Google's satellite chips answered an AI prompt from orbit, Starlink starts pricing by area, and Musk says Grok 4.8 is late.

It is the first public sign that Google's Project Suncatcher test hardware can do AI work in space. Google says the next step comes in 2027: two satellites that try to share one AI job between them, so they can one day run bigger workloads. SpaceX says its own Starmind satellites begin flying in 2027, with no satellite count or customer named yet. What it means: a rival is ahead on proof in orbit, though one test prompt is a long way from a paying data center, and Google's chips rode up on a SpaceX rocket.

In parts of Missouri the Residential Max plan rises from $130 to $156 a month, while in Kansas City it drops to $117; PCMag says Starlink's website code suggests changes are capped at 20% either way, and new rates start with the first bill on or after Nov 30. Starlink's email says new V3 satellites are adding capacity, but subscribers keep growing. Analyst Tim Farrar wrote that charging more in busy areas and less where Starlink competes with cable and fiber should lift ARPU (average revenue per user), which PCMag puts at $69 a month in Q3, down from $83 a year earlier. Still unknown: how many customers get increases versus cuts; SpaceX did not comment.

Quilty estimates the world outside China will be about 150 launches short of demand through 2030, and up to twice that if US military needs are added and Falcon 9 is not extended. Ars says it has seen no sign SpaceX is building a regular payload door for Starship; it still uses a narrow slot built to push out Starlink satellites, and Telesat's CEO said on Oct 29 that his next satellites may need to fit that dispenser to ride on Starship. Falcon 9 flew for the 700th time on Oct 30, SpaceX's 11th and last orbital launch of October. What it means: Starship looks aimed first at SpaceX's own satellites, not at selling rides.

On Sept 13 Musk said Grok 4.8 would finish training that week; no release date, price or model page has appeared since, and Grok 4.7, released in September, is still the newest model on the site of SpaceXSI, SpaceX's Super Intelligence team. Grok 4.8 matters for the paid Grok plans and Grok Bot business sales in this bet. Still unknown: when it ships and how it compares.

The order, signed Sept 10, has 21 questions, including how a car with no brake pedal meets a rule that says brakes are worked by a foot control, and the answers must be signed under oath. NHTSA gave Tesla 30 more days from Sept 30, not the eight weeks Tesla asked for. The review is not a recall, does not stop rides, and NHTSA has not found any rule broken. Still unknown: whether Tesla filed on time and when NHTSA will decide.

FSD (Supervised) is Tesla's driver-assist software; the driver still has to watch the road. Owners can earn up to 12 rewards a year, and Tesla ended its US car referral program, which paid up to $250 in credit (Not a Tesla App). Not a Tesla App reports Tesla said on its Q3 call that FSD reached a record 1.74 million subscribers. What it means: Tesla is now using referrals to grow software subscriptions rather than car sales.

Tesla has not announced any date for outside customers to order Optimus, its humanoid robot. On the Oct 21 call, Musk said production has started on the Fremont line and deliveries to outside customers are likely around the end of 2027. What it means: no change to the timeline, and the December report should be treated as unconfirmed.

The notice also limits ATM fee refunds to $4 per withdrawal, twice a month. The top rate goes to paying Premium, Super and Ultra members of The X Subscription, so the change mainly affects members with large balances. X has not posted a separate announcement, and X Money user and deposit numbers are not public.