ANNOUNCEMENT:
Today's and Tomorrow's X Article are free and there will be no updates for Wednesday and Thursday, and ossibly Friday I will be heading to Austin for the Tesla Cyber Roundup Shareholder Meeting on Thursday.
■ TESLA TSLA 0.00%↑ ($173.79, -2.08%):
- Elon has stated the south extension of Giga Texas is custom-built for heavy power compute and cooling. The initial system will be 50k H100s, plus 20k Tesla HW4 AI computers and video storage. Important to note that FSD training requires massive liquid-cooled Tesla AI compute and video storage, not just Nvidia. Pic above is the south end construction of the cooling tower from Joe Tegtmeyer's (@JoeTegmeyer) flyover today.
- According to Bloomberg, longest-standing Tesla shareholder, Baillie Gifford, will vote to reinstatement Elon pay package. Baillie Gifford owns $3.1 billion, 0.56%, of TSLA.
- In the UK, if you purchase a new Tesla and take delivery by the 30th of June you will get 15,000 free Supercharger miles!
- Giga Nevada team built their 5 Millionth Drive Unit last week!
- Australian energy company Origin announced a new service that allows Tesla owners to charge at a rate of 8c/kWh during a session, less than a cup of coffee. This must be done through Origin's EV feature on their app.
- Tesla hired GEICO's Allen Laben to help reduce insurance costs for Tesla owners. "I’ve started in a newly created role at Tesla as their Head of Strategic Insurance Partnerships! Here's my goal in this role: Make Tesla vehicles EASY and ECONOMICAL to insure."
- Tesla China was at the Carbon Neutrality Expo in Shanghai last Thursday. There was a report that Tesla was taking orders for Cybertrucks and that the wait time was until 2026. Tesla did not confirm this and there has been no indication that Tesla has been approved by the government to sell it there.
- On Saturday China's Baidu stated that it is providing lane-level navigation services for Tesla. They said this level of navigation can provide drivers with detailed information, including making lane recommendations ahead of upcoming turns, to enhance safety. This is another step closer for FSD in China.
- According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla sold 72,573 units in May. A 16.7% increase from April’s 62,167 units.
- The Cybertruck Odyssey arrived at the Tesla Les Pennes-Mirabeau Center where it was presented by the Mayor. The new Tesla Model 3 performance was also on display. Pic by Nicolas Garcin.
- Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund said it will vote 'Against' to reinstate Elon's pay package. Holding true to their vote against it in 2018. The fund will vote 'For' reincorporating in Texas. The fund owns around 1% of total TSLA shares.
- Elon has reiterated that there will be "No Model Y “refresh” coming out this year."
- Zane caught the Tesla Semi Test-Bed Version the other day. According to Zane, Tesla uses this semi to test new hardware or software before they make their way into the fleet via OTA if software.
- Not A Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) found that Tesla has added 'Rider Quality Score' and 'Guest Mode' to its API for future Robotaxi.
- The Giga Texas 4680 Cell Manufacturing team built their 50 millionth battery cell last week!
- Ex-Tesla Drew Baglino did the Catalyst podcast with Shayle Kann. They talked about why Drew isn't sure that AI-driven load growth “is going to be as dramatic as people think." His optimism about the U.S.’ ability to build out enough transmission for decarbonization. How to deal with the high rates of curtailment and what to do with that excess power. And meeting the material requirements of decarbonization and Drew’s experience with permitting Tesla facilities. Link in the sources section.
FLYOVERS:
Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer, 10th of June, '24. Production ramping back up with more Cybertrucks outbound. Model Y production is still slow. The new cooling tower for the data center is coming along.
Giga Nevada: Zanegler (@HinrichsZane), 8th of June, '24. Groundwork appears to be complete, but nothing has changed since the last flyover. The new drive off the highway has been leveled.
Giga Berlin: Tobias Lindh (@tobilindh), 6th of June, '24. Production looks good. Outbound is busy. Employees were outside having a Tesla pule contest and other activities. Got to love team building.
Fremont Factory: MetGod, 6th of June, '24. Production seems to have been put on pause. Probably regular line maintenance. Nothing in the outbound lot.
■ SPACEX:
- Friday night, launch 62 took place of Falcon 9 Starlink 10-1 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This was the 16th flight for the booster. It previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and 11 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. 22 Starlinks were deployed. This was the 60th launch of a Falcon 9 this year and the 300th landing overall.
- Saturday morning, launch 63 took place of Falcon 9 Starlink 8-8 launched from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This was the 21st flight for the first stage booster. It previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3, Korea 425, Maxar1, and 9 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. 20 Starlinks, including six Direct to Cell, were deployed. Possibility of 2 to 3 Starshield Starlinks deployed that were off the books.
- The last of the 2nd Tower sections, Chopsticks, and Carriage have left Port Canaveral and embarked on the journey to the Port of Brownsville. At Starbase, Tower 2 hardware is already heading to the launch site! Pic by Jerry Pike (@JerryPikePhoto).
- Starship 30 got a single Raptor replaced over the weekend and the Raptor stand was brought back to Sanchez.
- SpaceX, along with other companies, has won a contract from NASA to perform a 90-day study for a cheaper and faster way of bringing Martian surface samples to Earth. Their contract is title, "Enabling Mars Sample Return with Starship."
- Astronauts Doug “Wheels” Wheelock and Peggy Whitson recently assessed and tested the full-scale developmental lift and hardware of Starship's Human Landing System (HLS) while wearing the new Axiom spacesuits. During the test, NASA and SpaceX evaluated the placement of mobility aids for traversing the hatch. Straps hanging from the ceiling, assisted when entering and removing the Axiom suits. The astronauts practiced interacting with a control panel in the airlock to ensure that controls could be reached and activated while wearing gloves. According to Logan Kennedy, NASA’s HLS Surface Lead, the astronauts successfully operated the control panel and performed the tasks necessary for lunar surface operations.
- Elon continues to state that IFT-5 will attempt a Chopsticks Tower catch of the Super Heavy Booster. Booster 11's landing was on target and Starship 29's landing was several km off due to the right flaps damage. The left flap also got very hot, but was less damaged. The rear flaps seemed to be ok, based on their control authority, but probably lost some tiles.
- Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson and Public Utility of Texas Commissioner Kathleen Jackson were with SpaceX's Kathy Leuders to celebrate the launch of Starship. Per Jane, "Congrats to SpaceX on the successful launch of its Starship megarocket. It was an honor to be in Boca Chica for this historic event. Proud to have SpaceX in Texas."
- During his live stream of Diablo last night, Elon said IFT-5 will launch in about a month. SpaceX will replace the heatshield on with a new tile that is twice as strong. The ablative protection underneath will act as secondary heatshield layer.He also stated in a post the newer version of Starship will have the forward flaps shifted leeward to help improve reliability, ease of manufacturing, and payload to orbit.
- Tomorrow is the first in-person public meeting led by the FAA regarding Starship launches and landings at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The public can voice their opinions at any time.
Countdown to 144 (61- Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 2 - Starship):
Launch 64! Wednesday, 12th of June, at 5:08 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Launch 65! Thursday, 13th of June, at 8:00 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 9-1 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
Launch 66! Monday, 17th of June, at 5:30 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Astra 1P/SES-24 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. ASTRA 1P is a classic wide-beam satellite that will support SES’s prime TV, content owners, and private/public broadcasters across Germany, France, and Spain. It is based on the full electric Spacebus NEO platform developed by Thales Alenia Space. The booster's landing site is still unknown.
Launch ??! Tuesday, 25th of June, at 5:16 p.m. ET, Falcon Heavy GOES-U will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S Series (GOES-S) is the second of four next gen geostationary weather satellites. The four satellites will provide advanced imaging with increased spatial resolution and faster coverage for more accurate forecasts, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and improved monitoring of solar activity. Core Booster B1087 will be expended in the Atlantic Ocean. Side Booster B1072 will land at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) and Side Booster B1086 will land at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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■ THE BORING COMPANY:
- Prufrock-3 surfaced inside Giga Texas near the end of last week. I am very interested to know how Prufrock-3 performed compared to the company's expectations. Key takeaways will be very useful, as TBC is already building a more advanced boring machine.
- Per Elon, "We'll have Boring machines on the Moon and on Mars." Pic by Joe Tegtmeyer from his Giga Texas flyover today.
■ NEURALINK: N/A…
■ STARLINK:
- Hermtac’s new rugged waterproof high power Starlink / Starshield plus Quad 5G internet kits.
- Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced on X that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has approved Starlink in the country, pending a two-week public consultation period.
- Italian President Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) posted on Friday that internet provider Telespazio signed a deal with SpaceX to include Starlink in its global hybrid connectivity network. Per Giorgia, "The agreement signed between Telespazio and SpaceX for the marketing of Starlink services in Italy is excellent news. Hoping for ever greater collaboration." H/T Luca Greco (@lucagrecoita).
- Danielle X (@lovemesomemusk) in Austin setting up Starlink on their balcony.
- I reported a couple of months ago about the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) training tour and testing Starlink as one of the objectives. The vessels Kashima and Shimakaze have begun the 175-day training expedition and will visit 11 nations. Their will be approximately 570 people including around 190 MSDF officer candidates aboard. If testing goals are achieved, the MSDF will move to install Starlink on 90 percent of its surface vessels in the next three years.
- Starlink in the Maldives by Rush (@rushwan).
- Per Elon, "I’ve mentioned something like this before, but, if any of my companies goes public, we will prioritize other longtime shareholders of my other companies, including Tesla. Loyalty deserves loyalty." Take this as you will, but most are suggesting that he referring to Starlink. As of right now, SpaceX requires no extra capital. Elon doesn't like to go public. But, Elon has stated that Starlink is all SpaceX needs to get to Mars, so going public may be his ultimate goal. Either way, I want in!
■ X:
- X is working on the Audience analytics tab. It will include different metrics with Time Graphs, real-time data, and the country and age of your audience. Great find Nima Owji (@nima_owji). Follow Nima if you haven't already. Excellent account!
- X will soon let you gift Premium to users. We need gift Subscriptions as well.
- On the web, X added a custom date filter for Analytics.
- X now offers a complimentary Premium Subscription with advertising spending.
- Soon you will be able to add work history to your profile. Info from
- A new search filter using verified accounts is now active on iOS.
- You have probably seen users leave a reply asking for a a Community Note on a post. Well, X is working on a feature to let the users make an actual request that Noters can see and act upon.
- According to New York Post, X will soon introduce a new Vines type video feed featuring short and long videos. It will be beta tested by select users sometime this summer. Elon polled if Vine should return, and nearly 70% voted yes. Per Elon, “The goal is to bring back that cool video experience.”
- According to Swak (@swak_12) and the latest android build (10.45.0-alpha.5) Group Calls should be coming to X. Max group size for audio call is 8 and max group size for video call is 4.
- X now allows Advertisers to create an Allow List with advertising only shown on terms that advertisers are bidding on. This feature is for advertisers who prefer a super-safe approach. As per Thomas Slabbers (@Thomasslabbers), "This comes at a cost, as your reach will be narrower, typically leading to higher CPMs. Given the current high brand safety results on X, I recommend most advertisers to run with just exclusion keywords."
- After the courts protected X under the status of free-speech, Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant has abandoned legal proceedings against X over videos depicting the Wakeley stabbing in Sydney. Good news, but it is not over yet. Their focus will shift to X's merits review, a process that has been initiated with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
- X Corp. is asking the United States Supreme Court to review the process that led special counsel Jack Smith in obtaining Trump Twitter files. X Corp. wants the justices to consider whether social media services can be forced to share data about their users with government investigators while being barred from informing those users about the requests . The social media company argues that a district judge ran afoul of the First Amendment when she ordered the company to turn over Trump’s data.
- For my Japanese audience, X Japan's CEO Ayumu Matsuyama will be speaking at the DX General EXPO 2024 tomorrow, the 11th of June, starting at 3:30 p.m. The event dubbed "The Evolution of X" is free and will cover how X integrates AI-powered search, video, finance, and human resource matching services to evolve into the Everything App.
■ xAI:
- xAI has announced they plan to build a ‘gigafactory of compute’ in Memphis, Tennessee, to drive their AI model training and inference efforts. Though the project is still pending approval by the Memphis Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine and other local authorities, it is expected to be quickly approved. Per Paul Young, Mayor of Memphis, "Memphis is a city of innovators, so it’s no surprise that it feels like home to those looking to change the world. We had an ideal site, ripe for investment. And we had the power of our people who created new and innovative processes to keep up with the pace required to land this transformational project."
- Per xAI's Eric Zelikman (@ericzelikman), "Being at xAI has really highlighted for me how often news is weaponized to (seemingly) intentionally spread misinformation."
- In this one screenshot you can see two things; xAI is working on image generation and Grok may soon utilize web search results. Elon stated a few months ago that xAI has had discussions with Mid Journey. And as far as search results to generate content, Grok, as of now, only uses search results from X. This was discovered by Lohan Simpson (@Lohansimpson).
- xAI is working to give Grok a Personalities for Stories in the Explore tab that you find suitable to your taste.
- Per Elon, "We're less than 24 months away from AGI, where its smarter than a human."
■ ELON NEWS:
- If you missed Elon's livestream of Diablo last night, you can watch it
. He answered a lot of questions about Starship, Optimus, and X.
- X's Viv (@battleangelviv) asked Elon if he was "gonna play/stream the Elden Ring DLC when it comes out?" Per Elon, "Yeah. It sounds great!"
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For June I got my hands on Two official Limited Edition...
The Boring Company Hats!
This hat had a limited run of only 30,000 and is no longer made. You know it is authentic because of the Apollo branding. They sell for upwards to $100 ea.
SOURCES:
FLYOVERS:
Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer
Giga Nevada: Zanegler
Giga Berlin: Tobias Lindh
Fremont Factory: MetGod
Tesla:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/longtime-tesla-holder-baillie-gifford-backs-56-billion-musk-pay
Drew Baglino Interview
SpaceX:
Starlink:
X:
xAI: