of America in place of Goldman Sachs as the loan guarantor, SpaceX could rapidly find itself flush with funds that will be instrumental in the completion of major infrastructure expansion projects for its Starlink satellite constellation and next-gen BFR rocket and spaceship.
SpaceX is out with price talk on its $750m loan and it's in the L+400-425 range. w/ @KristenHaunss – https://t.co/WCFlWpEhjS
— Jonathan Schwarzberg (@theschwarzberg) November 7, 2018
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that SpaceX – according to sources that spoke with Reuters – is playing their financial cards very close to the chest, presumably suggesting that interested investors are being faced with extreme secrecy over the company’s finances, assuming they are being allowed much access at all. Given how gilded and relatively exciting SpaceX is, investors may be more than willing to shrug off the inherent high-risk, high-reward nature of commercial spaceflight and swallow an unusual burden of secrecy and opaque corporate insight.
Assuming that SpaceX is able to successfully secure enough investors to raise the full $750M, this offering could mark a turning point in the way SpaceX approaches major capital expenditures, particularly at a point in time where the company is likely to imminently require massive amounts of cash to prevent major schedule delays for both Starlink and BFR. With more than two years and a full 35 successful launches separating SpaceX from their last catastrophic failure, the company’s financial outlook – at least from an external perspective – is healthier than its ever been, and the manner with which Falcon 9 has rapidly devoured a majority of the global commercial launch industry is extremely promising.
- An unofficial analysis of SpaceX’s first ~1600 Starlink satellites. (Mark Handley)
- One of the first two prototype Starlink satellites separates from Falcon 9’s upper stage, February 2018. (SpaceX)
- A closeup of BFS’ nose section, featuring impressively varied tile-sizes, joining methods, and extremely precise curves on the interface between canard wings and the hull. (SpaceX)
- SpaceX’s BFR mandrel, a tool used to form the rocket’s largest composite structures. (SpaceX)
Further, SpaceX hopes to lower the average cost of rocket launches by at least one or two magnitudes with the introduction and optimization of the next-gen BFR rocket, while its prospective Starlink satellite constellation has the potential to disrupt an unbelievably vast and stagnant global communications market. In order to even begin to make either or both aspirations real, SpaceX will need to construct wholly new production, test, and launch facilities capable of manufacturing an unprecedented number of satellites (between ~4400 and ~12000) and supporting what would be the largest and most advanced commercial rocket ever built.
Altogether, these many towering challenges will demand major investments in infrastructure with no real guarantee of returns. If the market will bear it (and it seems to be more than willing), leveraged loans – essentially debt equity backed by large banks or institutions – is one of the best possible ways to raise large amounts of money for risky prospects, particularly for a company as successful and glamorous as SpaceX. With any luck, investors will be luxuriously rewarded for going out on a relative limb.
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Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.

The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.
The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable.
As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.
At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.
With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk fires back after Wikipedia co-founder claims neutrality and dubs Grokipedia “ridiculous”
Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”
Elon Musk fired back at Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales after the longtime online encyclopedia leader dismissed xAI’s new AI-powered alternative, Grokipedia, as a “ridiculous” idea that is bound to fail.
Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”
Wales made the comments while answering questions about Wikipedia’s neutrality. According to Wales, Wikipedia prides itself on neutrality.
“One of our core values at Wikipedia is neutrality. A neutral point of view is non-negotiable. It’s in the community, unquestioned… The idea that we’ve become somehow ‘Wokepidea’ is just not true,” Wales said.
When asked about potential competition from Grokipedia, Wales downplayed the situation. “There is no competition. I don’t know if anyone uses Grokipedia. I think it is a ridiculous idea that will never work,” Wales wrote.
After Grokipedia went live, Larry Sanger, also a co-founder of Wikipedia, wrote on X that his initial impression of the AI-powered Wikipedia alternative was “very OK.”
“My initial impression, looking at my own article and poking around here and there, is that Grokipedia is very OK. The jury’s still out as to whether it’s actually better than Wikipedia. But at this point I would have to say ‘maybe!’” Sanger stated.
Musk responded to Sanger’s assessment by saying it was “accurate.” In a separate post, he added that even in its V0.1 form, Grokipedia was already better than Wikipedia.
During a past appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, Sanger argued that Wikipedia has drifted from its original vision, citing concerns about how its “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” framework categorizes publications by perceived credibility. As per Sanger, Wikipedia’s “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” list leans heavily left, with conservative publications getting effectively blacklisted in favor of their more liberal counterparts.
As of writing, Grokipedia has reportedly surpassed 80% of English Wikipedia’s article count.
News
Tesla Sweden appeals after grid company refuses to restore existing Supercharger due to union strike
The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons.
Tesla Sweden is seeking regulatory intervention after a Swedish power grid company refused to reconnect an already operational Supercharger station in Åre due to ongoing union sympathy actions.
The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons. A temporary construction power cabinet supplying the station had fallen over, described by Tesla as occurring “under unclear circumstances.” The power was then cut at the request of Tesla’s installation contractor to allow safe repair work.
While the safety issue was resolved, the station has not been brought back online. Stefan Sedin, CEO of Jämtkraft elnät, told Dagens Arbete (DA) that power will not be restored to the existing Supercharger station as long as the electric vehicle maker’s union issues are ongoing.
“One of our installers noticed that the construction power had been backed up and was on the ground. We asked Tesla to fix the system, and their installation company in turn asked us to cut the power so that they could do the work safely.
“When everything was restored, the question arose: ‘Wait a minute, can we reconnect the station to the electricity grid? Or what does the notice actually say?’ We consulted with our employer organization, who were clear that as long as sympathy measures are in place, we cannot reconnect this facility,” Sedin said.
The union’s sympathy actions, which began in March 2024, apply to work involving “planning, preparation, new connections, grid expansion, service, maintenance and repairs” of Tesla’s charging infrastructure in Sweden.
Tesla Sweden has argued that reconnecting an existing facility is not equivalent to establishing a new grid connection. In a filing to the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate, the company stated that reconnecting the installation “is therefore not covered by the sympathy measures and cannot therefore constitute a reason for not reconnecting the facility to the electricity grid.”
Sedin, for his part, noted that Tesla’s issue with the Supercharger is quite unique. And while Jämtkraft elnät itself has no issue with Tesla, its actions are based on the unions’ sympathy measures against the electric vehicle maker.
“This is absolutely the first time that I have been involved in matters relating to union conflicts or sympathy measures. That is why we have relied entirely on the assessment of our employer organization. This is not something that we have made any decisions about ourselves at all.
“It is not that Jämtkraft elnät has a conflict with Tesla, but our actions are based on these sympathy measures. Should it turn out that we have made an incorrect assessment, we will correct ourselves. It is no more difficult than that for us,” the executive said.



