News
SpaceX’s Starlink “VisorSat” launch plans revealed by Elon Musk
CEO Elon Musk has revealed more details about SpaceX’s plans to build and launch upgraded “VisorSat” Starlink satellites, part of the company’s work to ensure that the internet constellation can coexist with astronomy.
Back on April 22nd, Musk gave us the best glimpse yet of what he previously described as a sort of deployable sunshade for Starlink satellites. Designed to prevent orbital sunlight from reflecting off of each spacecraft’s shiny surfaces and disrupting ground-based astronomical observations, the SpaceX CEO said that the company’s very next Starlink launch – scheduled no earlier than “early May” – will carry one or several satellites with said sunshade installed, playfully nicknamed “VisorSat”.
Ultimately, Musk explained in significant detail the likely culprit of the spectacular visibility of Starlink satellites from the ground, discussed plans to reduce or wholly remove that flaring, and explicitly stated that SpaceX will do everything in its power to prevent its constellation from impacting science.
On April 22nd, Musk revealed that the sunshade he’d previously discussed would look “a lot like a car sun visor” and would be built out of dark, radio-transparent foam to avoid disrupting each satellite’s antennas while still preventing sunlight from reflecting off of their mirror-like surfaces.
Days later, he revealed a rough render of VisorSat’s design, showing an extremely simple pair of rotating foam ‘visors’ explicitly shaped to block sunlight from Starlink satellite antennas and not much else. Given the use of foam and a deployment mechanism no more complex than four actuating hinges, it’s entirely believable that this solution – if it works – could be cheap and light enough to be almost irrelevant for the overall spacecraft.
If it works, SpaceX’s ad hoc visor would effectively be the best possible solution for brightness, fully solving the issue while having a near-zero impact on the cost or functionality of each internet satellite. Of course, SpaceX will do what it’s known for and flight-test the new VisorSat design before getting ahead of itself, but if those tests are successful, it would be unsurprising if every future Starlink satellite features a visor.
However, in the process of explaining why Starlink satellites can appear so bright, Musk also hinted at one of the reasons that a visor alone cannot fully solve all of the sources of Starlink’s ground astronomy impact. After launch, Starlink satellites must raise and circularize their orbits to reach an operational altitude, a process that has typically taken 2-4 weeks. During that orbit-raising phase, Musk revealed that Starlink satellites must orient themselves in such a way that the entirety of their front and rear faces – including the solar array – is angled perfectly to reflect sunlight back to Earth.
To alleviate that issue, Musk has said that SpaceX will tweak the orientation and operation of satellites during the orbit raising period, but it’s difficult to see a way to consistently prevent bright reflections without big changes. If SpaceX can’t immediately find a way around that “Open Book” orientation, there will likely be anywhere from 60-180+ Starlink satellites raising their orbits on any given day if the company truly plans to operate a constellation of ~4400 satellites, let alone ~12,000 or ~40,000.
Once orbit-raising is complete, Musk believes that visors will effectively make Starlink satellites invisible to the naked eye, but more work will have to be done if SpaceX wants to fully mitigate Starlink’s astronomy impact.
Lifestyle
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.
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.
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.
Tesla revealed on Monday that it is building a new autonomous vehicle at Gigafactory Texas, its plant just outside of the City of Austin. This particular vehicle will be geared toward those who are in need of a wheelchair-accessible car that would require no human driver for operation.
According to a new report from Wired, Tesla’s Senior Policy Advisor, India Herdman, told members of the Washington D.C. City Council on Monday:
“We are in development for a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. We know that paratransit can be very difficult, and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas.”
This builds upon what CEO Elon Musk said last year on X, which confirmed the company was working on accessible rides within its Robotaxi platform, which currently is confined to the Model Y.
Absolutely
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 19, 2025
Tesla is also developing the Cybercab, which started employee rides last week. However, this vehicle is not necessarily geared toward wheelchair accessibility.
That leaves a major gap in the autonomous ride-sharing program that Tesla is attempting to build; the company has been pretty clear that it does not want to complicate its manufacturing lines by bringing in a wide array of body styles.
However, it seems necessary to have something larger that could help transport people to appointments when they cannot drive. For wheelchair accessibility, the Robovan, which was unveiled at the “We, Robot” event in October 2024, seems to be the most ideal solution:
Herdman did not indicate whether she was referring to the Robovan or if Tesla is building yet another body style that is geared toward full autonomy but also caters to the handicapped.
Tesla might need to develop something specifically for the handicapped in order to align with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in transportation services. Uber was hit with a lawsuit late last year for “refusing to reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures where necessary to avoid discriminating against riders with disabilities.”
Tesla would obviously like to avoid this.
It will be interesting to see what Tesla will do with this project, and whether it will introduce something new to the market or just continue with the Robovan.
Tesla makes the cut on California’s newest EV Rebate program
Tesla Semi enters new Pilot Program with interesting challenge
