Want to Know: Your Daily Musk Companies Update (Patreon)

24th of January, 2025

"Frankly, they need better dirty tricks..." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA $TSLA ($406.58, -1.41%):

- It's here! The new Model Y is now available for order in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. All four factories are bringing the vehicle online at nearly the same. Production of the new Model Y at Giga Texas should start today. Expect a few at first as production ramps up over the next few weeks.

Per Tesla's Lars Moravy (@larsmoravy), "I need you... everyone's going to love this new Model Y!"

- Yesterday, Joe Rogan (@joeorgan) took delivery of an UNPLUGGED PERFORMANCE (@UnpluggedTesla) Tesla Model S Plaid-APEX. This ride has custom painted carbon fiber widebody, white Banbū leather, combined with black Alcantara accents, and a racing ceramic brake system. This machine is beautiful! Joe and Ben from UP designed the build. "We're so grateful to have had this opportunity to make a special build for an extremely special client. Thanks Joe!"

- The new Tesla Taoyuan Arts Center Experience Store in Taiwan. Pics by Jowua (@JowuaLife).

- Elon Musk’s Tesla is joining Chinese automakers BYD, SAIC and Volvo-owner Geely in suing the European Commission over duties on made-in-China electric vehicles. The complaint was filed in Luxembourg. Tesla did undergo individual scrutiny by Commission investigators and ended up getting the lowest duty rate for all exporters of 8 percent. Volkswagen’s Chinese joint venture partner SAIC is 35 percent.

- According to Tesla's Siddhant Awasthi (@siddawa), the Cybertruck Off Road Armor and Rocker accessory has been running with delays, but will likely ship by the end of march. And on the Wheel Cover deliveries, supply has been secured, but "distribution is the bottleneck now."

- Supercharging in the Netherlands...

- Tesla has added Foundation Series Cybertrucks to existing inventory in Canada.

- Tesla will perform an Over the Air (OTA) software update on over 1.2 million imported Model S and X, and Giga Shanghai made Model 3 and Ys over safety hazards. It is described as a product recall under Chinese regulations.

- This mystery tent has people wondering if Tesla installed inductive charger for Cybercab. Pic by Joe Tegtmeyer.

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

• Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 24th of January, '25. Unsupervised Cybercab testing and new construction near the old batch plant.

• Giga Texas: Brad Sloan, 23rd, of January, '25.

■ SPACEX:

- Today launch 12 of Falcon 9 Starlink 11-6 took place from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This was the 23rd flight for the first stage booster. It previously launched Sentinel-6, DART, SDA-0B, Iridium OneWeb, Transporter-7, NROL-113, NROL-167, NROL-149, and 14 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. 23 Starlinks were deployed.

According to SpaceX's Kiko Dontchev (@TurkeyBeaver) this launch broke some records. The new turnaround time for Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) is now 2 days 22 hrs 21 mins 10 secs! And a new Overall Droneship Record was just set by Of Course I Still Love You of 2 days 22 hrs 21 mins 10 secs. The next best is A Shortfall of Gravitas at 3 days 12 hrs.

- Staying with the West Coast, last night was the final public meeting regarding the Environmental Impact Statement that would allow the US Air Force to authorize the redevelopment of Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg. This is to allow Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches and increase the annual Falcon launch cadence from 50 launches to 100 launches per year across both SLC-4E and SLC-6.

- The first Chopstick is being mounted on the Carriage for Tower 2 at Starbase! Wonderful shot by Mary (@BocaChicaGal) as Chop 1 is lifted in the air. Remember you can watch live 24-7 at @NASASpaceflight.

- Starships 36, 37, and 38 under construction inside the Starfactory. All 3 pictures by Carlos, the Starbase Surfer (@cnunezimages).

- The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Government continue to assess the impact of Starship 33. To date, there are no reported injuries and limited damage reported to property. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) have deployed a team on the Islands to develop a recovery plan with SpaceX reps who arrived today. Members of the public are asked to report all sightings of potential space debris to email nationalsecurity@gov.tc with the subject title Space X Debris and attach as much info and photos as possible. Reminder, that all space debris remains the property of SpaceX. The SpaceX incident is an active investigation led by the FAA in liaison with the UK and TCI.

Countdown to 180 (11 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 1 - Starship):

• Launch 13! Monday, 27th of Monday, at 2:21 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 12-7 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.

• Launch 14! Tuesday, 28th of January, at 10:34 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 SpainSat NG I 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. This is the first of two new-generation satellites built by Airbus to provide secure communications to the Spanish government, its allies, and various international organizations.

• Launch 15! Thursday, 30th of January, at 5:44 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 12-3 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.

■ THE BORING COMPANY:

- Latest images of the Boring Company's Cyber-Tunnel at Giga Texas.

■ NEURALINK: N/A...

■ STARLINK:

- T-Mobile and SpaceX will start beta testing Direct-to-Cell this Monday, the 27th of January. The beta test is expected to run until the 26th of July. Per Elon, "Starlink direct from satellite to cell phone Internet connection starts beta test in 3 days!" My wife and I have are both beta testers and will be using Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultras. I will let you know if any new notifications come our way.

- "Starlink for your tractor!" 21st Century Equipment on the John Deere JD Link Boost; the new product which brings Starlink internet to your tractor, combine, service truck, and more. "Areas with limited cell coverage will no longer be a problem when using Deere's innovative connectivity services."

- The UK Ministry of Defence Director of Military Court Service, Cleaven Faulkner, received provided by the Army’s THEIA team. "The flexibility of the Court Martial has been significantly enhanced following the receipt of a Starlink. It provides a reliable internet bearer option both in the UK and abroad, eliminating the need to rely on fixed internet infrastructure. As a result, the transformation of the service courts takes another step forward ensuring seamless operations wherever they are deployed. In the coming weeks both court centres will be fitted with fixed systems to enhanced our business continuity footprint in support of delivering timely justice."

- Tore Morten Olsen, President and Director of Maritime at Marlink, with SpaceX Enterprise Account Manager, Chase Gabrielson, at the Annual Maritime Kick Off Meeting.

■ X:

- X is still offering the Limited-time New Year Offer to become a verified organization. Claim 30% off annual plans and up to $12,000 free ad credit when you subscribe before the 30th of January.

- The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has left X, marking it as the first EU organization to do so. They said that X no longer meets their communication needs.

- You can now add Sources to Community Note Requests. This makes it easier for note writers to understand what context might be helpful on a post, so it can accelerate the process of a note appearing.

■ xAI:

- According to Fortune, xAI is building a data center with X in Atlanta, Georgia. Local authorities have been negotiating with X for more than a year and they finalized a 10-year agreement the day after Christmas. X and xAI will both get a property tax discount worth an estimated $10.1 million on $700 million worth of equipment. Per Kwanza Hall, Chairman of the Board at the economic development agency, known as Develop Fulton, "From what I understand, there may be interest in increasing that amount of investment over time, if they could, whether it be at that site or additional facilities. Our team is ready to go, and we’re excited about the partnership that we struck with xAI, but we look forward to more in the future."

- Soon you will be able to customize Grok interactions.

■ ELON NEWS:

- Trump on the Elon and Sam Altman drama. "It doesn't (bother me). He (Elon) hates one of the people in the deal... People in the deal are very, very smart people. But, Elon, one of the people he happens to hate. I have certain hatreds of people, too."

- Per @DOGE, in the first 80 hours, approx $420M of current and impending contracts have been cancelled. Including 2 leases. "Initial focus is mainly on DEI contracts and unoccupied buildings."

- DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy, has left DOGE to pursue a gubernatorial campaign in Ohio. And Bill McGinley, DOGE's legal counsel, has departed the commission for opportunities in the private sector. Steve Davis, the President of the Boring Company, is now part of the commission.

- Per Elon, "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The “everyone is Hitler” attack is sooo tired."

Per Joe Rogan, "He is absolutely correct. They wrap themselves in this idea to give them virtue, which he claimed gave them a reason to "say the most awful things about other people that have different perspectives. People use woke ideology as an excuse to be an asshole, and it’s really just people that are assholes that are attaching themselves to things that make them feel righteous. This is the Donald Trump excuse: You’d do anything you can to stop Hitler. This is why they want to conflate and they always want to pretend that everyone’s Hitler. The problem with that, after a while, it’s crying wolf, and people are like, ‘Oh, this is a bullshit game you’re playing and you’re just using it as an excuse."

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■ ANNOUNCEMENTS:

As a reminder, for January, one subscriber will get a limited edition 'Find Me In Deep Space' Tesla Hat! It's super cool! Subscribe to be eligible.

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

Thanks everybody!

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■ SOURCES:

FLYOVERS:

• Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer... coming soon.

• Giga Texas: Brad Sloan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zshLljasrfI

Tesla:

• https://www.politico.eu/article/tesla-also-sues-eu-over-electric-vehicle-duties/

Elon Quote: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1881536518206218445