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

31st of March, 2025

"xAI and X’s futures are intertwined..." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA $TSLA ($259.16, -1.67%):

- Giga Berlin has built their 500,000th Model Y!

- These images posted by Tesla's Romain Hedouin (@RomainHedouin) show that Giga Berlin is driving home all the benefits employees get to take advantage of. There are two Model Ys in front of Giga Berlin that say DRYVE and Rent Me Starting from 25€ a Day ($27/day). They have also placed banners detailing some of the benefits working at the Gigafactory.

- "We are Tesla!" by Henrike Herreilers, Senior Tesla Service Technician & Coach in Kiel, Germany.

- Per Elon, "As I’ve said previously, unsupervised full self-driving Teslas will be carrying passengers in Austin in June and many cities in America by end of year. This will enable passenger cars to increase in utility by roughly half an order of magnitude overnight with a software update."

- Today, a fire at a Tesla Center in Rome's Torre Angela neighborhood destroyed 17 cars. Emergency services responded at 4:30 a.m. Italian authorities are investigating potential arson. The building was also damaged, but no injuries were caused.

Per X CEO Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX), "Tesla is a cherished member of our family. Attacks like we’ve seen today in Rome and recently in the U.S. are unacceptable. X stands with Tesla and against terrorism, violence and vandalism. Everyone should too!

- The new Model Y and 3 at a Tesla Popup Store in the Zahia City Center in Sharjah, UAE. They will be there until the 3rd of April. Per Abdullah Ismail, Tesla EMEA Senior Sales Advisor, "Our team of specialists will be present from 10 am to midnight to guide you through the upgraded features on the all new design."

- Tesla China announced 3 year interest-free loans for the new Model Y now until the 30th of April.

- Tesla showcased their cutting-edge engineering, AI, and sustainable manufacturing at Tongji University in a TECH TALK recruiting event. The exhibition gave students a behind-the-scenes look at Tesla’s R&D and design from Giga Shanghai. It included Autopilot, battery tech, and automation. Per Tesla Recruiter Amber Liu, "A huge thank you to Tongji University for hosting us, and to the brilliant students who joined—your curiosity and passion for sustainable tech made the discussions unforgettable." Pics by Amber.

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

• Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 31st of March, '25. Fresh off the Chattanooga Charge event, Joe got us a great flyover today.

■ SPACEX:

- Today launch 38 of Falcon 9 Starlink 6-80 took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This was the 17th flight for the first stage booster. It previously launched Ax-2, Euclid, Ax-3, CRS-30, SES ASTRA 1P, NG-21, and 10 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. 28 Starlinks were deployed.

- It was a busy weekend for SpaceX and the Fram2 crew ahead of today's launch. On Saturday they completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities. They suited up, took the black Model X's to Launch Complex 39-A, boarded the Crew Dragon 207 Resilience, and with the help of engineers and mission control personnel, they ran through the entire pre-launch checklist.

Later Saturday night, SpaceX completed the static fire test of Fram2's Falcon 9 booster B1085. According to Mission Commander Chun Wang (@satofishi), they will carry a piece of the original Fram teak deck that was signed by Oscar Wisting in 1910 along with them. As of right now, launch is a go for 9:46 p.m. ET.

During the Fram2 X Spaces, SpaceX's Jon Edwards (@edwards345) stated Dragon C207 Resilience has been upgraded to support both posigrade and retrograde abort scenarios to ensure it avoids landing in Cuba or Panama during a southern trajectory abort. Resilience includes a Starlink laser terminal in its trunk to provide the crew with high-speed internet that surpasses the bandwidth of NASA's TDRSS. Falcon booster B1085 will employ a short-boostback maneuver to allow the booster to land in international waters. SpaceX initially considered Bahamian waters, but they are conducting further environmental studies before committing to regular landings there.

-At Launch Complex 39-A, right next to the Fram2 Falcon 9, SpaceX is rapidly installing sheet piles at the Starship Tower. H/T Niall-Ian Anderson (@INiallAnderson).

- Starbase had bas weather this weekend, but it did not slow SpaceX down. Here are the latest update pics from Carlos, the Starbase Surfer (@cnunezimage). The demolition of the High Bay continues. Form work for the roundabout continues. And Starship 20 is now sitting in the Rocket Garden with Booster's 12 and 15. Remember to follow/subscribe to Carlos.

- NASA awarded SpaceX a modification to the NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract, adding Starship to its existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy offerings. This enables it to support a range of commercial launch services for NASA missions, including the Artemis program's Human Landing System (HLS) for lunar landings.

- The FAA has confirmed the mishap investigation for Starship Flight 7 is closed without any safety impact.

Countdown to 180 (36 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 2 - Starship):

• Launch 39! Monday, 31st of March, at 9:46 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Fram2 will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 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. The booster will land on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. For a breakdown of the crew and mission, click here!

• Launch 40! Tuesday, 1st of April, at 4:39 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 11-13 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 41! Friday, 4th of April, at 3:42 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 11-11 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 42! Saturday, 5th of April, at 10:40 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-72 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:

- Congratulations to the Technical University of Munich (TUM Boring @TUM_Boring) for winning the 2025 Not-a-Boring-Competition! They set an all-time competition distance record of 22.5 meters, 74 feet.

The Virginia Tech Diggeridoos (@DiggeridoosVT) won this years Innovation Award. "The Diggeridoos came to dig and we did just that. We’re proud to have finished 2nd overall digging 9 feet and honored to receive the Most Innovative Award! This project has been months in the making, and seeing it all come together at competition was unforgettable."

The University of Pennsylvania's Penn Hyperloop (@Penn_Hyperloop) won the Rookie Award.

Other finalist for this year included:

The Bored Tunnelers (@boredtunnelers) from Bangladesh.

WatDig from U of Waterloo, Colorado University of Boulder's CU Hyperloop (@CU_Hyperloopfrom), And the University of Washington's Washington Tunneling (@uwtunneling).

■ NEURALINK:

- NP1 Noland Arbaugh (@ModdedQuad), shared a 14-month update, celebrating one year with his implant Eve. He touches on using the link 10 hours daily for reading, gaming, and studying. He announced his new role as a keynote speaker and will start on the 10th of April at the University of Arizona. He also mentions Neuralink's wheelchair control project. The link to his heartfelt post is in the sources section.

Per Neuralink, "Noland, 14 months into your journey, and your energy and appetite for new challenges keep us going. We’re amazed by your drive—thank you for showing us all the way!"

- During his Wisconsin speech, Elon stated Neuralink's Blindsight "will be low resolution at first, but over time, the impact will enable vision that is like super human." Blindsight is expected to be installed on the first human patient late this year.

■ STARLINK:

- SpaceX is prepared to provide Starlink kits to assist with communications needs and relief efforts to areas affected by the earthquake in Thailand and Myanmar, pending any necessary governmental approvals.

- United Airlines announced that the FAA has granted approval for its first Starlink-equipped aircraft; the Embraer 175. Its first commercial flight is scheduled for May, less than eight months after the Starlink deal was revealed. Per United, "That green light means we expect to install Starlink on 40+ planes a month, with our entire regional fleet being outfitted by the end of year."

- Starlink is now available in Azerbaijan.

■ X:

- X Money is working on a psychical card that you will be able to order for free and add to your Apple/Goggle Wallet. H/T Aaron (@aaronp613).

- X Japan CEO Ayumu Matsuyama (@ayumu_matsuyama) has posted that X Corp. Japan has partnered with CyberAgent America to form a marketing partnership to strengthen X's efforts to promote Japanese anime to the world. CyberAgent America will use X’s 550 million users—68 million in Japan—and 100 million annual anime conversations for marketing. The collaboration includes anime-specific features (pages, emojis, timelines), data-driven strategies, co-produced videos, and profitability boosts via merchandise and event.

■ xAI:

- xAI has acquired X in an all-stock deal valuing xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion (after $12 billion in debt). The merger leverages X's 600 million users and 10+ terabytes of real-time data to enhance AI training for Grok. Per Elon, "We officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach."

- xAI's Dane (@danesonance) posted, "xAI now owns Vine What should we do with it?" Elon replied, "Feel free to take that on."

- Per xAI's Toby Pohlen (@TobyPhln), "Our biggest challenge will be to sustain this trend. Success is measured as area under the curve. You can get addicted to a certain kind of stress. While I occasionally complain about my lack of leisure time, I also relish being in the room where it happens. Building xAI is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I wouldn't want to miss it."

■ DOGE:

Estimated Savings: $140 Billion

Amount Saved Per Taxpayer: $869.57

- I made a list of all the DOGE members that I know of. Feel free to follow and if you know of a member not on the list, let me know. https://x.com/i/lists/1906044479750234155

- DOGE posted agencies terminated 121 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $351 million and savings of $156 million, including a $1.6 million DEI contract for “strategies for implementing ‘social emotional’ learning”, and a $143K Department of Transportation contract for “social media support services”.

■ ELON NEWS:

- During the Green Bay Town Hall, Ekaterina Diestler and Nicholas Jacobs both became a $1 Million spokespersons for signing the Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges.

- Elon clarified the Block Captain for support of Brad Schimel. Anyone can do it. You only need to sign up (link in sources section) and get people in Wisconsin to hold a picture of Brad Schimel (@TeamSchimel) in one hand and a thumbs up with the other hand. The Schimel pic can be on paper or on their phone. Every time you do this, you get $20 and they get $20.

• BONUS: If you refer 100 people, you become a Block General and get an additional $200.

• BONUS: If your recruited resident sends their own picture with a voting location in the background, they will receive $20 and so will you! Applies Tuesday only.

Per Elon, "You could make over $1000 in one day just by getting out the vote in Wisconsin!"

- Totally worth the watch!

■ SUBSCRIBERS:

I will announce the winner of the CyberBeast hat as soon as I get a reply from the winner. If I don't get a reply I will draw another name in 24 hours. So, check your DM's starting tomorrow. I will also post what the April giveaway item will be tomorrow.

Also, if you are interested in getting Tesla products, you can support me by using my referral. You can get up to a $1,000 discount. Just click here: ts.la/stephen746292

Have a great day!

■ SOURCES:

FLYOVERS:

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

Tesla:

• https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/fire-tesla-dealership-rome-destroys-17-cars-2025-03-31/

SpaceX:

• Starlink 6-80 Starlink Mission

• https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-awards-launch-services-contract-for-spacex-starship/

Neuralink:

• https://x.com/ModdedQuad/status/1905696935883010058

Starlink:

• https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/united-receives-faa-approval-first-starlink-equipped-airplanes-2025-03-31/

X:

• https://www.cyberagent.co.jp/news/detail/id=31600

Elon News:

• Elon Quote: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1905731750275510312

• Block Captain: http://block-captain.theamericapac.org