SpaceX | The Verge

SpaceX cuts a deal to maybe buy Cursor for $60 billion

2026-04-22T05:40:37-04:00

With an IPO looming for Elon Musk's SpaceX / xAI / X combo platter of companies, SpaceX has announced an odd arrangement to either acquire the automated programming platform Cursor for $60 billion or pay a fee of $10 billion. Buying this startup that's focused on AI coding could help xAI's tools compete with market leader Anthropic, as well as the other competitors. A report by The Information this week said Sergey Brin has directed Google's "strike team" to help its agentic AI tools catch up, while Sam Altman reportedly declared a "code red" at OpenAI last year before shutting down Sora to focus on the ChatGPT superapp and its own Codex too …

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The SpaceX IPO is a trillion-dollar gamble on the future of space

2026-04-21T08:38:20-04:00

Booster 19, or ''B19'', is seen atop pad 2 at SpaceX's South Texas facility in Cameron County, Texas, ahead of an igniter test on April 13, 2026. (Photo by Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

The great SpaceX IPO is looming, allowing outside investors - including regular Joe Schmoes, or retail investors - to buy a stake in one of the buzziest and most controversial companies on the planet for the first time. Depending on who you ask, it's either the best investment opportunity you'll see this decade or a fool's errand to rip off credulous Musk fanboys. With valuations of the company going to sky-high levels, over $1 trillion according to some estimates, there's certainly a furor around the potential for rich returns.

But is there really any money to be made in space?

Let's be clear: There are plenty of companies making money …

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Amazon’s Starlink competitor Leo gets a new date

2026-04-09T09:55:47-04:00

An Amazon Leo terminal being installed. | Image: Amazon

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company's space-internet service Leo (formerly known as Project Kuiper) will "launch in mid-2026." I'm going to assume that means proper commercial availability since the company already announced the start of an "enterprise preview" at the end of 2025, when the service was supposed to originally launch.

Unlike SpaceX's Starlink service, Amazon doesn't (yet) have its own fleet of rockets to regularly send Leo satellites into low-Earth orbit. That's meant hitching rides with a variety of launch partners, including SpaceX, until Jeff Bezos' own reusable New Glenn rocket is fully operational.

Amazon has FCC app …

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Intel will help build Elon Musk’s Terafab AI chip factory

2026-04-07T11:44:06-04:00

Elon Musk's Terafab AI chip project in Austin, Texas, is gaining a crucial new partner: Intel.

On Tuesday, the American chipmaker announced it was signing on to help design and build the sprawling facility, which would supply AI chips to Musk's two companies, SpaceX (newly merged with xAI) and Tesla. Musk needs AI chips to power his plans to build a "robot army" that includes self-driving cars and humanoid robots, as well as for the data centers he plans on launching into space. SpaceX plans on making its initial public offering later this year.

"Terafab will close the gap between today's chip production and the future's demand - a future …

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SpaceX reportedly files for IPO but it’s keeping the numbers secret (for now)

2026-04-01T17:56:21-04:00

The world’s first trillionaire? | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

What's expected to be the biggest IPO in human history is reportedly underway. SpaceX has filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a report from Bloomberg. But for now, the filing is confidential.

Under SEC rules, SpaceX isn't required to make its S-1 prospectus public until 15 days before it begins pitching to investors on its roadshow. That means we'll have to wait for details like Starlink's subscriber revenue, the cash burn rate of the Starship program, and how the recently absorbed xAI fits into the corporate structure.

Currently, the company is rumored to be targeting a staggering …

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Another Starlink satellite has inexplicably exploded

2026-03-31T07:02:04-04:00

Starlink satellites being deployed. | Image: SpaceX

SpaceX says it lost contact with a Starlink satellite after suffering an "anomaly." SpaceX isn't saying exactly what happened, but space-tracking company LeoLabs says it "immediately detected tens of objects in the vicinity" of Starlink 34343 after the event.

"Latest analysis shows the event poses no new risk to the @Space_Station, its crew, or to the upcoming launch of NASA's Artemis II mission," says SpaceX in a message posted to X. "We will continue to monitor the satellite along with any trackable debris and coordinate with @NASA and the @USSpaceForce."

The satellite and fragments are expected to burn up in the atmosphere within a few …

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Bluetti’s Sora 500 solar panel is incredibly powerful for its size

2026-03-26T04:43:13-04:00

Those 12 panels generate over 500W and fold down very small.

We don't review many solar panels at The Verge, but the tech inside Bluetti's incredibly portable Sora 500 panel makes it worth a deeper look. The new N-Type panels made by Bluetti and others give you more bang for the buck, pound, and square inch. That's a big deal for vanlifers like me who depend upon these beefy portable solar panels to extend off-grid stays.

In real-world testing, I saw Bluetti's 500W panel deliver 509W to my van's power station, allowing me to generate over 800W when combined with the three sad 140W monocrystalline solar panels I have installed on top of my van. That kind of stationary output is fantastic. I typically …

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The improved battery-powered Starlink Mini is here

2026-04-08T12:05:58-04:00

All hail true remote access.

My Starlink Mini has radically changed the way I live. It's the biggest reason I can work remotely from my converted van, providing fast and reliable internet in places that traditional 4G and 5G data signals don't reach. Peakdo's latest LinkPower battery makes the smallest Starlink terminal even better by setting it free from power cables for hours at a time.

While that might not sound like a big deal, I can assure you it is. For example, I can park in the shade and place the Mini far away to avoid trees and other obstructions, just so long as I'm within reach of its Wi-Fi signal. It even works on my dashboard without any long cables to sn …

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Why is SpaceX going public?

2026-04-04T12:08:39-04:00

I am excited about the SpaceX IPO for all the reasons investors shouldn't be. Maybe it'll be a real marquee moment for Silicon Valley, but I see the potential for a shitshow. After all, more than a decade ago, Musk said that SpaceX going public before going to Mars would be bad for the company.

Are private markets tapped out on cash to fund SpaceX ambitions? Elon Musk has been very clear about his feelings on publicly traded companies. Specifically: He doesn't like them!

"I am hesitant to foist being public on SpaceX, especially given the long term nature of our mission."

In 2013, Musk sent an email to SpaceX, which his biographer Ashlee …

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Are Elon Musk’s Mars plans finally coming back down to Earth?

2026-02-18T15:05:40-05:00

Maybe you've heard, but Elon Musk is apparently a Moon fan now. He has historically been the ultimate cheerleader for human missions to Mars, and as recently as last year, he said his aim was to go straight to the red planet and that the Moon was "a distraction." Now, he has apparently changed his mind, announcing that SpaceX has shifted focus to building a city on the Moon.

Within the space science community, this news about the Moon has largely been met with eye rolls, primarily because so many have become jaded toward Musk's overly ambitious plans and wildly unrealistic time scales.

"It was hard for me to take those Mars plans seriousl …

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