What is satellite internet?

A satellite internet connection transmits and receives data via a network of near-Earth satellites. Though this technology isn’t new, it has evolved considerably over the past several years. At the time of its inception, it was generally only used by subscribers in remote areas who had few other options for connectivity.

The history of satellite internet traces back to 1962, with the world’s first commercial communication satellite. Known as Telstar 1, the satellite was launched by NASA in response to Russia’s successful launch of the satellite Sputnik 1. It had a short life, however; Telstar launched one day after high-altitude nuclear weapons testing, and radiation from the tests damaged electronics on the satellite. It was only operational for seven months before it was rendered inoperable.

Interestingly, the idea of transmitting information via satellite wasn’t new at the time of Telstar’s launch. Decades earlier, astronautics theorist Herman Potočnik first proposed the concept of geostationary orbital satellites in his 1929 book ‘Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums – der Raketen-Motor,’ which translates to ‘The Problem with Space Travel: the Rocket Motor.’ Renowned futurist Arthur C. Clarke would later cite Potočnik’s work in a 1945 paper envisioning satellite communication.

The first real use of satellite internet would not occur until the late 20th century via the Teledisc project, funded by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). First proposed in 1994, Teledisc planned to establish a network of low-orbit broadband satellites. Unfortunately, the project was rendered defunct in 2002 shortly after the failure of two similar ventures, Iridium and Globalstar.

One year later, in 2003, French satellite operator Eutelsat became the first company in the world to launch a successful satellite internet project. Since then, multiple service providers and telecommunications companies have dabbled in satellite connectivity. However, it has largely lagged behind its technological peers, primarily only seeing use in particularly isolated regions.

To explain why, we need to first explain the different types of internet. The two most common are land-based connections and cellular or mobile connections.

Landline internet uses telephone lines, coaxial cables or dedicated fiber-optic cables to send and receive data from a modem or router. This device then serves as an access point, allowing everything from computers to smart home appliances to connect to the internet. Mobile internet, meanwhile, leverages nearby cell phone towers to beam data directly to and from connected devices.

Traditional satellite internet is something of a fusion between mobile and landline, albeit over a vastly larger distance. It leverages a satellite dish connected to two modems. One modem is used for sending data and the other for receiving.

Historically, speed and capacity represent the two most significant drawbacks to satellite internet. Most satellite internet service providers only support speeds between 25 and 300 megabits per second (mbps). By contrast, landline fiber internet is capable of speeds up to 5 gigabits per second (gbps). Satellite internet also tends to be far costlier than a comparable landline connection, with higher latency and lower caps on data usage. It may also suffer from issues with reliability. Lastly, satellite internet may suffer from interference due to factors such as terrain or canopy coverage.

That brings us around to what makes Starlink exciting. Although not yet competitive with landline internet in terms of cost, the company offers considerably higher data caps and speeds than any other provider on the market — up to 500 mbps with a 1 terabyte cap. Starlink’s low-orbit satellites are also less vulnerable to geographic interference while offering more consistent and reliable coverage.

Does Starlink have an IPO date?

At the time of this writing, Starlink is not publicly traded, and there is no concrete date for a Starlink IPO. Hints of a possible Starlink IPO originally came from several tweets made by Musk in 2021.

‘Once we can predict cash flow reasonably well, Starlink will IPO,’ he explained at the time. ‘(It will be) at least a few years before Starlink revenue is reasonably predictable. Going public sooner than that would be very painful.’

Musk added later that year that Starlink’s parent company SpaceX ‘needs to pass through a deep chasm of negative cashflow over the next year or so to make Starlink financially viable.’

At the time, Musk said a Starlink IPO wasn’t likely until at least 2025 or later.

It’s no surprise then that market watchers’ eyebrows rose when listening to SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell speak at the February 2023 Commercial Space Transportation Conference. While discussing a planned testing milestone for SpaceX’s rockets, Shotwell claimed that 2023 was the year Starlink would make money.

She added that the company had a cashflow-positive quarter in 2022. There was also SpaceX’s reported revenue for 2022 — just over US$3.3 billion, US$1 billion of which originated from Starlink.

In early November 2023, Musk reported that Starlink had once again “achieved breakeven cashflow.’

Shortly after, an anonymous source told Bloomberg that a Starlink IPO could be on the table for 2024. But Musk quickly fired back in a post on X that the report was “false.”

It seems fairly clear based on Musk’s comments that we shouldn’t expect a Starlink IPO anytime soon. So why is there so much speculation that one is just around the corner?

Well, for one thing Starlink sales dominated SpaceX’s 2023 revenues, meaning the company made more money as an internet provider than as a space rocket company. Starlink revenues topped a massive US$4.2 billion that year, compared to US$3.5 billion for the firm’s core rocket launch business.

Of course, these figures should be taken with a very large grain of salt. As is too often the case in technology investing, there is no shortage of hype surrounding Starlink, much of it drummed up by Musk himself. An April 2024 BNN Bloomberg article points out that even with all that revenue, Starlink “is still burning through more cash than it brings in.” Based on anonymous inside sources, Starlink accounting is “more of an art than a science.’

Even if those numbers are inflated, the company does show promise, and analysts are still optimistic that a Starlink IPO is on the horizon. Justus Parmar, founder and CEO of venture capital firm Fortuna Investments, told Reuters he’s eyeing 2025 or 2026. “(Musk’s) waiting for a level of stability or predictability in revenue,” he said. Once the IPO is official, Parmar believes it will “be an extremely strong catalyst for everything space related.”

How can you get exposure before the Starlink IPO date?

While it’s impossible to invest directly in Starlink, you may be able to get a head start by investing in Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), as Musk stated he’ll ‘do his best’ to give preference to long-term Tesla shareholders. Additionally, there are platforms such as Hiive that enable accredited investors to purchase shares of pre-IPO companies, including SpaceX.

Fortunately, you have several options if you simply want to invest in satellite internet and aren’t particularly attached to the idea of Starlink. In spite of their failed efforts in the early 2000s, both Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) and Globalstar (NYSEAMERICAN:GSAT) are currently going strong. Globalstar’s performance is especially promising, as the company’s share price has increased in value by almost 300 percent over the past five years as of mid-January 2025.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) is another satellite provider that’s performed strongly in recent years. Other potential satellite internet investments include ViaSat (NASDAQ:VSAT) and Gilat Satellite Networks (NASDAQ:GILT).

As with any investment, it’s important to do your research and speak to an accredited brokerage or investment advisor before you commit any capital.

Which lithium companies supply Tesla?

Tesla has deals with multiple lithium suppliers, some that are already producers and some that are juniors developing lithium projects.

At the end of 2021, Tesla inked a three-year lithium supply deal with top lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium (OTC Pink:GNENF,SZSE:002460), and the Chinese company began providing products to Tesla starting in 2022. Major miner Arcadium Lithium (NYSE:ALTM,ASX:LTM), which is set to be acquired by Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO), also has supply contracts in place with the EV maker.

China’s Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group (SZSE:002497) agreed to supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide to Tesla through 2030. Under a new, separate agreement finalized in June 2024, Yahua is set to supply Tesla with an unspecified amount of lithium carbonate between 2025 and 2027, with the option to extend the contract by another year.

Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR,OTC Pink:LINRF) is set to supply Tesla with lithium spodumene concentrate from its AU$473 million Kathleen Valley project. The deal is for an initial five year period set to begin this year, and production began in July 2024.

In January 2023, Tesla amended its agreement with Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL,NASDAQ:PLL), which now supplies the US automaker with spodumene concentrate from its North American Lithium operation, a joint venture with Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA,OTCQB:SYAXF). The deal is in place through the end of 2025.

Even though Tesla has secured lithium from all these companies, the EV supply chain is a bit more complex than just buying lithium directly from miners. Tesla also works with battery makers, such as Panasonic (OTC Pink:PCRFF,TSE:6752) and CATL (SZSE:300750), which themselves work with other chemical companies that secure their own lithium deals.

What are Tesla batteries made of?

Tesla vehicles use several different battery cathodes, including nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) cathodes and lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cathodes.

Tesla is known for using NCA cathodes developed by Japanese company Panasonic. This type of cathode has higher energy density and is a low-cobalt option, but has been less adopted by the industry compared to the widely used nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathodes. Aside from that, South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions (KRX:373220) supplies Tesla with batteries using nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum (NCMA) cathodes.

As mentioned, it wasn’t just lithium that saw prices climb in 2021 — cobalt doubled in price that same year, and although it has declined since then, the battery metal remains essential for many EV batteries. Most cobalt mining takes place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is often associated with child labor and human rights abuses, fueling concerns over long-term supply.

That said, not all Tesla’s batteries contain cobalt. In 2021, Tesla said that for its standard-range vehicles it would be changing to lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cathodes, which are cobalt- and nickel-free. At the time, the company was already making vehicles with LFP chemistry at its factory in Shanghai, which supplies markets in China, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

In April 2023, Tesla announced that it planned to use this type of cathode chemistry for its short-range heavy electric trucks, which it calls ‘semi light.’ The company is also looking to use LFP batteries in its mid-sized vehicles.

At the top of 2024, Tesla made moves to produce LFP batteries at its Sparks, Nevada, battery facility in reaction to the Biden Administration’s new regulations on battery materials sourcing, especially on those sourced from China. Reuters reports Tesla battery supplier CATL will sell idle equipment to the car maker for use at the plant, which will have an initial capacity of about 10 gigawatt hours.

What company makes Tesla’s batteries?

Tesla works with multiple battery suppliers, including Panasonic, its longtime partner, as well as LG Energy Solutions, the second largest battery supplier in the world. They supply the EV maker with cells containing nickel and cobalt.

China’s CATL has been supplying LFP batteries to Tesla for cars made at its Shanghai plant since 2020. It’s also been reported that BYD Company (OTC Pink:BYDDF,SZSE:002594) is supplying Tesla with the Blade battery — a less bulky LFP battery — which the car manufacturer has used in some of its models in Europe.

Additionally, BYD is set to work with Tesla on its battery energy storage systems (BESS) in China, with a plan to supply 20 percent of Tesla’s anticipated BESS manufacturing capacity, with CATL expected to cover 80 percent. The factory, which began production at the close of 2024, uses the companies’ LFP batteries.

How much lithium is in a Tesla battery?

How much lithium do Tesla batteries actually contain? That question is tricky because many factors are at play. Typically, it depends on battery chemistry, as demonstrated by the chart below, as well as battery size.

For example, the standard Tesla Model S contains about 138 pounds, or 62.6 kilograms, of lithium. It is powered by a NCA battery, which has a weight of 1,200 pounds or 544 kilograms.

The amount of lithium in a Tesla battery can also vary based on model and year as the battery chemistries and weights are often changing with each new iteration.

Back in 2016, Musk said batteries don’t require as much lithium as they do nickel or graphite — he described lithium as ‘the salt in your salad.’ As the chart below shows, the metal only makes up about a 10th of the materials in each battery.

Will Tesla buy a lithium mine?

For carmakers, securing lithium supply to meet their electrification goals is becoming a challenge, which is why the question of whether they will become miners in the future continues to come up.

But mining lithium is not easy, and despite speculation, it’s hard to imagine an automaker being involved in it, SQM’s (NYSE:SQM) Felipe Smith said. “You have to build a learning curve — the resources are all different, there are many challenges in terms of technology — to reach a consistent quality at a reasonable cost,” he noted. “So it’s difficult to see that an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), which has a completely different focus, will really engage into these challenges of producing.”

Even so, OEMs are coming to the realization that they might need to build up EV supply chains from scratch after the capital markets’ failure to step up, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Simon Moores believes. Furthermore, automotive OEMs that are making EVs will in effect have to become miners.

“I don’t mean actual miners, but they are going to have to start buying 25 percent of these mines if they want to guarantee supply — paper contracts won’t be enough,” he said.

However, Musk has made it clear to investors that Tesla is more focused on developing its lithium refining capabilities, rather than getting into the mining game.

Where is Tesla’s lithium refinery?

Tesla broke ground on its in-house Texas lithium refinery in the greater Corpos Christi area of the state in 2023. Tesla’s lithium refinery capacity is expected to produce 50 GWh of battery-grade lithium per year. Construction of the lithium refinery is nearly completed with full production anticipated in 2025.

Tesla’s Texas lithium refinery was facing an obstacle in obtaining a contract for the 8 million gallons of water per day needed to run the plant, as the region of South Texas is in the middle of a serious drought and water supplies are tight.

‘In December, South Texas Water Authority passed an infrastructure deal that will allow Nueces Water Supply to sell rights to the pipe Tesla will need to obtain water, which was one of the hold-ups for a water deal,’ Bloomberg BNN reported in early January.