An Actual Gamechanger: This One Obvious Feature Could Put Tesla Back On Top. Here

• Tesla filed a patent suggesting that it may put Starlink satellite internet receivers in its cars.
• Having high-quality broadband anywhere in the world would be a great and obvious advantage for the company.
• It’ll help establish EVs as not just car replacements, but mobile power and work stations. 

Tesla may be gearing up to add Starlink to its cars, according to a patent filing first reported by Electrek. The tie-up is so predictable that it’s been rumored for years; Tesla CEO Elon Musk also runs SpaceX, the company that makes Starlink.

The service’s go-anywhere high-speed internet would certainly be a boon to Tesla customers, and could be a big enough upgrade to lure me to the Tesla camp. Here’s why.

What We Know

Tesla filed a patent covering a vehicle roof assembly that is transparent to radio frequencies, specifically noting that it allows for satellite communications to pass through. That’s important, as signals from SpaceX satellites can’t reliably penetrate glass or metal.

The patent does not describe what capability this will enable or why Tesla is pursuing it, but it’s relatively easy to read between the lines here. Teslas already have GPS receivers, and use internet streaming to access satellite radio. The only other use case for in-car satellite connectivity would be for some sort of communications or internet system, and since Musk also runs SpaceX, it seems obvious that the tie-in would work. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that Musk used his post as CEO of one of his firms to bag lucrative contracts for another.

We still don’t know when or if this is coming to Tesla vehicles, but the patent filing is our best sign yet that it’s coming. Tesla also tends to deploy new technology relatively quickly, so it may not be too long.

SpaceX already shows Cybertrucks in official materials promoting Starlink’s “Performance Kit.” Direct integration would be an obvious next step, and would solve any durability concerns.

Photo by: InsideEVs

Why Starlink In Teslas Is A Fantastic Idea

I think this would be a big win for Tesla customers and, eventually, the whole industry. Most speculation on the matter has focused on autonomy, as fans have speculated that it could enable some inter-car networking, or active updating in dead zones. That may well be true, but remains as of yet unproven. Beaming a signal to a satelite and back to Earth is unlikely to be the most reliable or fastest way for two cars at the same intersection to communicate. I’m open to being wrong there, but the value-add is uncertain.

The real advantage is obvious: Internet, anywhere. Starlink is remarkably reliable and covers essentially the entire globe with minimal latency and great speeds. That means all of your app controls—from remote climate control and unlocking to Dog Mode and Sentry Mode monitoring—could work anywhere.

More importantly, if Tesla allows you to use the Starlink signal as a mobile hotspot, you’d be able to share that data with any device. That’s a big if—Tesla is one of the few companies that does not allow you to use its vehicles as a mobile hotspot—but the payoff could be huge. Teslas already have a great “Camp Mode” that allows you to use climate control, watch movies, charge electronics and use lights without worrying about your 12-volt battery. Add an internet connection and you have a fully working remote office and sleeping space, available anywhere in the world that’s within a few hundred miles of a power outlet. 

I’m not a Cybertruck guy. But an all-terrain truck with the ability to provide power and internet connectivity anywhere is certainly a useful too. 

Photo by: Tesla

It’d be especially beneficial for the Cybertruck, which has the tires and clearance to get deep into the boonies, and the power-export capability you need to run a mobile office. 

Of course, there’s a natural yang to that yin: Internet anywhere means you are reachable anywhere. That means a camping trip is no longer an excuse not to check your emails. But, to me, the payoff would be well worth it. Knowing you can reach emergency services, troubleshoot problems using the internet and communicate with love ones makes the wilderness far more accessible and safe for average people.

An Actual Innovation

This would be a great time for Tesla to launch go-anywhere internet access, because the company is otherwise starved for new innovations. The improvements in “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” are undeniably impressive, but if you’re a Tesla fan that wants to drive your own car, the company has done little to move the needle in recent years.

The Cybertruck’s 800-volt architecture, V2G support and four-wheel steering may have been new for Tesla, but other automakers had been offering those advantages for years. Its steer-by-wire and the 48-volt system were genuinely new, but it’s hard to say there was a big customer payoff there. The Model 3 and Model Y also got updates in recent years, but those were quality-of-life upgrades, not major breakthroughs. That’s why the Model Y didn’t quite win our flagship award this year.

Tesla makes great cars. But it hasn’t launched a major new feature for its core lineup in a while. Starlink could be the answer.

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

This company built its empire on blowing us away. It needs to do that again to fix its sales slump. With the Roadster constantly delayed, the Cybertruck flopping, the core models stale and the Robotaxi still unsolved, Starlink capability is a game-changing addition the company could make today, not years in the future. It’d be exactly the sort of innovative feature that competitor’s couldn’t match. 

Perhaps more importantly, it’d be the first company to establish what the future of EVs looks like: Power, connectivity and comfort anywhere. Your EV won’t just be a car replacement, it’ll be a roving base camp, powering, connecting or hauling everything you need to live. It’s such a compelling vision that I’m sure competitors would be quick to follow, potentially paying Starlink to connect their own cars, in the absence of comparable alternatives.

That future seems possible, someone just has to lead us there. Once again, it looks like it might be Tesla.

Contact the author: Mack.hogan@insideevs.com