A few days ago, Tesla announced that the first Megapack battery units from its Shanghai “Megafactory” were being shipped to Australia.

As per recent reports, the massive grid-scale Tesla batteries are bound for Queensland’s Western Downs battery project.

The Shanghai Megafactory

The Shanghai Megafactory is Tesla’s first battery storage factory outside the United States. Built close to Gigafactory Shanghai, the Shanghai Megafactory is expected to supply Megapack batteries to both China and foreign markets.

The Megapack represents a huge portion of Tesla Energy’s deployments. With 3.9 MWh of energy, Tesla notes that each Megapack is enough to power 3,600 homes for an hour. The Shanghai Megafactory has a capacity to produce 10,000 Megapacks per year to start. 

Mike Snyder, vice president of Tesla, shared his optimism about the Shanghai Megafactory. “Megafactory gives us the ability to scale production and efficiency. We can lower logistics costs as well as product costs, and grow the business to new markets,” he stated.

Australia Battery Projects

As noted in a report from Renew Economy, the first Megapack shipments from the Shanghai Megafactory will be installed in the second stage of the Western Downs battery project, which is being built by Neoen. The Western Downs battery project involves a 460 MWp solar farm coupled with a 540 MW/1,080 MWh big battery system.

Tesla has also been listed as the battery supplier for the upcoming Calala battery in Tamworth, New South Wales, which will involve 138 Megapack units. The Megapacks for the Calala battery will likely be imported from the Shanghai Megafactory as well.

Data from Rosetta Analytics suggests that Tesla is currently the dominant player in Australia’s energy storage segment, with the company holding over 30% of the market. Tesla has become a notable presence in Australia’s energy sector for years, especially following the company’s buildout of the Hornsdale “big battery,” which was initially comprised of Tesla Powerpacks, in 2017.

Starlink received the green light to launch its internet services in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government noted SpaceX’s permission to launch Starlink services in the country is on a trial basis. Starlink’s trial period will last until the end of 2030. SpaceX has a subscriber limit of 600,000 within the trial period.

SpaceX can provide Starlink’s fixed and mobile internet service plans throughout Vietnam. It may also offer Starlink Aviation service plans.   

According to Reuters, the Vietnamese government noted that there is no limit to foreign ownership of a service. It is uncertain if SpaceX has applied for a license to launch Starlink services in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s decision to permit Starlink services in the country differs from Italy’s decision to pause discussions regarding SpaceX’s internet service. According to Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, discussions of a Starlink deal with SpaceX have “come to a standstill. Crosetto cites the controversy surrounding Elon Musk as the reason for the pause on a Starlink deal. Italy was discussing a potential $1.6 billion, 5-year Starlink contract with SpaceX.

SpaceX is also trying to launch Starlink in India. The aerospace company has already signed deals with two of India’s top telecom companies for Starlink services. However, Starlink is still waiting for regulatory approval.

While waiting for regulatory approvals and license processing, SpaceX continues to improve its Starlink services. Recently, news broke that the Elon Musk-led company has plans to launch a new Starlink dish with gigabit speeds.

SpaceX is preparing to release a Starlink dish with gigabit speeds, likely leaving the European Union scrambling to catch up.

During a webinar for Starlink resellers, SpaceX mentioned the development of a new Starlink dish that would offer customers gigabit internet speeds. The new Starlink dish is expected to boost current download speeds of around 200 Mbps.

“Next generation, we’ll have smaller beams, more capacity per beam, lower latency,” noted SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in 2024. She teased that Starlink speeds would reach as high as 2 gigabits with the next-generation dish.

EU plays catch up with SpaceX’s Starlink

While SpaceX prepares to provide customers with gigabit speeds, the European Union is still trying to catch up to Starlink’s current internet services.

The Foreign Minister of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, accused Elon Musk of threatening to cut off Ukraine’s access to Starlink. The Polish Minister’s accusation came after Musk pointed out that Ukraine’s front line would collapse without Starlink.

Sikorski interpreted Musk’s words as a threat. Musk later issued a statement saying he would “never” cut Starlink services to Ukraine.

Despite Musk’s statement, the EU is considering alternatives to SpaceX’s Starlink. It will be difficult, given that the EU currently has no companies that can match SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.

The closest company in Europe to SpaceX’s Starlink is Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation, which has around 650 satellites in lower earth orbit. In comparison, SpaceX reported having approximately 6,750 satellites in the Starlink constellation as of February 2025.

Even if Europe managed to match SpaceX’s current Starlink constellation, having Ukraine switch from one service to another would be complicated. Multiple countries are paying for Ukraine’s Starlink services, including the United States and Poland. On top of that, each country isn’t paying the same amount–some seem to be paying more than others.

In general, it doesn’t seem like Elon Musk can cut Ukraine’s access to Starlink on a whim.

Starlink Gigabit Dish Pending

SpaceX has a few boxes to check before releasing the Starlink gigabit dish. It will need to upgrade its Starlink constellation to harness a broader range of radio spectrum. But first, SpaceX must get clearance from the FCC to implement the upgrades.

PC Mag speculates that SpaceX could launch the Starlink gigabit dish later this year. The new dish’s release will depend on if SpaceX’s Starship can successfully deploy third-generation V3 Starlink satellites.