News
SpaceX’s Starlink internet a step closer to customers as “user terminal” hiring ramps up
As SpaceX prepares to kick off an aggressive Starlink launch campaign in the next month or two, the company is also aggressively hiring build teams that will engineer and mass-produce crucial ground-based hardware, ranging from ground stations and mobile applications to the “user terminals” that will go in customer homes.
The proposed Starlink satellite internet constellation will be comprised of up to 12,000 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and is designed to provide low latency high-speed broadband internet service the world over. Company CEO Elon Musk has previously discussed that a major focus of the constellation would be to provide reliable and fast internet service to rural and remote locations where existing service may be far too expensive or unreliable.
Over the last 6-12 months, an array of job listings have advertised well over a hundred new positions related to Starlink, with a recent trend towards prioritization of user terminal production at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, CA headquarters. SpaceX is also looking to expand its software development workforce to mature the software needed for user terminals and create a range of other customer-facing products, including a “Starlink Mobile” app for both Android and iOS devices.
Similar to current satellite TV and internet solutions, SpaceX’s Starlink internet service will require ground-based receivers – “user terminals” – at their location of use. By all appearances, SpaceX may also have plans to integrate a WiFi router directly into the terminal to make the user experience as seamless as possible, but it’s just as likely that SpaceX will simply include ports for users to connect their own routers. Musk has previously stated that the user terminals will use phased arrays antennas that will allow them to stay motionless on the ground while electronically ‘steering’ to ensure the best possible satellite connection.
The user terminals will be the connect-all hardware point that will “sit in (Starlink) customers’ homes” to “bridge the gap between OS software, flight software, antenna software, and modem software.” Presumably, the User Terminals will be far more advanced than current access modems and will also encompass a router that would allow satellite wifi service throughout the area of access. Past statements indicate that SpaceX intends for the terminals to be roughly the size of a small pizza box.
In line with user terminal planning, SpaceX has also begun hiring developers for a Starlink Mobile application. This will enable customers to enjoy “a seamless experience managing their accounts and internet access”, presumably offering something akin to the experience that current Tesla customers have with Tesla’s mobile apps.
The current Tesla app is a comprehensive experience that allows user monitoring and customization of every aspect of their Tesla products inclusing vehicles and Powerwall energy systems. The experience guides the user from set-up to everyday use of their various Tesla products.
From the senior software engineer job listing, it can be assumed that the Starlink Mobile app will be comparable to the Tesla app. The advertised position will “bring to life the mobile portal into Starlink.” It’s very likely that the Starlink Mobile app will allow the user to monitor device connections, download and upload speeds, and other customer-specific experiences such as account access and billing. The app will be built completely in-house and from the ground up to ensure that it is specified and tailored to meet the various requirements of a comprehensive and quality customer experience.
SpaceX is expected to ramp up the development and manufacturing of all Starlink supportive ground systems within the coming weeks and months. The advertised positions are all located in California – the software development and manufacturing of User Terminal Teams based in Hawthorne while the mobile application software engineer position is located in Los Angeles.
According to President and COO Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX aspires to launch 2-4 more missions in 2019 and as many as 24 dedicated Starlink missions in 2020 alone, roughly translating to a Starlink launch ever two weeks. Customer launches would occur in the interim and SpaceX has made it clear that customers will come first, with Starlink missions then filling in the gaps left in SpaceX’s commercial manifest.
SpaceX ultimately believes that it can begin serving customers after as few as 6-8 launches with 60 Starlink satellites apiece, while initial global coverage will require 24 launches. Beyond those milestones, more launches (involving anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000+ additional satellites) would simply add bandwidth and allow SpaceX to expand its customer base and distribute additional capacity based on demand.
SpaceX’s next two Starlink missions are scheduled to launch no earlier than mid-November and December 2019.
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News
Tesla FSD’s newest model is coming, and it sounds like ‘the last big piece of the puzzle’
“There’s a model that’s an order of magnitude larger that will be deployed in January or February 2026.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving’s newest model is coming very soon, and from what it sounds like, it could be “the last big piece of the puzzle,” as CEO Elon Musk said in late November.
During the xAI Hackathon on Tuesday, Musk was available for a Q&A session, where he revealed some details about Robotaxi and Tesla’s plans for removing Robotaxi Safety Monitors, and some information on a future FSD model.
While he said Full Self-Driving’s unsupervised capability is “pretty much solved,” and confirmed it will remove Safety Monitors in the next three weeks, questions about the company’s ability to give this FSD version to current owners came to mind.
Musk said a new FSD model is coming in about a month or two that will be an order-of-magnitude larger and will include more reasoning and reinforcement learning.
He said:
“There’s a model that’s an order of magnitude larger that will be deployed in January or February 2026. We’re gonna add a lot of reasoning and RL (reinforcement learning). To get to serious scale, Tesla will probably need to build a giant chip fab. To have a few hundred gigawatts of AI chips per year, I don’t see that capability coming online fast enough, so we will probably have to build a fab.”
NEWS: Elon Musk says FSD Unsupervised is “pretty much solved at this point” and that @Tesla will be launching Robotaxis with no safety monitors in about 3 weeks in Austin, Texas. He also teased a new FSD model is coming in about 1-2 months.
“We’re just going through validation… https://t.co/Msne72cgMB pic.twitter.com/i3wfKX3Z0r
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 10, 2025
It rings back to late November when Musk said that v14.3 “is where the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands.”
With the advancements made through Full Self-Driving v14 and v14.2, there seems to be a greater confidence in solving self-driving completely. Musk has also personally said that driver monitoring has been more relaxed, and looking at your phone won’t prompt as many alerts in the latest v14.2.1.
This is another indication that Tesla is getting closer to allowing people to take their eyes off the road completely.
Along with the Robotaxi program’s success, there is evidence that Tesla could be close to solving FSD. However, it is not perfect. We’ve had our own complaints with FSD, and although we feel it is the best ADAS on the market, it is not, in its current form, able to perform everything needed on roads.
But it is close.
That’s why there is some legitimate belief that Tesla could be releasing a version capable of no supervision in the coming months.
All we can say is, we’ll see.
Investor's Corner
SpaceX IPO is coming, CEO Elon Musk confirms
However, it appears Musk is ready for SpaceX to go public, as Ars Technica Senior Space Editor Eric Berger wrote an op-ed that indicated he thought SpaceX would go public soon. Musk replied, basically confirming it.
Elon Musk confirmed through a post on X that a SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) is on the way after hinting at it several times earlier this year.
It also comes one day after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was aiming for a valuation of $1.5 trillion, adding that it wanted to raise $30 billion.
Musk has been transparent for most of the year that he wanted to try to figure out a way to get Tesla shareholders to invest in SpaceX, giving them access to the stock.
He has also recognized the issues of having a public stock, like litigation exposure, quarterly reporting pressures, and other inconveniences.
However, it appears Musk is ready for SpaceX to go public, as Ars Technica Senior Space Editor Eric Berger wrote an op-ed that indicated he thought SpaceX would go public soon.
Musk replied, basically confirming it:
As usual, Eric is accurate
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2025
Berger believes the IPO would help support the need for $30 billion or more in capital needed to fund AI integration projects, such as space-based data centers and lunar satellite factories. Musk confirmed recently that SpaceX “will be doing” data centers in orbit.
AI appears to be a “key part” of SpaceX getting to Musk, Berger also wrote. When writing about whether or not Optimus is a viable project and product for the company, he says that none of that matters. Musk thinks it is, and that’s all that matters.
It seems like Musk has certainly mulled something this big for a very long time, and the idea of taking SpaceX public is not just likely; it is necessary for the company to get to Mars.
The details of when SpaceX will finally hit that public status are not known. Many of the reports that came out over the past few days indicate it would happen in 2026, so sooner rather than later.
But there are a lot of things on Musk’s plate early next year, especially with Cybercab production, the potential launch of Unsupervised Full Self-Driving, and the Roadster unveiling, all planned for Q1.
Tesla has added the 15th automaker to the growing list of companies whose EVs can utilize the Supercharger Network this year, as BMW is the latest company to gain access to the largest charging infrastructure in the world.
BMW became the 15th company in 2025 to gain Tesla Supercharger access, after the company confirmed to its EV owners that they could use any of the more than 25,000 Supercharging stalls in North America.
Welcome @BMW owners.
Download the Tesla app to charge → https://t.co/vnu0NHA7Ab
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) December 10, 2025
Newer BMW all-electric cars, like the i4, i5, i7, and iX, are able to utilize Tesla’s V3 and V4 Superchargers. These are the exact model years, via the BMW Blog:
- i4: 2022-2026 model years
- i5: 2024-2025 model years
- 2026 i5 (eDrive40 and xDrive40) after software update in Spring 2026
- i7: 2023-2026 model years
- iX: 2022-2025 model years
- 2026 iX (all versions) after software update in Spring 2026
With the expansion of the companies that gained access in 2025 to the Tesla Supercharger Network, a vast majority of non-Tesla EVs are able to use the charging stalls to gain range in their cars.
So far in 2025, Tesla has enabled Supercharger access to:
- Audi
- BMW
- Genesis
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Kia
- Lucid
- Mercedes-Benz
- Nissan
- Polestar
- Subaru
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
Drivers with BMW EVs who wish to charge at Tesla Superchargers must use an NACS-to-CCS1 adapter. In Q2 2026, BMW plans to release its official adapter, but there are third-party options available in the meantime.
They will also have to use the Tesla App to enable Supercharging access to determine rates and availability. It is a relatively seamless process.
Tesla FSD’s newest model is coming, and it sounds like ‘the last big piece of the puzzle’
SpaceX IPO is coming, CEO Elon Musk confirms
