Adds battery into DemandLogic system
SolarCity incorporates the Tesla battery into its DemandLogic energy storage system to increase the utility cost savings customers can realize from using stored solar electricity. DemandLogic, which is being adopted by several of the largest retail, biotech and Internet companies in the U.S., allows businesses to reduce energy costs by using stored electricity to reduce peak demand, and can also provide backup power during grid outages. DemandLogic’s management software automates the discharge of stored energy to optimize savings on utility demand charges for customers.
Reveals timeline for Model 3
in an earnings call Musk reveals a tentative schedule for the Model 3, which is expected to cost $35,000 before government subsidies, saying the company plans to unveil the model in March 2016, and a sale date of mid 2017, but probably later.
I mean, we are hoping to show off the Model 3 in approximately March of next year. Again, like, don’t hold me to that month, but that’s, like — that’s our aspiration.
Support strut probably caused failure
Musk says a support strut holding one of the helium tanks likely fractured near a bolt attach point, and wanted to move to the top of the Falcon 9’s second stage. Several helium tanks, each pressurized to about 5,500 pounds per square inch, are mounted inside the rocket’s second stage liquid oxygen tank. The helium is routed through the second stage’s Merlin engine, where the helium warms up and injected into the rocket’s propellant tanks to pressurize the stage as the launcher burns fuel, keeping the tanks structurally sound. Musk:
It may seem sort of counterintuitive that, as the rocket’s accelerating, that something immersed in the tank would actually want to go up more, but that’s basically what happened. The buoyancy increases proportionate to the G-loading. At approximately 3.2 Gs, this strut holding down one of the helium bottles appears to have snapped, and as a result, releasing a lot of helium into the upper stage oxygen tank and causing an over-pressure event quite quickly…Within the course of a second, this caused enough helium to be released, we believe, to over-pressurize the liquid oxygen tank in the upper stage. You don’t really need to release a lot of helium because there’s only about 2 percent gaseous volume in the stage because the upper stage propellant is not being consumed.
Musk not taking Tesla private after all
In talking to our public investors, most were supportive of optimizing for long-term value creation over quarterly earnings. This was also a factor in remaining public.
In talking to our public investors, most were supportive of optimizing for long-term value creation over quarterly earnings. This was also a factor in remaining public.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2018
Says ‘at least 50%’ of his tweets are made on the toilet
Musk says ‘at least 50%’ of his tweets are made on the toilet
At least 50% of my tweets were made on a porcelain throne
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2021
French feminist: Elon Musk is ‘one the greatest environmental killers of all time’
Sandrine Rousseau, a Greens party MP, who has been called ‘the fiercest feminist in France’, says Musk is the model of white alpha males responsible for human suffering and climate disaster.
Elon Musk is the archetype of the conquering male entrepreneur who should be considered one of the greatest environmental killers of all time.
Rousseau, 50, has made international headlines this year with calls for an end to barbecues as a symbol of world-destroying “virility” and for the creation of a criminal offence of failing to share housework.
Musk posts photo with Grimes: ‘No way to prove we’re living in a simulation’
Musk posts a picture of himself with former girlfriend Grimes, in costumes they donned for a Saturday Night Live episode in May 2021. Musk contrasts the picture with one of animated Mario and Princess Peach sitting at the edge of a castle roof, with the caption:
Of course, there’s no way to prove we’re living in a simulation
Musk has talked about the possibility of humans living inside a simulation previously, on The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast in 2018, and in November 2021. The simulation hypothesis is promoted by scientists. including astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 25, 2022
Report: Tesla China to hit over 80k deliveries this month
A report from China says Tesla is targeting deliveries of about 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles domestically this month, despite insurance data from previous weeks suggesting that Tesla seemed to be having delivery challenges in the country. The report says that shorter waiting times mean scalpers who had bought the cars in hope of a large profit will now be undercut as Tesla customers wait for a possible October price cut. Estimates in China reportedly suggest that Tesla will reduce its Model 3 prices by RMB 20,000 ($2,700) and the Model Y by RMB 28,000 ($3,900). Report:
There is a tradition of price reduction: Historically, Tesla has been ahead of the market regardless of whether the price has been raised or lowered. There is room for price reduction: Tesla’s 22Q2 single-vehicle profit is 8,000+ US dollars, and its 22Q3 single-vehicle net profit hits 13,000 US dollars, equivalent to 80,000 yuan, which is extremely profitable.
$TSLA Giga Shanghai Q3 expecting 80-90k. And the main reason why wait time is now 1-4 weeks or 1-8 weeks because there are lots of scalper who booked earlier and resell it a the large profits. Now these scalper delayed delivery is quite serious. pic.twitter.com/9C2EhKBFgl
— T ⚡️ (@TeslaSg) September 26, 2022
Tesla expects ‘high volume’ of deliveries, asks staff to help
In an email to staff, the car company says it is expecting a high volume of deliveries in Q3 and asks all employees, even those who don’t work in the sales and delivery department, to help with delivery tasks, include moving vehicles around, washing and preparing vehicles, delivering vehicles directly to customers, and answering customer questions on delivery day.
We will be delivering a very high volume of vehicles to eagerly waiting customers during the final days of Q3. To help ensure we can delight as many customers as possible, the delivery team is requesting additional support with key delivery-execution tasks.
Musk: NASA asteroid mission like Will Smith’s Chris Rock Oscars slap
Musk posts a meme, superimposing NASA’s logo on Will Smith striking Chris Rock’s face covered with an image of the asteroid Dimorphos, mirroring the impact of the DART asteroid redirection test, which hit the space rock at 14,000 mph.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 27, 2022
Tesla wants ‘thousands of humanoid robots’ within its factories
A Tesla job listing for a mechatronic technician says the company wants thousands of humanoid robots in its factories:
Tesla is on a path to build humanoid bi-pedal robots at scale to automate repetitive and boring tasks. Most importantly, you will see your work repeatedly shipped to and utilized by thousands of Humanoid Robots within our factories.
The company’s Autopilot Division aims to hire 20 software and firmware engineers, deep learning scientists, actuator technicians, and internships, to work on its Optimus humanoid robot. Musk wants the robot to work beyond car production and do household chores and care work in millions of households.
Musk teases Tesla AI Day 2
Musk teases Tesla’s second AI Day, which will showcase the company’s artificial intelligence programs. The event runs from 5 to 11pm PST on September 30, 2022.
There will be lots of technical detail & cool hardware demos.
Expected technology reverals include the Hardware 4 computer and The Tesla Bot. He also responds to a Twitter user that, despite the expectation of a luckwarm response by the media:
AI/robotics engineers who understand what problems need to be solved will like what they see. As well as advanced chip & supercomputer engineers for next-gen training & inference. Note, this event is meant for recruiting AI & robotics engineers, so will be highly technical.
Pretty much. AI/robotics engineers who understand what problems need to be solved will like what they see.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2022
Musk: Waterproof Cybertruck can cross rivers, lakes
Musk says the Cybertruck will be able to cross rivers, lakes, and seas, because it will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat. The Cybertruck would need to be able to scale the 6.5-mile float from Starbase to South Padre Island for SpaceX-related logistics activities. Musk did not disclose any indication of how the Cybertruck would be propelled, nor did he give any estimates as to what speed he would expect it to travel, although the Cybertruck as a boat would likely travel between 5 and 10 knots.
Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy.
Needs be able to get from Starbase to South Padre Island, which requires crossing the channel
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2022
Government agencies mock floating Cybertruck
Musk’s claim that Cybertruck will be able to ‘serve briefly as a boat’ is mocked by two government agencies.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources responded with a photo of a submerged car and said:
Our derelict vessel crews are begging you to understand that anything that “serves briefly as a boat” should not be used as a boat.
Our derelict vessel crews are begging you to understand that anything that “serves briefly as a boat” should not be used as a boat https://t.co/lcrunbf1DJ pic.twitter.com/j2eL5tGcJZ
— Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources (@waDNR) September 29, 2022
And, after a Twitter user suggests Cybertruck would put the San Francisco Bay Ferry out of business, they responded:
Announcement: to prepare for the inevitability of the Nintendo 64 floatie truck flotilla rendering us obsolete, we’re adding little wheels to our ferries. Landboat will be able to serve brief as a bus, so it can cross bridges, parking lots and highways that are not too congested
Announcement: to prepare for the inevitability of the Nintendo 64 floatie truck flotilla rendering us obsolete, we're adding little wheels to our ferries. Landboat will be able to serve brief as a bus, so it can cross bridges, parking lots and highways that are not too congested.
— San Francisco Bay Ferry (@SFBayFerry) September 29, 2022
University refuses to release injured Neuralink monkey photos
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) advocacy group says its request for 371 photos of monkeys that were subjected to Neuralink brain implant technology experiments, which took place at US Davis’s veterinary lab facilities, has been refused by the university, which says they are proprietary. Earlier this year, Neuralink said that a fifth of the 23 rhesus macaques monkeys it used to test its brain-hacking implants had been euthanized after developing infections and malfunctions. Neuralink paid UC Davis $1.4 million to use its facilities between 2017 and 2020. PCRM:
UC Davis thinks the public is too stupid to know what they’re looking at. But it’s clear the university is simply trying to hide from taxpayers the fact that it partnered with Elon Musk to conduct experiments in which animals suffered and died.
Advice to younger self: ‘Stop and smell the roses’
At Tesla’s AI Day, Musk is asked what advice he would give to his younger self. In addition to saying he would join Tesla; Musk says he would try to expose himself to as many smart people as possible and read a lot of books.
I think there is some merit to just also just not being necessarily too intense, like enjoying the moment a bit more. I would say to 20 something me to stop and smell the roses occasionally probably would be a good idea.
Recalling an incident when SpaceX was developing the Falcon 1 rocket on a beautiful island, he said that during the entire time he didn’t have a drink on the beach,
I should have had a drink on the beach. That would have been fine.
Musk responds to Pope’s call for Ukraine peace
Musk responds to the Pope’s call for peace over the Russian-Ukraine war.
War always gives ample reason for vengeance for all sides. Only by overcoming this instinct can there be peace.
War always gives ample reason for vengeance for all sides. Only by overcoming this instinct can there be peace.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2022
Posts Ukraine-Russia peace deal proposal and poll
Musk posts a Twitter poll to gauge support for what he claims is a likely outcome of the seven-month Ukraine-Russia conflict.
- That the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which Russia annexed by force in 2014, be permanently given to Russia and guaranteed a permanent water supply.
- That the four regions of eastern Ukraine where Russia held sham referendums last month before illegally annexing the land be put to new referendums, this time organized by the United Nations.
- That Ukraine should be forced to remain “neutral@ accomplishing the long-term Kremlin goal of barring Ukraine from joining the NATO defensive alliance.
Musk also says that his proposal is the likely solution and that a “possible, albeit unlikely octcome from this conflict is nuclear war”.
This is highly likely to be the outcome in the end – just a question of how many die before then
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
Ukrainian ambassador tells Musk to ‘F– off’
After Musk posts that three likely outcomes of the Ukraine War would be: Crimea be given permanently to Russia; that the four areas annexed by Russia after sham referendums in September 2020, be given new UN-monitored referendums; and that Ukraine should remain neutral and not join NATO, Melnyk, Ukraine’s outgoing ambassador to Germany, says:
F— off is my very diplomatic reply to you. The only outcome is that now no Ukrainian will EVER buy your f…ing tesla crap. So good luck to you.
Fuck off is my very diplomatic reply to you @elonmusk
— Andrij Melnyk (@MelnykAndrij) October 3, 2022
Zelensky posts poll in response to Musk’s Ukraine tweets
Ukraine’s president Zelensky responds to Musk’s Ukraine statements by posting a poll of his own, asking:
Which @elonmusk do you like more? One who supports Ukraine or One who supports Russia?
Musk reposnds, saying he ‘very much supports’ Ukraine:
I still very much support Ukraine, but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world.
I still very much support Ukraine, but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022