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SpaceX wins FCC approval to launch first polar Starlink satellites amidst rideshare chaos
In a sign of the regulatory agency’s growing confidence in SpaceX, the FCC has rapidly approved a request to add ten Starlink satellites to an imminent Falcon 9 rideshare launch.
Known as Transporter-1 and originally scheduled to launch as early as December 2020 or January 14th, SpaceX delayed its first dedicated Smallsat Program mission to January 21st for unknown reasons last week. While there is no confirmed cause, any one of several recent events could have easily contributed to or fully caused the delay. In a rare ground processing failure, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) revealed that two “risk reduction” technology demonstrator satellites were damaged on January 4th when their deployment mechanism was accidentally triggered during processing.
In other words, the two spacecraft may have been shot out of their dispensers by their spring-loaded deployment mechanisms, falling onto a processing bench or even off of the much taller payload stack. Meanwhile, on the very same day, space tug startup Momentus Space announced that it was removing its first Vigoride tug from Transporter-1 “for additional time…to secure FAA approval of…payloads.” Finally, once more on January 4th, SpaceX filed a request with the FCC to manifest and launch its first polar Starlink satellites to better take advantage of Transporter-1’s full capacity.
If launched, the ten spacecraft would be the first of several hundred planned polar Starlink satellites necessary for SpaceX’s massive internet constellation to serve some of the most remote communities on Earth. Referring to an orbit centered more around Earth’s north and south poles than its equator, the polar Starlink launch opportunity is available because SpaceX’s Transporter-1 mission – set to carry several dozen small satellites – is headed for a nearly polar “sun-synchronous orbit” (SSO).
For Starlink, sun-synchronous and polar orbit satellites will allow the constellation to serve customers and communities in high northern latitudes – possibly up to and including the Arctic and Antarctic once fully deployed.
SpaceX supported the US East Coast’s first polar launch in more than half a century in August 2020, effectively opening the same polar corridor that’s now allowing the company to launch Transporter-1 – and polar Starlink satellites – from the same pads it launches almost every other mission. It remains to be seen if SpaceX will one day perform dedicated polar Starlink launches from its West Coast launch pad – reactivated in November 2020 after spending almost a year and a half mothballed.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Starlink’s imminent polar launch debut is just how quickly both SpaceX and the FCC acted to make it happen. When SpaceX requested permission on January 4th, then just 10 days from the launch date, the historical odds of the FCC responding at all – let alone approving the request – in time were practically zero. Instead, the agency got back to SpaceX with a lengthy conditional approval (PDF) four days later. Although the FCC has yet to approve a request to move almost all of SpaceX’s 4,408 Phase 1 Starlink satellites to much lower orbits, the agency was apparently chomping at the bit to allow a limited trial at those lower orbits.
Dropped from an orbital altitude of ~1200 km (~750 mi) to 560 km (~350 mi), the ten Starlink satellites SpaceX now has permission to launch on Transporter-1 likely represent less than 20% of one polar ‘plane’ of Starlink satellites. In simpler terms, those ten satellites will only be capable of supporting a very limited test of polar Starlink internet, likely resulting in intermittent, unreliable coverage that won’t be viable for civil use until the FCC permits SpaceX to launch one or several full planes. Still, receiving approval to launch any number of satellites mere days after filing a request suggests that full FCC approval is a now question of “when,” not “if.”
The in-car Tesla Theater is among the most unique features available within the cars. When charging, parked, camping, or just hanging out, vehicle occupants can access a variety of streaming platforms on the large center screen, helping keep them entertained during downtime.
However, the Theater might be getting plenty more streaming platforms, something that owners have requested for some time.
Tesla owners recently discovered that visiting Apple TV in the vehicle browser can launch a fullscreen interface that looks and behaves like a dedicated application rather than an ordinary webpage:
Today I learned that if you go to Apple TV in the Tesla browser, it will open up an actual Apple TV app, fully functional. Not just the site.
Apparently there are more apps than just the few that show on the apps page. pic.twitter.com/os1Ypfm4JR
— Jason W (@jmwilt21) August 20, 2026
The experience drops the usual address bar and browser chrome, presenting catalogs, continue watching rows, and playback controls in the same window Tesla Theater already uses for its listed services. Independent testers soon found similar treatment for HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Disney+, and Prime Video when those sites are opened from the car browser.
This shift is a plausible early signal that Tesla is widening Theater support without a formal software note. Theater has long been a set of web views rather than native applications, so recognizing extra domains and stripping the browser frame is a small server-side change that can expand the catalog quickly.
Owners still lack permanent Theater icons for the newly recognized services, and video remains limited to Park, yet the smoother launch is a meaningful step toward a broader lounge while charging.
Tesla Theater arrived with software version 10 in September 2019. The first video services were Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu, available only while parked and originally tied to WiFi. Spotify arrived in the same era as music rather than Theater video. Disney+ joined officially in July 2021 with the 2021.24 update, giving owners another major catalog on the center screen. Twitch and TikTok later appeared among the default Theater tiles, and Tesla Tutorials remained a persistent educational tile.
Not every addition stayed put. In December 2023, a Holiday software build removed the Disney+ tile for many United States owners after a public dispute involving advertising on X. Hulu stayed visible even though Disney owned it. Visiting disneyplus.com in the browser often restored the tile, which suggested the removal was a recognition list change rather than a complete block. Owners have also reported occasional blank Theater grids after updates, usually fixed by language toggles, resets, or later firmware.
Tesla axes Disney+ from vehicles with Musk-Iger rivalry, but there’s a workaround
Code archives from 2024 listed many unused source names, including Apple TV and Prime Video, that never became official icons, which now looks like groundwork for the current fullscreen browser behavior.
Now that this hint toward an expanded Theater experience has been recognized, Tesla could follow through with these additional shortcuts as a sign that more streaming platforms are available in Teslas than ever before.
Tesla recently received its largest order for the all-electric Semi from Einride, a Swedish transport service, for 500 units, a groundbreaking invoice to receive before the first deliveries begin.
Even more remarkable, Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli said in a recent interview that he expects his company to take delivery of all 500 — the entire order — before the end of 2027. He even expects to have 75 Tesla Semi units in the Einride fleet before the end of this year.
🚨 Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli on the Tesla Semi partnership:
“If we start with the Amazon announcement that we did earlier this year, that was on the back of having gone through a proving period together with them and proving out our technology. Then we took that next step in… pic.twitter.com/oazkXjwoig
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2026
Charli said the Tesla partnership was part of a broader push, along with its earlier partnership with Amazon. Einride is assisting Amazon with the use of its Saga AI platform, which helps eliminate questions about budgeting and forecasting for logistics companies.
The Semi, as well as Tesla’s production and subsequent delivery of the units to Einride, will help the company “to have a good supply of vehicles that we can deploy on the [Saga AI] platform,” Charli said. “Tesla is also a relationship we’ve had for a while, and as the Tesla Semi deliveries are firming up, we decided to do a larger commitment to that and deploy that on our platform.”
In its initial announcement, Einride said it anticipated taking delivery of the trucks over the next two years, but now it appears the company is expecting all 500 units within the next 16 months.
Built at a dedicated factory in Sparks, Nevada, the Tesla Semi has been perhaps the biggest and most intensive testing process the company has ever had for a single vehicle model. For the past several years, Tesla has been working with many companies, most notably Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, to gain knowledge on the performance on regional routes.
Tesla plans to launch the Semi officially on September 24, five months after production started ramping.
Additionally, drivers have said they are happy about the Semi’s performance and that its numerous safety and productivity features have made their jobs and routes much easier.
Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla Theater might be getting plenty more streaming platforms
Tesla Semi’s biggest adoptee gives an update on production timeline
