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SpaceX’s Starlink eyed by US military as co. raises $500-750M for development

SpaceX's first two Starlink prototype satellites are pictured here before their inaugural launch. (SpaceX)

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In a reasonably predictable turn of events, SpaceX has been awarded a healthy $28.7M contract to study, develop, and test possible military applications of its prospective Starlink internet satellite constellation.

Previously reported by Teslarati in August 2018, FCC applications related to Starlink revealed that SpaceX had plans to develop and test Starlink interconnectivity with conformal antenna arrays installed on aircraft, all but directly pointing to military involvement with a reference to the need for aerial maneuvers “[representative] of a high-performance aircraft.”

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Around the same time as those FCC documents surfaced, the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) spoke with AviationWeek about plans to experiment with the potential capabilities offered by a flurry of proposed low Earth orbit (LEO) internet satellite constellations, including the likes of SpaceX’s Starlink, OneWeb, a Telesat network, and others. While no specific companies were fingered in AFRL’s public statements, it was far too convenient to be a coincidence. Four months later, the below transaction was published in the Department of Defense’s running list of new contract awards:

“[SpaceX], Hawthorne, California, has been awarded a $28,713,994 competitive, firm-fixed-price … agreement for experimentation … in the areas of establishing connectivity [and] operational experimentation … [and] will include connectivity demonstrations to Air Force ground sites and aircraft for experimental purposes. For the proposed Phase 2, the awardee proposes to perform experiments [with] early versions of a commercial space-to-space data relay service and mobile connectivity directly from space to aircraft.” – Department of Defense, FBO FA8650-17-S-9300

Those dots were fairly easy to connect earlier this year, but this agreement confirms the apparent arrangement with certainty. Almost three months after SpaceX could have received its initial funding, it’s possible that the company has already begun basic testing along the described lines with the two prototype Starlink satellites currently in orbit, although no FCC or FAA filings (that I am aware of) have suggested that those tests are ongoing. SpaceX may be waiting for the launch of a second generation of Starlink prototype satellites to begin seriously putting its antenna and communications technologies through their mid-air paces.

Early answers to the biggest question

At this point in time, the viability and potential utility of Starlink and other large LEO constellations are well established. What has not been established, however, is how exactly any of the proposed constellations – especially Starlink – can go from paper to orbit. In other words, the reasonable question to ask of any company pursuing such an endeavor is how they plan to fund the acquisition of capital-intensive manufacturing infrastructure and launch services.

Ultimately, SpaceX will receive $19.1M of the full $28.7M sum from the DoD in FY2019 (Oct 1, 2018 to Sept 30, 2019). This absolutely dwarfs all other contracts awarded thus far under the AFRL’s Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, which began in August 2017 and has since awarded $2.5M and $5.6M contracts to Iridium and L3, respectively. In the grand scheme of things, ~$30M is a pittance in the face of the extensive investments SpaceX needs to make if it hopes to mass-produce high-performance satellites at a truly unprecedented scale.

 

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This is where a duo of major investment and fundraising developments come into play. In the last several months, word has gotten out that SpaceX secured a respectable $250M loan through the sale of debt, and more recently wrapped up an equity investment round to the tune of $500M, playing off of long-time investors with a demonstrated interest in belief in the company’s long-term vision. For unknown reasons, SpaceX had originally looked into raising the full $750M through a debt-equity loan, but – despite reports that its market was very healthy – soon cut the offering to $500M and eventually $250M, which it ultimately secured in November. Combined with a traditional $500M equity-investment uncovered earlier this month, SpaceX appears to have nearly completed fundraising of more than $750M in the second half of 2018 alone.

Put a different way, SpaceX has very rapidly gotten very serious about doubling down on Starlink. According to the Wall Street Journal, who originally broke the news of a new $500M equity round, that funding is to be predominately focused on getting Starlink up and running as a serious venture capable of mass-producing satellites.  According to a recent Reuters analysis of the Starlink program, CEO Elon Musk challenged the company to begin dedicated launches of operational Starlink satellites as early as June 2019, and the company also plans to launch another round of improved (Gen 2) satellite prototypes early next year.

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla adds new in-app feature to solve the used EV market’s biggest headache

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Teslas Supercharging
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has quietly rolled out one of its most practical software updates yet — and it could add real dollars to every used Model 3, Y, S, and X on the road.

Starting with the latest Tesla app version, owners now receive an official “Certification of Repaired HV Battery” whenever Tesla performs a major high-voltage battery repair or full replacement. The digital certificate appears directly in the vehicle’s Service History tab inside the Tesla app.

It’s permanent, verifiable, and downloadable as a PDF, so sellers can hand it over to buyers in seconds.

For years, the used EV market has suffered from one glaring problem: nobody could prove what happened to the battery.

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Service invoices often vanish when a car changes hands. Third-party battery-health scans are expensive and inconsistent. Buyers, staring at a car with 80,000 miles and an 8-year warranty ticking down, would negotiate hard — or walk away entirely — because the battery is the single most expensive part of any Tesla.

That uncertainty routinely shaved thousands off resale values and slowed the entire secondhand market.

Now Tesla has eliminated the guesswork. The new certificate, which was spotted by Tesla App Updates, logs exactly what work was done, when, and by whom. It lives inside the car’s digital profile forever, exactly where any future owner will look. No more digging through old emails or hoping the previous owner kept paperwork.

The outlet describes why the update is so important:

  • Official Digital Certificates: The string “Certification of Repaired HV Battery” confirms that if your vehicle undergoes a major battery repair or replacement, Tesla will now issue an official, verifiable digital certificate documenting the work.
  • Service History Integration: Strings such as viewRepairedBatteryCert and repairedBatteryCertId indicate that this document won’t be lost in an old email thread. It will be permanently anchored to your vehicle’s profile inside the app’s Service History tab.
  • Easy Exporting: The service_history_repaired_battery_cert_download_fail error state indicates you will be able to download this certificate directly to your phone as a file (likely a PDF) to share with others.

Sellers who have already replaced packs under warranty are especially excited; they can now prove the vehicle received a fresh Tesla battery without any gray-area questions.

The timing couldn’t be better. As more Teslas roll off 8-year/100,000- or 120,000-mile battery warranties, the used market is exploding. Lenders, insurers, and even auction houses have quietly asked for better battery documentation for years. Tesla’s certificate hands it to them on a silver platter.

For current owners, the feature adds peace of mind and protects long-term value. For buyers, it removes the single biggest risk in any used EV purchase. And for Tesla itself, it quietly strengthens the entire ownership ecosystem — making vehicles more liquid, more desirable, and more valuable over time.

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In an industry obsessed with range numbers and 0-60 times, Tesla just proved that sometimes the biggest innovation is a simple line in the Service History tab. One small certificate, one giant step for used-EV confidence.

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Tesla reigns supreme in the heaviest EV market on Earth

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Credit: Grok Imagine

In the global race toward electrification, Norway stands unchallenged as the world’s most mature EV market.

In the first quarter of this year, EVs captured a staggering 97.9 percent market share, with plugin EVs reaching 98.6 percent. Out of 27,175 new vehicles registered, non-BEV powertrains have been reduced to statistical noise—petrol and hybrids combined accounted for fewer than 80 units.

At the heart of this transformation is Tesla.

The Model Y dominated overall vehicle sales with 5,406 units, outselling the next five best-selling non-Tesla models combined. The refreshed Model 3 followed in second place with 2,010 units, giving Tesla a commanding one-two finish. Toyota’s bZ4X placed third with 1,400 units, while Volvo’s EX40 and others trailed further back.

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This dominance is no fluke. Norway has spent decades building the infrastructure and policy framework that makes EVs the rational choice. Generous tax incentives, exemption from VAT, reduced tolls, free ferries for EVs, and a dense charging network have turned the country into a living laboratory for mass adoption. High fuel prices—often exceeding $8 per gallon—further tilt the economics decisively toward electricity.

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The result is a market where choosing anything but an EV feels increasingly anachronistic. Diesel and petrol cars have all but vanished from new registrations. Even plug-in hybrids, once a transitional favorite, have collapsed to 0.7 percent share.

Chinese brands like XPeng, BYD, and Zeekr are making inroads, while legacy European and Japanese automakers scramble to field competitive BEVs. Yet Tesla’s combination of range, performance, software, Supercharger network, and brand cachet continues to set the benchmark.

Norway’s Q1 figures come after a volatile start to 2026 caused by VAT changes that pulled forward sales into late 2025. The market rebounded strongly in March, underscoring underlying demand. Tesla’s Q1 performance in the country also jumped significantly year-over-year, reinforcing its position even as competition intensifies.

What happens in Norway rarely stays there. The country has long served as a bellwether for EV trends across Europe and beyond.

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Its near-total transition demonstrates that when incentives align with infrastructure and consumer economics, adoption accelerates dramatically. For automakers, Norway signals a future where success hinges not on legacy powertrains but on delivering compelling electric vehicles at scale.

As other nations ramp up their own EV ambitions, Tesla’s continued reign in the world’s heaviest EV market sends a clear message: in a fully mature electric future, the company that started the revolution remains the one to beat. With the Model Y still the best-selling vehicle overall—quarter after quarter—Norway’s roads are a rolling testament to Tesla’s enduring leadership.

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Tesla owners keep coming back for more

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Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.

Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.

The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.

What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the  and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing.  Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.

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