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SpaceX’s internet satellites have an official name: Starlink
The satellite constellation may also compete with Earth imaging companies and include scientific instruments
Trademark filings have been unearthed by members of the SpaceX subreddit that suggest that the company’s satellite internet constellation will be named Starlink. Previously discussed on Teslarati, recent developments during the process of attaining regulatory permissions could pose a major hurdle for SpaceX’s broadband constellation. Implications of FCC filings aside, SpaceX may still launch its first test satellites later this year. The company has dozens of job openings under “Satellite Development” in the states of Washington and California as of September 18.
The trademark filings, which can be found through the U.S. Patent Office’s Trademark Electronic Search
An unofficial logo designed by the author for SpaceX’s Starlink project. (Eric Ralph/Teslarati)
System (TESS), also hint that SpaceX may expand the potential uses of their satellite constellation into markets for scientific data and persistent Earth imaging. The last several years have seen a meteoric rise in demand for Earth imaging services from the likes of Digital Globe, Planet Labs (which now owns Terra Bella), BlackSky, Urthecast (which acquired Deimos Imaging), and many others. Other companies like Spire hope to capitalize on the benefits of smaller satellites in order to revolutionize weather data and forecasting, as well as global aircraft and boat tracking.
Even if SpaceX ultimately chose to include imaging hardware and scientific instruments on a fraction of the 4,425 satellites intended to comprise their preliminary LEO constellation, the unique nature and sheer scale of SpaceX’s satellite mesh network would make it difficult to compete with. In fact, the mesh network itself could also become a sought-after product for third-party companies, if SpaceX chose to allow access to it.
SpaceX’s broadband constellation has long been expected to utilize optical (laser-based) inter-satellite communications to form a “mesh network” in orbit. Aside from morphing each individual satellite into a flexible communications node, the very existence of an orbital, ground-connected network of thousands of satellites could open the utility of easy space-to-ground communication to any customers willing and able to pay for access. Ground stations often become a primary concern and issue for companies engaged in developing satellite communications, with a vast sea of often unique regulations that must be dealt with. SpaceX’s goal is to provide access to its broadband constellation with nothing more than a pizza-box sized antenna placed on the customer’s roof, a far cry from the large, expensive, and heavily-regulated radio antenna installations that companies like Planet Labs use to serve their customers.
SpaceX’s BFS (“Big Falcon Spaceship”) will require a stable communications network to maintain contact with Earth.(SpaceX)
Farther in the future, a thoroughly-tested orbital platform for communications, ground imagery, and scientific observations could and likely will prove invaluable for SpaceX’s ultimate goal of creating and supporting a permanent human presence on Mars. As of late, NASA has been playing fast and loose with the long-term maintenance of its planetary exploration infrastructure, particularly regarding the future of Earth-Mars communications. Between ESA, China, NASA, and Russia, multiple new Martian landers and orbiters are expected to arrive at the Red Planet over the next decade, and the large amount of data produced by the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, as well as Mars orbiters, strains the communications infrastructure used for transmitting data back to Earth.
By developing and administrating a communications network between Mars and Earth, SpaceX could gain deep spaceflight experience, allow NASA to more directly focus on science and planetary exploration, and also facilitate the construction of an interplanetary communications foundation SpaceX will need if it hopes to develop a human presence on Mars. In fact, Musk briefly revealed that SpaceX was working with NASA on “Mars communications” at the ISS R&D Conference earlier this year.
Regardless of its potential uses around Mars, SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellite constellation could revolutionize internet access on Earth and provide SpaceX the resources it needs to develop Mars colonization hardware. Details about the satellite constellation will likely be provided when Elon Musk speaks at this year’s International Astronautical Congress.
A Tesla Semi caught fire in Hayward, California, which caused both directions of traffic to shut down for hours before being completely reopened early on Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol said.
The fire occurred just after 5:30 local time in Hayward on Tuesday, as the Semi caught fire in the southbound lanes of I-880 before CHP officials made the decision to shut down both lanes of traffic due to potential risks from hazardous chemical smoke.
There were no injuries reported.
🚨 A Tesla Semi reportedly caught fire, with California Highway Patrol confirming. The Semi was on I-880 SB
An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 semi-truck and large commercial vehicle fires occur on U.S. roadways every year
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 28, 2026
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, as neither Tesla nor the CHP have not determined a cause.
However, some images taken before the Semi was completely destroyed by the fire seem to indicate this might have been an older unit, as it appears to be one of the designs that Tesla shipped as part of its pilot program, before revising it and starting mass production just a month ago.
@Tslachan From on of the videos looks like it’s an old Semi (not the refresh version that recently started production) https://t.co/KzwmR2kXow
— Area Under The Curve 🎗️ (@AreaUnderCurve) October 28, 2026
At the time of publication, CHP had not returned our request for a comment for additional details, including the Semi involved and any potential collaboration on an investigation between the CHP and Tesla. We will update this story when we hear back from them.
The southbound lanes were reopened at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with the northbound lanes opening last night a few hours after the fire began. The CHP did state that the lithium batteries were “incredibly difficult to extinguish,” according to NBC Bay Area.
The truck’s driver said that the Semi caught fire, but he did not have an explanation.
An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 semi-truck and large commercial vehicle fires occur on U.S. roadways every year.
Tesla’s launch of the “Emergency Drive Away” function a few months back offered owners a safe option to evacuate an area if they were in reasonable danger. The function finally got its first use in the real world, but it appears it was by mistake.
A video shared by u/Joshalander in the r/TeslaLounge subreddit recorded the instance from his vehicle and said the incident took place in Austin this past weekend during the city’s F1 Race.
“Was charging around 6 AM this past Sunday in Austin before heading to the F1 race and heard a pop. Looked over and saw the new emergency drive-away feature in action. Genuinely felt bad for the dude when he got out and realized what happened, since he looked exhausted and only seemed to half-read the prompts.”
🚨 Here’s the first look at Tesla’s Emergency Drive Away function in action:
Apparently this driver accidentally enabled it and drove forward; you can see the Supercharger pull with the car.
Tesla said previously this would cost up to $25k if not used properly. https://t.co/B4qQRrsO6B
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 28, 2026
Emergency Drive Away unlatches the Supercharger connector from the vehicle, but still causes damage to both the car and the Supercharger. Tesla has said that it will cost up to $25,000 in repairs to have everything fixed back to normal.
Additionally, the company said that if it were not used in an emergency situation, the driver of the vehicle who activated the Emergency Drive Away feature would be responsible for all repair costs.
Tesla constitutes the following situations as reasonable justifications for activating the feature:
- You face an immediate threat to your life or personal safety.
- You must leave the area immediately.
- Exiting the vehicle is unsafe.
- Unplugging the charge connector would unreasonably delay your departure or expose you to a risk to your personal safety.
After using the feature, Tesla requires the driver to schedule Service so the car can be inspected.
News
Tesla’s Cybercab battery design could make robotaxis even cheaper
Tesla built the Cybercab’s battery pack with spare room for a future switch to LFP.
Tesla built the Cybercab’s battery pack with empty space inside it on purpose, and the reason points to a cheaper robotaxi down the road.
Robert Sumpf, Tesla’s director of mechanical design engineering for battery modules and packs, said the extra room beside and beneath the Cybercab’s modules was left there so the company can move to lithium iron phosphate cells later. “So, we protected this pack to go to an even lower energy dense chemistry as we scale and need to bring LFP into the platform,” Sumpf said in a Cybercab deep dive with Munro Live.
The Cybercab runs on Tesla’s own 4680 cells with a nickel chemistry today. LFP cells store less energy for their size, so a straight swap would cut range. The reserved space lets Tesla add more LFP cells to make up the difference. In return, Tesla would get cells that cost less, run cooler and survive more charge cycles. LFP became the most used EV battery chemistry in the world last year.
Not all of that room was planned for a chemistry change. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, said part of it exists because “we didn’t need as many batteries as we thought we did.” Tesla told Sandy Munro in early 2025 that it was targeting a Cybercab pack under 50 kWh with close to 300 miles of range.
The pack also breaks from the structural design Tesla used in some Model Y and Cybertruck builds. Instead of potting hundreds of cells into one block, the Cybercab uses four separate, individually sealed modules, so a bad module can be replaced without scrapping the whole pack. Sumpf was blunt about the older approach, giving the Model Y structural battery “a grade D” because it was hard to build and nearly impossible to repair. He estimated a fully structural pack gains about 10% more cell volume, but said “the issue is the service cost.”
That cost matters more for a car that rarely sits parked. Cybercab chief engineer Eric Earley said replacing an entire pack “before half a million miles is a killer on cost,” which is why remanufacturing and serviceability were built into the design from the start.
The same Munro Live tour produced Moravy’s admission that the Cybercab line at Giga Texas is now outpacing Robotaxi deployments, along with a look at the robotaxi’s unorthodox paint process. Tesla is aiming to deliver the first Cybercabs to outside customers by the end of 2026, though Elon Musk has said the vast majority will stay owned by Tesla and run as a transport service.
Sumpf did not give a date for an LFP version, name a cell supplier or say how a chemistry change would affect range. For now, the 4680 cars keep piling up: Texas DMV records from Tuesday list 544 Cybercabs authorized for Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet, more than the 507 Model Ys on the same roster for the first time.
Tesla Semi catches fire in California: what we know
Tesla’s ‘Emergency Drive Away’ function gets its first use in the real world
