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SpaceX’s Starlink successes secure US military contract for custom satellites

Published

6 years ago

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SpaceX has won $149 million from the Space Development Agency (SDA) to leverage the successes of its Starlink constellation and build custom satellites for the US Department of Defense (DoD).

The development comes as no surprise after SpaceX spent more than six months publishing dozens of job openings for satellite design, development, test, and integration engineers with “top secret” security clearance. Thanks to that paper trail, it’s been apparent for quite some time that SpaceX planned to leverage its nascent satellite design and production capabilities to build custom spacecraft – and even entire constellations – for customers outside of the company.

Perhaps less than coincidentally, that capability closely mirrors a growing desire in the US military to return some level of agility, innovation, and affordability to the development and procurement of space systems (mainly satellites and the ground systems needed to control and communicate with them).

An artist’s conception of Starlink satellites in orbit. (Teslarati – SpaceX)

In classic US military fashion, SDA’s contracts appear to mirror DARPA’s (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) own Blackjack program. According to DARPA, the “Blackjack program aims to develop and demonstrate the critical elements for a global high-speed network in low Earth orbit (LEO) that provides the Department of Defense with highly connected, resilient, and persistent coverage.” At one point, SDA was seriously considering a role in DARPA’s Blackjack but had no plans to put money where its mouth was as recently as February 2020.

However, in a June 2020 interview, Blackjack project manager Paul Thomas deemed SDA a “very, very awesome partner” that will be directly involved in the launch of two early Blackjack testbed satellites later this year – to be followed by a “subconstellation” (~20 satellites) in 2022.

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SDA’s October 5th, 2020 contract awarded SpaceX and L3Harris $149 million and $193 million, respectively, to build four satellites that will spot and track missile launches with wide-field-of-view (WFOV) “overhead persistent infrared” (OPIR) sensors. SDA expects the spacecraft to be ready for launch by September 2022. SpaceX will outsource its OPIR sensors to an unknown company, while L3Harris – already an expert of complex sensor design and production – will build and integrate its own. Bizarrely, DARPA awarded Raytheon $37 million in June 2020 to build and deliver two OPIR sensors for Blackjack satellites by April 2023 – seemingly unrelated to SDA’s October 2020 contract for eight OPIR satellites.

If things go as planned, the eight OPIR satellites SDA is paying $342 million to develop and launch will be the start of a 30-satellite “Tracking Layer” constellation. The Tracking Layer constellation will integrate with a separate “Transport Layer” of 20 laser-interlinked relay satellites to be built by Lockheed Martin ($187.5M) and York Space Systems ($94M) for ~$282 million and launched by September 2022.

Ultimately, it’s ambiguous just how closely SDA and DARPA are working on what currently appear to be separate, partially duplicative constellations of small satellites. Relative to DARPA’s Blackjack program, SDA is pursuing a far more ambitious schedule and has wagered far more resources (more than half a billion dollars) on its plans for a new missile-warning satellite constellation. If SpaceX, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, and York Space Systems complete their respective work on schedule, SDA could effectively go from the drawing board to an unprecedentedly affordable constellation of 50 cutting-edge satellites in just 28 months – and all while spreading its risk between four unique companies.

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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 Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

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1 hour ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”
Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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Tesla makes the cut on California’s newest EV Rebate program

California just signed a $270 million EV rebate into law and it starts this summer.

Published

7 hours ago

on

July 13, 2026

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tesla fremont

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 168 into law on Monday, July 13, 2026, creating a $270 million EV rebate program that delivers money directly at the dealership rather than as a tax credit applied months later. The program, called MyFirstEV, is funded equally by California’s state budget and participating automakers, with each contributing $135.5 million to make the math work.

The timing is directly tied to the loss of federal support when the $7,500 federal EV tax credit ended, removing the most significant consumer incentive that had driven EV adoption in the U.S. California, which accounts for roughly one-third of all EVs sold nationally, moved to fill that gap with a state-level replacement.

The rebate structure is straightforward. First-time EV buyers can receive $3,500 off any new battery-electric vehicle with an MSRP up to $50,000. Used EVs priced at $25,000 or below qualify for a $1,750 rebate. The credit is applied at the point of sale, which removes the friction of the old federal system where buyers had to wait for tax season to see the benefit. The program goes live later this summer, with the California Air Resources Board expected to release full participation details next month.

California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law

For Tesla buyers, the implications are mixed. The Tesla Model 3 RWD at $42,490 and the Model 3 Long Range at $47,490 both fall under the $50,000 cap and would qualify for the full $3,500 rebate for first-time buyers. The Model Y, which starts at $44,990 after Tesla’s recent price adjustment, also qualifies. The Model X, Model S, and Cybertruck all exceed the cap and receive no benefit. As Teslarati has reported, the program also includes a carve-out exempting California-based automakers like Rivian and Lucid from the price cap entirely, a provision that puts Tesla at a disadvantage since it relocated its headquarters to Texas in 2021.

Other qualifying vehicles include the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Volkswagen ID.4.

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Tesla Semi enters new Pilot Program with interesting challenge

Published

19 hours ago

on

July 13, 2026

By

Credit: PTI

The Tesla Semi is entering a new Pilot Program with Paper Transport, LLC (PTI), a Wisconsin-based transportation provider. The company will test the Semi’s Long Range configuration through “dedicated operations within the Chicago market.”

Chicago presents an interesting challenge for the Semi, as it will be a colder-weather climate that will test the Semi’s ability to operate in lower temperatures and in potentially large accumulations of snow. This is something Tesla has been testing with the Semi in Alaska and even in Northern California during the colder months, but Chicago will present a truly tough midwestern winter.

Tesla Semi spotted on journey home after winter performance testing

PTI says it is using the Semi to evaluate its strategy of reducing transportation emissions while maintaining performance, reliability, and cost efficiency. These are major arguments for the Semi being introduced into new fleets.

CEO of PTI Tyler Ellison said:

“PTI has been a leader in sustainable transportation solutions for over 15 years. We take a consultative approach to helping customers identify and implement the right transportation solution for their network. Our partnership with Tesla expands our portfolio alongside renewable natural gas and intermodal, giving customers more ways to reduce Scope 3 emissions without compromising service or economics.”

PTI is far from the first company to adopt the Semi within a fleet, as Tesla entered strategic agreements with PepsiCo. and its subsidiary Frito-Lay for a Pilot Program that extended throughout the California region.

Tesla has let companies like those utilize the Semi to determine whether it would be suitable for their operations. Additionally, Tesla gets valuable information regarding the Semi’s performance, knowing what to improve and what is ideal for companies that will utilize the all-electric truck for regional and nationwide logistics.

PTI plans to utilize the Long Range configuration, which is priced at $290,000 and features a range of approximately 500 miles, a three-motor powertrain, up to 800 kW of drive power, and consumption of just 1.7 kWh per mile.

Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels

VP of Maintenance at PTI, Bryan Ellen, added:

“We are excited to partner with Tesla, leveraging their ever-evolving technology. We are bullish in our estimation of the parallels available between our dedicated model and the efficiency of their fully electric Class 8 tractor. We anticipate a growing synergy between our businesses as we work to facilitate this sustainable solution for our customers.”

PTI has logged more than 87 million miles using sources like compressed and renewable gas, but now is looking to take it a step further with fully electric operations.

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