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

18th of June, 2025

"So many improvements to come in the next design of Optimus..." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA $TSLA ($322.05, +1.82%):

- More Robotaxi sightings in Austin today.

- Tesla is emailing potential customers in Colorado stating they can get up to $3,850 off a new Cybertruck through the Colorado Innovative Motor and Truck credit. Residents can now get up to $11,350 off a Cybertruck with the additional $7,500 Federal Tax credit.

- TagEnergy energized its 49.9MW/99.8MWh Pitkevy Megapack site near Fife, Scotland. Tesla supplied 27 Megapack 2 XLs. This is TagEnergy’s sixth site in the UK.

- Tesla's new 50,000 square foot Wonderland Service Center in London, Ontario, is having a grand opening celebration this Saturday, the 21st, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The center is located at 3234 Wonderland Rd S. H/T @DriveTeslaca.

- Tesla App V4.46.0 has dropped and here are some of the highlights @Tesla_App_iOS found:

• Address removal.

• Redesigned charging tab.

• New wheel types; Cypress 21", Halo 22", Riptide 20", Standard 19".

• Robotaxi code for Location type and pickup address.

• New API endpoints added.

• Alicorn reference. This suggests advanced software for the Cybercab, possibly tied to Tesla’s AI5 hardware.

• "TWO_WEEKS," a string hint at an imminent product launch or update. Or just an Elon time joke.

- Giidjaa Industries at the CleanCo Queensland’s Swanbank Megapack Project. They installed all the wiring for the transformers, RMUs, and Megapacks. Per Giidjaa, "Projects like Swanbank BESS are an important part of Australia’s renewable energy transition, and we’re proud to be contributing to that future."

- Tesla model 3 performance in Doha. Pics by Tesla Qatar Advisor Hassan Momtaz.

- Last month, Tesla's new car registrations in Norway surged 213% YoY, reaching 2,600 vehicles. So far in June, the company has registered 2,376 vehicles with nearly two weeks of the month remaining.

- Tesla has hired Usuf Schermo as Head of Business Development for the Tesla Semi in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region. Schermo, formerly work with Volta Trucks and EVUM. This is another step in getting Europe ready for Semi.

- The Delivery Team at the Tesla Center at Ariake Garden in Koto City, Tokyo, Japan. Pics by Tesla Recruiter Tsubasa Ito.

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

• Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 18th of June, '25. More transformers incoming. Production pause for line upgrades and modifications coming soon. Cortex 2 walls are texture applied. Subscribe to Joe and support his work!

■ SPACEX:

- The FAA has added Starship Flight 10 to their advisory board. As of right now, launch is NET Sunday, June 29th.

- Last night, launch 78 of Falcon 9 Starlink 10-18 took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This was the fifth flight for first stage booster B1090. It previously launched SES O3b mPOWER-E, Crew-10, Bandwagon-3, and a Starlink mission. The booster landed on drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. 28 Starlinks were deployed.

- The launch of Ax-4 has now moved to Sunday, the 22nd. NASA continues to evaluate the ISS leak repairs in the Russian segment of the station.

- The Super Heavy V3 Test Tank 18.1 is now rigged to take on the Can Crusher, a structural test rig used to simulate launch stresses by applying compressive forces via hydraulic pistons. Pic by Jordan Guidry (@Jordanguidry6) for WAI (@FelixSchlang).

- A Raptor VAC was seen moving into Mega Bay 2 yesterday. It should be installed on Starship 37.

- Dragon recovery ship Megan was spotted leaving Canaveral this morning. Her heading is Morgan City, Louisiana. This is interesting when you consider all Dragon recoveries are now being conducted off the coast of California. Thoughts?

- Latest image of the Rio West construction site at Starbase. Pic by Carlos, the Starbase Surfer (@cnunezimages).

- Gwynne Shotwell (@Gwynne_Shotwell) met with Skyroot Aerospace Co-Founder Pawan Chandana (@PawanKChandana) while in India. Skyroot is India’s first privately held company to launch a rocket to space. Per Pawan, "Incredible meeting Gwynne today. Her journey building SpaceX alongside Elon is inspiring—reshaping the space industry by embracing failure, empowering teams, and proving the impossible is possible. The human impact of space has never felt more real."

Countdown to 180 (75 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 3 - Starship):

• Launch 79! Friday, 20th of June, at 2:19 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Transporter 14 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will return to Vandenberg and land at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4). This will be SpaceX's 14th dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.

• Launch 80! Sunday, 22nd of June, at 1:47 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-23 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 81! Sunday, 22nd of June, at 3:42 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Axiom Space Mission 4 (Ax4) will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This will be the maiden flight of Crew Dragon C213, the fifth and final Crew Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX. The booster B1094 will return to site, and land at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Crew consists of Commander Peggy Whitson (United States of America), Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla (India), Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański (Poland), and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu (Hungary).

• Launch 82! Wednesday, 25th of June, at 1:32 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-34 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.

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■ THE BORING COMPANY:

- This is the Mid-Rise apartment building proposal for Paradise Road from about 4 months ago. The pics from yesterday's update is from this location and is about 6 minutes from Harry Reid International Airport.

■ NEURALINK:

- The Neuralink demo presentation is still on. We should hear something soon about a date and time.

■ STARLINK:

- Starlink is now available in Guinea-Bissau.

- The Starlink Mini is currently $359 at Walmart. That is a $130 off the original $489.

- Today, Texas Instruments (@TXInstruments) announced plans to invest over $60 billion to build and expand seven semiconductor factories across three sites in Texas and Utah, with the Sherman, Texas, mega-site (pictured above) receiving up to $40 billion for four fabs, two already under construction. The investment includes a partnership with SpaceX, who relies on TI’s chips for Starlink.

Per Gwynne Shotwell (@Gwynne_Shotwell), "Our fundamental mission is to revolutionize global connectivity and eliminate the digital divide. Core to this mission is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible. SpaceX is manufacturing tens of thousands of Starlink kits a day—all right here in the United States—and we are making huge investments in PCB manufacturing and silicon packaging to expand even further."

- In April, the Norwegian Space Agency, alongside the National Police Directorate, the Norwegian Agency for Classified Information Systems, and the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning, conducted fieldwork in Svalbard to test Starlink and other satellite-based communication and navigation systems in Arctic conditions. In temperatures as low as -30°C, they evaluated Starlink, GNSS receivers, and radio over IP to enhance emergency preparedness in the north.

- Qatar Airways has partnered with IMG to launch Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra live streaming via Starlink-equipped Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A350 aircraft. Passengers can access high-definition coverage of events like the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, Wimbledon, and Formula 1 via a QR code-linked web player.

- The Ukrainian National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications has given approval for VEON mobile operator Kyivstar to conduct field testing of Starlink Direct-to-Cell. Testing will begin in select Ukrainian regions this summer, starting with text message services. The full launch of Direct-to-Cell services supporting SMS is planned for Q4 2025.

■ X:

- X's Global Head of Ad Innovation John Nitti (@jnitti), CEO Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX), Global Head of Marketing Angela Zepeda (@angelamzepeda), and Head of the Americas Monique Pintarelli (@MoniquePintarel). Per Angela, "What happens when 4 Italians walk into a bar…"

- Omnicom Media announced a partnership with X to leverage its real-time trends and influencer sets by integrating X’s API and Trends API data into Omni's AI-powered operating system. It will match cultural moments with client campaigns, plan activations, and identify high-impact influencers via the Influencer Discovery Agent. In the U.S., the partnership uses X’s status as a second-screen hub to drive consumer purchases, soon through XMoney, with Omnicom’s CASA ensuring brand safety through keyword-level controls and third-party verification.

Per Megan Pagliuca, Omnicom North America Chief Product Officer, "What’s really different here is the role X plays as this cultural epicenter where we’re able to take this trends data, fuse it with audiences, fuse it with our elements of culture, use it for both brand creative execution on X and then also use it for influencer discovery and influencer activation."

- Today, Linda chatted with the Financial Times' Hannah Murphy at the Tea House in Cannes Lions. Followed by a sit down with The Female Quotient to discuss team building that unlock groundbreaking ideas and drive organizations forward.

- Florence Best (@BabyModeuse), Global Luxury Strategy Lead at X, was at the DAIA 2025 conference presenting Grok, Radar, Community Notes, and their AI revolution on 𝕏. DAIA 2025 is a global healthcare conference held in Washington, DC, this week at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. DAIA (Drug Development and Artificial Intelligence Assembly) focuses on drug development, regulatory science, and AI-driven innovations in healthcare.

- Per X's Lead EMEA Events and Experience Manager, Shayma Tai, "A New Chapter has arrived at X UK. And it was a pleasure to ensure it arrived in style."

■ xAI:

- Elon responded to yesterday's Bloomberg report that xAI is burning through $1 billion/mo. stating, "Bloomberg is talking nonsense."

- Today, Jack Dorsey (@jack), former Twitter CEO, submitted his third pull request to his open-source "goose" project by integrating xAI as a provider and adding Grok models; grok-3, grok-3-mini, and grok-3-fast. It has a 131,072-token context window. This is his shift toward decentralized AI development using Rust programming.

- Yesterday evening, about 100 student protesters met in downtown Memphis and marched against xAI over the elicit emissions from the 15 nat-gas generators. It was organized by the student group Tigers Against Pollution. It is important to know that xAI operates at or below EPA standards and that there is a major Democratic driven racial and fear campaign to shut down xAI just to attack Elon.

■ DOGE:

Estimated Savings: $180 Billion

Amount Saved Per Taxpayer: $1,118.01

- USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) announced they are eliminating bureaucratic waste and will cut $148.6 million in USDA DEI funding. This is part of $5.5 billion in terminated contracts and grants, redirecting resources to farmers through actions like the Agricultural Commodities Price Enhancement Act (H.R. 2043) to raise crop reference prices and support American agriculture. Contracts include:

• $575,251 for "Educating and engaging socially disadvantaged farmers on conservation practices."

• $192,246 for "Creating a new model for urban forestry to lead to environmental justice through more equitably distributed green spaces."

• $2,500,000 for "Expanding equitable access to land, capital, and market opportunities for underserved producers in the Bay Area."

■ ELON NEWS: N/A...

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REFERRALS:

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

• Starlink: Free Month for either Residential or Roam service! https://www.starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-3527509-65487-76

• 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

• SOFI (ARK Venture Fund): $25 worth of stock. SOFI is the only outlet the public can invest in Cathie Wood's ARK Venture Fund ($ARKVX). This ARK fund includes SpaceX, xAI, Tesla, X, and a ton of other major AI, Tech, and Bio companies. Of note, investing in the fund requires an initial $500. https://www.sofi.com/invite/invest?gcp=ecf25d1c-7bc9-4ee0-a407-a51849297288&isAliasGcp=false

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

Have a great day!

■ SOURCES:

FLYOVERS:

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

Tesla:

• https://eletric-vehicles.com/tesla/tesla-on-track-to-set-new-sales-record-in-norway/

• https://x.com/Tesla_App_iOS/status/1935159364605649081

• https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/tagenergy-energises-100mwh-scottish-bess/

• https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/tesla-trims-claims-in-suit-over-phantom-braking-vehicle-defect

SpaceX:

• Starlink Mission 10-18

• https://www.axiomspace.com/mission-blog/ax4-launch-update

• https://www.ti.com/about-ti/newsroom/news-releases/2025/texas-instruments-plans-to-invest-more-than--60-billion-to-manufacture-billions-of-foundational-semiconductors-in-the-us.html?HQS=corp-dbwti-manu-mfg25-twit-pr-null-ww_en_awr

• https://ng.investing.com/news/company-news/kyivstar-gets-approval-to-test-starlink-directtocell-in-ukraine-93CH-1972926

Starlink:

• https://teslanorth.com/2025/06/18/qatar-airways-starlink-sports-streaming/

X:

• https://digiday.com/media-buying/omnicom-live-content-live-shopping/

xAI:

• https://github.com/block/goose/pull/2976

DOGE:

• https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/06/17/secretary-rollins-takes-bold-action-put-american-farmers-first-cuts-millions-woke-dei-funding

Elon News:

• Elon Quote: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1935194511451554298