News
SpaceX wins almost $1B to bring Starlink internet to half a million US homes, businesses
In a competition against hundreds of providers, many established, SpaceX’s Starlink constellation has come out of left field to win almost $1B from the FCC – funds that will help bring high-quality internet to hundreds of thousands of rural Americans.
Just 13 months after Starlink v1.0 flights began, SpaceX has successfully delivered almost 900 operational Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) over the course of 15 dedicated Falcon 9 launches. At least 700 of those ~265 kg (~580 lb) spacecraft have completed orbit raising maneuvers with krypton-fueled electric thrusters and are truly operational, serving an ever-growing number of Starlink internet beta customers across the northern US and southern Canda.
Out of 180 winning FCC auction bidders, SpaceX appears to be just one of two space-based internet providers despite the entrenched and monopolistic nature of existing rural satellite internet companies like Viasat and HughesNet – the latter of which did secure about $1.25 million to subsidize services at ~3700 locations. The main reason: designed to operate in LEO to ensure extremely low latencies, only SpaceX’s Starlink constellation was deemed eligible to compete for the majority of Auction 904, which prioritized high speeds and low latency (ping).
All told, SpaceX appears to be second only to one other competitor – a Charter Communications subsidiary – for the number of service locations it won during the FCC’s latest rural broadband auction. Based on a brief scan and analysis of official spreadsheets released by the regulatory agency, Charter won around $1.22 billion to subsidize service for 1.05 million rural American “locations” (i.e. homes, businesses, community centers, etc.), followed by SpaceX ($885 million for ~643,000 locations), and the Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium ($1.1 billion for ~618,500 locations).
LTD Broadband took home the biggest monetary prize, winning $1.32 billion to subsidize service at ~528,000 locations. While it’s difficult to compare on a level playing field due to the varying degrees of subsidy determined necessary by the FCC on a roughly case-by-case basis, SpaceX appears to be as cost-efficient or cheaper than the other two-dozen or so competitors that secured 100,000+ locations, averaging around $138 per site per year. For the entire auction, the average annual subsidy will be $176 per location.
According to the FCC, the funds will be evenly dispersed over the next 10 years, hopefully ensuring high-quality internet access for 5.2 million unserved rural homes and businesses and positively impacting the lives and communities of at least 10-20 million rural Americans.
Additionally, thanks to a very competitive auction, the FCC wound up committing only $9.2 billion of a total $16 billion available for this “Phase I” rural auction. Combined with funds reserved for future auctions, the FCC says it will be able to commit at least $11.2 billion to an upcoming Phase II auction, which will focus on underserved (“partially-served”) areas to complement Phase I’s focus on unserved locations.
To be clear, the ~$88 million SpaceX will receive annually for the next decade will go directly towards lowering the barrier to entry and cost of service for hundreds of thousands of Americans that currently have little to no reliable internet access. The company will be required to regularly hit buildout milestones, proving to the FCC that it’s on track to serve all ~543,000 awarded locations within six years of the first payment – but the faster, the better.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets bold Robotaxi prediction from Wall Street firm
Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) received a bold Robotaxi prediction from Morgan Stanley, which anticipates a dramatic increase in the size of the company’s autonomous ride-hailing suite in the coming years.
Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.
Percoco dug into the Robotaxi fleet and its expansion in the coming years in his latest note, released on Tuesday. The firm expects Tesla to increase the Robotaxi fleet size to 1,000 vehicles in 2026. However, that’s small-scale compared to what they expect from Tesla in a decade.
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
By 2035, Morgan Stanley believes there will be one million Robotaxis on the road across multiple cities, a major jump and a considerable fleet size. We assume this means the fleet of vehicles Tesla will operate internally, and not including passenger-owned vehicles that could be added through software updates.
He also listed three specific catalysts that investors should pay attention to, as these will represent the company being on track to achieve its Robotaxi dreams:
- Opening Robotaxi to the public without a Safety Monitor. Timing is unclear, but it appears that Tesla is getting closer by the day.
- Improvement in safety metrics without the Safety Monitor. Tesla’s ability to improve its safety metrics as it scales miles driven without the Safety Monitor is imperative as it looks to scale in new states and cities in 2026.
- Cybercab start of production, targeted for April 2026. Tesla’s Cybercab is a purpose-built vehicle (no steering wheel or pedals, only two seats) that is expected to be produced through its state-of-the-art unboxed manufacturing process, offering further cost reductions and thus accelerating adoption over time.
Robotaxi stands to be one of Tesla’s most significant revenue contributors, especially as the company plans to continue expanding its ride-hailing service across the world in the coming years.
Its current deployment strategy is controlled and conservative to avoid any drastic and potentially program-ruining incidents.
So far, the program, which is active in Austin and the California Bay Area, has been widely successful.
News
Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment
This suggests that the addition of the Model Y L to Tesla China’s lineup will not result in a case of cannibalization, but a possible case of “premiumization” instead.
Tesla’s domestic sales in China held steady in November with around 73,000 units delivered, but a closer look at the Model Y L’s numbers hints at an emerging shift towards pricier variants that could very well be boosting average selling prices and margins.
This suggests that the addition of the Model Y L to Tesla China’s lineup will not result in a case of cannibalization, but a possible case of “premiumization” instead.
Tesla China’s November domestic numbers
Data from the a Passenger Car Association (CPCA) indicated that Tesla China saw domestic deliveries of about 73,000 vehicles in November 2025. This number included 34,000 standard Model Y units, 26,000 Model 3 units, and 13,000 Model Y L units, as per industry watchers.
This means that the Model Y L accounted for roughly 27% of Tesla China’s total Model Y sales, despite the variant carrying a ~28% premium over the base RWD Model Y that is estimated to have dominated last year’s mix.
As per industry watcher @TSLAFanMtl, this suggests that Tesla China’s sales have moved towards more premium variants this year. Thus, direct year-over-year sales comparisons might miss the bigger picture. This is true even for the regular Model Y, as another premium trim, the Long Range RWD variant, was also added to the lineup this 2025.
November 2025 momentum
While Tesla China’s overall sales this year have seen challenges, the Model Y and Model 3 have remained strong sellers in the country. This is especially impressive as the Model Y and Model 3 are premium-priced vehicles, and they compete in the world’s most competitive electric vehicle market. Tesla China is also yet to roll out the latest capabilities of FSD in China, which means that its vehicles in the country could not tap into their latest capabilities yet.
Aggregated results from November suggest that the Tesla Model Y took the crown as China’s #1 best-selling SUV during the month, with roughly 34,000 deliveries. With the Model Y L, this number is even higher. The Tesla Model 3 also had a stellar month, seeing 25,700 deliveries during November 2025.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award
To commemorate the accolade, the official Cybertruck account celebrated the milestone on X.
The Tesla Cybertruck has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest honor, earning a Top Safety Pick+ rating for 2025 models built after April 2025.
The full-size electric pickup truck’s safety rating is partly due to the vehicle’s strong performance in updated crash tests, superior front crash prevention, and effective headlights, among other factors. To commemorate the accolade, the official Cybertruck account celebrated the milestone on X.
Cybertruck’s IIHS rating
As per the IIHS, beginning with 2025 Cybertruck models built after April 2025, changes were made to the front underbody structure and footwell to improve occupant safety in driver-side and passenger-side small overlap front crashes. The moderate overlap front test earned a good rating, and the updated side impact test also received stellar marks.
The Cybertruck’s front crash prevention earned a good rating in pedestrian scenarios, with the standard Collision Avoidance Assist avoiding collisions in day and night tests across child, adult crossing, and parallel paths. Headlights with high-beam assist compensated for limitations, contributing to the top award.
Safest and most autonomous pickup
The Cybertruck is one of only two full-size pickups to receive the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick + rating. It is also the only one equipped with advanced self-driving features via Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system. Thanks to FSD, the Cybertruck can navigate inner city streets and highways on its own with minimal supervision, adding a layer of safety beyond passive crash protection.
Community reactions poured in, with users praising the vehicle’s safety rating amidst skepticism from critics. Tesla itself highlighted this by starting its X post with a short clip of a Cybertruck critic who predicted that the vehicle will likely not pass safety tests. The only question now is, of course, if the vehicle’s Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS will help the Cybertruck improve its sales.
Tesla gets bold Robotaxi prediction from Wall Street firm
Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment
