Tesla EVs Could Soon Directly Connect With Starlink Satellites For Internet, Musk Says Following T-Mobile Partnership

Tesla, Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX and T-Mobile US, Inc. TMUS announced late Thursday a tie-up for bringing cellular connectivity everywhere in the U.S. so there are no dead zones anywhere.

This would be accomplished by including cellular antennas in SpaceX-owned Starlink internet satellites to connect with T-Mobile phones, with the aim of expanding the service to other carriers as well.

Musk has now suggested this feature would also come to Tesla cars. His statement came in response to a question by Tesla influencer and investor Dave Lee, who asked whether Tesla cars will get the feature to connect directly to Starlink satellites for emergency calls or texts.

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2022

See also: Elon Musk Applauds His SpaceX and Starlink Ventures Accomplishing These Feats

He also replied affirmatively to a question by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley on whether Tesla will get the service with the premium connectivity.

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2022

Separately, Musk said the satellite-to-cellular coverage from Starlink would provide a 2-4 Mbps link that would work well for texting and voice calls but would not have high bandwidth. This suggests live streaming video from cars cannot be done, Verge said in a report.

No details have been shared on how this would work or how much data car owners could access from the connections when they are outside the coverage of terrestrial cellphone towers. 

Tesla stock closed Thursday’s session down 0.35% at $296.07, according to Benzinga Pro.

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