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SpaceX's Starship test vehicle could fly by April
SpaceX might begin Starship test flights sooner than you think. Elon Musk now expects to conduct a technical presentation for Starship soon after its test vehicle flies, "hopefully" in March or April -- in other words, he wants a test flight before April is over. It wouldn't be a spectacle on the order of the concept image you see above, of course. Instead, it would be much like SpaceX's short-distance, suborbital Grasshopper test program from the Falcon 9's early days.
Elon Musk's LA tunnel turns Teslas into a 'rail-guided train'
Tonight The Boring Company hosted a launch event for the test tunnel it successfully built in LA running from SpaceX's property to "O'Leary Station" at a reported cost of about $10 million. In tweets, he showed off a Model X equipped with gear that guides the car between elevators at each end of the tunnel, where it then simply drives right back onto the road. The rig itself is really just a set of wheels, and TechCrunch reports that Musk said during a media briefing that they will be available as an aftermarket add-on for $200 to $300.
After Math: Where are the adults
It's been quite the week of tantrums by the man-babies who run some of the largest companies in the tech industry. While Elon Musk cried and stamped his feet through what should have been a softball 60 Minutes interview, Twitter head Jack Dorsey spent much of his week encouraging everybody to visit sunny, genocidal Myanmar. And let's not even get started on what have become Mark Zuckerberg's weekly Facebook fiascos. Still, it's nice to see that at least some online institutions still have grownups behind the wheel.
Tesla puts more cars on sale to maximize $7,500 EV tax credit
Tesla really, really wants to be sure buyers can make the most of the full $7,500 EV tax credit before it's cut in half for the company in 2019. Elon Musk has announced that the automaker is now selling "all" cars where the original customer can't take delivery before the end of 2018. If you're quick on the draw, you could get the full credit even if you're placing an order for the first time.
Recommended Reading: How technology is changing entertainment
The future of entertainment Rolling Stone Whether it's music, movies or television, technology is rapidly changing the ways we experience entertainment. Rolling Stone offers a look at a number of ways things like AI, social media and more are altering the landscape, including how Taylor Swift concert organizers used facial recognition to track her stalkers.
Tesla sues its alleged saboteur for $167 million
Tesla wants Martin Tripp to pay up big time -- it's seeking a whopping $167 million from the former employee, who company chief Elon Musk once called a saboteur. The electric vehicle maker filed a lawsuit against Tripp earlier this year, accusing the former employee of stealing gigabytes' worth of proprietary information and giving it to outsiders, as well as of making false claims to reporters. Now, according to CNBC, an interim case management report published on November 27th revealed that Tesla "objected to Mr. Tripp's desire to take more than ten depositions" for a case where he is being sued for $167 million in damages.
Elon Musk says the SEC can't stop him from tweeting what he wants
Elon Musk says nobody censors his Twitter in the wake of his settlement with the SEC. As part of that deal over the securities fraud charge for his tweets about taking Tesla private, the entrepreneur agreed to step down as chairman and establish "additional controls and procedures" for his communications. "The only tweets that would have to be say reviewed would be if a tweet had a probability of causing a movement in the stock," he clarified in a wide-ranging interview with 60 Minutes.
Tesla tests Autopilot navigation for traffic lights and roundabouts
Tesla has teased that Navigate on Autopilot will gradually handle more and more driving responsibilities, but those aren't just fanciful long-term plans -- they're very much on the roadmap for the near future. In the midst of a public pitch for Navigate on Autopilot, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla is currently testing "traffic lights, stop signs & roundabouts" in pre-release software. It's hard not to be a bit skeptical of Musk's claim that you'll soon travel to work with "no driver input at all," but this is promising if the very thought of entering a busy roundabout makes you nervous.
Boring Company's LA tunnel event set for December 18th
The bad news first: Elon Musk's Boring Company won't make its projected December 10th launch date for the LA Test Tunnel. The good news, however, is that Musk locked down a "product launch" to take place on December 18th complete with "modded but fully road legal autonomous transport cars & ground to tunnel car elevators." On Twitter, the company's official account said it needed more time to work on the snail habitat, referencing Elon's pet that outpaces the company's fastest digging machines. The event will occur just over a month after the company's digging machine broke through at O'Leary Station, and as Musk describes it, will be much more than just a tunnel opening. The whole idea is to show off lifts capable of operating in very small footprints, as well as the vehicles that will zoom through these tunnels at up to 150 MPH.
Falcon 9 misses landing after latest SpaceX mission to the ISS (update)
SpaceX has made sure it's got its money's worth out of the Falcon 9. On Wednesday, the rocket successfully launched for a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Unfortunately, though, the milestone was marred by a missed landing of the booster's first stage.
Elon Musk’s Boring Company abandons plan for LA Westside test tunnel
Elon Musk's Boring Company is ditching plans to build a 2.5-mile test tunnel underneath Los Angeles' 405 freeway and Sepulveda Boulevard. The controversial project had been the focus of a lawsuit filed by two neighborhood groups, accusing LA officials of violating state law by exempting the plans from environmental review. A settlement was reached last month and, on Tuesday, the Boring Company and the Westside activists made the closure official.
Elon Musk says there's a '70 percent' chance he'll move to Mars
Elon Musk has talked about personally heading to Mars before, but how likely is he to make the trip, really? Well, he just put a number on it. In an interview for the Axios on HBO documentary series, Musk said there was a "70 percent" chance he'll go to Mars. There have been a "recent number of breakthroughs" that have made it possible, he said. And as he hinted before, it'd likely be a one-way trip -- he expects to "move there."
NASA launching safety review of SpaceX because Elon Musk smoked pot
When NASA tapped SpaceX and Boeing to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, the companies likely expected the government agency would keep a close eye on things. But they probably didn't expect a probe prompted by a podcast. According to the Washington Post, NASA is conducting a safety review of both companies because some officials were annoyed when they found out SpaceX CEO Elon Musk smoked weed with Joe Rogan.
Tesla plans to roll out its next-gen Supercharger in 2019
Tesla apparently plans to double the size of its Supercharger network by the end of 2019, company chief Elon Musk has revealed on Twitter. "Expect to be within range of 95 to 100 percent of population in all active markets," he added. The automaker originally aimed to install 18,000 Superchargers around the world by the end of this year, but it doesn't look like it will be able to reach that goal when its website only shows that it currently has 11,414 chargers in all active markets. We'll likely know around the same time next year if Musk has overpromised again.
SpaceX BFR has a new name: Starship
We're still a bit away from anyone taking the first tourist trip on SpaceX's next-generation rocket and spacecraft platform, but CEO Elon Musk has just announced a new name for the craft formerly known as BFR: Starship. As he explained in a follow-up tweet, "Starship" specifically refers to the "spaceship/upper stage" while its rocket booster is simply the Super Heavy. Everyone clear? Whatever you call it, SpaceX has big plans for the new vehicle. When Musk revealed details on the Big Falcon Rocket a little over a year ago, he talked about establishing bases on the moon and Mars, as well as using the vehicle for quick point-to-point trips on Earth. Just a few days ago, Musk tweeted that plans for BFR Starship are accelerating, as SpaceX dropped a quest to make its Falcon 9 second stage reusable.
SpaceX drops plans to make Falcon 9 rockets more reusable
For a while, SpaceX has dreamed of making its Falcon 9 rocket as reusable as possible, and not just the first stage. Now, though, it's having a change of heart. SpaceX has scrapped plans to make the rocket's second stage reusable. Instead, Elon Musk said, it's focused on "accelerating" development of the BFR. Musk also teased a significant design shake-up, calling it "delightfully counterintuitive" and a "radical change" compared to the previous design.
Boring Company breaks through to the end of its first test tunnel
We're about a month away from the planned opening of The Boring Company's Test Tunnel in LA, and it appears progress is moving along. Elon Musk tweeted this brief video of a digging machine breaking through, and although he wasn't specific about the location, it looks like they've reached O'Leary Station where the first test tunnel will end. The 'Godot' machine dug its first segment on SpaceX property in June, and things have been moving along busily ever since. We'll probably see people lining up for test rides after Black Friday. As the Boring Company explains, the point of this tunnel isn't just to dig it, but also to show off the small elevators that are key to its "loop" concept and are small enough to fit inside a house. Update: Just after this post was published, Musk tweeted again congratulating his company on completing the LA/Hawthorne tunnel.
SpaceX plans shortcut to test a mini version of its Big Falcon Rocket
SpaceX plans to use a Falcon 9 rocket to test some of BFR's key features even before the company builds a full-sized version of its interplanetary vehicle. The private space corporation's chief, Elon Musk, has revealed on Twitter (like he usually does) that SpaceX plans to upgrade the second stage of a Falcon 9 "to be like a mini-BFR ship." See, the BFR (or Big Falcon Rocket) comes with a passenger spacecraft that can carry up to 100 people and up to 450 tons of cargo. The company specifically designed it for manned and big cargo missions to the moon, Mars and farther locations. SpaceX is even hoping to use the BFR to establish a Martian base and colony in the future.
Tesla replaces Elon Musk as board chair with Telstra CFO Robyn Denholm
As part of his settlement with the SEC over tweets about taking Tesla private, Elon Musk agreed to step down from his post as chairman of the board of directors. Now, while he's still CEO and retains his seat on the board, Tesla has announced his replacement: Robyn Denholm. Already a Tesla board member, she is currently CFO and head of strategy for the Australian telecom Telstra, but will leave that post once her six-month notice period is up to serve as board chair of Tesla full-time.
SpaceX's Starman Roadster has ventured past Mars
Starman and its Tesla Roadster are officially a long, long way from home. SpaceX has confirmed that Falcon Heavy's test payload has passed Mars' orbit, putting it at one of its greatest distances away from the Sun (it should reach its far point on November 8th at 1.66AU, or 155 million miles). While it isn't about to rendezvous with Mars, this is no mean feat for an EV-toting mannequin. And you might want to remember this moment -- it's going to be a long time before Starman is close to Earth.
