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What are the odds that all Teslas magically get Starlink? Seems like a nice way for Musk to prop up one of his ventures with service fees from another.

simcop2387 8y ago
I could see this actually reduce the costs in fact. Right now Tesla's all need gsm/lte support for updates. This would let the updates work anywhere in the world without the other infrastructure that's needed.
- unityByFreedom 8y ago
  Someone still needs to invest in Starlink and pay for upkeep. Just because you own multiple companies doesn't mean one company can provide services to the other for free. That would be like your family member working for you and you not paying them because they're family.
ancientworldnow 8y ago
Musk has specifically said that this is not a mobile solution and won't be used for his vehicles. The antennae is too large to be practical (the size of a pizza).
- gpm 8y ago
  Can you quote a source for that? I did a bit of searching and can't find one. I don't see why a pizza sized antenna is much of a problem for a car.
- mrep 8y ago
  SpaceX won a $28.7 million fixed-price contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory for experiments in data connectivity involving ground sites, aircraft and space assets [0] so they definitely are looking to put these onto vehicles. [0]: https://www.geekwire.com/2018/spacex-strikes-28-7m-deal-air-force-data-connectivity-research/ https://www.geekwire.com/2018/spacex-strikes-28-7m-deal-air-...
electriclove 8y ago
This is right on. And I suspect it will also be used for Tesla to Tesla communication so Tesla vehicles share information (slow down ahead, etc) with each other.
- unityByFreedom 8y ago
  How is it helpful for my car to send a message to space and back in order to communicate with the cars around me?
  - electriclove 8y ago
    There are possibilities that can be enabled if the vehicles can communicate with each other. In the absence of other alternatives, using Starlink may be the way to do this.

simcop2387 8y ago

I could see this actually reduce the costs in fact. Right now Tesla's all need gsm/lte support for updates. This would let the updates work anywhere in the world without the other infrastructure that's needed.

unityByFreedom 8y ago
Someone still needs to invest in Starlink and pay for upkeep. Just because you own multiple companies doesn't mean one company can provide services to the other for free. That would be like your family member working for you and you not paying them because they're family.

ancientworldnow 8y ago

Musk has specifically said that this is not a mobile solution and won't be used for his vehicles. The antennae is too large to be practical (the size of a pizza).

gpm 8y ago
Can you quote a source for that? I did a bit of searching and can't find one. I don't see why a pizza sized antenna is much of a problem for a car.
mrep 8y ago
SpaceX won a $28.7 million fixed-price contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory for experiments in data connectivity involving ground sites, aircraft and space assets [0] so they definitely are looking to put these onto vehicles. [0]: https://www.geekwire.com/2018/spacex-strikes-28-7m-deal-air-force-data-connectivity-research/ https://www.geekwire.com/2018/spacex-strikes-28-7m-deal-air-...

electriclove 8y ago

This is right on. And I suspect it will also be used for Tesla to Tesla communication so Tesla vehicles share information (slow down ahead, etc) with each other.

unityByFreedom 8y ago
How is it helpful for my car to send a message to space and back in order to communicate with the cars around me?
- electriclove 8y ago
  There are possibilities that can be enabled if the vehicles can communicate with each other. In the absence of other alternatives, using Starlink may be the way to do this.