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

5th of May, 2025

"Starbase, Texas, is now a real city!" - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA $TSLA ($280.26, -2.42%):

- Tesla held a Test Drive event at the Tesla bk World Lounge Supercharger in Pforzheim, Germany, on Saturday. Great weather and lots of interested people came to drive the new Model Y and check out the new features. The bk World team was also on hand talking to many EV drivers about the charging infrastructure in general and the use of the Lounge at while charging.

- Acceleration Boost is now available for the new Model Y. It adds about 100hp and reduces 0-60s time from 4.6s to 4.2s. It is priced at $2,000.

- FOX News' Lara Trump (@LaraLeaTrump) visited Giga Texas and took a tour with Plan Manager Jason Shawhan (@jason_shawhan). We get some great info and views inside the factory. "Vision and opportunity. Tesla's a big company. I believed in what the CEO's mission was, and I wanted to be a part of it." Lara also spoke with Model Y Production Manager John Nelson, Powertrain Director of Operations Ryan Martinak, and Cybertruck Engineering Manager Leigh Suggs.

- For April, Tesla sold 571 vehicles in Spain, a dropped of -36% YoY. For Q1 it was -17% YoY, even though sales for the EV market were up 54%.

- Bex Hill, Senior Delivery Operations Manager for Tesla UK & Ireland, oversaw the successful launch of the New Model Y Launch Series at Tesla's Delivery & Certified Pre-owned Centre in Birmingham, UK. "Our Delivery & Events teams have been busy over the past month, planning and preparing to handover the New Model Y Launch Series to the first owners in the UK. We had a full legacy line up of all the different models we’ve ever produced, including an original Roadster, Cybertruck and the latest Optimus."

- Per Kees Roelandschap (@KRoelandschap), Czechia published a new law on autonomous vehicles effectively allowing FSD (Supervised) in Europe starting Jan 2026. "If the car’s driving itself, the human is NOT responsible unless they ignore a takeover request."

I- nside the Tesla Semi at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas. Video by Jake Guerra. Per Jake, "The Tesla Semi Truck is amazing."

- In the U.S., buyers of a Model Y Long Range AWD can get a 6 year, 1.99% APR. Of note, this includes a 15% down payment clause. Customers can do a $0 down option with 2.99% for 72 months when they apply the $7,500 federal tax credit at the point of sale. The 1.99% APR cannot be combined with the $2,000 Model Y Loyalty Incentive.

- European Financing Rates: Czech 3.99%, Belgium 0%, Germany 1.99%, Spain 2.99%, Italy 2.99%, Norway 0%, Poland 2.49%, and Switzerland 0%.

- Tesla China is now offering a 5 year, 0% APR incentive for the Model Y if purchased before the 30th of June.

- In the U.S. the Model Y is also available for lease at $499/month on a 36/month term. This requires $2,999 at signing and includes an allowance of 10,000 miles per year. If you want $0 down, you can spread the $2,999 due at signing over the 36/month term for an estimated payment of $582/month.

- Tesla is offering Legacy Model Y owners a $2,000 discount if they take delivery of a new Model Y.

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

• Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 5th of May, '25. More Cybercab castings. Cortex to continues to grow eastward. Megapack 2 getting wired. Subscribe to Joe and support his work.

• Giga Nevada Semi Factory: Zanegler (@HinrichsZane), 3rd of May, '25. Casting pit progress. Megacharger stalls getting wiring and more conduit. Subscribe to Zanr and support his work.

■ SPACEX:

- On Saturday, with a positive vote of 97%, Starbase became an official city in the state of Texas. The above map by @NASASpaceflight shows the city boundaries in red. The voting results were:

• Yes - 97.25% - 212 votes

• No - 2.75% - 6 votes

• Voter Turnout - 77.0%.

The new city covers about 1.6 sq miles (3.9 sq km) and will be a Type C city; municipality of fewer than 5,000 people and a designation that will allow officials to levy a property tax of up to 1.5%. The first mayor of Starbase will be Robert 'Bobby' Peden, a SpaceX vice-president. The first two commissioners will SpaceX's Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka.

This Starbase, TX account, @StarbaseTX, is followed by SpaceX, and SpaceX just reposted this accounts first post. Pretty sure it is official and will soon be accredited as such. So give it a follow.

- Early Sunday morning, launch 54 of Falcon 9 Starlink 6-84 took place from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This was the 20th flight for first stage booster B1078. It previously launched Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER-B, USSF-124, Bluebird 1-5, and 15 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. 29 Starlinks were deployed.

- Sergio Lara, Spaceport Experience at SpaceX, hosted three school groups last week: top students from San Benito ISD’s middle and high schools, UTRGV’s Rocket Launchers, and Chemistry and Physics juniors and seniors from Brownsville Lopez High School, his alma mater. These diverse, ambitious students from the Rio Grande Valley, many from underrepresented communities, experienced SpaceX’s spaceport, engaging with a space where they belong and representing the future of science and exploration.

- The SPMTs have been under Pad B's launch mount since early Saturday. High Bay cuts outs continue. Roundabout nearly complete. Pics are by Carlos, the Starbase Surfer (@cnunezimages). Subscribe to Carlos.

- The first signs of a scheduled Flight 9 launch has come in the form of Navigational hazard warning (HYDROPAC 1128/25) detailing a debris zone in the Indian Ocean from the 9th - 22nd of May. This is highly uncertain due the recent static fire of Starship 35. There is also a local Notice to Mariners that supports a launch between the 13th - 23rd of May.

- NASA Crew 11 at SpaceX Hawthorne has completed training ahead of their upcoming mission to the International space station. Falcon 9 is targeted to launch Dragon’s third human spaceflight of the year no earlier than May 29 from Florida.

- SpaceX posted a 4 hour video of the Fram2 flight over Earth's polar regions. It's gorgeous.

Countdown to 180 (52 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 2 - Starship):

• Launch 55! Monday, 5th of May, at 8:48 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-93 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 56! Friday, 9th of May, at 2:54 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-91 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 57! Friday, 9th of May, at 5:38 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 15-4 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.

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■ THE BORING COMPANY: N/A... boring.

■ NEURALINK:

- This weekend, Neuralink's Michael Anthony Brito, PhD (@MBritoNeuro) and Team members got together and took a bike trip into the Redwoods.

- Per Neuralink's Nils (@NilsIRL), "Compared to what was previously done the threads of the Neuralink implant are nearly invisible to the brain

■ STARLINK:

- Per Elon, "Starlink is about to exceed 80% of all active satellites, with rest of world, including rest of US, <20%."

- The widespread electricity outage across the Iberian peninsula, caused by a storm disrupting high-voltage lines, left millions without power and internet for up to 48 hours. In Spain and Portugal Starlink usage rose by 35% above average as telecoms dropped off line in the two countries. Last Tuesday, usage was 60% higher in Spain alone. The quality of coverage dropped as more users turned to the service and some Starlink Gateway stations in mainland Spain lost service. The connections to Gateways in countries like Italy relieved the networks stress and kept the service operational. Pic is from Ontinyent, Valencian Community, Spain.

Per Elon, "Starlink still worked in Spain and Portugal when the whole countries lost power! Worth having Starlink as backup, even if you have a gigabit landline."

- Starlink has been given authorization by the Authority for the Regulation of Postal Services and Telecommunications of Congo (ARPTC) to operate as an ISP in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ARPTC must now adapt regulations to address licensing, taxation, and cybersecurity.

- Sarawak Entrepreneur Association of Malaysia Deputy President Prestly Ng and team have transformed the longhouse community in Malaysia by installing Starlink.

- Airtel Africa has partnered with SpaceX to deliver Starlink across 14 African countries with SpaceX already licensed in nine and applications pending in five. Goal is to enhance connectivity for enterprises, schools, healthcare centers, and rural communities through direct internet services and cellular backhauling.

Per Ryan Goodnight, SpaceX Sr. Director, Global Licensing & Market Activation at SpaceX, "Once Starlink is licensed in a market, success is not just achieved on our own. In-fact, working with established companies in the market is often the most effective way of reaching our goal of connecting people with lightning fast speeds in places where current infrastructure cannot. I expect this to certainly be the case with Airtel Africa and I am so proud of this moment. I can’t wait to see how far we go together!"

■ X:

- Per Elon, "The X recommendation algorithm is being replaced with a lightweight version of Grok, so will soon be dramatically better! You should notice some improvement already."

- X Money will have a Cash Back feature. "Keep spending to earn more cash back." They will also use Persona for identify verification. "I agree to X and Persona using images of my ID and my selfie, including extracted biometric data, to confirm my identity and for X’s related safety and security, fraud prevention, and payment purposes." H/T Aaron (@aaronp613).

- X Chat will allow you to access and use your old X/Twitter DMs.

- iOS updates: X will soon let you translate bios with Grok. Grok is getting a new homepage via the Grok tab. X will soon add a Grok button and "Search with Grok" to the search bar.

■ xAI:

- Voice Mode is now available in the Grok app, for all iOS users, and SuperGrok subscribers on Android.

■ DOGE:

Estimated Savings: $165 Billion

Amount Saved Per Taxpayer: $1,024.84

- DOGE announced the US Department of Transportation terminated 7 grants with award value of $54 million and savings of $51 million. It included:

• $6M for “collaborative planning to address safety concerns of women and gender non-conforming people”

• $12M for “accelerating equitable decarbonization”

• $6M for “hyperlocal pollution exposure inequalities” in New York City

■ ELON NEWS:

- In late February, Jared Birchall, acting CEO of Neuralink and Elon’s family office, formed three new limited liability companies: Red Planet Ventures I, II, and III. They were registered with the Texas Secretary of State, list Birchall as manager, and are based in Austin. The purpose of the Red Planet trio remains undisclosed, but one can assume it has something to do with Mars and ties with SpaceX. Not a lot of info, but it is very interesting to say the least.

- Yesterday, Elon spoke with Michael Milken at the Milken Global Conference 2025. He spoke on the inefficiency of the U.S. government, stating that AI could replace many public sector workers to streamline operations and reduce bureaucratic overhead. "There are way too many people in government. AI can do a lot of things much better than humans can." He acknowledged the controversial nature of such a plan, noting potential resistance from workers and the need for careful implementation to avoid disruptions in public services. Elon also talked about the advancements at Neuralink and SpaceX. I have not found a video of this talk yet. So if you got a link, please share.

- Elon changed his profile pic and name to gorklon rust.

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REFERRALS:

• Tesla: 3 free months of FSD or $400 Off Solar Panel Installation. ts.la/stephen746292

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• T-Mobile (Starlink Direct-to-Cell): $50 credit 45 days after you activate. Direct-to-Cell has dropped from $20 to $10 per month! https://share.t-mobile.com/stephenr-3419

• Robinhood: Get a Free stock. https://join.robinhood.com/stepher-fcc938

Have a great day!

■ SOURCES:

FLYOVERS:

• Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHU5nJmeCHY&feature=youtu.be

• Giga Nevada: Zanegler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5jwfLHWP8Q&t=6s

SpaceX:

• Starlink Mission 6-84

Starlink:

• https://www.ft.com/content/c0e5dfa1-7543-4fb9-b46f-0c677e468e2b

• https://nairametrics.com/2025/05/05/airtel-africa-sign-agreement-with-spacex-to-bring-starlink-internet-to-underserved-regions/#google_vignette

Elon News:

• Elon Quote: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1918834940264784009

• https://opentools.ai/news/elon-musks-new-texas-llcs-spark-speculation-about-mars-ambitions