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SpaceX rocket ready for second rideshare launch with 100+ small satellites
For the second time in six months, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is ready to launch around 100+ small satellites into low orbit as part of a rideshare mission for dozens of companies and institutions.
Known as Transporter-2, the mission is SpaceX’s second dedicated launch under the Smallsat Rideshare Program it established in 2019. In 2020, SpaceX began its first launches under the program and delivered eight Earth observation satellites to orbit for Planet and BlackSky as co-passengers on three Starlink missions. A fourth Starlink rideshare was later completed with payloads from Capella Space and Tyvak in May 2021.
In January 2021, Falcon 9 successfully launched 143 small satellites into orbit on a mission known as Transporter-1, setting an all-time record for the number of spacecraft flown on a single rocket and emphasizing just how serious and competitive SpaceX’s Smallsat Program really is.
Six months after that milestone mission, Transporter-2 is now ready to launch. On June 22nd, a Falcon 9 rocket was loaded with hundreds of tons of liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP1) and flight-proven booster B1060 successfully ignited its nine Merlin 1D engines, completing a routine wet dress rehearsal (WDR) and static fire test. Transporter-2 will be B1060’s eighth spaceflight and orbital-class launch in less than a year, representing an average of one flight every ~45 days or six weeks.
Now cleared for flight, SpaceX will have since brought Falcon 9 horizontal and rolled the rocket back to its Cape Canaveral LC-40 pad’s integration hangar. Once there, Transporter-2’s payload ‘stack’ – already encapsulated in a payload fairing – will be installed on top of Falcon 9’s expendable second stage and the rocket will be rolled back out to the pad and brought vertical a second time.
It remains to be seen what exactly Transporter-2 will be carrying to orbit. Transporter-1 carried 133 customer spacecraft and 10 of SpaceX’s own Starlink satellites with a collective liftoff mass of around five metric tons (~11,000 lb). The true mass is unknown but the Falcon 9 booster supporting the mission had to land on a drone ship ~550 km (~340 mi) downrange. Transporter-2, however, will reportedly involve an increasingly rare return-to-launch-site (RTLS) landing for Falcon 9 booster B1060, implying that its payloads may be substantially lighter than its predecessor’s.
Based on a rough accounting of known Transporter-2 payloads from rideshare managers Spaceflight, Exolaunch, and others, the mission could feasibly launch with 100+ small satellites onboard. Relative to Transporter-1, the most obvious weight-saving solution would be to exclude Starlink satellites, which likely represented more than a third of missions payload mass at liftoff. Given that SpaceX also appears to be preparing for a flurry of dedicated polar Starlink launches from its West and East Coast pads that could begin as early as July, it’s fairly safe to assume that Transporter-2 will be Starlink-free.
Ultimately, Transporter-2 appears to be on track for a 2:56 pm EDT (18:56 UTC) launch on Friday, June 25th. Stay tuned for updates and webcast details.
Tesla confirmed this morning that it has sent the first production units, manufactured with no steering wheel or pedals, to on-road testing in Austin, sharing video of the first rides with no human controls.
The lack of steering wheels and pedals in the Cybercab aligns with Tesla’s self-certification of Robotaxi as Level 4 SAE, a platform it plans to make widespread through internal vehicles and customer-owned cars that will operate and generate revenue for individuals.
The start of these engineering tests is a major signal for Tesla, which plans to bring driverless, wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercabs to market in the coming months. With production already well underway at Gigafactory Texas, where the Cybercab is built, there is some inclination to believe the first public rides could happen sooner rather than later.
Engineering tests of the first production Cybercab have begun in Austin pic.twitter.com/fk3KQvcE8a
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 30, 2026
Tesla’s engineering tests will put the Cybercab in real-world scenarios, testing not only the hardware, but more importantly, the software that drives the car around Austin with nobody supervising it within the car.
This is perhaps the biggest part of the internal testing process, especially prior to allowing regular, everyday people to hail the Cybercab for an autonomous ride. These early rides serve as a true benchmark for Tesla: How many rides can it achieve safely? How many miles did it travel consecutively without needing an intervention? What scenarios challenge the Full Self-Driving suite the most?
The proper precautions have already been put into place as well, as Tesla released the First Responders Guide to Cybercab over the weekend, ensuring that emergency services have 24/7 access to Robotaxi Assistance, as well as other boundaries, such as Geofencing features that can be used to redirect autonomous vehicle traffic due to accidents, road closures, construction, or maintenance.
Cybercab seems genuinely close to being added to the Robotaxi fleet in Austin, but Tesla has prioritized safety throughout this entire process. Therefore, we think it could be months before it truly starts giving rides to the public. People have been frustrated with this, but Robotaxi in Austin has a tremendous safety record so far, so the slow rollout has kept people safe and accidents to a minimum.
The most important thing is that Tesla continues to show consistent progress in the Cybercab’s ramp-up toward fleet addition. A few weeks back, we saw the EPA reward the Cybercab a Certificate of Conformity, allowing it to enter the stream of commerce. Then, we saw Tesla add decals, signaling that it was likely about to start testing it publicly. That has now happened.
The next big move will be the announcement of the first rides, so this Summer should be filled with anticipation.
For years, there have been images and videos across social media platforms that have reminded me of when I was a 15-year-old kid teased by “Xbox 720” videos on YouTube. These videos are of the supposed “Tesla Phone” that Elon Musk was secretly developing in between leading Tesla with its electric cars and SpaceX with its reusable rockets.
Would you buy a Tesla phone ? pic.twitter.com/aaTwvvIJit
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 6, 2023
Although Musk has put those rumors to bed several times, it was never completely out of the realm that he could get involved in cell phones in some capacity. Think outside the box and more macro-level, though. Instead of reinventing the computer, Musk reinvented connectivity by developing Starlink with SpaceX.
It could be something similar, TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams said in a note last week, where he hinted SpaceX could be gathering some steam to acquire T-Mobile.
Williams said it would be the “clear choice” for SpaceX if it decided to go through with a network acquisition. He also suggested AT&T.
The move would be possible through selling more of its own stock, which would help SpaceX raise the money to purchase T-Mobile, which would cost roughly $300 billion. It could be one of the moves SpaceX makes post-IPO in terms of an acquisition: it already acquired Cursor AI for $60 billion.
Other analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, believe SpaceX and Tesla will eventually merge into one anyway, and that conglomeration could come as soon as this year, some have said.
The implications of SpaceX purchasing T-Mobile are massive. A combined entity would create a truly ubiquitous network: T-Mobile’s terrestrial 5G towers and Starlink’s growing constellation of Direct-to-Cell satellites. This would essentially eliminate dead zones across the U.S. and potentially globally.
SpaceX would instantly become a full-scale facilities-based carrier with satellite differentiation; a huge advantage. This would pressure AT&T and Verizon heavily.
There are also concerns like a potential reduction in long-term competition, and of course, a deal of that size would face intense scrutiny from government agencies.
The strategic fit is compelling due to the existing Starlink–T-Mobile partnership and complementary technologies (space + terrestrial). It could create a dominant integrated communications player. However, the regulatory, financial, and execution hurdles are enormous — this remains highly speculative with no indication SpaceX is actively pursuing it right now.
Tesla revealed a major new Cybercab detail in a guide it released for First Responders, showing new territory in its beliefs and intentions for the ride-hailing-focused vehicle that entered production in April.
The First Responders Guide is released to give fire departments, paramedics, and other emergency personnel the proper guidance on what to do in the event of an accident, entrapment, or other situation that would require immediate attention.
On one of the pages of the First Responders Guide, Tesla revealed a stark detail about the Cybercab, which could help personnel enter the vehicle more easily in case of an emergency.
Tesla Cybercab has one important piece that AI4 cars might need for FSD
It shows Tesla has no intention of releasing any Cybercab units that were initially proposed for ride-hailing services for the general public with any manual controls, meaning a steering wheel or pedals:
“A Cybercab equipped with steering wheel, brake pedal, and an acceleration pedal is typically an engineering or test vehicle, and operates at SAE Level 2 autonomy. Cybercab is not typically equipped with a steering wheel or acceleration and brake pedals.”
New official Cybercab documentation from Tesla:
“A Cybercab equipped with steering wheel, brake pedal, and an acceleration pedal is typically an engineering or test vehicle, and operates at SAE Level 2 autonomy. Cybercab is not typically equipped with a steering wheel or… https://t.co/P6ut1mZyzr pic.twitter.com/yq6skl9s2J
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 27, 2026
This is a major development for those who continue to believe Tesla planned to release the Cybercab with any sort of manual controls so that passengers could take over if needed. However, when Tesla started manufacturing production versions of the Cybercab in Giga Texas earlier this year, they were spotted without a steering wheel or pedals.
It essentially confirms the company has no intentions of bringing manual controls to the car’s production versions. Some have argued that the likelihood of Tesla having something
There still are some Cybercab units out there with a steering wheel and pedals, and as Tesla said, these cars are engineering or test vehicles, which have Safety Monitors on board to help the car out of a precarious situation or emergency.
Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing
Tesla Phone? Not quite, but close: analyst
