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Here’s what SpaceX’s first Starlink satellite rideshare mission looks like [photo]
By way of customer Planet, SpaceX has published the first view of its inaugural Starlink satellite rideshare mission, revealing three mini fridge-sized Earth imaging satellites perched on a stack of dozens of Starlink spacecraft.
Scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 5:21 am (09:21 UTC) on June 13th, SpaceX’s eighth launch of Starlink v1.0 satellites (Starlink V1 L8) could usher in a revolutionary new way for smallsat operators to get their spacecraft in orbit. The company’s first Starlink rideshare customer has become a vocal supporter in the days before the first launch, praising unprecedentedly low launch costs SpaceX is able to offer. In fact, executives of Planet – now the world’s second most prolific satellite launcher after SpaceX – were so surprised at the prices the launch company was charging that they “could not believe what [they] were looking at”.
To account for the mass added by three Planet SkySats (~350 kg or 770 lb), SpaceX revealed earlier today that it had removed two Starlink satellites – each weighing ~260 kg (570 lb) – from the original stack of 60 spacecraft. Aside from confirming that Falcon 9 is balancing at the very edge of its performance envelope to launch ~16 metric tons (~35,000 lb) of satellites while still enabling booster recovery, the removal of two Starlink satellites to make way for rideshare payloads hints at an incredible level of flexibility available to SpaceX.
For customers of the fledgling small satellite rideshare program interested in procuring launch services directly, Planet’s SkySats are almost perfectly sized to extract the most bang for the buck from SpaceX’s current pricing system. Planet likely spent a bit more to have SpaceX build it a custom adapter and deployment mechanism for two launches, but the company’s launch costs for six SkySats – split between two June 2020 Starlink missions – could be as low as $6 million based on SpaceX’s own calculator. Due to the general secrecy of launch prices, it’s hard to accurately compare, but Planet would have had to pay upwards of $40 million – almost seven times as much – to launch six SkySats on dedicated Rocket Lab Electron rockets.
In return for $5-30+ million dollars in savings, Planet’s six new SkySats will have to work to raise their orbits from around 300 to 450 kilometers (190-280 mi) after deploying from SpaceX’s Starlink satellite stack. That work will expend a significant portion of their propellant reserves, likely cutting several months (up to several years) off of their operational lifespans. Believed to cost around $3-5 million each, however, the money Planet has saved by launching SkySats with SpaceX could potentially pay for an entirely new batch of six more satellites (or more).
With cost savings like that at hand, it’s no wonder that Planet’s Mike Safyan – Vice President of Launch – described SpaceX’s Starlink rideshare program as “incredibly competitive” and “one of the more significant programs for the smallsat industry”. Having overseen the launch of hundreds of Planet’s Dove and SkySat satellites over the last nine years, it would be hard to find a more qualified industry voice on the subject. Indeed, the rest of the smallsat industry is also responding positively to SpaceX’s new offering, with dozens of commercial spacecraft already assigned to future rideshare launches.
At this point, SpaceX plans to offer rideshare opportunities on Starlink missions every month for the indefinite future, all while charging as little as a $1 million per slot. Thanks to third-party launch services companies like Spaceflight and Exolaunch, much smaller cubesats and nanosats will also have ways to get into orbit on SpaceX rockets for much less than the company’s base price. Meanwhile, scheduled to launch no earlier than June 22nd, SpaceX’s very next Starlink launch – V1 L9 – is expected to include three more Planet SkySats and two similar BlackSky imaging satellites.
If SpaceX can maintain the impressive inertia of its Starlink launch and rideshare efforts, it’s safe to say that the company is going to be a towering presence in the smallsat launch industry for the foreseeable future.
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Tesla surges Robotaxi fleet ahead of Cybercab launch event
Tesla’s unsupervised robotaxi fleet quietly grew sevenfold in three weeks just before Cybercab Day arrives.
Tesla’s unsupervised Robotaxi fleet has grown far faster than the public numbers suggested, and the timing lines up with the company’s biggest autonomy showcase yet. According to data compiled by the crowdsourced Robotaxi Tracker, Tesla now has nearly 200 vehicles operating without a safety monitor across Austin, Dallas and Houston, yielding a roughly 7X increase in about three weeks.
The jump lands four days before this week’s Tesla Cybercab launch event in Austin, where the company plans to show off its purpose-built, two-seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals in a live commercial setting for the first time. Stick with us on X and Facebook for live reporting from the event.
The strategic logic is straightforward. Tesla has spent the past year scaling Robotaxi in small, deliberate steps, first widening geofences, then extending operating hours, then quietly growing fleet size, usually with little advance notice. Ashok Elluswamy told investors on the Q2 earnings call that the program had logged more than 380,000 unsupervised miles with zero notable incidents, a safety record the company has leaned on to justify moving slowly. Critics have used the flip side of that caution, a fleet that appeared stuck around two dozen vehicles for months, as evidence that Tesla’s driverless ambitions were outrunning its actual deployment.
A fleet quietly scaling to nearly 200 vehicles right before Cybercab Day undercuts that argument without Tesla having to say anything about it directly. It also sets up the event to do double duty. Rather than simply introducing new hardware, Tesla can point to an operating base of unsupervised Model Ys already running at meaningful scale, then argue the Cybercab, which uses the same underlying Full Self-Driving stack according to earlier coverage of the fleet’s software upgrades, is a natural next steps. Tesla has separately been registering the two-seat Cybercabs with Texas regulators this week, with the count climbing from seven to 45 in a matter of days.
The two ramps, one in software-driven Model Y deployment and one in physical Cybercab registrations, are happening in parallel rather than in sequence. That suggests Tesla wants Thursday’s event to land as proof that the robotaxi business is already running at scale, not just a reveal of a new vehicle shape. Whether the unsupervised numbers hold up once Cybercabs start mixing into the same fleet is the detail worth watching once the event wraps.
Tesla is lowering the monthly price of its Cybertruck Windshield Protection Plan from $35 to $25. The new rate will apply to the first payment on or after October 1, 2026. Tesla has told subscribers that all other benefits stay the same.
The plan covers unlimited repairs for chips and minor cracks on the front windshield. It also includes one full replacement every 12 months at no extra charge. Additional replacements in the same year carry a $100 deductible. Service is performed with Tesla glass and camera calibration, which matters because Autopilot and Full Self-Driving rely on those lenses behind the windshield.
Looks like Tesla is decreasing the Cybertruck windshield protection plan price from $35 to $25
Awesome https://t.co/MRlTU1XTbf pic.twitter.com/PWkMZt1H7G
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2026
There is no long-term contract. Coverage applies only to the front glass and does not include collision, vandalism, or weather damage.
The Cybertruck’s large, complex windshield has been more expensive to replace than glass on Tesla’s cars, which is why the pickup started at a higher subscription price. The $10 monthly cut reduces the annual cost from $420 to $300. Tesla has not publicly explained the change. The timing coincides with a year of claims data after the plan was extended to the Cybertruck.
Tesla sells several related protection products as monthly subscriptions through the Tesla app. The Windshield Protection Plan is also offered on other models. Model 3 and Model Y currently cost $16 a month. Those passenger-car rates are unchanged in the latest Cybertruck notice.
The Wheel and Tire Protection Plan covers road-hazard damage such as potholes, nails, and debris. Repairs are unlimited. Each wheel or tire replacement appointment has a $25 deductible. Pricing varies by model and whether the vehicle is a Performance version. Tesla is raising some of those rates on the same October 1 date.
Reported examples include Model 3 Performance moving from $16 to $24 and Model Y Performance from $20 to $24. Cybertruck wheel-and-tire coverage has been listed at $20 a month for the standard configuration.
A separate Luxe Package bundles four years of windshield coverage, wheel-and-tire coverage, and recommended maintenance on certain new Model S, Model X, and Cyberbeast orders, although the Model S and X are now defunct.
Tesla also offers an Extended Service Agreement after the basic vehicle warranty ends. That product covers many Tesla-manufactured parts rather than glass or tires. Together, the plans give owners a menu of targeted, cancel-anytime coverage instead of relying only on auto insurance.
UPDATE: The number has now been updated to 45 units, up from 7!
Here we go! Tesla has just added another 38 Cybercabs to its Robotaxi fleet, bringing the total up to 45, according to the Texas DMV.
Robots on robots on robots! This Thursday’s launch event is gonna be awesome🤖🤖🤖 pic.twitter.com/3HF24rHK4T
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 31, 2026
Tesla is bolstering its Cybercab fleet with the State of Texas’s regulatory bodies ahead of the planned launch of the all-electric ride-hailing vehicle this Thursday.
Seven purpose-built Tesla Cybercabs have been added to Texas’s official automated vehicle registry, appearing in the Texas Motor Carrier Credentialing System (TxMCCS) public lookup just three days before Tesla’s invite-only Cybercab launch event in Austin on September 3.
The records, visible through TxDMV’s Motor Carrier and Automated Motor Vehicle Operator Lookup, list seven 2026 Tesla Cybercabs under Tesla Robotaxi, LLC. Their VINs begin with the 5YJA prefix, distinct from the 7SAYG Model Y robotaxis that already dominate Tesla’s Texas fleet.
Community trackers that scrape the same public database recorded the new entries on August 31, bringing Tesla’s authorized Texas robotaxi total to 276 vehicles: 269 Model Ys and the seven Cybercabs:
🚨 There are now SEVEN Tesla Cybercabs registered with the state of Texas
We are just three days from Cybercab! pic.twitter.com/ndwhuFYsep
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 31, 2026
Texas Senate Bill 2807, which took effect in late May 2026, created a self-certification framework for commercial Level 4 operations. Operators file through TxMCCS, attest to SAE Level 4 capability, maintain insurance, and keep an active vehicle list.
Tesla completed that process months earlier for its existing Model Y Robotaxi service, which has carried paying passengers in Austin, Dallas, Houston and other markets. Adding the Cybercabs to the same authorization means the new two-seat, steering-wheel-free vehicles are now legally recognized for commercial use on Texas roads.
The timing is deliberate as Tesla scheduled the September 3 event at its Austin campus after sending invitations to selected Robotaxi riders and other guests. The company has described the evening as a chance to “experience the future of full autonomy” and plans to livestream it.
Production Cybercabs, which lack pedals and a steering wheel, have been rolling off the Giga Texas line for months; some earlier examples still carried temporary driver controls for data collection. Registering a small fleet of the finished design immediately before the public event signals that Tesla intends to move the purpose-built vehicle from factory and test tracks into the same Robotaxi app already used by Model Y passengers.
The seven units remain a tiny fraction of Tesla’s overall Texas authorization and far smaller than competing fleets. Registration does not automatically equal unsupervised public rides; it is the legal prerequisite.
Still, the sudden appearance of Cybercab VINs in the state’s lookup system, after a year of Model Y-only listings, is the clearest official confirmation yet that Tesla’s dedicated robotaxi hardware is entering the regulatory pipeline at the same moment the company is preparing to show it to invited guests and a global livestream audience.
Whether those seven vehicles appear at the September 3 event or begin carrying passengers shortly afterward, their presence in TxMCCS marks a concrete regulatory step that has been anticipated since the Cybercab concept was first revealed.
Tesla surges Robotaxi fleet ahead of Cybercab launch event
Tesla Cybertruck windshield protection just got cheaper
