Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- From the archives - cows don't give milk. A valuable lesson everyone should learn,

- Tesla Model Y is now the second most popular selling car in the US. Second only to the Ford F-150. Of all vehicles - not just EV's.

- The importance of being Keith (Hernandez)

- The RCMP confirm they are investigating Justin Trudeau. Hard pressed to remember when I ever rooted more for the RCMP. EDIT: Sadly Twitter says this may be a hoax. Damn!

This Week (and a Half) in Musk World

The big news from Tesla, of course, was the unveiling of the Model Y crossover SUV which Fortune Magazine suggests may be a "game -changer".  The Model Y compares very favorable to even the top crossover SUV's like the Porche Maycan.

That was hardly the only news as Tesla announced a new customer referral program which they rolled out this week. It also looks like there might be a tow package in store for future Model 3's and Y's. Meanwhile in the shorter term the new firmware update announced two weeks ago which will increase Model 3 power by about 5% (increasing top speed by 7 mph) is now available. Cool.

Lots of cool positive things going on at Tesla but if you read this review from Consumer Reports you would think things are doom and gloom. I know I'm an Elon Musk fanboy but this sort of biased reporting bugs me. How can I trust Consumer Reports on a laptop recommendation when I see obvious bias on something I pay close attention to? Clearly a case of Gell-Mann Amnesia.

As Consumer Reports points out  maintenance and repair of EV's in general are an issue but to help address this Tesla has announced a new college course which it will be utilizing at six North American colleges to train EV technicians.  Tesla may want to partner with some European colleges as well as the Model 3 has quickly become the top selling EV in Western Europe.

Over at SpaceX - American rockets launching from American soil. Elon Musk confirms that SpaceX rockets will be built in Texas and Florida.

SpaceX's Starship undergoing some serious tests this week. Remember that the goal of SpaceX is to get to Mars but landing heavy payloads on Mars will not be easy. Successfully getting the SpaceX Starship to Mars may be the easy part when compared to landing on Mars.

In other news - a very valid question - what exactly is Tesla's strategy with solar? Elon Musk said at the Model Y unveiling that "this is definitely going to be the year of the Solar Roof and Powerwall."  Since many of the Solar Roof customers seem to also be Tesla car customers - maybe they should institute a new customer referral program that packages both car and solar products? Maybe that's in the works and why Tesla reversed course in closing their product showrooms?

One last thing - this is pretty mind-blowing especially when you remember that Elon Musk is only 47-years old and far from finished.

This Week in Musk World

Perhaps the most historic event in Musk World this week was the successful splashdown of the Crew dragon capsule. American astronauts launching on American rockets from American soil once again just became one step closer.

Tesla Model 3 quickly becomes #1 in the Netherlands. The Model 3 is also a hit in France. And "crushing it" in Norway. And in the US the Model S has been proclaimed "America's greatest muscle car" by no less an authority than Top Gear's James May.

What I've long said was the unappreciated "muscle" behind Tesla's long-term are the network of charging stations which this week got a big boost as Supercharger V3 was unleashed. Short-term the financial "muscle" of Tesla coming out with a $35,000 Model 3 has caused competitors to react with price drops of their own.

Meanwhile the Model Y is teased on Tesla's website. The question is how the Model Y will stack up against the announced Audi e-tron Q4. The Model Y is scheduled to be unveiled on Thursday. With the Model Y - Tesla's product line will officially be S3XY (pun obviously intended) And speaking of sexy teases - what the heck is this bad boy?

Let's not forget The Boring Company - Las Vegas might be the site of the next tunnel for the company.Makes sense. You don't want conventioneers too tired from walking all day to gamble at night.

This Week in Musk World

Very busy week in Musk World as lots of things were happening in both the Tesla and Space X operating spaces. Let's start with Space X.

The big news was the successful launch of the Crew Dragon mission early morning March 2nd. The unmanned Crew Dragon then successfully docked with the International Space Station. All of this, of course, brings Space X one step closer to manned space flight. This article expounds on the historic nature of this mission. Meanwhile, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also put the his stamp on the historic mission. The return of the US having the capability to launch astronauts into space from American soil cannot be overstated.

In Tesla World it was announced that the long-promised $35,000 Tesla is finally here. This standard Model 3 will have a range of 220-miles. The drop to $35,000 has been compared to Henry Ford making the Model-T more affordable to the masses. That might be putting the cart before the horse here though.

To help accommodate all these cars - Tesla will be greatly expanding their Supercharging and Destination locations - including doubling the charging stations in California.  Almost buried in the news of the $35,000 Tesla is the fact that Tesla is now "shifting sales worldwide to online only."  Tesla certainly isn't afraid of being on the cutting edge.

Coming up on March 14th is the unveiling of the Model Y. Always something going on in Musk World.

This Week in Musk World

With Valentine's Day this past Tuesday maybe the big news on the Tesla front this week was the features and upgrades starting with the perfect time to use Tesla's Romance Mode.

- Sentry mode was made active.
- Dog Mode was released.
- And of course let's not forget about Fart Mode.

The Kia Niro EV could emerge as the leading competition to the Model 3 in the US. That is once the car is available in more than 12 states. Audi teases the Q4 e-tron as a potential competitor to the Model Y. The Q4 e-tron SUV is not scheduled to be available until late 2020 (is that why they called it the Q4?) or 2021. The Model Y gets a head start as it is supposed to be ready for shipment in 2020 and if it gets a perfect crash-test safety rating like it's big brother the Model X then the Model Y will be tough to top. Meanwhile Amazon invests $700 million in electric pickup truck startup Rivian. Setting up Bezos vs Musk once again (like SpaceX vs Blue Origin). GM is also rumored to be an investor in the Michigan based startup.

Threats of competition are nothing new for Tesla. But if Tesla can continue to top the lists of "most satisfying" cars this competition will continue to exist largely on paper. And as noted by Morgan Stanley - Tesla's Supercharger Network is a big competitive advantage. Even if Tesla opens up the Supercharger Network to other manufacturers just the subconscious sheepishness of an owner connecting to a Supercharger with a big "TESLA" on it will make them feel probably a little more than second class.

In non-hypothetical news - the first big shipment of Model 3's made landfall in China this week. Real cars, real revenue. The shipments would continue to be in place until the new Gigafactory in China is complete. But once again - real cars, real revenue.

In SpaceX news - it could cost less than $500,000 to move to Mars and maybe as little as $100,000 according to Elon. Musk stated that the return trip would be free for those wishing to leave. He also stated that the chances of him going to Mars is 70% (kinda skeptical of that). SpaceX is facing certification review by the Pentagon. It is stated that "it's not known what sparked the Pentagon investigation" but a cynic could say that the answer was supplied earlier in the article when it was noted that certification allowed SpaceX to "take on regular defense contractors Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp." Money talks.

An Elon Musk backed AI company created a text generator AI that's too good out of the box causing the company to slow down the project to look for potential harmful issues with the technology. Musk hasn't been active with the company in over a year and does not sit on the company's board. It should also be noted the Musk is also one of the most outspoken leaders on the existential damage AI could cause to mankind. All that said - I would like to read the rest of the 1984 story the AI text generator would have created.

Artificial Intelligence may be an existential threat but self-driving cars can be an actual threat as underlined by this recent crash. I'm not sold on auto-pilot for any vehicles yet. That doesn't make me a grumpy old man either. Just makes me a pragmatist.

This Week in Musk World

This week in Musk World.

Tesla cut the price of its Model 3 once again this week - this time by $1,100. The stated goal is to get the price down to $35,000 which could happen in 6 months or so but that would require trimming another $7,900 off the price. These price reductions could be achieved by "a combination of workforce reduction, manufacturing improvements, and greater economies of scale from higher-volume production." The higher volume should be helped with new markets and speaking of - Model 3's started being delivered in Europe so Elon Musk went over to tour the operations.

Also helping higher volume production will be the introduction of the Model Y - the all-electric Tesla SUV.

Even traditional media like CNN have taken note that the Model 3 was the top selling luxury car in America last year. The article brings up a good point though - Tesla didn't have a Super Bowl commercial. In fact I can't recall ever seeing a Tesla commercial. Maybe that's why traditional media have been so negative to Tesla - other car manufacturers buy lots of ads.

The Model 3 basically was a dead-heat in a drag race vs a 560-horsepower BMW M5. The Model 3 seems to be getting most of the media attention these days but the Model S remains perhaps the most badass EV out there.

In other car news - is Tesla going to work with Mercedes on an electric Sprinter van?

CNBC wants to know whatever happened to Tesla's Solar Roof tiles? It's a valid question but now I wonder if Tesla bought broadcast ads if the question would be asked in a more positive way. Meanwhile - even old homes can be fitted with solar and with Tesla Powerwalls. My opinion is that it is the Powerwalls that will be the real game-changer (for a number of reason).

SpaceX has a goal of 24-28 launches in 2019. SpaceX's website says that they have "secured over 100 missions to its manifest, representing over $12 billion on contract." By itself SpaceX is looking like a formidable company.

It really is amazing how much happens every week in Musk World. Being Elon must be exhausting!

This Week in Musk World

The week started off with the official groundbreaking of the Gigafactory 3 in China. And also the news that the Tesla Model 3 was the best selling premium car in the US for 2018.

The Tesla ramp cycle from getting a car from concept to production keeps getting shorter. This may continue with the new products like the Tesla Model Y but with the company now running in the black the ramp up period for these new products probably won't be burning investment money like the first few products for the company. Despite the success and accomplishments of 2018 the financial reporting remains skeptical.

Of course if Elon Musk tries to add levitation or flying capabilities to new models that could skew the ramp up periods. Having said that, you would think that increased revenue from international sales in places like China and Tesla getting the reputation of a fun car to drive in the snow will make 2019 even more successful than 2018.

One wonders if Tesla's 2019 and beyond revenue will also be augmented through the sales of technology they have developed to other car makers. Things like batteries, enhanced patented safety features, or proprietary traffic algorithms.

The SpaceX Starship "hopper" (pictured above left) was unveiled this week. And today the SpaceX Dragon may be returning from the International Space Station.

Not all the news was 100% positive as a self-driving Tesla "killed" an autonomous robot in Las Vegas at the CES show.