Monthly update · October 2026
October in 9 stacks: Optimus in production, Starship back at Starbase
Published · Lees in het Nederlands →
The first monthly update. Our road trip is over, but work across all 9 technology stacks carried on in October. Below are the highlights for each stack, in a few sentences.
-
Compute
The AI helpers in the apps you use could get better faster now that Cursor has released an Agent SDK. With it, you define an AI assistant as code, with its instructions in Markdown, its tools in TypeScript and built-in tests to measure every change. source →
-
Robotics
If robots and self-driving taxis arrive in large numbers, they could eventually take over heavy work and make a taxi ride without a driver normal. Tesla is taking steps in that direction: it has started building Optimus on its high-volume lines in Fremont, which according to Tesla are the first truly production-grade robots, and Cybercabs are now also driving in the Robotaxi fleet in Austin. source →
-
Energy
Storing electricity at home for later and letting your heat pump run smartly around it could come within reach for Dutch households. The first Tesla Powerwall 3P home batteries are being installed in the Netherlands, and they can work together with an SG-Ready heat pump. Meanwhile, production of Megapack 3 has started in Texas. source →
-
Make
More electric cars and trucks on the road could eventually mean quieter streets and cleaner air, and Tesla is building them in large numbers: it delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter. The Tesla Semi electric truck is now in volume production, and on October 15 Tesla unveiled the new Roadster. source →
-
Launch
Spaceflight could become cheaper and safer over time by learning from rockets that have already flown. Ship 40 is the first Starship to return to Starbase after a flight, and there it is providing unique data on a flown heat shield and Raptor engines. At the end of October, Ship 42 completed its test firings for Flight 15. source →
-
Connect
Soon you may have internet and mobile coverage even in remote places and high up in the air. SpaceX is buying nationwide mobile spectrum in the US so that Starlink can become a major mobile carrier there. In Brazil, Starlink Mobile now works across the whole country through Vivo, and in the air, American Airlines and easyJet are choosing Starlink for in-flight internet. source →
-
Infra
Tunnels can move people and freight underground, which could make streets quieter and a campus easier for everyone to get around. In San Antonio, The Boring Company's Prufrock-5 tunnel boring machine has arrived for a tunnel of about 1.3 km across a campus for people with and without disabilities. For freight, the company has also converted an electric truck that can carry a 20-foot shipping container through its tunnels. source →
-
Neural
People with ALS who can no longer speak could hold a conversation with their loved ones again. Neuralink is giving them their speech back: one participant reached 75 words per minute in the first week. Together, the implants have now been used for more than 50,000 hours. source →
-
Platforms
For users, things could get a lot simpler: X, Grok and Cursor now come in one subscription, The X Subscription. It gives you one shared usage allowance for Cursor, Grok Build and the other Grok products, instead of separate subscriptions for each service. source →
-
Also
Tesla's cars and SpaceX's rockets could one day end up under one company. The boards of SpaceX and Tesla have each set up a committee of independent directors to look into a possible merger. Nothing has been decided yet, so nothing changes for now. source →