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Tesla Model 3 to be among the UK’s best company cars amid EV-friendly policy update
In what could only be described as a “milestone moment,” the UK Treasury has confirmed that employees who drive zero-emission company cars will pay no benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax for the year. This decision heavily incentivizes businesses to purchase electric vehicles for their fleets, which contribute to nearly six out of ten new car registrations in the UK today.
Under the updated rules from the government, those who choose zero-emission vehicles will pay no company car tax for the year from April 2020, followed by a measly 1% tax from April 2021 and 2% BIK from April 2022. This is in stark contrast to the BIK taxes placed on vehicles equipped with the internal combustion engine. A BMW 3-Series with a 2.0-liter diesel engine, for example, is priced at £32,000 (~$40,200). But due to its CO2 emissions of 110 and 115g/km, the vehicle will be subject to a 31% BIK rate from April 2020.
Considering that the UK’s personal income tax rates can hit 40% for taxpayers earning £50,001 (~$62,000) to £150,000 (~$188,500) per year, those under the income bracket would pay £4,000 (~$5,000) in BIK just for using the diesel-powered BMW 3-Series from April 2020 and March 2021. Taxpayers in the same income bracket that drive a Tesla Model 3, on the other hand, would pay no BIK for the same period. The 1% tax and 2% BIK that follows in the next two years are also marginal.
In a statement, the government noted that the regulations are expected to encourage businesses to make informed decisions about their purchase of fleet vehicles. “By providing clarity of future the appropriate percentages, businesses will have the ability to make more informed decisions about how they make the transition to zero-emission fleets. Appropriate percentages beyond 2022-23 remain under review and will be announced at future fiscal events,” the government stated.
It’s not just all-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 that will benefit significantly from the UK’s updated policies. Plug-in hybrids could also take advantage of the government’s zero company car tax rate, provided that the PHEVs are capable of operating at least 130 miles as a pure electric car. Unfortunately, there are no PHEVs in the market today that meets this metric. This is quite ironic since BMW director of development Klaus Frölich recently stated that the carmaker is focusing its efforts in developing PHEVs with only 80 km (49 miles) of pure electric range. “PHEV gives them full freedom and 80 km of EV range,” he said.
Plug-in hybrids with short electric ranges, such as those mentioned by the BMW executive, will still see tax breaks, though they are notably less generous than those granted to all-electric cars. PHEVs that have less than 30 miles of electric range, such as the BMW 225xe Active Tourer, will be subject to a 12% BIK tax from April next year.
With these new regulations in place, the Tesla Model 3 has the potential to become one of the most competitive company vehicles in the UK. The car, after all, boasts 240 miles of range even at its Standard Plus variant, and it comes from a company that competes in the premium segment. Considering that company cars used by middle-level to upper-level employees are usually premium vehicles, Tesla’s midsize sedan might prove to be a perfect fit.
The turnover rates for company vehicles in the UK is quite quick, with approximately 300k-500k company cars coming off lease every year. If Tesla could tap into this market with the Model 3, the company could have a steady stream of EV buyers that will likely keep the demand for the vehicle thriving in the region for a considerable length of time. The UK’s company car market is now ripe for the picking for EV makers, and if Tesla plays its cards right, it could very well be on the lead to take the first bite.
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) will report its second public earnings call today since its IPO earlier this year, and there are a few things we expect to hear about, as well as Wall Street analysts, who have already outlined their expectations for the call.
Wall Street analysts have a consensus of $12.72 billion in revenue and an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.13. These are broken down into three sectors: Space, Connectivity, and AI/SI, which are perceived in this way:
- Space: $1.41 billion
- Connectivity: $4.84 billion
- AI/SI: $6.47 billion
Other outlets cluster near $12.8 or $12.9 billion in revenue and $0.14 – $0.15 EPS. This implies a roughly 65 percent sequential growth from Q2’s $7.81 billion, driven mostly by AI/SI, with the first post-IPO positive EPS expected.
Here are the three things to watch for on the call:
AI Revenue Ramp and the $100B+ ARR target
AI is truly the swing factor for SpaceX, and analysts expect it to roughly double from Q2’s $2.56 billion and become about half of total revenue. Management previously guided to a $100 billion+ annualized run rate by December, including the Cursor acquisition, which was $60 billion, to close the quarter.
Listen for updates on SpaceX’s compute capacity, especially pertaining to its contracts with Google, Anthropic, and others, revenue per watt, any new deals, and Cursor’s early contribution.
Starlink/Connectivity Metrics and Mobile Expansion
Connectivity remains a main profit engine for SpaceX. Subscriber additions will be something to pay attention to, as Q2 ended at 12 million and previews are looking at 14 million for this quarter. Additionally, ARPU trends, enterprise and government growth, and any commentary on Starlink Mobile will be something to pay attention to, especially following the recent low-band spectrum deal and FCC-related constellation approvals.
Capex Trajectory, Cash Burn/FCF, and Starship/Operational Updates
Q2 capex of roughly $18.4 billion weighed on the stock. Investors will look to scrutinize Q3 spending levels, any guidance on the pace into Q4/2027, free cash flow, backlog, and liquidity. Operational color on Starship (Flight 14 milestones and Flight 15 timing/reusability progress), Falcon cadence, and government/NASA contracts are also in focus.
Of course, there will also be some speculation on the potential Tesla-SpaceX merger, but there was nothing mentioned in the company’s proxy it sent earlier this week.
SpaceX will report earnings after market close today and will stream the call on X.
Watch live as SpaceX discusses our Q3 2026 earnings at 3:30pm CT today → https://t.co/Qrb0qeVG15
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 20, 2026
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News
SpaceX just launched its secret Starfall saucer again
SpaceX launched its Starfall capsule again on Bandwagon-5, this time listed openly beside rideshare customers.
SpaceX launched its Starfall reentry capsule for the second time on Tuesday morning, flying it as the payload of the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission. Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida at 7:04 a.m. ET with 32 payloads, and the first stage booster, on its 19th flight, landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about nine minutes later.
Starfall was scheduled to separate last, 2 hours and 48 minutes after liftoff. The final customer satellite on SpaceX’s mission timeline comes off the upper stage about an hour and nine minutes in, which left a long gap before the capsule was due to be released alone. SpaceX later posted that the payload deployment sequence is complete. At liftoff, the company said Starfall “enables affordable, routine access to a microgravity environment, providing unique opportunities for on-orbit manufacturing, scientific research, and testing.”
Starfall enables affordable, routine access to a microgravity environment, providing unique opportunities for on-orbit manufacturing, scientific research, and testing https://t.co/y8kJg3QDor
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 20, 2026
As Teslarati reported before the first Starfall flight, SpaceX made no public announcement about the vehicle then, and nearly everything known came from FAA and FCC filings. This time Starfall is an item name on the official mission page, listed beside paying rideshare customers. SpaceX has still not said what, if anything, is aboard this Starfall, Spaceflight Now noted.
The FAA’s environmental assessment from May describes a disk about 10.2 feet wide and 2.5 feet tall that weighs roughly 4,600 pounds and can bring 2,200 pounds of payload back to Earth.
Interestingly, the same rocket also carries a competitor’s hardware. Varda Space Industries launched its W-Series 7 capsule on Bandwagon-5, a spacecraft about three times smaller than Starfall that will test whether microgravity can improve the solubility of a cancer drug called Protac. It is Varda’s ninth reentry capsule, and W-8 and W-9 launched earlier this month on Transporter-18. SpaceX has been Varda’s launch provider since the company’s first Falcon 9 rideshare contract in 2021.
SpaceX has not published where or how this Starfall will come down. The preview we ran in June described a recovery from the Pacific Ocean, and the company has not said whether this flight follows the same plan. The launch also arrives hours before SpaceX posts its third quarter results after the market closes, a report we previewed earlier this week.
Elon Musk
The Boring Company’s latest Tesla tunnel truck mod “fits like a glove”
The Boring Company has modified a Tesla powered tunnel truck to carry freight containers underground.
The Boring Company has found a second job for the Tesla hardware it already runs underground. In a post on X, Elon Musk’s tunneling company showed its latest Prufrock Liner Truck modified to carry a standard 20 foot shipping container. “Using TBC tunnels to transport freight,” the company wrote. “The latest Prufrock Liner Truck (using Tesla Model 3 batteries and drive units) has been modified to carry a standard 20′ shipping container. Fits like a glove!”
The photo shows a red container sitting on a long, low white chassis parked outside, with drive hardware visible at one end. The Boring Company did not say where or when freight hauling would start, which customers it has in mind, or how many trucks it is converting.
Using TBC tunnels to transport freight.
The latest Prufrock Liner Truck (using Tesla Model 3 batteries and drive units) has been modified to carry a standard 20’ shipping container.
Fits like a glove! https://t.co/VV0phWK4fc
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) October 19, 2026
Until now, the liner trucks have hauled concrete. Teslarati reported in August on Liner Truck 3, which uses Model 3 battery packs and drive units to move more than 22,000 pounds of precast tunnel segments to the boring machine. It has 28 miles of range, tops out at 12 mph, and is piloted remotely from the company’s operations center in Texas. The freight version appears to be the same platform with a different bed, and The Boring Company has not said whether it will also be remotely piloted.
Freight has been on the company’s menu for years. When TBC updated its product lineup in 2021, its freight tunnel was described as sized to fit a standard shipping container, “barely.” The company later used the idea at Tesla’s own factory, where Prufrock 3 dug a tunnel to Giga Texas that now moves finished Cybertrucks away from the production line.
The Boring Company closed a $3 billion Series D in September at a $23 billion valuation, and Teslarati has covered how that money is tied to a UAE tunneling push and a faster Nashville build. In Nashville, Prufrock MB1 and MB2 are mining at the same time, and a third machine is expected to launch in late October. Each machine needs a steady supply of liner trucks, so any design that works for segments and containers alike gives the company more use out of the same Tesla parts.
The Vegas Loop remains the only Boring Company system open to the public, and it moves passengers in Tesla vehicles. A freight service would be a separate product, and the post gave no indication that one is close to launch. For now, it is a truck, a container and a short caption saying they fit together.
SpaceX reports its second earnings today: here’s what to expect
SpaceX just launched its secret Starfall saucer again
The Boring Company’s latest Tesla tunnel truck mod “fits like a glove”
SpaceX reveals how its 1 Million AI satellite network will work and prevent space collisions
Tesla Roadster: Three configs, one can fly, 0-60 in 0.8 seconds
