S.E. Robinson, Jr.

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

Published:

2025-05-13 22:43:55

Imported:

2026-06

Tags:

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

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Content

13th of May, 2025

"All subsidies should end, including those for oil & gas. Anything else is pure hypocrisy and fate does not smile upon hypocrites...." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA $TSLA ($334.07, +4.93%):

- Elon announced at the Saudi/US Investment Forum that Saudi Arabia will get Optimus and Robotaxi.

- Elon posted the above video of Optimus dancing. Tesla's Milan Kovac (milankovac) stated, "More coming shortly! The team has been working very hard in the background. Entirely trained in simulation with RL. Many optimizations and fixes have been put in place in our sim-to-real training code. The cable is there in case of a fall (not actually holding the bot) since this is an early result which will get more stable very quickly."

- Ben Schaffer (@BenSchafferUP), Founder and CEO of Unplugged Performance (@UnpluggedTesla) has signed a Letter on Intent with Qatar's Ministry of Interior who plans to order Cybertrucks through Ben's @UpfitTesla. The Letter of Intent was signed by Ben and the Director General of Logistics and Supply Major General Eng. Hisham Mohammed Al Qusaybi. It was done in the presence of the Minister of State for Interior Affairs Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Mohammed Al-Thani. Per Tesla's Wes Morrill (@wmorrill3), "Looks like Cybertruck may be headed to Qatar."

- This past weekend, Tesla Fleet Drive Day – 2025 Model Y was held by Tesla's team members Franky Miel and Samantha George where business partners got behind the wheel of the Model Y for a seamless and informative day.

- Eku Energy has reached a financial close for its 99MW/198MWh Ocker Hill Battery Energy Storage System in the UK. Set to be commissioned in late 2026, Ocker Hill BESS will be financed by NatWest and SMBC Group. The project will feature 54 Megapacks, with H&MV Engineering as the Balance of Plant contractor. Pic is a render of the Ocker Hill BESS.

- Safna Padmaperuma, won the Employee of the Year for Tesla Energy across Australia and New Zealand. "It still feels surreal. What began as a dream to work at Tesla has now become one of the most meaningful milestones in my career. I’m incredibly honored. This recognition isn’t mine alone. It belongs to the mentors who’ve guided me, the teammates whose passion, support, and belief have made every day rewarding. You’ve shaped not only my work, but my growth as a person — both professionally and personally. Thank you for every opportunity, every moment of encouragement, and every shared success."

- Giga Texas Cortex 2.0 from the ground. Pic by Johnny Beatty (@Mr__Beatty).

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

Giga Nevada Semi Factory: Zanegler (@H), 13th of May, '25. Another great flyover. Plus Zane catching up to a Tesla Semi today! Subscribe to Zane!

Giga Berlin: Tobias Lindh (@tobilindh), 12th of May, '25. Tobias shows us the progress on the new rail station. Production looks good. Phase 2 warehouse construction continues. Follow Tobias here on X and subscribe to him on YouTube.

■ SPACEX:

- Yesterday evening, launch 58 of Falcon 9 Starlink 15-4 took place from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This was the sixth flight for first stage booster B1088. It previously launched NROL-126, Transporter-12, SPHEREx, NROL-57, and one Starlink mission. The booster landed on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. 26 Starlinks were deployed.

- Last night, launch 59 of Falcon 9 Starlink 6-83 took place from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This was the 28th flight for first stage booster B1067 as it continues to set the record with each flight. It previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, O3B mPOWER-A, PSN SATRIA, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2, Galileo L13, Koreasat-6A, and 16 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. 28 Starlinks were deployed. Of note, this was the 100th Falcon 9 launch from LC-39A to date.

- Super Heavy Booster 14 rolled to Pad A last night and was lifted on to the launch mount this morning.

- Starship 35 did not got straight to Pad A last night, but rolled back to the production site instead.

- The V3 18.1 Booster Test article (Test Tank 17) was lifted into the structural test stand at Massey's yesterday.

- At the McGregor, Texas, Test Facility, a Raptor 3 was spotted by the @NASASpaceflight live cam. This is R16.

- The latest draft of the Environmental Impact Statement for the upcoming changes to the Falcon program at Vandenberg Spaceforce Base has been released. SpaceX is expected to build new structures to accommodate up to 100 Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches and landings from Space Launch Complex (SLC-6). Landing pads will be built and SpaceX will demolish most of the legacy hardware and buildings at SLC-6.

Countdown to 180 (57 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 2 - Starship):

Launch 60! Wednesday, 14th of May, at 11:43 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-67 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 61! Friday, 16th of May, at 6:00 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 15-5 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 62! Wednesday, 21st of May, at 6:30 p.m. CT, Starship 35 Super Heavy Booster 14.2 will launch from Orbital Launch Mount A (OLM-A) at Starbase, Texas. The booster will return to site and be caught by Tower A's Chopsticks. Starship 35 will doing a controlled soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

■ THE BORING COMPANY:

- Today at the Saudi/US Investment Forum, Elon suggested that Saudi Arabia invest in tunnels and use The Boring Company. Per The Boring Company's Tyler Fairbanks (@fairbanks_tyler), "Don’t underestimate tunnels..."

- In early hours of the morning, The Boring Company posted that they had achieved continuously mined in a Zero-People-in-Tunnel (ZPIT) configuration. "In the same way that full and rapid reusability is the holy grail for rockets, ZPIT continuous mining is the holy grail for Boring Machines. This is the safest, fastest, and least expensive architecture to build tunnels."

Per Elon, "Major breakthrough by The Boring Company!"

Per Tesla's Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy), "Will need this big time in the future. With autonomous vehicles we'll have affordable premium transport for everyone. This will likely increase traffic due to the increased usage, even though each vehicle is much more efficiently utilized."

- Nick Galano (@nickgalano), newest VP at The Boring Company (previously Starlink) hosted a virtual presentation at the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub meeting in Pittsburgh. Nick introduced the company’s innovative work in underground transportation and shared potential use cases for the aviation industry, particularly on the landside, where Loop systems could help eliminate congestion by distributing density away from terminal areas. Per Nick, "The Boring Company Loops will get you to and from the airport - but without the traffic anxiety!"

- The Federal Railroad Administration is consulting with The Boring Company to reduce costs on Amtrak’s $8.5 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel project, a 7-mile rail tunnel between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., which has escalated from an initial $6 billion estimate. The Boring Company’s potential involvement aims to leverage its tunneling expertise to accelerate construction and lower expenses. No formal contract has been confirmed.

- On the 14 of February, The Boring Company submitted plans to connecting the LVCC Central Station to West Gate, presumably with a new tunnel under Paradise. H/T Mike Rhodes (@MCRydes).

■ NEURALINK:

- NP1 Noland Arbaugh (@ModdedQuad) will speak at the University of Austin's Tuesday Speaker Series. The discussion will focus on Noland's experiences with the Neuralink technology and will also explore the broader implications it including its potential applications on Earth and beyond. You must RSVP to be admitted. Link is in the sources section.

■ STARLINK:

- Elon announced at the Saudi/US Investment Forum that Saudi Arabia has approved Starlink for maritime and aviation use.

- At the Tauari Project, Samauma installed a Starlink antenna at the Acuraua school. They are providing high-speed internet to a remote Amazonian region where 49% of rural families lack access, compared to 25% in urban areas. This initiative addresses the educational challenges faced by over 2 million rural Brazilian students, who often lack basic infrastructure like electricity and sanitation. This enables connectivity to enhance learning and empower local communities.

■ X:

- @blankspeaker has found some new feature for the upcoming X Chat. They include:

Quick link back to unencrypted DMs.
Reactions have been added.
Ability to mute conversations.
Txt/image File transfers now work on web.
Group chats get ability to promote/demote admins & to resign as admin.
Ability to share a group invite link, admins have to approve new joins.

■ xAI:

- Cisco announced a collaboration with the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), led by BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, MGX, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and xAI, to drive investment in data centers and AI infrastructure in the U.S. and globally. This partnership wants to accelerate innovation and scaling of AI data centers, with AIP targeting $30 billion in initial capital to unlock up to $100 billion in total investment potential. Cisco’s role as a technology partner is to build secure, efficient, and scalable AI infrastructure.

Per Chuck Robbins, Cisco’s Chair and CEO, "AI is only as effective as the technology that connects and secures it. By collaborating across our industry and leveraging public and private partnerships, we intend to build the infrastructure necessary to fulfill the promise of AI as we work together to drive innovation and economic growth."

■ DOGE:

Estimated Savings: $165 Billion

Amount Saved Per Taxpayer: $1,024.84

- DOGE announced agencies terminated 242 contracts with a ceiling value of $646 million and savings of $200 million. This included:

$118k USDA contract for the “Democratic Republic of Congo youth climate corps coordinator”
$23.5k USAID contract for the “garden landscaping and pool services at official mission director’s residence” of South Africa.

- The new DOGE Deregulation Leaderboard is now active! It lists current proposed and final repeals of regulations with estimates of the cost savings for the American people. It also has an Unconstitutionality Index and more. This is a Comprehensive list of repeals of burdensome or obsolete regulations, including the cost savings to the American taxpayer. $28.7B so far.

■ ELON NEWS:

- Elon with President Trump and Crown Prince Salman at the Saudi–U.S. Investment Forum 2025 in Riyadh

■ SUBSCRIBERS:

For May, I am giving away the new official SpaceX Insulated Stainless Steel Starlink Bottle ($40)! Like always, one random subscriber's name will be drawn at the end of the month. Good luck!

Check out my linktree for all my other socials: https://linktr.ee/serobinsonjr

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