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SpaceX sends 23 more Starlink satellites into orbit on Leap Day

Credit: SpaceX | X

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SpaceX sent 23 more Starlink high-speed internet satellites into orbit on Leap Day.

The satellites were launched from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:30 a.m. yesterday, bringing the current total to 5,504. SpaceX hopes to have 42,000 satellites in low Earth orbit to build a mega constellation that will provide high-speed internet access to anyone.

The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida at Cape Canaveral.

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The mission, known as Starlink 6-40, was set to be the first of two launches in a 24-hour period for SpaceX.

However, the NASA Crew-8 mission, which was set for launch just after midnight this morning, was postponed to Saturday night, March 2, after rough offshore weather posed concerns during launch abort scenarios, according to Space.com.

Following the successful launch of Falcon 9 and the completion of stage separation that put the 23 satellites into low Earth orbit, the booster returned to Earth in just over eight minutes. It landed on the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions,” which was located in the Atlantic Ocean:

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This is the first Starlink launch since February 25, and this mission had Version 2 Mini satellites aboard.

This was the 11th flight for this Falcon 9 first stage, which has been a part of five other Starlink missions.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Elon Musk

Tesla sues former Optimus engineer for stealing trade secrets

Tesla is suing a former engineer who worked on Optimus after he left and immediately started a robotics company that achieved quick development of a hand.

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Credit: Elon Musk | X

Tesla is suing former Optimus engineer Jay Li in federal court after accusing him of stealing trade secrets and using them to enable a startup he founded after he left.

Li is accused of stealing confidential files and using them to help get his company, “Proception,” off to a rocking start. Tesla says the files Li took helped his new startup “shortcut the typical development process” for robot hands, something that took Tesla years to develop and evolve.

The company said in the complaint (via Reuters):

“Through Li’s pilfering, Defendant Proception purportedly achieved in a matter of months what it has taken Tesla over four years, hundreds of employees, and billions of dollars to achieve.”

Li was an employee at Tesla for several years, working on the Optimus sensor team from 2022 to 2024. The company says it utilized and devoted “extraordinary resources” to the development of Optimus, which has come a long way since its unveiling several years ago.

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Tesla Optimus to receive hands with 22 degrees of freedom later this year

Li allegedly downloaded confidential files related to Optimus’ robotic hand movement research before departing the company. He did not work on the hands at the time. However, he left and swiftly started Proception, as the suit states the company was founded just six days after he left Tesla.

Proception was gloating about its ability to build robotic hands just five months after the company was founded. Tesla says the hands have “striking similarities” to its own design for Optimus.

The company is looking for monetary damages and a court order that would block Proception from misusing the secrets it accuses Li of taking.

This is not the first suit Tesla has filed over trade secrets and confidential information theft. Recently, it accused German-Canadian dual citizen Klaus Pflugbeil of stealing battery-related secrets. He was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison.

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Men accused of selling Tesla battery secrets arrested in undercover sting

The U.S. Department of Justice used an undercover sting to arrest Pflugbeil.

Tesla is being represented by Josh Krevitt, Orin Snyder, and Angelique Kaounis of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

The case is Tesla Inc. v. Perception Inc., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:25-cv-04963.

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Tesla teases new Model Y seating option potentially coming soon

Tesla appears to be ready to launch the new Model Y seating option in the coming weeks.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla teased a new Model Y seating option earlier this week in a promotional email, potentially hinting that it could introduce an arrangement offered on the legacy version of the vehicle.

Back in 2021, Tesla started offering a seven-seat configuration of the Model Y, and there was a lot of speculation about its orientation and the space it would provide. The two additional seats were truly a tight fit for anyone, even kids, as the space for a third row was extremely limited in the Model Y.

Tesla Model Y third-row seats first impressions shared by EV owner

Eventually, Tesla started building the seven-seater with forward-facing seats and very tight legroom dimensions. It was beneficial for some, but many still considered the arrangement to be too confined for their needs.

The company confirmed earlier this year in an interview with Jay Leno that the car would get other configurations, including Rear-Wheel-Drive, which has already launched, a Performance trim, which has been spotted with bumper covers several times this year, and a seven-seat version:

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The new seven-seater could be coming soon as well, according to a recent email Tesla sent to customers and fans. In it, Tesla writes:

“Ready for anything with long range seating for up to seven and enough room for everyone’s gear.”

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Tesla did have a mysterious Model Y roaming around the Fremont Factory’s test track recently with covered bumpers and what appeared to be strange dimensions.

We thought it might be the compact, affordable model that is set to launch in the first half of the year, but now it seems that the car could have either been the Model Y seven-seater or the Model Y Performance configuration, as they are both expected soon.

We are interested to see if Tesla can squeak out a few more inches of legroom in the new seven-seater, but we’re not holding our breath. Nevertheless, the new Model Y came with quite a few improvements, including suspension changes, acoustic-lined glass for a better cabin experience, and a front and rear bumper redesign, among other things.

There is no doubt it will be a better car than the legacy version.

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Elon Musk

Tesla Full Self-Driving’s European launch frustrations revealed by Elon Musk

Tesla plans to launch Full Self-Driving in Europe later this year, but regulatory bodies are proving to make it a bigger challenge than it needs to be.

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Credit: Tesla Europe and Middle East | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving is set to launch in Europe in the future, but the region’s governing bodies are not giving the suite any chance to move forward, according to CEO Elon Musk, who blames the regulatory processes for robbing citizens of a safer mode of travel.

The automaker revealed late last year that it planned to bring Full Self-Driving to Europe sometime in 2025. However, Musk said that the launch of the suite is being continuously prolonged by both individual and European Union officials, dragging their feet with approvals.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk said the company is still dealing with and waiting for approvals from both the Dutch government and the EU’s governing officials, giving an indication that some progress has been made, but ultimately, there are still some bodies that are taking their time:

He continued by stating that the delays are “very frustrating” and they “hurt the safety of people in Europe” because of Autopilot’s statistical prowess, which shows it is much safer than human drivers.

Tesla is readying for the launch of a completely driverless Robotaxi platform in the U.S., which is set to occur in the coming days. While the initial rollout of the platform will be reserved for a select few, public rides are slated for June 22, meaning anyone will be able to come to Austin and hail a Tesla Robotaxi through the company’s smartphone app.

The first Robotaxi without a driver was spotted in Austin yesterday and shared on X:

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First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX

Musk dropped several hints that the Robotaxi launch, which has been rumored for June 12, is imminent. For now, the operation will take place in Austin and will eventually expand, likely to California next, as noted in past reports. The City’s official website confirmed that Tesla gained a license as an Autonomous Vehicle operator in the City of Austin earlier this week.

Tesla applied for a similar license in California earlier this year.

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