S.E. Robinson, Jr.

(FREE) ELON CHRON: Your 24hr Musk Companies Update (Patreon)

Published:

2025-03-19 21:20:15

Imported:

2026-06

Tags:

Cybertruck DOGE Elon Musk ElonMusk Grok Neuralink SpaceX Starlink Starship TSLA Tesla The Boring Company X xAI

Content

19th of March, 2025

"I said that the factory is the product..." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA $TSLA ($235.86, +4.68%):

- "Make things people love." - Tesla

- Cybertruck road trips... Pic by Kyle Field (@mrkylefield).

- Yesterday, Tesla Retail Shareholders filed an Amicus Brief with the Delaware Supreme Court to support Tesla in the reversal of the Chancery Court. Tesla community member Alexandra Merz (@TeslaBoomerMama), Larry Goldberg (@TeslaLarry), Herbert Ong (@herbertong), Farzad (@farzyness), and great John (@teslaownersSV) were on hand to express their dissatisfaction with the ruling of Chancellor McCormick. Shareholders are represented by law firms WilmerHale (@WilmerHale) and Lewis Brisbois Law (@LewisBrisbois) whom are working pro bono. Filings are in the sources section.

- Attorney General Pamela Bondi released the following statement, "The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism. The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences. We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes."

- Mazal tov! More Model Ys arrive in Israel. Pics by Tesla's Captain Eli (@TheCaptainEli).

- Tesla China has applied for "MEGAPACK" trademarks in categories including scientific devices, website services, and building repairs. H/T Tsla Chan (@Tslachan).

- Cybercab in Berlin. Per Tesla Senior Service Preparation Technician Sebastian Ziegan, "In the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing significant milestones, such as the delivery of the Model 3, the construction of the Giga Berlin factory, and the first 30 deliveries of the Model Y. I was part of different events like Cybertruck and Cybercap Europe tour, and I’ve seen firsthand how Tesla continues to innovate with the Model 3 and Model Y refresh." Pic by Sebastian.

- Per Tesla's Wes Morrill (@wmorrill3), "By popular demand, you can now adjust Cybertruck ride height from the mobile app. Tesla team is always working to make our products better than they were yesterday."

- The Supercharger in Bayreuth, Germany with the Tesla Lounge by bk-World has been nominated in the 'Best EV Hub in the World’ competition by Insight Research.

- Yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission granted Tesla a transportation charter-party carrier permit, allowing the company to operate autonomous vehicles with a safety driver to transport Tesla employees. First step toward its Cybercab service in the state. Tesla still requires additional permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to offer fully driverless services. H/T Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt).

- Supermicro (@Supermicro_SMCI) is at the Nvidia GTC 2025 in the San Jose, California, McEnery Convention Center with their branded Cybertrucks. They will be at booth #1115.

- The Vancouver International Auto Show, operated by the New Car Dealers Association of BC, removed Tesla from its 2025 event. They cited safety concerns after "Tesla Takedown" protests in Vancouver and Surrey where demonstrators opposed Elon's role in the Trump administration and the imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 19th of March, '25. Cybertrucks galore, Cybercab testing, Megapack 2 progress, and the Support Campus progress. Subscribe to Joe and support his work!

■ SPACEX:

- Yesterday, NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, safely returned to Earth after a prolonged mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). They splashed down off the coast of Florida near Tallahassee in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom capsule. Their return, originally planned for a shorter duration, was delayed due to multiple helium leaks and propulsion issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, extending their stay to approximately 10 months. The Crew-9 mission was launched in September 2024 and was adapted to retrieve them. This was the ninth crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program with SpaceX.

After splash down they were quickly recovered by SpaceX teams on the capsule recovery ship Megan. They underwent immediate medical checks aboard the ship, then were transported to a nearby NASA facility and evaluated to assess bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and cardiovascular adjustments. They have since flown to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they’ll participate in any rehabilitation programs needed.

- With the recovery of Crew-9, this concludes the end of East Coast recovery efforts for SpaceX. SpaceX's Sarah Walker said the future of recovery ship Megan is unknown. SpaceX is already preparing for West Coast operations. Recovery vessel Shannon is already docked at the Port of Long Beach. The Pacific Ocean tends to have calmer waters which reduces the need to reschedule. Per SpaceX's Jon Edwards (@edwards345), "All future Dragon recoveries will be from the Pacific Ocean, mainly to ensure the trunk deorbits safely into the ocean."

- Yesterday evening, launch 34 of Falcon 9 Starlink 12-25 took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This was the 19th flight for the first stage booster B1077. It previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, NG-20, TD7, and 11 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Fairing recovery was conducted by Doug. 23 Starlinks were deployed, including 13 Direct to Cells.

- At Starbase, the concrete pour for the Flame Trench at Pab B is ongoing. The water manifold was installed on the Pad B's Orbital Launch Mount. Starbase. Pics by Shaun Gisler (@lifeatstagezero).

- Mission Commander Chun Wang (@satofishi) has stated Fram2 will carry more cameras than any previous missions, and that SpaceX installed 3D-printed mounts in the cupola. The Fram2 crew spent 30 minutes practicing how to detach the cameras in an emergency. They then spent three hours simulating Day 2 of the flight; waking up, eating, drinking coffee, and opening the cupola. "As soon as the front hatch was opened, one of us suddenly experienced space motion sickness and vomited in the cabin. While we were cleaning up, a cabin depressurization event occurred, bringing the simulation to an early end of mission."

- The roof of the High Bay has started to come down. Demolition has started. Video from @NASASpaceflight.

- Per SpaceX's Dan Huot (@danhuot) on the upcoming changes to Starbase, "Starbase is like real-life Hogwarts, in the sense that every time you get used to walking somewhere, all of the pathways/staircases completely change... Plus all the magic."

Countdown to 180 (32 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 2 - Starship):

Launch 35! Thursday, 20th of March, at 10:48 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 NROL-57 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This is the eighth batch of Starshield satellites for a reconnaissance constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office. The booster will return to Vandenberg and land at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4).
Launch 36! Monday, 24th of March, at 1:42 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 NROL-69 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This is a classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office. The booster will return to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and land at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1).
Launch 37! Monday, 24th of March, at 3:00 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 11-7 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 38! Tuesday, 1st of April, at 11:00 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Fram2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This is a classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office. The booster will return to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and land at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). Fram2 is the world’s first astronaut mission to polar orbit. Named after the Norwegian polar research ship Fram, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch into a 90° circular orbit from Florida, making it the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s polar regions from low-Earth orbit. A cupola will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft to allow for Earth observation from at an altitude of 425 – 450 km.

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■ THE BORING COMPANY:

- Vegas Loop by Kilgore (tiktok u/kilgore4n)

- Best video game ever. In case you didn't know... The Boring Company can operate their Boring Machines with an Xbox Controller. This video is from 2018.

■ NEURALINK:

- On the 3rd of March, Neuralink filed a trademark application for "Telepathy" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It was filed on an "intent-to-use" basis. Filing link in the sources section.

- Neuralink's Sehej Singh (@sehej56real) has posted the above pic stating that they are still looking for more people to sign up and share their stories. "We want to give people the ability to control devices (laptops, phones, robots) with just their thoughts. We aim to build the best product for people with limited mobility. If you have limited mobility (ALS, spinal cord injury), I would love to get your feedback! DM me!"

- Per Neuralink's Romina Nejad (@RominaNejad), "One tell tale sign I know I’m dedicating my time to something I love is feeling sheer excitement when engaging in the process." Something's cooking.

■ STARLINK:

- Starlink Train passing in front of the Moon. Gorgeous video by Space 8K (@uhd2020).

- Indian telecom company Vodafone Idea is in discussions with multiple satellite communication operators, including Starlink, to explore potential partnerships.

- Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD), has made its RIO lineup of autonomous security solutions compatible with Starlink. This enhancement expands RAD’s market reach to off-grid environments, such as mining operations, oil and gas facilities, and rural properties.

- According to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK),Starlink has become the seventh largest isp in Kenya with 19,146 subscribers.

- Filtronic, a UK-based electronics manufacturer, has secured a $19.7 million contract from SpaceX to supply high-performance solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) for Starlink. The agreement includes an initial $6.5 million order for Cerus 32 SSPAs, with deliveries starting in 2026, and follows a previous $5.2 million deal.

■ X:

- X is set to raise $2 billion in a primary funding round to clear over $1 billion in junior debt, aided by a 25% xAI stake gift to X investors. Banks like Morgan Stanley sold off $11 billion of the original $12.5 billion buyout loans. X is now valued at $44 billion matching what Elon originally purchased Twitter for.

- Global Luxury Strategy Lead at X, Florence Best (@BabyModeuse, in collaboration with Arianna Galante (@Digitalzia) and Accenture Song (@AccentureSong), will host an invite-only session on the 20th of March, at 10 a.m. CT, to explore the future of luxury advertising on X. It will focus on luxury trends and strategies using X’s live solutions to grab elite audiences and safeguard brand exclusivity, all while leveraging Accenture Song’s tech-powered creative expertise.

■ xAI:

- xAI introduced Grok 3's "DeeperSearch" yesterday on the web version. It is an enhanced version of DeepSearch, offering extended search capabilities and more advanced reasoning. It features dropdown menus, customizable presets, and context-aware responses for complex queries, powered by Colossus.

- Yesterday, the Memphis City Council gave final approval on the sale of 13 acres of city-owned land to xAI for a gray-water treatment facility.

- xAI launched an API for image generation featuring the "grok-2-image-1212" model, capable of producing up to 10 JPG images per request at $0.07 per image, with a limit of 5 requests per second. It it lacks options for adjusting image quality, size, or style, and revises prompts via a chat model. It competes with Black Forest Labs' $0.05 per image and Ideogram's $0.08.

■ DOGE:

Estimated Savings: $115B

Amount Saved Per Taxpayer: $714.29

- Yesterday, DOGE canceled 47 contracts worth $185 million, saving $90 million. They included a $3.1 million contract for a “healthy relationships social media presence” and a $3.5 million contract for consultants “to provide professional IT cloud, software, hardware expertise, and expertise in customer experience, data analysis, project mgmt and technical writing”

- DOGE canceled a $75 million contract by the Federal Consulting Group (FCG) under the Department of the Interior for website customer satisfaction surveys, along with a nearly signed $830 million follow-up contract, citing wasteful spending.

- DOGE has started the collaborated with the Social Security Administration to mark approximately 3.2 million individuals aged 120 and older as deceased, updating a database that previously lacked death dates for these records. This cleanup addresses inefficiencies to enhance government efficiency by correcting data in the SSA’s records, which include over 67 million beneficiaries, with only about 53,000 being centenarians.

■ ELON NEWS:

- Texas Senator Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) dropped Part 2 of his interview with Elon. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-2-elon-musk-1-on-1-exclusive-at-the-white-house/id1495601614?i=1000699785279…

- FOX's Sean Hannity interviewed Elon yesterday evening. The focus was on the return of Astronauts Butch and Suni and the violence on going at Tesla facilities, Superchargers, and towards vehicle owners. Full interview link in the sources section.

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Have a great day!

■ SOURCES:

FLYOVERS: