After Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter last month that the entirety of the company’s Supercharging network would be getting its own Wi-Fi, Reddit user HollywoodSX on Saturday spotted a Starlink terminal at a Supercharger location in Lake City, FL — the first discovery of its kind.
When a couple of Twitter users noted the absence of dedicated Wi-Fi at Tesla’s Supercharger installations and said having the facility would be quite beneficial for OTA updates and the like, Musk replied, saying the electric vehicle (EV) maker was already planning on it.
Shouldn’t all superchargers have WIFI? @elonmusk @TeslaCharging @teslacn
— Jay in Shanghai 电动 Jay (@JayinShanghai) October 14, 2021
They will
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2021
Starlink is a high-speed satellite internet service from SpaceX, another of Musk’s companies, designed to provide affordable internet at viable speeds anywhere and everywhere.
The satellite dish spotted at the Lake City location appears to be ‘Dishy McFlatface’ — the first-generation Starlink dish with a circular design. On Tuesday, SpaceX unveiled the new, second-generation Starlink dish with a rectangular design, smaller footprint, and more mounting options.
Up until now, Tesla Superchargers were simply served by free Wi-Fi from nearby eateries and establishments (where available). Free Wi-Fi from your nearest Starbucks can be egregiously slow, though — SpaceX’s Starlink, on the other hand, is anything but. In the U.S., Starlink saw a median download speed of 97.23 Mbps in Q2 2021.
Fast, free Wi-Fi at Supercharger locations should make it a lot easier for Tesla owners (and, soon, non-Tesla owners as well) to kill time while waiting for their car to charge, and even download OTA software updates if they want to.
