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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.
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Tesla has officially revealed its 2026 Summer Update, which comes with a variety of crazy new features, including Navigation fixes that owners have been wanting for months.
Tesla routinely releases a larger update with the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter updates, where it ships a variety of new features, bug fixes, and other additions to customer cars.
The 2026 Spring Update featured things like “Hey Grok” voice assistance, a redesigned self-driving app, Unreal Engine visual upgrades, and more.
🚨 TESLA’S SUMMER UPDATE FOR 2026 IS HERE:
Featuring:
✅ Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
✅ Caraoke with Scoring
✅ Automatic Navigation
✅ Preferred Routes
✅ Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
✅ Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
✅ Rear Display Lock
✅ Other Improvements
🔌… https://t.co/C9IW3egEhH
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s Summer Release has about ten new features; we’ll show you each and detail them below:
New Grok Voice Commands
“Grok can now make phone calls, search and play music, adjust climate, open the glovebox, and answer questions about your Tesla.”
Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
“View and share self-driving stats from the mobile app.”
Caraoke With Scoring
“Caraoke now scores your singing while in Park. High scores are saved to your Tesla profile.”
Automatic Navigation
“Automatic Navigation now adapts to your routine.
In addition to Home, Work, and upcoming calendar events, your vehicle can now suggest and route to places you visit regularly – like a school drop-off on the way to work, or the gym on the way home.”
Preferred Routes
“For a more personalized experience, navigation now prioritizes routes that you’ve taken before”
Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
“Set your desired Arrival Energy from your phone.”
Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
“Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: https://github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”
Rear Display Lock
“Kids can watch content on the rear screen, but only the front row can control it through the rear screen app.”
Other Improvements
- Find Superchargers by name when searching for a destination
- Add Apple Music songs to queue from search and artist page
- Set your preferred zoom level for the Self-Driving visualization
- Intro animations for new Model 3 and Y
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you, as the company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, finally shed some light on the reason they are putting a satellite internet terminal on its ride-hailing-geared vehicle.
On Monday, Tesla officially confirmed that it would integrate Starlink V5 terminals into Cybercab vehicles, something many Tesla fans had figured the company would do, as the vehicle is primarily geared toward giving rides without any passenger intervention.
Starlink V5 directly integrated in Cybercab pic.twitter.com/FxzTtzjB6I
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 20, 2026
The ability to access the internet would allow riders to work or play in the car with their devices. It seemed like a more-than-reasonable feature to add to the Cybercab, which made its way off the production lines for the first time earlier this year.
Tesla reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration
However, the move is not for the rider, as Elluswamy confirmed on Monday night. Instead, it’s actually for Tesla to be able to have a constant connection to the cars in the Robotaxi fleet so it can troubleshoot issues, contact riders, or resolve other issues.
Elluswamy said:
“It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.”
It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) July 20, 2026
Many initially assumed the option of constant connectivity would be enabled on the Cybercab for passenger entertainment or work. With the Cybercab, passengers won’t be doing anything but enjoying the ride, so it seemed more than logical that they would be hanging out with Starlink internet access as an amenity.
However, Tesla’s primary concern with Robotaxi is safety, and nailing these first unsupervised rides is a crucial step to setting a good narrative on how effective driverless transportation can be.
Being able to get in touch with passengers or a vehicle if something is wrong is a crucial part of the overall experience, and preventative measures are being taken by Tesla to ensure a smooth process, even in the worst-case.
Tesla has expanded its Robotaxi program in Florida to include two new cities: Tampa and Orlando.
This marks the second and third cities to be added to the company’s available locations for autonomous ride-hailing in the Sunshine State, joining Miami, which was the first Florida city to offer Robotaxi rides.
Tesla announced the addition of Orlando and Tampa to the Robotaxi program on Tuesday morning. The cities now join Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area as locations where Tesla can operate its Robotaxi platform:
Robotaxi now in Tampa & Orlando! pic.twitter.com/fYtmXgJq3O
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) July 21, 2026
These rides are unsupervised, as AI Head Ashok Elluswamy confirmed the suite in Florida is operating without safety drivers or anyone within the cabin to assist with operation.
Orlando Tesla Robotaxi Operation
The geofence in Orlando covers a prominent irregular shaded zone on the map, roughly 4-6 miles across in key dimensions, so it likely measures somewhere between 25 and 45 square miles, which is comparable to other early Tesla launches in other cities.
It encompasses central and southern areas bounded by major highways including SR-417 and SR-528, including parts of the Orlando metro core, tourism-adjacent zones, and residential/commercial districts. This represents an initial targeted rollout in a tourist-heavy region, positioned for quick expansion via Tesla’s software updates.
Tampa Tesla Robotaxi Operation
In Tampa, the shape of the geofence is a shaded polygon covering key neighborhoods, explicitly including West Tampa, Tampa Heights, Hyde Park, and downtown Tampa proper, with boundaries along major roads and the Hillsborough River area.
This focuses on high-demand central zones and will offer tourists and citygoers rides without drivers.
Robotaxi Progress
Tesla has been operating Robotaxi since last June, when it launched in Austin. The geofences in most regions have already expanded several times since their launch last year, but the bigger complaint is vehicle availability. Tesla has been working to add more Robotaxi-enabled vehicles to its fleet.
The company still plans to utilize its Cybercab, a new vehicle that is being produced at Gigafactory Texas, for the Robotaxi suite alongside the Model Y, which has been the vehicle of choice for Tesla with early operations.
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you
