Starlink is keeping everyone connected, including a former Tesla employee who went viral on TikTok for his dome in the desert. While using the app, a viral video by Always Kenny popped up on my For You Page. He’s known on the app as the hole guy or the dome guy.
In the video, Reid explained how he was able to have internet while living in the desert. I thought his story would be great to share here and I asked him to share it with me.
From Tesla to the desert
Reid told me that he was working for Tesla after he’d finished college and left Tesla to work for a few startups here and there. However, he wasn’t fulfilling his purpose in life just yet.
“I kind of knew that there was something bigger–more different that I wanted to do. Covid hit and Tesla stock shot up so I drove around the country looking for a place to settle down. A place that wasn’t Seattle or San Francisco.”
While working at Tesla, Reid purchased a Model 3 and was one of the first people to actually live out of his Tesla.
“I did that for about a year. That’s how I saw the country. I did a loop through the West Coast, saw the national parks, and then I did a loop going through the South, sleeping at Superchargers.”
“Weirdly enough I came out here and fell in love with this place, dug a hole and put a dome in it and the rest is history. It’s still being written.”
Reid has made his home in the desert and went viral on TikTok when he built the dome. He asked viewers for feedback and has gotten a lot of great tips on how to make his dome efficient and better.
Although Reid lives in the dome, he told me he does go to civilization, however, this is where his heart is. It’s his home.
Starlink in the desert.
Reid has had Starlink since he first decided to make his home in the dome.
“I had Starlink since I got here. I was on the waiting list and luckily, right before I came out, they sent me the satellite dish. It was actually waiting here in mid-March when I came out. It was an essential part of me doing this entire thing.”
“Going somewhere this remote, it was super important that I stay connected to my friends, family, and the outer world, in general. I couldn’t have done this last year.”
I asked Reid to share his thoughts about the new partnership between SpaceX and T-Mobile. The new partnership will end mobile dead zones with the launch of a new mobile service that is enabled by Starlink’s second-generation satellites and T-Mobile’s bandwidth.
“That’s great news. I would love to be able to drive around and never lose service. I’ve spent so much time on the road that I have to have my playlist downloaded so I end up listening to the same song over and over again. It’s not worth the pain of going through service challenges.”
The new Starlink and T-Mobile service is what Reid is the most excited about, he said. It takes him two hours to get to the grocery store and the majority of that is out of service.
“So to be able to still call people and move things forward with my life while on the road out here, that’s going to be huge.”
Some of the challenges of living in a dome in the desert.
Some of the challenges Reid has faced head-on include extreme heat and staying cool. He’s also seen a few scorpions and snakes here and there–but nothing poisonous, yet.
“It’s been nothing but challenges but that’s kind of why I did this. I knew that putting a dome that I bought at Walmart for $600 in a hole that I dug with pretty much no other preparation was going to be a little problematic.”
“But right now, I’m fixing a problem where the sand is caving into the sides of the dome and making all the beams snap and bend. In its current state, it wouldn’t last very long. So I’m currently putting some wood around the side. I actually made a video asking TikTok for help and people have really good suggestions on reinforcing the dome to make it last longer.”
Reid is also building a house and is learning all things that go into building a home.
“It just makes me appreciate any building and structure that people live in so much more. It’s been eye-opening.”
The heat is another challenge. Although he expected it to be hot in the desert, it’s actually hotter inside the dome.
“It’s not well-designed for the summer. It’s about 15-20 degrees hotter in there than it is outside. It’s like 100 outside and 118 in the dome.”
While waiting for things to cool off, Reid has kept himself busy and cool by digging out another hole and making it into a pool.
“I dug a pool one night and put some tarps in the bottom of it and put another dome that I built over that. It’s created an indoor shaded pool which has been nice for hanging out during the day. I also bought an umbrella.”
Reid’s story is one of many provided by Starlink users. I’ve received a lot of feedback on my Starlink-related articles with people sharing their stories or wishes for Starlink to be available in their rural areas.
One of our readers told me that before Starlink, he couldn’t find cost effective internet service. “Thanks to Elon Musk he has made a difference in rural communities.”
Another one of our readers, a doctor, told me that they’ve been a rural Starlink client for over a year. “This service is akin to early man discovering fire or the wheel. Two children and an adult all zooming for college and work while recording other digital items with no issues is our new life.”
The doctor noted that the regulatory authorities who oversee Starlink have grossly misjudged Starlink. I believe he’s referring to the Federal Communications Commission’s reversal of Starlink’s $885.5 million infrastructure award. SpaceX is currently appealing the FCC’s reversal of the award and even FCC Commissioner Brendon Carr called out the agency for denying Starlink’s award.
I agree with the doctor, Commissioner Carr, and SpaceX. Starlink, in my opinion, will not only keep people connected but save lives during disasters. I’ve spoken about being without communications during hurricane Ida’s aftermath. And in my interview with Elon Musk, he emphasized the importance of Starlink as a life-saving tool. Elon told me,
“Well, just in general, Starlink, because it is not dependent on any ground-based infrastructure can provide internet connectivity to areas that have had floods or fires or earthquakes that t have destroyed the ground-based infrastructure.”
“That’s obviously extremely helpful for rescuing people and people being able to ‘I need to I need help. I need rescue.’ It’s like how do you find them? How do you communicate with them? Starlink can and has provided that in a number of situations.”
Note: Johnna is a Tesla shareholder and supports its mission.
Your feedback is important. If you have any comments, or concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.
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Tesla has snagged a Lamborghini alum to help with its entrance into a new market, which has proven to be an intricate situation for the automaker.
A report from Bloomberg states that Tesla has hired Sharad Agarwal, who was formerly employed by the Italian luxury carmaker, to run its operations in India. With Lamborghini, he was employed to handle operations in India.
Tesla launches in India with Model Y, showing pricing will be biggest challenge
Tesla has gone through quite a few different team members with its launch in India, starting with a few hirings a few years ago, well before the company actually committed to selling cars in the country.
The move helps Tesla streamline its executive decision-making process, as it previously had employees in India reach out to managers based in China, among other areas. Agarwal will be stationed in India and will handle the company’s operations.
Tesla’s mentality behind the strategy is to have local leadership, something that seems to cater to the market specifically.
Tesla had previously put Isabel Fan, the manager of Southeast Asia for the company, in the position. However, Tesla seemed to want someone who was more permanent and would be dedicated to India exclusively.
India has the largest population on Earth and has a massive automotive market for that reason. Tesla stands to gain a lot from a strong performance in India, and its clean energy vehicles could help with pollution of all kinds in the region.
Tesla’s path to entrance in the Indian market was a long one, as the company tried for nearly ten years to get into the elusive region. Back in 2016, CEO Elon Musk said Tesla “would love to be in India,” teasing the Model 3.
By 2017, Tesla had met with officials from the country, but tried to get import duties down to nothing from 100 percent.
Indian authorities denied Tesla’s request.
For years, Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to try and iron out a deal of some sort. Nothing truly came to fruition, at least until last year, when real movement started.
By 2024, India had introduced a strategy to reduce import duties for some companies, which was enough for Tesla to make a move. It is now 2025, and the company still has not committed to building a factory in the region. However, it is not completely out of the question.
News
Tesla Sentry Mode helps lock up drive-by shooting suspect in Seattle
“A nearby Tesla actually captured the video that showed a man crouched behind a vehicle firing gunshots. A lot of vehicles record, and officers know that Teslas, especially, record, so we use that video all the time in these instances.”
Police in Seattle, Washington, are crediting Tesla’s well-known Sentry Mode for helping find a suspect in a drive-by shooting case.
A 21-year-old was arrested for an alleged drive-by shooting in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle this past Sunday, and the leads on the case seemed to be slim.
However, a Tesla parked nearby was able to record the shooting, as well as the car that the suspect hopped in after the crime occurred. It helped police identify the person they were looking for.
Seattle Police Department Detective Brian Pritchard said to MyNorthwest that the Tesla was a critical part of finding the suspect and placing him under arrest:
“A nearby Tesla actually captured the video that showed a man crouched behind a vehicle firing gunshots. A lot of vehicles record, and officers know that Teslas, especially, record, so we use that video all the time in these instances.”
The Tesla footage helped the Police put the suspect into handcuffs about an hour after the crime was committed. They are currently charged with drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Tesla Sentry Mode is a security feature the vehicle utilizes to help solve crimes like vandalism, but it is also a cool feature that has caught things like accidents and other incidents on camera.
Many people still do not know about it, including the many vandals who keyed or broke the windows of Teslas earlier this year, as people damaged others’ cars in an act of retaliation against CEO Elon Musk when he became involved in politics.
This is far from the first time Sentry Mode has helped Police Departments solve crimes. Last September, we reported on Oakland’s Police Department in California using Teslas near crime scenes to help solve cases.
Tesla Sentry Mode is Oakland PD’s secret weapon against rising crime
Sergeant Ben Therriault, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association, said, “We have all these mobile video devices floating around,” in reference to the Teslas that sit and capture nearly everything that surrounds them.
Sentry Mode has helped officers arrest a variety of suspects, including several people who were allegedly involved in the murder of a 27-year-old woman in Northern California.
Update: 4:00 p.m. EDT – Charles Schwab has reached out to TESLARATI with the following statement, clarifying that it plans to vote FOR Musk’s compensation package:
“Schwab Asset Management’s approach to voting on proxy matters is thorough and deliberate. We utilize a structured process that focuses on protecting and promoting shareholder value. We apply our own internal guidelines and do not rely on recommendations from Glass Lewis or ISS. In accordance with this process, Schwab Asset Management intends to vote in favor of the 2025 CEO performance award proposal. We firmly believe that supporting this proposal aligns both management and shareholder interests, ensuring the best outcome for all parties involved.”
There have also been updates to the headline and various paragraphs to reflect this as well as accuracy.
Tesla investors are pushing Charles Schwab for clarification after it was expected to vote against CEO Elon Musk’s pay package.
Several high-profile Tesla influencers are speaking out against Charles Schwab, saying its decision to vote against the plan that would retain Musk as CEO and give him potentially more voting power if he can achieve the tranches set by the company’s Board of Directors.
The Tesla community appeared to see that Schwab is one firm that tends to vote against Musk’s compensation plans, as they also voted against the CEO’s 2018 pay package, which was passed by shareholders but then denied by a Delaware Chancery Court.
Schwab’s move was recognized by investors within the Tesla community and now they are speaking out about it:
Hey @CharlesSchwab – I need to speak with someone from Schwab Private Wealth Services this week. Please reach out via email, the mobile app message center, phone, or X DM.
Here’s why this is urgent: At least 6 of your ETF funds (around 7 million $TSLA shares) voted against… https://t.co/uSgPWnfTFc
— Jason DeBolt ⚡️ (@jasondebolt) November 3, 2025
If @CharlesSchwab doesn’t vote for Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award plan, I’ll move all my assets to another brokerage. My followers, many of whom also hold assets with Schwab and collectively own at least hundreds of millions in $TSLA, may do the same.
I can’t in good… https://t.co/6iUU6PdzYx
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 3, 2025
ready to help with the @CharlesSchwab exodus
— Gali (@Gfilche) November 3, 2025
At least six of Charles Schwab’s ETFs were expected to vote against Tesla’s Board recommendation to support the compensation plan for Musk. The six ETFs represent around 7 million Tesla $TSLA shares.
Jason DeBolt, an all-in Tesla shareholder, summarized the firm’s decision really well:
“As a custodian of ETF shares, your fiduciary duty is to vote in shareholders’ best interests. For a board that has delivered extraordinary returns, voting against their recommendations doesn’t align with retail investors, Tesla employees, or the leadership we invested to support. If Schwab’s proxy voting policies don’t reflect shareholder interests, my followers and I will move our collective tens of millions in $TSLA shares (or possibly hundreds of millions) to a broker that does, via account transfer as soon as this week.”
Tesla shareholders will vote on Musk’s pay package on Thursday at the Annual Shareholders Meeting in Austin, Texas.
It seems more likely than not that it will pass, but investors have made it clear they want a decisive victory, as it could clear the path for any issues with shareholder lawsuits in the future, as it did with Musk’s past pay package.
Tesla snags Lamborghini alum to help in newly entered market
Tesla Sentry Mode helps lock up drive-by shooting suspect in Seattle
UPDATE: Tesla investors push Charles Schwab for Musk comp plan clarification
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