News
SpaceX Starlink aids Native American tribe: “It catapulted us into the 21st century”
Just a week after news broke that SpaceX was gifting Starlink internet service to Washington State’s Emergency Management department, the state has revealed SpaceX’s satellites are also benefitting the Native American Hoh Tribe.
On October 6th, a Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched SpaceX’s 12th batch of operational Starlink satellites and 13th dedicated mission overall. Once all 60 Starlink-12 satellites – and several prior batches – reach their operational 550 km (~340 mi) orbits, CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX will be able to start rolling out “a fairly wide public beta in [the] northern US [and southern Canada].” Already, though, SpaceX has enough Starlink satellites in operational orbits to begin seriously testing the space-based internet network through a series of private betas.
While mostly centered around those within the general SpaceX circle (employees, families, company facilities, etc), the company has begun to highlight early trials with the kinds of customers and communities the constellation is optimal for. On September 28th, Washington’s Emergency Management division revealed that SpaceX had provided at least seven Starlink user terminals and (for now) free, unlimited internet service. In August, the division rapidly deployed the capability to at least one Washington region hit hard by summer wildfires, offering some level of connection to residents.
Interviewed by CNBC, Washington State Military Department emergency telecommunications leader Richard Hall heaped praise on SpaceX’s nascent satellite internet, noting that “I have never set up any tactical satellite equipment that has been as quick to set up, and anywhere near as reliable” and that “there’s really no comparison” between Starlink and alternatives.

Now, with SpaceX’s help and encouraged by the Washington State Military’s successes, the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Broadband Office has deployed Starlink terminals at the Hoh Tribe’s Reserve in Forks, WA. Remote and rural, Hoh Tribe Vice Chairman Melvinjohn Ashue described trying to work with the reservation’s existing communications infrastructure like “paddling up-river with a spoon” until Starlink’s introduction.
Ashue was at least as effusive as Hall, frankly stating that “it seemed like out of nowhere, SpaceX came up and just catapulted [the Hoh Tribe] into the 21st century.”
“And it seemed like out of nowhere SpaceX came up and just catapulted us into the 21st century. Our youth are able to do education online and participate in videos. Telehealth is no longer going to be an issue, as well as telemental health.
The Hoh Tribe is not alone. Many people in rural parts of [Washington] don’t have high-speed internet connectivity, but we’re changing that. We’re helping create partnerships and find resources so every community in our state can access this critical bridge to jobs, education, healthcare and so much more.”
– Hoh Tribe Vice Chairman Melvinjohn Ashue
Ultimately, Ashue’s praise helps illustrate the entire purpose of Starlink – at least at first. While given enough time and resources, SpaceX will assuredly serve Starlink internet to almost anyone on Earth, the company continues to reiterate that the constellation’s current goal is to help connect hundreds of millions of people around the world with poor service or no connectivity. Ashue notes that a high-quality internet connection can be used for online education, all kinds of digital healthcare services, jobs, and more, aside from the obvious benefits of simply being connected at all (entertainment, social enrichment, a near-infinite trove of knowledge, and more).
With a little luck, SpaceX’s Starlink program will continue to thrive and grow, ensuring that life-changing connectivity becomes the norm – rather than an exception – for emergency response services, rural Americans, Native Americans, and anyone else on Earth forced to settle with overpriced mediocrity or nothing at all.
Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.
News
Tesla’s Cybercab fleet jumped 8x in a month, with Dallas up next
Tesla confirms its first official Cybercab fleet number as Austin scales fast and Dallas looms.
Tesla says more than 300 Cybercabs are now serving Austin, the first time the company has put an official number on its active Cybercab fleet. The figure came from the Robotaxi account on X on Saturday, which wrote that one month after launch the service had “scaled to 300+ Cybercabs serving Austin – an 8x increase in 30 days.”
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of AI software, quoted the post with a line that carried the bigger news. “Two years since the 10/10 Cybercab WeRobot event, the cabs are everywhere in Austin now. Dallas soon,” he wrote. It is the first time Tesla has named the next city for public Cybercab rides.
One month after launch, we’ve scaled to 300+ Cybercabs serving Austin – an 8x increase in 30 days https://t.co/EagJy2JAsm
— Robotaxi (@robotaxi) October 10, 2026
Tesla opened Cybercab rides to the public in Austin on September 4, as Teslarati reported, a day after an invite only launch event. The ramp since then has been steep. Our September 28 report had the fleet at well over 100 units after availability jumped from 58 to 125 in a single week. On Thursday, Tesla added 150 Cybercabs to the Texas automated vehicle registry, lifting its registered count to 319 from 169. The first seven appeared on the registry on August 31.
RobotaxiTracker, a community site that counts vehicles from sightings and state records, listed 275 vehicles in unsupervised service in Austin on Saturday, 105 of them Cybercabs, which is well below Tesla’s figure. Tracker counts can lag official numbers, though Sawyer Merritt noted that Cybercab wait times in Austin stayed short on Saturday evening even with more than 2,000 fans in town for X Takeover.
Regulators are watching the rollout. NHTSA opened an audit query into Tesla’s certification that the Cybercab meets federal safety standards, and sworn answers are due October 30. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, which gives the company a natural venue to define its fleet numbers and put a date on Dallas.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk roasts India’s billionaire Mukesh Ambani as Starlink fight heats up
Elon Musk sarcastically calls Mukesh Ambani ‘Prime Minister’ as the Starlink India standoff escalates again.
Elon Musk escalated his public fight over Starlink’s launch in India on Friday, addressing Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani as “Prime Minister Ambani” in a sarcastic post on X. “Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India,” Musk wrote, before accusing Ambani of “monopolistic exploitation” and asking whether he would “consider allowing Starlink to compete.” In follow up posts, he said Starlink has proven essential during natural disasters and would help parts of India with no internet access.
The post came two days into a fight that Musk sparked up on Wednesday, when he said Starlink was “being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people.” He called it “a crime against the people of India” and left the names out, adding only, “You can guess who they are.” Jio and Airtel together hold more than 80% of India’s telecom market. On Thursday, Musk asked whether Ambani is “the real boss of India” and said Starlink has spent five years complying with “every single law and requirement” of the Indian government.
Dear Prime Minister Ambani,
Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India.
Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?
There are many areas of India, as there are in all countries, with no Internet access, which denies children the opportunity for education and for small businesses the opportunity to sell their goods to a global market. Starlink would change their lives for the better.
Thank you 🙏
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2026
India’s government has pushed back each time. The Ministry of Communications called the suggestion that its framework is unfair or discriminatory “baseless and misconceived.” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Friday that three companies hold satcom licenses: Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti backed Eutelsat OneWeb. Amazon’s Kuiper, now Amazon Leo, is still going through the process. None can launch until regulators finalize satellite spectrum pricing and the Home Ministry signs off on each company’s security compliance. Scindia said the telecom regulator and the Department of Telecommunications are close to a decision on pricing, The Hindu reported. Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal also said OneWeb is still waiting on approvals.
Starlink received its operator license in 2025 after a three year wait, and the space regulator IN-SPACe granted what industry executives called the last approval needed in July. The holdup since then centers on security, particularly concern that foreign operators could bypass Indian gateways.
Musk and Ambani have been on opposite sides of this before. In late 2024, Ambani argued for auctioning satellite spectrum, which Musk criticized as out of step with the rest of the world, and India chose administrative allocation instead. By March 2025, the two sides had signed a deal to sell Starlink devices in Reliance stores, and Starlink secured its telecom license that June. That partner is now also a competitor. Jio is reportedly weighing a constellation of 1,600 to 1,650 satellites costing an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion, while Akash Ambani has told shareholders Jio plans to lease capacity from global providers to move quickly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s surprise addition to the X Takeover lineup has fans talking
Elon Musk will join Saturday’s X Takeover at Giga Texas for a live virtual interview.
Elon Musk will join X Takeover at Giga Texas on Saturday for a live virtual interview, according to Sawyer Merritt, who shared the news late Thursday. Musk will not be on stage in Austin. The conversation is set to stream for free on the @teslaownersSV account on X.
Organizers had kept expectations in check. In a September update, Tesla Owners Silicon Valley said Musk had appeared at the event twice before but was not promising a third appearance, even as fans hoped he would walk the Giga Texas grounds in person. A virtual spot matches 2024, when Musk gave a surprise interview of about an hour to the crowd in San Luis Obispo, as Teslarati reported at the time.
Wasn’t expecting this 🫡
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 9, 2026
This year’s edition is a first in several ways. It is the first X Takeover held outside California and the first at a Tesla facility, with tickets selling out in eight days. Tesla provides the venue, but the event is produced independently by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley. The main event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, followed by a drone and light show at 9 p.m. Maye Musk is the keynote speaker, Franz von Holzhausen is set for a virtual keynote, and Nicki Minaj is the special guest. Joe Tegtmeyer, whose drone footage Teslarati used to track the Optimus factory steel frame at Giga Texas, is also on the speaker list.
Musk’s interview topics have not been revealed, but the backdrop is busy. Tesla doubled its Cybercab fleet in Austin in late September, and last week Musk explained why Robotaxi hours only moved from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.. Merritt also reported Thursday that Texas DMV records now show 319 registered Cybercabs, up from 169. NHTSA’s deadline for Tesla’s sworn answers on Cybercab certification is October 30, and Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21.
Fans who cannot make it to Austin can watch the livestream on X. Musk tends to say more in unscripted settings than he does in prepared remarks, which is the reason this one is worth having open on Saturday.