Want to Know: Your Daily Musk Companies Update

17th of January, 2025

Jan 17, 2025

"This is what exponential improvement looks like..." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA TSLA 0.00%↑ ($426.50, +3.06%):

- Tesla is currently at the Brussels Motor Show with Cybercab, Cybertruck, Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Optimus. The event is at the Brussels Expo in Belgium and last until the 19th of January.

- Tesla has extended their Free lifetime Supercharging for new Foundation Series Cybertruck has been extended to the 31st of January.

- WindMar Home (@WindMarHome) announced they have installed over 50,000 Powerwalls in Puerto Rico! "We are delivering innovation, resilience, and real-world results where they’re needed most."

- The Tesla AI account has stated a more comprehensive cleaning solution is being worked on for the vehicle cameras. Users like Chuck Cook (@chazman) showed concern about having to manually clean cameras especially for when Unsupervised FSD and Cybercab are on the market.

- New Model Ys have started to ship across China and soon APAC to Tesla showrooms.

- Tesla filed an LFP manufacturing patent, WO2025015194A1. Per ex-Tesla Drew Baglino, "The patent describes a more scalable, lower capital investment, and lower process cost means of making LFP than traditional precursor CSTR followed by RHKs. Also flexible to a variety of Fe and Phosphate inputs. Would be prudent for the new LFP supply chains developing in the US and Europe to adopt this approach when localizing. Fully scaled can be lower cost than un-tariffed LFP from China."

- Tesla Global Vice President Grace Tao Lin posted pics of the New Year Goods Street event happening at Giga Shanghai. "The festive atmosphere is getting stronger and stronger, have you all started preparing for the New Year yet? Over the past few days, we've opened our vibrant 'New Year Goods Street' at Giga Shanghai. Not only can you find affordable and fresh wholesale New Year goods and traditional cultural heritage crafts, but there's also an exciting raffle to give away New Year gifts."

- Tesla officially opened the 24 V4s and 24 destination chargers at POST in downtown Houston. 48 stalls total. POST is a large food hall with tons of local and global vendors. The food hall is inspired by a Tokyo night market concept. There is massive 5-acre rooftop park and farm with awesome views of the Houston skyline. The venue includes spaces for concerts, exhibitions, and community events. Very cool place.

- In Canada, Basic Autopilot is now C$1,400, down from C$4,000 (-65%).

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

Giga Nevada: Zanegler (@HinrichsZane), 16th of January, '25.

Giga Texas: Brad Sloan, Met God, 16th of January, '25.

Fremont Factory: Met God, 16th of January, '25.

■ SPACEX:

- Yesterday SpaceX's 9th launch of 2024 and the 7th Test Flight of Starship 33 Super Heavy Booster 14 took place from Orbital Launch Mount A (OLM-A) at Starbase, Texas. As always, excitement guaranteed. All 33 Raptor engines ignited sending both vehicles through a nominal ascent. After a successful hot-stage separation, the booster initiated its boostback burn, with 12 out of the planned 13 Raptor engines reigniting, to commence its journey back to the launch site.

Super Heavy Booster 14 successfully reignited all 13 intended middle ring and center Raptor engines for its landing burn, including the one that had failed during the boostback burn. The booster slowed and guided itself in towards the launch tower as the chopsticks grabbed it hovering over the OLM. Catch No.2!

Starship 33 did not fare as well. After stage separation, the vehicle ignited all six Raptor engines, completing its ascent burn to space. If you were paying attention during ascent, there was loose steel flapping in the wind on ship and after booster catch, S33's engines slowly started to go out. You could also see fire in one of the flap hinges Telemetry was lost after about eight and a half minutes into the flight.

SpaceX's initial data suggests a fire in the aft section caused the rapid unscheduled disassembly. The vehicle remained within its designated launch corridor, which ensured public safety on the ground, water, and in the air. The videos of Starship 33 disintegrating in the atmosphere are gorgeous.

- Per Elon, "The booster flight was a success, the ship flight was 1/4 successful, hence cup being ~5/8 full. New ship forward flaps, higher thrust engines and tile adherence on ascent were tested. Improved heat shield performance was the only major thing that wasn’t tested, along with the “Pez” payload dispenser. Probably solved in next month’s launch. The 9 meter diameter version of Starship will probably fly ~10,000 times, so this is barely a bump in the road. Doesn’t change the likely date at which Mars becomes self-sufficient.

Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity. Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month."

- As of right now, Starship 34 (Flight 8) is currently at Massey's undergoing-testing! SpaceX waits for no one!

- Yes, there will be a FAA Mishap Investigation. There always is. SpaceX"During an investigation conducted by the operator, the FAA will provide oversight to ensure the operator complies with its mishap investigation plan and other regulatory requirements," the agency said. "In addition, the FAA will coordinate response planning with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and with Federal launch ranges operated by the U.S. Space Force, as needed."

- Get your new SpaceX Starship Flight 7 T-Shirt ($30) and Mission Patch ($15) in the SpaceX shop. Went on sale yesterday evening. Link in the sources section.

Countdown to 180 (8 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 1 - Starship):

Launch 10! Saturday, 17th of January, at 7:57 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 11-8 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 11! Tuesday, 21st of January, at 12:13 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 13-1 will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Launch 12! Wednesday, 22nd of January, at 6:38 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 11-6 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
Launch 13! Friday, 24th of January, at 5:45 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-12 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

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■ THE BORING COMPANY:

- The latest on the Cyber-Tunnel shows that the Boring Company has only one side left to add the Stainless Steel cladding on. I'm not sure how much work is still needed to be completely done.

■ NEURALINK:

- Neuralink posted a thread on their approach to brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) via deep learning simulations of brain activity. By simulating motor cortex activity with high fidelity, they've accelerated the evaluation of neural decoders and implemented optimization techniques like reinforcement learning to maximize data transmission rates, measured in bits per second.

Their brain simulator has been used to train a reinforcement learning agent. So far it has shown promising results in converting brain data into cursor control. If the simulation is accurate, users will experience similar control and efficiency in practice.

- Neuralink 100% Filtered Honey, vintage October 2024. "Limited by United States Law to activities requiring the use of delicious honey." Per Neuralink's DJ Seo (@djseo_), ""Delicious Investigational Product" brought to you by Neuralink (Honeybees)." I don't know if you can buy this. I doubt it, but yeah, I want some.

- DJ also posted an essay on the importance of Neuralink's long-term goal to "Understand and Expand Consciousness." The post reflects on the historical context of consciousness exploration, linking it to philosophical inquiries by figures like John Locke, and modern scientific advancements and technological breakthroughs that could redefine human potential. DJ frames Neuralink's as a transformative endeavor akin to historical milestones like the mastery of fire, with potential applications in treating neurological diseases and enhancing human capabilities. It 100% worth the read. Link is in the thread.

■ STARLINK:

- Przemek Wiczk's latest install of dual Starlinks aboard a Siem Car Carriers roll on roll off (RORO) vessel.

- SpaceX is seeking an exemption from New York's Affordable Broadband Act (ABA), which went into effect on Wednesday. The Act compels ISPs to provide low-income residents with internet plans starting at $15 per month for 25Mbps download speeds and $20 for 200Mbps or higher. Starlink is currently priced at $120 monthly for residential users. The ABA includes an exemption for small providers serving no more than 20,000 households in the state. SpaceX applied for this exemption.

- In Australia, SpaceX is offering a new Starlink plan for about $9 per month. The company is sending out emails to subscribers about the new “backup connectivity” plan for $15 Australian dollars at a cap of 5GB per month. Per SpaceX is selling the plan as a backup "if your primary internet fails or in an emergency... If needed, you can buy additional Roam data in your account for $3 per GB. You can also use Roam data on the go, in-motion, internationally, and in coastal waters." This an effort to pull in revenue from inactive customers.

- Images of Elon and his fleet of Cybertrucks with Starlinks responding to the Los Angeles fires. So far 1,350 free Starlink kits have been provided to fire departments and other disaster response organizations from Orange County to Malibu. Thousands of customers have been given free Starlink service as well.

- Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers Bible translators and partners with churches in the advancement of Bible translation, will start using Starlink to help national Bible translators in remote regions access to the web. Per Mark Stedman, Vice President of Technology, "We have thoroughly tested the technology over the past year, and we recently launched Starlink with a few Bible translation teams in very remote areas in Southeast Asia. We hope to expand to many different countries around the world in the near future."

- Yesterday, T-Mobile stated that approximately 198,000 users, sent/received around 96,000 SMS messages, and transmitted 21 wireless alerts since they activated the Direct-to-Cell Starlink service in wildfire-hit areas of Southern California.

- Czech Railways announced a new initiative to equip its trains with internet via an agreement with Starlink. Per Michal Krapinec, the head of the railway company, "We have reached an agreement with Starlink. We contacted Starlink directly through a carrier in Florida. They have developed an alternative antenna specifically designed for rail transport and we will be one of the carriers testing it." Testing of this system is slated to start in February.

■ X:

- X has new Limited-time New Year Offer for Verified Organizations. 30% off annual plans and up to $12,000 in free ad credit when they subscribe before the 30th of January.

- Per X's Dongwook (DongWookChung2), all Communities must comply with X's rules. The violations listed of Child exploitation, Doxxing other users, and Committing to platform manipulation will result in permanent suspension without warning, including for admins. "If there are Communities that violate these and actions are not taken, let us know. Communities with some members requesting to follow are acceptable. However, if the entire Community is collectively engaging in platform manipulation and that becomes its sole purpose, it will belong to the violation."

- X will change the 𝕏 logo for the Premium Hub to a verify badge logo. X is also testing live streams swiping to make easier for users to find other streams. H/T Iorel (@Iorel_X).

- Developers can now upload media to X using the X API v2.

- A Community Note written on a video automatically shows on all posts with the matching video. X just improved the video matching system and it’s now identifying +7% more matches.

- X Coffee Cup when? Pic by X's Mahsa (@mahsadinyari).

- The EU has now specifically requested internal documentation on X's recommender systems—the algorithms that personal content for users—and any recent modifications made to them to them by February 15.

- Per Elon, "If you’re a hardcore software engineer and want to build the everything app, please join us by sending your best work to code@x.com. We don’t care where you went to school or even whether you went to school or what “big name” company you worked at. Just show us your code." This is one of the reasons Elon's companies are so successful.

■ xAI:

- South Korean power and automation company, LS ELECTRIC, is in negotiations to supply more distribution board components to xAI' Memphis facility. The distribution board is a device that controls electricity coming from power plants and distributes it to final users such as the data center.

■ ELON NEWS:

- Last night after Flight 7, Elon and SpaceX's Ryan Goodnight (@ryangoodnight) and Lauren Dreyer (@laurendreyer06) hosted a delegation of leading Indian business figures at Starbase for a fireside Q&A. The group was led by the India Global Forum (IGF) to mark the UK-headquartered policy and events platform's expansion into the US. Per Elon, "Things are trending positive. I'm certainly in favour of lowering trade barriers to increase commerce between the US and India."

Per Ryan Goodnight, "It was a great opportunity for a focused conversation on the future of humanity and the importance India plays in that journey. It aptly highlights how enlightening it was to hear Elon’s perspective and how SpaceX and Starlink are truly invested in seeing India succeed." The pic was taken on the top floor of Mega Bay 2.

■ ANNOUNCEMENTS:

- For January, I will be giving a limited edition 'Find Me In Deep Space' Tesla Hat to a lucky subscriber! This commemorates the launch of Elon's Roadster and Starman aboard the Falcon Heavy on the 6th of February, 2018. Instead of credits like now, Tesla gave this out in limited capacity if you referred a Tesla purchase. Subscribe here to support and be eligible.

- If you are interested in getting a new Tesla, use my Referral to get $1,000 off the purchase. ts.la/stephen746292

Thanks for reading! Please repost and spread the news.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

■ SOURCES:

FLYOVERS: