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Tesla and the Model 3 overtake ICE competitors in Hong Kong
Tesla has become the most popular car brand in Hong Kong after the city’s Transportation Department confirmed that the latest batch of registrations had placed the electric automaker at first on the list. Additionally, the Model 3, Tesla’s first mass-market sedan, has become the most popular car in the city, EV or not.
Tesla managed to register 912 vehicles in Hong Kong in August 2020, which helped the electric automaker obtain the #1 spot in the Chinese city.
The push to become the best-selling car company in the city was fueled by two things: the increased production efforts at Tesla’s Giga Shanghai facility and the popularity of the Model 3, which also became the most sought after vehicle in Hong Kong since its first delivery in August 2019.
Giga Shanghai has been delivering Tesla vehicles to owners in the country since January 2020. However, owners could still get their hands on the company’s all-electric cars. Yet, they would have to be shipped from Tesla’s Fremont production plant in Northern California across the Pacific Ocean.
But Giga Shanghai’s yearly production of 250,000 vehicles has contributed significantly to its ongoing success in the country. While Tesla has continued to flourish in the United States, China is quickly becoming the second home.
This success is mostly dependent on Tesla’s strategy in the Chinese market, which has the most massive automotive presence in the world, with over 258 million cars as of the end of 2019, Statista said. Tesla immediately saw large-scale potential in the market and started offering various variants of the Model 3, and reduced prices on the Standard Range+ variant so that the car could qualify for government incentives.
Additionally, Tesla started working on Phase 2 of Giga Shanghai, which will produce its first crossover, the Model Y. However, the Y will not be available in China until late 2020 or early 2021.
But Tesla’s widespread popularity in the world’s largest automotive market says one thing: electrification is alive and well. Not only is Tesla outselling Chinese EV makers like Nio, but it is becoming more popular than Volkswagen, Honda, and Toyota, which led the country’s rankings last year, Car Sales Base says.
Nevertheless, Tesla is overtaking the ranks of every car company in its path, and the Model 3 is doing the same with vehicles. Perhaps what has gone on in Hong Kong is a sign of things to come in other markets, like Germany, where Tesla is working on the construction of Giga Berlin. Whatever happens, EVs are being adopted worldwide, and the Hong Kong accomplishment is undoubtedly a feather in the cap of the Elon Musk-led automaker from Silicon Valley.
Investor's Corner
SpaceX is launching a secret spacecraft that could change how things are made in space
SpaceX’s secret disk-shaped Starfall capsule is targeting a market no reentry vehicle has cracked.
SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, June 23 for the first flight of Starfall, a reentry capsule the company has developed almost entirely in private. The Falcon 9 launch window opens at 6:43 a.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with a backup window available the same time on June 24. SpaceX has made no public announcement about the vehicle, only providing launch details. Everything known about it has come through FAA and FCC regulatory filings.
What makes Starfall different starts with its shape. Rather than the traditional cone used by Dragon and every other cargo return capsule in operation, Starfall is a flat disk that measures roughly 10.2 feet (3.1 meters) wide and just 2.5 feet (0.75 meters) tall, and weighing 4,630 pounds (2,100 kg) and capable of returning up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of payload from orbit. The disk geometry maximizes structural efficiency and payload volume relative to mass, and the heat shield mechanically jettisons just before splashdown, allowing recovery teams to retrieve both the capsule and the shield separately from the Pacific Ocean.
The difference with Starfall from existing competitors, such as Varda Space Industries, which has largely built the orbital manufacturing market and returns heavy payloads per flight is that Starfall’s specification is roughly 30 times more per mission, and is designed to be mass-produced and launched on either Falcon 9 or Starship. That combination of volume and launch access is something no standalone startup can replicate, and it puts SpaceX in direct competition with the companies that currently pay it to reach orbit.
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The intended market is orbital manufacturing: pharmaceuticals, protein crystals, semiconductors, and advanced optical fiber that physically cannot be produced in the presence of gravity. FAA documents describe Starfall’s long-term purpose as building a “self-sustaining commercial in-space manufacturing market” and as a potential successor to the industrial capabilities of the International Space Station, which is set to retire in the late 2020s. Military rapid global cargo delivery is a parallel application under active discussion with the Pentagon.
The reason some industries seek manufacturing in space comes down to gravity. On Earth, gravity causes materials to settle, separate, and deform during production. In microgravity, those constraints disappear.
SpaceX’s already controls launch access, which means it currently functions as the landlord for every competitor in the orbital manufacturing return space. Starfall converts that landlord position into vertical ownership, and it would no longer just carry other companies’ capsules to orbit, but rather operate the capsule, own the return logistics, and capture the service revenue directly. Viewed alongside Starlink, Colossus, and the xAI merger, Starfall fits a consistent pattern: SpaceX identifying infrastructure layers that others depend on and moving to own them outright. Orbital manufacturing return is the next layer on that list.
If Tuesday’s reentry, parachute sequence, and recovery demonstration goes as planned, the second FAA-approved test flight follows. A successful pair of demos would position SpaceX to begin offering Starfall as a commercial service, likely first to pharmaceutical and materials science customers before scaling toward the military and broader manufacturing segments.
The Tesla Semi was spotted mounted with ground truth validation equipment as the company nears its looming launch. The Semi is Tesla’s Class 8 all-electric truck, and has been utilized in its earlier stages by many companies like PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay, who have been using it in a pilot program.
The Semi was spotted in Sunnyvale, California, and sports a typical ground truth validation unit that Tesla routinely uses on its vehicles. Ground truth validation is essentially the process of training supervised algorithms to ensure they can perform reliably. Tesla typically performs this on vehicles that are being released soon:
Spotted the new semi adorned with ground truthing equipment. Haven’t seen anyone post this so figured I’d share.
The future is autonomous!!@SawyerMerritt @wholemars pic.twitter.com/qkPDHPUQZ6
— Danny (@dannywinner1) June 21, 2026
The Semi being spotted with this type of validation rig is important because it means the company is working on solidifying a Full Self-Driving model for its commercial vehicle offering. This would be a massive development for not only Tesla but also the logistics industry as a whole.
There are strict regulations on driving hours for commercial truck drivers, and autonomy is a way to potentially combat these issues. FSD is already a widely effective way that owners of typical passenger vehicles take stress out of travel. Even launching a semi-autonomous platform for truck drivers to use to increase safety, reduce fatigue, and increase productivity would be a huge development.
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The Semi has already proven to be an ideal solution for companies that use commercial logistics. It has increased efficiency and reduced operating costs for many companies that have been able to use it in pilot programs.
There are expected to be some bumps along the way. Tesla saw some challenges with FSD on the Cybertruck, as it had never had a vehicle with cameras at that height, so some of the features with FSD were not immediately available. Just a week ago, Tesla launched Actually Smart Summon (ASS) for Cybertruck, nearly three years after the vehicle was first delivered to customers.
President Donald Trump unveiled an upgraded Boeing 747-8 at Joint Base Andrews on June 19, 2026, describing the Qatar-gifted aircraft as an interim Air Force One equipped with advanced communications systems, including Starlink, Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite internet service.
The plane, valued at around $400 million and modified for presidential use, serves as a bridge until the delayed VC-25B replacements arrive. Trump highlighted its luxury features and new technology during remarks to service members.
Trump stated:
“We have communication equipment up there that nobody’s ever seen before. It’s the highest level and, uh, including Starlink. My friend Elon is going to be very happy, but, uh, Starlink and we have, uh, four or five different sets of double and triple communications like people haven’t seen.”
He added:
“And it represents what can happen with hard work, innovation, and aggressive timelines because we did this quickly and yet there’s never been communication like is on this plane.”
🚨 President Trump confirmed today that the new Air Force One is equipped with Starlink:
“We have communication equipment up there that nobody’s ever seen before, it’s the highest level and including Starlink…my friend Elon is going to be very happy.” pic.twitter.com/IhkDmtr5hL
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 20, 2026
The aircraft features a redesigned red, white, and blue livery and has been outfitted with Starlink satellite connectivity alongside other secure systems.
Trump praised the plane’s uniqueness, calling it among the world’s most luxurious. The gift from Qatar and subsequent modifications have drawn attention, with the jet positioned as a solution for presidential travel. It is expected to support operations, including potential ceremonial roles such as Fourth of July flyovers.
The event marked the formal introduction of the converted jet, which will help maintain capabilities while the primary Air Force One fleet undergoes modernization. Defense observers note the inclusion of commercial satellite technology like Starlink as part of efforts to ensure resilient communications, crucial to keep the country running as the President is in the sky.
President Trump’s comments underscored appreciation for rapid upgrades and innovation in equipping the aircraft. The plane remains a U.S. government asset and is slated for eventual transfer related to presidential library purposes after its service.
SpaceX is launching a secret spacecraft that could change how things are made in space
Tesla Semi spotted with ground truth validation equipment as launch looms
