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Starlink poised to double its speeds to ~300 Mbps by the end of the year
Starlink may already be providing rapid web access to several remote areas today, but the satellite internet service is poised to get even better this year. As per recent comments on Twitter from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Starlink’s speeds should double to about ~300 Mbps later this year, with latency dropping to about ~20 ms.
Musk’s comments came as a response to a series of tweets from Anthony Iemole, a SpaceX enthusiast who recently received his Starlink kit. Iemole noted that he currently pays $85 per month to his internet service provider, which should provide him with download speeds of about 80 Mbps. These speeds, however, have never been reached as he only gets about 10-15 Mbps regularly, and 25 Mbps on good days.
Speed will double to ~300Mb/s & latency will drop to ~20ms later this year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
These speeds were utterly crushed by Starlink, which promptly showed download speeds of 77 Mbps and upload speeds of 9.5 Mbps on the lower end. At its best so far, Iemole noted that Starlink was able to hit 130 Mbps. Granted, SpaceX’s satellite internet service is $14 more than his ISP’s $85 Mbps plan, but the speed boost and reliability provided by Starlink is well worth the slightly higher $99 monthly cost.
SpaceX only has a fraction of its planned Starlink satellites deployed today. Yet, even in its current state, the system is already providing speeds far beyond those offered by traditional remote internet service providers. This is encouraging, as Starlink is only bound to become even more robust as more satellites are deployed. Elon Musk emphasized this in a later tweet.
Most of Earth by end of year, all by next year, then it’s about densifying coverage.
Important to note that cellular will always have the advantage in dense urban areas.
Satellites are best for low to medium population density areas.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
As per Musk’s update, Starlink should cover most of the Earth by the end of the year, and the system should be able to provide global coverage next year. After this, it would be a game of densifying the system’s coverage to make it better and more reliable. The SpaceX CEO also highlighted that in dense urban areas, cellular internet will always have an advantage, but in low to medium population density areas, Starlink has the potential to be a real game-changer.
Recent filings to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have indicated that SpaceX intends to expand Starlink’s suite of services beyond satellite internet access. Among these is a phone service expected to offer comparable rates to current phone plans today, and battery backup services that should allow Starlink users to have internet access when the power goes down. The filings also mention plans to roll out a program that would make Starlink more affordable for low-income households, helped in part by the government’s Lifeline program.
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Tesla adjusts crucial feature as winter weather arrives
Tesla has adjusted the functionality of a crucial climate feature as Winter weather has started to arrive throughout some parts of the United States. The new feature was highly requested by owners.
Tesla has a Cabin Overheat Protection feature that helps keep the temperature regulated if it reaches a certain threshold. Inversely, it can be used in cold weather as well, which will automatically warm the cabin if it sinks to a temperature that is too low for the owner’s comfort.
This is a great way to keep the cabin either warmed up just enough or cooled down just enough so that it never gets too hot or too cold. Extreme temperatures could damage certain parts of the vehicle or damage personal belongings that are kept inside the car.
Overheat protection is a great thing to have in hot climates like Arizona or Texas, especially with the Premium trims of the Model 3 and Model Y, which feature a glass roof.
Many owners appreciate the feature, but they argue that using it at home will utilize too much energy, especially during extreme temperatures. For a while, many Tesla fans have requested an option to disable this feature when the car is parked at home, which the company recently added, according to Not a Tesla App.
The feature is part of Software Version 2025.44.3, and the release notes state:
“You can now choose Exclude Home when Cabin Overheat Protection or No A/C is enabled.”
Tesla has been great at listening to what owners want with new features, and this is one that will reserve some charge and prevent unnecessary utilization of available power, especially as the car is parked at home. If owners want to condition the cabin or get the car ready for operation with a comfortable interior, they can utilize the Tesla app to adjust the climate.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sends rivals dire warning about Full Self-Driving
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed today on the social media platform X that legacy automakers, such as Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, do not want to license the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, at least not without a long list of their own terms.
“I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy,” Musk said on X. “When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless.”
I’ve tried to warn them and even offered to license Tesla FSD, but they don’t want it! Crazy …
When legacy auto does occasionally reach out, they tepidly discuss implementing FSD for a tiny program in 5 years with unworkable requirements for Tesla, so pointless. 🤷♂️
🦕 🦕
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2025
Musk made the remark in response to a note we wrote about earlier today from Melius Research, in which analyst Rob Wertheimer said, “Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is,” in terms of autonomy and self-driving development.
Wertheimer believes there are hundreds of billions of dollars in value headed toward Tesla’s way because of its prowess with FSD.
A few years ago, Musk first remarked that Tesla was in early talks with one legacy automaker regarding licensing Full Self-Driving for its vehicles. Tesla never confirmed which company it was, but given Musk’s ongoing talks with Ford CEO Jim Farley at the time, it seemed the Detroit-based automaker was the likely suspect.
Tesla’s Elon Musk reiterates FSD licensing offer for other automakers
Ford has been perhaps the most aggressive legacy automaker in terms of its EV efforts, but it recently scaled back its electric offensive due to profitability issues and weak demand. It simply was not making enough vehicles, nor selling the volume needed to turn a profit.
Musk truly believes that many of the companies that turn their backs on FSD now will suffer in the future, especially considering the increased chance it could be a parallel to what has happened with EV efforts for many of these companies.
Unfortunately, they got started too late and are now playing catch-up with Tesla, XPeng, BYD, and the other dominating forces in EVs across the globe.
News
Tesla backtracks on strange Nav feature after numerous complaints
Tesla is backtracking on a strange adjustment it made to its in-car Navigation feature after numerous complaints from owners convinced the company to make a change.
Tesla’s in-car Navigation is catered to its vehicles, as it routes Supercharging stops and preps your vehicle for charging with preconditioning. It is also very intuitive, and features other things like weather radar and a detailed map outlining points of interest.
However, a recent change to the Navigation by Tesla did not go unnoticed, and owners were really upset about it.
For trips that required multiple Supercharger stops, Tesla decided to implement a naming change, which did not show the city or state of each charging stop. Instead, it just showed the business where the Supercharger was located, giving many owners an unwelcome surprise.
However, Tesla’s Director of Supercharging, Max de Zegher, admitted the update was a “big mistake on our end,” and made a change that rolled out within 24 hours:
The naming change should have happened at once, instead of in 2 sequential steps. That was a big miss on our end. We do listen to the community and we do course-correct fast. The accelerated fix rolled out last night. The Tesla App is updated and most in-car touchscreens should…
— Max (@MdeZegher) November 20, 2025
The lack of a name for the city where a Supercharging stop would be made caused some confusion for owners in the short term. Some drivers argued that it was more difficult to make stops at some familiar locations that were special to them. Others were not too keen on not knowing where they were going to be along their trip.
Tesla was quick to scramble to resolve this issue, and it did a great job of rolling it out in an expedited manner, as de Zegher said that most in-car touch screens would notice the fix within one day of the change being rolled out.
Additionally, there will be even more improvements in December, as Tesla plans to show the common name/amenity below the site name as well, which will give people a better idea of what to expect when they arrive at a Supercharger.