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SpaceX announces Falcon 9 SmallSat Rideshare program with launches to start in 2020
Elon Musk’s private space venture, SpaceX, has announced that it is expanding its launch services to directly address the growing needs of small satellite operators. The company plans to accomplish this by introducing a SmallSat Rideshare program, which involves regularly scheduled, dedicated Falcon 9 missions whose prices could go as low as $2.25 million per customer for payloads up to 150 kg.
A look at SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare webpage notes that the missions will be to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) for ESPA class payloads. What is quite unique about SpaceX’s newly-announced program is that unlike traditional rideshare models, these missions won’t be dependent on a Falcon 9’s primary payload. Instead, these SmallSat Rideshare missions will be pre-scheduled, allowing the missions to avoid delays with co-passengers.
SpaceX notes that payloads which run into development or production challenges leading up to their scheduled launch will be allowed to apply 100% of their payment towards the cost of rebooking. While rebooking fees will apply in this scenario, the system does provide SmallSat makers a way to avoid wasting their payments due to unforeseen or unfortunate delays.
Purchased 12 days or more before launch, the dedicated Falcon 9 SmallSat Rideshare missions will start at $2.25 million for payloads up to 150 kg on 15″ ESPA ports. Payloads up to 300 kilograms on 24″ ESPA ports start at $4.5 million. Each additional kg above the included mass will be charged $15,000. Purchased 12 to 6 days before launch, prices start at $3 million for payloads up to 150 kilograms on 15″ ESPA ports, while payloads on 24″ ESPA ports up to 300 kg will be charged $6 million. Payloads above the included mass would cost $20,000 per kg.
Three missions for the Falcon 9 SmallSat Rideshare program have so far been posted by SpaceX. Each of the missions will launch from the Space Launch Complex 4E at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the first of which is estimated to launch between November 2020 and March 2021. The launch periods for the next two SmallSat Rideshare missions have not been posted by the private space firm, though it has noted that the second mission will launch at Q1 2022 and the third will be at Q1 2023.
SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare program is the private space company’s lowest-cost program yet. This allows SpaceX to dip its toes into a market that has so far been addressed by companies such as Rocket Lab, whose expendable Electron rocket enables payloads of up to 150 kg to be sent to SSO for $5 million. With SpaceX’s prices for its recently-announced program, the cost per kg for a full Rocket Lab Electron would be twice as expensive.
Falcon 9 is SpaceX’s workhorse rocket and is the first commercial orbital-class rocket with a reusable booster. The rocket’s current iteration, dubbed Block 5, is designed for significant reuse, and SpaceX has designed Block 5 boosters to fly up to ten times with only minor repairs and inspections between flights.
Tesla is dominating in the United Kingdom so far through 2025, and with about two weeks left in the year, the Model Y and Model 3 are leading the way.
The Model Y and Model 3 are the two best-selling electric vehicles in the United Kingdom, which is comprised of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and it’s not particularly close.
According to data gathered byΒ EU-EVs, the Model Y is sitting at 18,890 units for the year, while the Model 3 is slightly behind with 16,361 sales for the year so far.
The next best-selling EV is the Audi Q4 e-tron at 10,287 units, lagging significantly behind but ahead of other models like the BMW i4 and the Audi Q6 e-tron.
GOOD NEWS π¬π§ Tesla is absolutely crushing the UK electric vehicle market in 2025 π₯
The numbers are in, and the dominance is clear. With an impressive amount of 42,270 vehicles delivered year-to-date, the brand now commands a solid 9.6% market share of the total auto market πβ¦ pic.twitter.com/dkiGX9kzd0
β Ming (@tslaming) December 18, 2025
The Model Y has tasted significant success in the global market, but it has dominated in large markets like Europe and the United States.
For years, it’s been a car that has fit the bill of exactly what consumers need: a perfect combination of luxury, space, and sustainability.
Both vehicles are going to see decreases in sales compared to 2024; the Model Y was the best-selling car last year, but it sold 32,610 units in the UK. Meanwhile, the Model 3 had reached 17,272 units, which will keep it right on par with last year.
Tesla sold 50,090 units in the market last year, and it’s about 8,000 units shy of last year’s pace. It also had a stronger market share last year with 13.2 percent of the sales in the market. With two weeks left in 2025, Tesla has a 9.6 percent market share, leading Volkswagen with 8 percent.
The company likely felt some impact from CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration and, more specifically, his role with DOGE. However, it is worth mentioning that some months saw stronger consumer demand than others. For example, sales were up over 20 percent in February. A 14 percent increase followed this in June.
News
Tesla Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state
Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.
Tesla Insurance has officially expanded to a new U.S. state, its thirteenth since its launch in 2019.
Tesla has confirmed that its in-house Insurance program has officially made its way to Florida, just two months after the company filed to update its Private Passenger Auto program in the state. It had tried to offer its insurance program to drivers in the state back in 2022, but its launch did not happen.
Instead, Tesla refiled the paperwork back in mid-October, which essentially was the move toward initiating the offering this month.
BREAKING: Tesla Insurance has just officially launched in Florida.
This is the first new state to receive @Tesla Insurance in more than 3 years. In total, Tesla insurance is now available in 13 U.S. states (map in thread below of all the states).
Tesla Insurance in Florida uses⦠pic.twitter.com/bDwh1IV6gD
β Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 17, 2025
Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.
It has expanded to new states since 2019, but Florida presents a particularly interesting challenge for Tesla, as the company’s entry into the state is particularly noteworthy given its unique insurance landscape, characterized by high premiums due to frequent natural disasters, dense traffic, and a no-fault system.
Annual average premiums for Florida drivers hover around $4,000 per year, well above the national average. Tesla’s insurance program could disrupt this, especially for EV enthusiasts. The state’s growing EV adoption, fueled by incentives and infrastructure development, aligns perfectly with Tesla’s ecosystem.
Moreover, there are more ways to have cars repaired, and features like comprehensive coverage for battery damage and roadside assistance tailored to EVs address those common painpoints that owners have.
However, there are some challenges that still remain. Florida’s susceptibility to hurricanes raises questions about how Tesla will handle claims during disasters.
Looking ahead, Tesla’s expansion of its insurance program signals the company’s ambition to continue vertically integrating its services, including coverage of its vehicles. Reducing dependency on third-party insurers only makes things simpler for the company’s automotive division, as well as for its customers.
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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets sparkling review from South Korean politician
“Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasnβt as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving got its first sparkling review from South Korean politician Lee So-young, a member of the country’s National Assembly, earlier this week.
Lee is a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee in South Korea and is a proponent of sustainable technologies and their applications in both residential and commercial settings. For the first time, Lee was able to utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology as it launched in the country in late November.
Her thoughts on the suite were complimentary to the suite, stating that “it drives just as well as most people do,” and that “it already feels like a completed technology.”
λλμ΄ μ€λ, μμΈμμ ν μ¬λΌ FSD 체ν νμ΅λλ€.
JiDal Papaλμ λͺ¨λΈS νμ°¬μ νμ μ΄^^ ννλ μ λ§ κ°μ¬ν©λλ€.
κ΅ν -> λ§μμμ₯ -> νμ΅λ -> κ΅ν λ³΅κ· μ½μ€μκ³ μ.
μ΄λ―Έ λ¬΄μΈ λ‘보νμλ₯Ό νλ΄μ κ·Έλ°μ§ μ κΈ°ν¨μ
λνμ§λ§, μ¬λ§ν μ¬λλ§νΌ μ΄μ μ μνλ€μ.μ΄λ―Έ μμ±λ κΈ°μ μ΄λΌκ³ β¦ pic.twitter.com/8pAidHBpRG
β μ΄μμ κ΅νμμ (Soyoung Lee) (@im_soyounglee) December 17, 2025
Her translated post says:
“Finally, today I got to experience Tesla FSD in Seoul. Thanks to the Model S sponsored by JiDal Papa^^, Iβm truly grateful to Papa. The route was from the National Assembly -> Mangwon Market -> Hongik University -> back to the National Assembly. Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasnβt as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about. Once it actually spreads into widespread use, I feel like our daily lives are going to change a lot. Even I, with my license gathering dust in a drawer, donβt see much reason to learn to drive a manual anymore.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving officially landed in South Korea in late November, with the initial launch being one of Tesla’s most recent, v14.1.4.
It marked the seventh country in which Tesla was able to enable the driver assistance suite, following the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.
It is important to see politicians and figures in power try new technologies, especially ones that are widely popular in other regions of the world and could potentially revolutionize how people travel globally.
Tesla dominates in the UK with Model Y and Model 3 leading the way
Tesla Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state
