Elon Musk News
Elon Musk and the Question of Overconfidence
"What separated us, I believe, was his lack of even being able to conceive failure. I know this because this is where we parted ways at SpaceX. We got to a point where I could not see it succeeding and walked away. He didn’t and succeeded. I have 25 years experience building space hardware and he had none at the time. So much for experience."
— Jim Cantrell (SpaceX co-founder)
Tesla
Meet Tesla’s Model 3, Its Long-Awaited Car for the Masses
"The $35,000 Tesla Model 3 is finally here. It is sleek, quick as hell, and meant for the masses. And it is the most important car the company will ever build.
The Model 3 is the car Tesla Motors has promised since the company’s founding, the car that CEO Elon Musk is convinced will push EVs into the mainstream and the technology to an inflection point. Not to put too fine a point on it, it is the car Musk believes will change the world.
'It’s very important to accelerate the transition to sustainable transport,' Musk said on stage. 'This is really important for the future of the world.'"
Photo from Wired
Elon Musk says this week's Tesla Model 3 unveiling is just 'Part 1' of 2
"Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a reputation for dribbling little hints about the company's plans on Twitter — and on the eve of the unveiling of the mass-market Model 3 near Los Angeles, he's at it again."
The Tesla Dividend: Better Internet Access
"The data ingested and spewed out by these vehicles will become overwhelming at the same time that our desires for immediate, no-delay inputs and outputs from these vehicles will become requirements. And the only way to move all this data around is to have fiber everywhere, in every neighborhood in the country."
This is a big benefit of Tesla's direct sales model
"Elon's vision is to build a vertically integrated organization where information flow happens seamlessly across departments and where we have a closed feedback loop to our customers. By doing this, we can provide the best possible product, service and overall experience to our customers in the fastest way possible, while also operating efficiently as a business."
— Jay Vijayan (Tesla CIO)
Photo from Chris Baird
SpaceX
SpaceX to Resume Flights to Space Station Using Dragon Vehicle
"The SpaceX Dragon will be flown to orbit on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and carry over 4,400 lbs of scientific research, perishables, and hardware to the Expedition 47 crew. 'This is a launch that we’ve been waiting quite some time for because it’s really important to our overall ISS research program,' said Chief Scientist for the ISS program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Julie Robinson... 'SpaceX is a workhorse for us.'"
Photo from SpaceX
Hyperloop
Nevada OKs $9 Million Tax Break For Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Test Track
"Elon Musk’s futuristic supersonic SF-LA travel dream just got a multi-million dollar shot in the arm from Nevada officials. Nevada lawmakers authorized $9 million in tax incentives to a California company set on testing a super high-speed, tube-based transportation system in North Las Vegas."
Photo from Hyperloop Technologies
SolarCity
Smart energy homes are the foundation of cleaner, more resilient communities
"Solar energy, battery storage, smart inverters, and connected appliances like thermostats and hot water heaters can work in concert – woven together by intelligent software – to optimize when a home consumes, stores, and conserves energy."
Photo from SolarCity