SpaceX has rounded out its busiest July ever with a pair of Falcon 9 Starlink launches, simultaneously breaking its annual launch record less than seven full months into 2022.
The company has now completed six launches – five of which were Starlink missions – this month. The last two missions launched about 44 hours apart from opposite coasts of the United States – Starlink 3-2 from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) on July 22nd and Starlink 4-25 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on the 24th. Both Falcon 9 fairings and boosters were reused, as is now the norm. Both boosters also landed without issue, extending SpaceX’s record of consecutively successful landings to 59.
From the West Coast, booster B1071 helped launch 46 Starlink V1.5 satellites into a sun-synchronous (semi-polar) orbit. On the East Coast, Falcon B1062 sent 53 more Starlink V1.5 satellites on their way to a more equatorial orbit for its third Starlink mission overall.
All told, SpaceX managed to launch five batches of Starlink satellites and a Cargo Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station between July 7th and July 24th – six Falcon 9 launches in 17 days. It’s the third time SpaceX has completed six launches in the same calendar month, but the first time the company has completed six launches in less than three weeks. The fact that Falcon 9’s launch cadence has come to feel so routine so quickly is nothing less than a testament to SpaceX’s excellence, as only one other rocket in the 65-year history of orbital spaceflight (the Soviet ‘Soyuz-U’) can still claim to have launched more in such a short period.
In fact, as previously reported, SpaceX itself is already making six launches in one calendar month seem ordinary. The company managed eight successful Falcon 9 launches in 30 days between June 17th and July 17th – narrowly falling short of Soyuz-U, which completed eight launches in less than 28 days in 1980.
What SpaceX can lay claim to with certainty, however, is consistently launching more satellites in short periods of time than any other country, agency, or company in history. In July, SpaceX launched 251 Starlink satellites, expanding its immense constellation by ~10%. SpaceX completed five Starlink missions in less than 30 days twice before, in May 2021 and 2022, with the former accounting for a record 292 Starlink satellites. Including non-Starlink payloads, SpaceX has technically launched 323 satellites in 27 days.
According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who independently monitors SpaceX’s satellites, 2665 working Starlink satellites are now in orbit, 2155 of which have reached operational orbits. 451 Starlink V1.5 satellites – all launched since April 2022 – are still in the process of raising their orbits and should be ready to join the operational constellation within a few weeks to three months.
Finally, Starlink 3-2 (July 22nd) was SpaceX’s 32nd launch of 2022, breaking its annual record of 31 launches (set in 2021) just 55% of the way into the new year. Every Falcon launch between now and the start of 2023 will set a new SpaceX record, which stands at 33 launches after Starlink 4-25. The company reportedly has up to seven Falcon 9 launches scheduled in August 2022.
Elon Musk
Tesla AI5 chip nears completion, Elon Musk teases 9-month development cadence
The Tesla CEO shared his recent insights in a post on social media platform X.
Tesla’s next-generation AI5 chip is nearly complete, and work on its successor is already underway, as per a recent update from Elon Musk.
The Tesla CEO shared his recent insights in a post on social media platform X.
Musk details AI chip roadmap
In his post, Elon Musk stated that Tesla’s AI5 chip design is “almost done,” while AI6 has already entered early development. Musk added that Tesla plans to continue iterating rapidly, with AI7, AI8, AI9, and future generations targeting a nine-month design cycle.
He also noted that Tesla’s in-house chips could become the highest-volume AI processors in the world. Musk framed his update as a recruiting message, encouraging engineers to join Tesla’s AI and chip development teams.
Tesla community member Herbert Ong highlighted the strategic importance of the timeline, noting that faster chip cycles enable quicker learning, faster iteration, and a compounding advantage in AI and autonomy that becomes increasingly difficult for competitors to close.
AI5 manufacturing takes shape
Musk’s comments align with earlier reporting on AI5’s production plans. In December, it was reported that Samsung is preparing to manufacture Tesla’s AI5 chip, accelerating hiring for experienced engineers to support U.S. production and address complex foundry challenges.
Samsung is one of two suppliers selected for AI5, alongside TSMC. The companies are expected to produce different versions of the AI5 chip, with TSMC reportedly using a 3nm process and Samsung using a 2nm process.
Musk has previously stated that while different foundries translate chip designs into physical silicon in different ways, the goal is for both versions of the Tesla AI5 chip to operate identically. AI5 will succeed Tesla’s current AI4 hardware, formerly known as Hardware 4, and is expected to support the company’s Full Self-Driving system as well as other AI-driven efforts, including Optimus.
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Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.
This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
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Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Tesla AI5 chip nears completion, Elon Musk teases 9-month development cadence
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
