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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals next-generation Starlink satellite details
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed the first technical details about the company’s next-generation Starlink ‘Gen2’ satellite design, confirming that it will far outmatch the current generation of satellites by almost every measure.
Speaking in an onsite interview and Starbase tour with YouTuber Tim Dodd (The Everyday Astronaut), Musk – largely unprovoked – revealed that SpaceX has already built at least one functional Starlink Gen2/V2.0 satellite prototype and shipped it to the South Texas Starship factory, where it is currently being stored. More importantly, Musk also provided the first direct specifications for the next-generation spacecraft, stating that each Starlink V2.0 satellite will weigh about 1.25 tons (~2750 lb), measure about seven meters (~23 ft) long, and be almost an order of magnitude more capable than the “Starlink 1” satellites they’ll ultimately supersede.
Almost ten months after SpaceX first revealed its updated plans for a next-generation, 30,000-satellite constellation, those details have confirmed a few key points of speculation about the future of Starlink.
The 1st #SpaceX #Starlink Gen 2 #satellite has been produced. It’s 7 meters long & 1.2 tons, @elonmusk says. Note: that’s 4-5X more massive than Gen 1!
Musk adds, the new version will be almost an order of magnitude more capable than Starlink 1 in terms of useful data throughput.— Stan Shull (@stanshull) May 26, 2022
Back in August 2021, I surmised that just like it has with Falcon 9, SpaceX would again try to optimize its new Starlink V2.0 satellite design to take maximum advantage of Starship’s launch performance. In an updated Starlink Gen2 filing, the company conveniently revealed that a version of the constellation optimized for Starship would be structured such that the rocket could launch an entire orbital plane (one ring of satellites spaced evenly around the Earth) in one go. In that constellation variant, all but ~500 (1.5%) of almost 30,000 spacecraft would be stationed in planes of 110 or 120 satellites, meaning that it was safe to assume that SpaceX meant that every Starship would nominally carry 110-120 satellites. Using Musk’s latest optimistic Starship performance estimate of 150 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO), that all but guaranteed that a Starship-optimized Starlink V2.0 satellite would weigh up to 1250 kilograms.
Musk has now explicitly confirmed that each Starlink V2.0 satellite will weigh… “about one and a quarter tons” or 1250 kilograms. Starlink V1.0 and V1.5 satellites weigh around 260 and 310 kilograms, respectively, meaning that Starlink V2.0 satellites will be about a bit more than four times heavier than V1.5 and a bit less than five times heavier than V1.0.
Musk also revealed that V2.0 satellites will be “almost an order of magnitude more capable than Starlink 1.” He refused to call that capability bandwidth or throughput, the traditional method of describing a communication satellite’s total performance, but Starlink V1.0 satellites are believed to have a total bandwidth of 18 gigabits per second (18 Gbps). As of today, it’s unknown if Starlink V1.5 – a significant upgrade – also added more bandwidth, nor if Musk was referring to that latest Starlink V1.x iteration. But even if he was comparing V2.0 with the earliest V1.0 satellites, it’s possible that each Starlink V2.0 satellite could add around 140-160 Gbps to the 30,000-satellite constellation.
Ultimately, specific numbers aren’t needed to emphasize the importance of the details Musk provided. If true, they mean that Starlink V2.0 will pack roughly twice as much usable bandwidth into a given unit of satellite mass compared to V1.x. Combined with the fact that Starship could offer ~10 times as much performance to LEO as Falcon 9, a single Starship launch could theoretically expand total network capacity roughly twenty times more than one Falcon 9 launch. For example, each Falcon 9 launch of 60 260-kilogram Starlink V1.0 satellites added about 1080 Gbps of instantaneous bandwidth to the constellation. A Starship launch of 120 1250-kilogram Starlink V2.0 satellites could add around 19,000 Gbps (19 terabits per second).
Even despite those massive advantages, SpaceX’s Starlink Gen2 ambitions still leave it no slack whatsoever. If the FCC approves its license request, SpaceX would need to launch half of the constellation within six years – equivalent to around 130 Starship launches or 22 Starship launches per year. In comparison, Falcon 9 – a rocket that’s ten times smaller, less reusable, and has been flying since 2010 – did not achieve 22 launches in one year until 2020. For Starship to have any hope of achieving the cadence Starlink Gen2 requires, SpaceX would have to ramp up launches of the largest rocket ever built at a truly miraculous pace and suffer very few failures or setbacks along the way.
As immense as the challenge may be, the potential rewards are just as high. A constellation of 30,000 Starlink V2.0 satellites – if spaced evenly around the Earth – could have a total bandwidth of ~1250 terabits per second (Tbps) available over land (excluding Antarctica) at any given second. Even if half of that bandwidth is needed for backhaul and routing, the total installed bandwidth of global internet infrastructure was estimated to be 600 Tbps in 2020. Starlink will always be bottlenecked by the number of satellites that can be simultaneously available over any single point on Earth, so the constellation will never be able to match a ground network 1:1 with the same installed capacity, but it’s safe to assume that Starlink Gen2 could serve tens or even hundreds of millions of users located anywhere on Earth if SpaceX is able to build it.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk just revealed more about Tesla’s June Robotaxi launch
Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave more information about the Robotaxi launch in Austin set for June.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk just revealed more details about the company’s June Robotaxi launch, which will kick off in Austin.
As of right now, Tesla is still set to push out the first Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, in early June. These vehicles will be in short supply at first, as Musk says the company is purposely rolling out the fleet in a slow and controlled fashion to prioritize safety. There will be ten vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet to start.
Tesla Robotaxi deemed a total failure by media — even though it hasn’t been released
However, in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday afternoon, Musk also revealed some other new details, including where in Austin the vehicles will be able to go, how many Robotaxis we could see on public roads within a few months, and other information regarding Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite.
A Controlled Rollout
Tesla has maintained for a few months now that the Robotaxi fleet will be comprised of between 10 and 20 Model Y vehicles in Austin.
The Cybercab, which was unveiled by the company last October, will not be available initially, as those cars will likely be produced in 2026.
Musk said during the CNBC interview that Tesla is doing a low-yield trial at first to initiate a safety-first mentality. It is important for Tesla to launch the Robotaxi fleet in a small manner to keep things in check, at least at first.
As confidence builds and the accuracy of the fleet is ensured, more vehicles will be added to the fleet.
Musk believes there will be 1,000 Robotaxis on the road “in a few months.”
Geofenced to Certain Austin Areas
Tesla will be launching the Robotaxi program in a geofenced fashion that gives the company the ability to control where it goes. Musk says that the areas the Robotaxis will be able to travel to are among the safest neighborhoods and areas in Austin.
This is yet another safety protocol that will ensure the initial riders are not put in dangerous neighborhoods.
Some might be disappointed to hear this because of Tesla’s spoken confidence regarding Robotaxi, but the initial rollout does need to be controlled for safety reasons. An accident or incident of any kind that would put riders’ lives in danger would be catastrophic.
No Driver, No Problem
As the company has rolled out an employee-only version of the Robotaxi program in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, some wondered whether the rides would be driverless, as these initial trials for Tesla workers were not. Employee rides featured a human in the driver’s seat to ensure safety.
Tesla says it has launched ride-hailing Robotaxi teaser to employees only
The company did not report whether there were any interventions or not, but it did state that the vehicles traveled over 15,000 miles through 1,500 trips.
Musk confirmed during the interview that there will be no driver in the vehicle when the Robotaxi program launches in June. This will be groundbreaking as it will be the first time that Tesla vehicles will operate on public roads without anyone in the driver’s seat.
Full Self-Driving Licensing
For more than a year, Tesla has indicated that it is in talks with another major automaker regarding the licensing of Full Self-Driving. Many speculated that the company was Ford, but neither it nor Tesla confirmed this.
Musk said today that Tesla has been in touch with “a number of automakers” that have inquired about licensing FSD. Tesla has yet to sign any deal to do so.
Here is the full interview with @elonmusk talking about Tesla and the Cybercab! pic.twitter.com/992njb0lPS
— Robin (@xdNiBoR) May 20, 2025
Elon Musk
Elon Musk on Tesla vehicle sales: “We see no problem with demand”
“The sales numbers at this point are strong, and we see no problem with demand,” Musk said.

During a rather testy interview with Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain at the Qatar Economic Forum, Elon Musk stated that the demand for Tesla’s vehicles is still strong. Musk also stated that the issues that Tesla faced earlier his year have already turned around.
Already Turned Around
Tesla sales saw notable drops in the past months, particularly in Europe, where several countries saw drastically fewer Tesla sales year-over-year. Tesla stated in its Q1 2025 vehicle delivery report that the declines were largely due to the company’s changeover to the new Model Y, but media reports nevertheless placed the blame on Musk’s politics and his work with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
It was then no surprise that Bloomberg’s Husain pointed out Tesla’s low sales in Europe this April during the interview. When questioned about the matter, Musk stated that things have “already turned around.” Musk also noted that while Tesla sales are down in Europe so far, this is true for numerous other carmakers in the region.
No Problem With Demand
When asked for evidence to back up his claims, Musk stated that Europe is indeed Tesla’s weakest market, but the company remains “strong everywhere else.” He also admitted that while Tesla has “lost some sales from the left,” the company also “gained some from the right.” Musk highlighted the fact that Tesla stock, which is partly affected by analysts with insider information, is trading at near all-time highs.
“The sales numbers at this point are strong, and we see no problem with demand. You can just look at the stock price. If you want the best insider information, the stock market analysts have that, and our stock wouldn’t be trading near all-time highs if things weren’t in good shape. They’re fine. Don’t worry about it,” Musk said.
Watch Elon Musk’s full interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in the video below.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk confirms he’ll stay CEO for at least five more years
Tesla CEO Elon Musk eased any speculation about his role with the company as he confirmed he would be with the automaker for at least five more years.

Tesla’s Elon Musk said that he will still be CEO of the automaker in five years’ time, dispelling any potential skepticism regarding his commitment or plans with the company.
In the past, there was some speculation that Musk would leave Tesla if he was not adequately compensated for his work. He had a massive pay package taken from him by Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick in a move that caused Tesla to reincorporate its company in Texas.
Tesla Chair of the Board letter urges stockholders to approve Texas reincorporation
However, Musk confirmed today with a simple “Yes” that he would still be Tesla’s frontman in five years during an interview with Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum:
“Do you see yourself and are you committed to still being the chief executive of Tesla in five years’ time?”
“Yes.”
Musk has had the massive $56 billion pay package declined twice by Chancellor McCormick, who has ruled that the pay was an “unfathomable sum.” Shareholders have voted twice in overwhelming fashion to award Musk with the pay package, but she has overruled it twice. This seemed to be one reason Musk might minimize his role or even step away from Tesla.
He said (via Bloomberg):
“The compensation should match that something incredible was done. But I’m confident that whatever some activist posing as a judge in Delaware happens to do will not affect the future compensation.”
Musk’s commitment to Tesla for the next five years will help steer the company in a more stable direction as it begins to expand its market well past automotive and sustainable energy. Although Tesla has been labeled as an AI company, it is also starting to push more into the robotics industry with the future release of the Optimus robot.
Now that Musk is on board for at least five more years, Tesla investors have their frontman, who has remained firm on the company’s vision to be a true disruptor in all things tech. The company’s stock is trading up just over 1 percent at the time of publication.
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