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SpaceX raises more than half a billion dollars for Starship, Starlink programs
In the last three months, SpaceX has managed to raise more than half a billion dollars from private investors, money that will likely go directly into the company’s ambitious Starship and Starlink programs.
Despite a huge amount of public focus now placed on SpaceX’s successfully-realized human spaceflight ambitions, said by NASA to have been viewed live by no less than 10 million people around the world, the company is still committed to two extraordinarily ambitious development programs. Known as Starlink and Starship, both are integral to SpaceX’s founding goal of enabling the sustainable expansion of humanity into space.
Starship aims to be the world’s first fully-reusable orbital-class launch vehicle, nominally enabling SpaceX to place 150 metric tons (330,000 lb) in orbit with a single, low-cost launch. With orbital refueling from other Starship tankers, SpaceX could potentially send dozens of people to Mars at a cost that could put a ticket in reach of hundreds of millions of – if not more than a billion – people around the world. Starlink is no less ambitious and aims to blanket every inch of the Earth with high-quality, low-cost broadband internet via a fleet of more than 40,000 satellites. Both share three main similarities: they offer immense technical challenges, require extremely capital-intensive development programs, and may – if successful – enable the sustainable settlement of Mars.
First reported by CNBC after SpaceX amended an SEC filing on May 26th, the news unsurprisingly fell through the cracks less than 24 hours before the company attempted its inaugural NASA astronaut launch. Initially said to have raised $567 million out of a target of $500 million, CNBC later revised their report on SpaceX’s latest round of funding, instead stating that the company had raised $346 million with a $349.9 million funding round.
As it turns out, the initial report was technically correct aside from its assertion that SpaceX was pursuing a $500M raise. Between two separate funding rounds seeking $250 million and $349.9 million, both opened on February 28th, 2020, SpaceX was able to raise $567 million of the $599.9 million it was hoping for from 27 investors. Based on SEC filings, SpaceX has now raised more than $1.6 billion since the start of 2019, nearly all of which has likely gone towards its expensive Starship and Starlink programs.
Incredibly, in just the last five months, SpaceX has managed to launch 360 Starlink satellites, while the next launch – scheduled no earlier than (NET) June 3rd – should give the company an orbital fleet around 475 satellites strong. Admittedly, 475 satellites represent barely more than 1% of the fleet SpaceX will need to realize its full Starlink ambitions, but it’s already the largest operational satellite constellation by more than a factor of two. By Starlink-14, potentially launching as early as August 2020, SpaceX can begin generating revenue by serving customers internet, revenue that – once profitable – could partially or fully fund Starship and Mars settlement development.
In the same period of time, SpaceX has dramatically expanded its South Texas Starship production facilities, built and tested several test tanks past the pressures needed for orbital flight, built and tested three full-scale Starship prototypes, and performed five successful Raptor engine static fires with one of those vehicles.
In short, the company has made extraordinary progress. Thanks to the unprecedented efficiency of Starship and Starlink production and the low cost and reusability of Falcon 9, SpaceX has also done so on a shoestring budget that would make its competitors and national space agencies recoil in disbelief. With another half a billion dollars in the bank and the continued support of Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, SpaceX has likely secured at least another 12-18 months of full-steam-ahead Starship and Starlink development.
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Tesla ships out update that brings massive change to two big features
“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”
Tesla has shipped out an update for its vehicles that was caused specifically by a California lawsuit that threatened the company’s ability to sell cars because of how it named its driver assistance suite.
Tesla shipped out Software Update 2026.2.9 starting last week; we received it already, and it only brings a few minor changes, mostly related to how things are referenced.
“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”
The following changes came to Tesla vehicles in the update:
- Navigate on Autopilot has now been renamed to Navigate on Autosteer
- FSD Computer has been renamed to AI Computer
Tesla faced a 30-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles stated the company had to come into compliance regarding the marketing of its automated driving features.
The agency confirmed on February 18 that it had taken a “corrective action” to resolve the issue. That corrective action was renaming certain parts of its ADAS.
Tesla discontinued its standalone Autopilot offering in January and ramped up the marketing of Full Self-Driving Supervised. Tesla had said on X that the issue with naming “was a ‘consumer protection’ order about the use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.”
This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.
Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) December 17, 2025
It is now compliant with the wishes of the California DMV, and we’re all dealing with it now.
This was the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” names. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was one of those federal-level employees who had an issue with the names “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”
Tesla sued the California DMV over the ruling last week.
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Tesla workers push back against Giga Berlin unionization
“IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026! This is a clear message by the Giga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination! The list called Giga United, led by the current chairwoman, Michaela Schmitz, received the most votes with more than 40%! Good news for Giga Berlin!”
Tesla workers pushed back against unionization efforts at Gigafactory Berlin, and over the past few years, there has been a dramatic decrease in interest to unionize at the German plant.
Gigafactory Berlin Plant Manager André Thierig announced on Wednesday that IG Metall, the European union group, saw its share reduce from 40 to 31 percent in 2026 as employees eligible to vote on the issue. Instead, the Giga Berlin team, known as Giga United, received the most votes with more than 40 percent.
BREAKING! 🚨
IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026!
This is a clear message by theGiga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination!
The list called Giga…
— André Thierig (@AndrThie) March 4, 2026
Thierig gave specific details in a post on X:
“IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026! This is a clear message by the Giga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination! The list called Giga United, led by the current chairwoman, Michaela Schmitz, received the most votes with more than 40%! Good news for Giga Berlin!”
There were over 10,700 total employees who were eligible to vote, with 87 percent of them turning out to cast what they wanted. There were three key outcomes: Giga United, IG Metall, and other notable groups, with the most popular being the Polish Initiative.
The 37-seat council remains dominated by non-unionized representatives, preserving Giga Berlin as Germany’s only major auto plant without a collective bargaining agreement.
Thierig and Tesla framed the outcome as employee support for an “independent, flexible, and unbureaucratic” future, enabling acceleration on projects like potential expansions or new models. IG Metall expressed disappointment, accusing management of intimidation tactics and an “unfair” campaign.
The first election of this nature happened back in 2022. In 2024, IG Metall emerged as the largest single faction with 39.4 percent, but non-union lists coalesced for a majority.
But this year was different. There was some extra tension at Giga Berlin this year, as just two weeks ago, an IG Metall rep was accused by Tesla of secretly recording a council meeting. The group countersued for defamation.
Tesla Giga Berlin plant manager faces defamation probe after IG Metall union complaint
This result from the 2026 vote reinforced Tesla’s model of direct employee-management alignment over traditional German union structures, amid ongoing debates about working conditions. IG Metall views it as a setback but continues advocacy. Tesla sees it as validation of its approach in a competitive EV market.
This outcome may influence future labor dynamics at Giga Berlin, including any revival of expansion plans or product lines, which Musk has talked about recently.
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SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell details xAI power pledge at White House event
The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated that xAI will develop 1.2 gigawatts of power at its Memphis-area AI supercomputer site as part of the White House’s new “Ratepayer Protection Pledge.”
The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
During the White House event, Shotwell stated that xAI’s AI data center near Memphis would include a major energy installation designed to support the facility’s power needs.
“As you know, xAI builds huge supercomputers and data centers and we build them fast. Currently, we’re building one on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line. As part of today’s commitment, we will take extensive additional steps to continue to reduce the costs of electricity for our neighbors…
“xAI will therefore commit to develop 1.2 GW of power as our supercomputer’s primary power source. That will be for every additional data center as well. We will expand what is already the largest global Megapack power installation in the world,” Shotwell said.
She added that the system would provide significant backup power capacity.
“The installation will provide enough backup power to power the city of Memphis, and more than sufficient energy to power the town of Southaven, Mississippi where the data center resides. We will build new substations and invest in electrical infrastructure to provide stability to the area’s grid.”
Shotwell also noted that xAI will be supporting the area’s water supply as well.
“We haven’t talked about it yet, but this is actually quite important. We will build state-of-the-art water recycling plants that will protect approximately 4.7 billion gallons of water from the Memphis aquifer each year. And we will employ thousands of American workers from around the city of Memphis on both sides of the TN-MS border,” she noted.
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge was introduced as part of the federal government’s effort to address concerns about rising electricity costs tied to large AI data centers, as noted in an Insider report. Under the agreement, companies developing major AI infrastructure projects committed to covering their own power generation needs and avoiding additional costs for local ratepayers.
Tesla ships out update that brings massive change to two big features
Tesla workers push back against Giga Berlin unionization
