A Large Regular

To me the biggest thing in Musk World these past few weeks has been the unveiling of Neuralink.

I have to admit that a billionaire who can read people's minds through technology and control their vehicles has a bit of a Doctor Who Rise of the Cybermen vibe to it.

Somehow I wasn't even aware of Ad Astra's existence. A minor foray into education by Elon Musk but somehow its now the most sought after and exclusive private school in California. (And what better way for an "evil" billionaire in a science fiction story to groom his technology henchmen? Just saying the narrative is veering scarily close to a decent Terminator, Battlestar Galactica or Borg storyline.) Only partially kidding.

A reminder that Tesla's success selling cars in the US is happening despite anti-free market roadblocks still set up in many states. And despite 68% of respondents to a JD Power survey saying they've had no experience with electric vehicles. So very impressive!

The Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada is bigger than you expect. When it is finally complete it will have the largest footprint of any building in the world!

Some of that space is possibly going to be used to make the Megapack utility scaled battery back-up system which was unveiled last week. I think this is another winner from team Musk. It is tough to keep up with all the technologies they are leapfrogging the competition on.

Elon Musk and SpaceX got some exposure last week on CBS Sunday Morning. A nice dovetail interview to go along with the Apollo 11 anniversary.

Couple of weeks ago SpaceX also successfully launched its 18th commercial cargo mission to the International Space Station on Thursday and successfully docked with the ISS that Saturday.

Also this week SpaceX announced a small sat "rideshare" program for smaller satellites. The pricing on these missions should be much less than traditional satellite launching services.

Musk says that the Starship and Super Heavy (BFR) combo will have 41 Raptor engines. This will give it more than double the thrust capacity of NASA's Saturn V rockets. That much thrust would destroy existing launch pads. So SpaceX will be creating new, better launch pads in Texas and Florida.

NASA selects SpaceX as one of 13 companies they will be working with on their Moon and Mars missions. And Europe admits that the SpaceX model of reusable rockets is the way to go.

And not to forget The Boring Company news - Elon Musk to attend Conference on AI in China at the end of the month where he will also be launching The Boring Company China.

The Top 5 reasons to buy a Tesla. Not mentioned is how a Tesla can save an owner thousands of dollars in operation costs over a gas powered car. Total cost of ownership should be a big selling point.

Still some confusion in the market about Tesla closing some retail stores. Is it 10% of stores? 20%? All of them? None? While I agree that Tesla customers especially are willing to do the whole transaction online (especially in states that have dealership laws like Michigan, New York, Connecticut, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wisconsin) - what about service and solar?

Service is the lifeblood of many car dealerships and Tesla needs more places where owners can get their cars fixed - not fewer. If Elon Musk is planning on closing some expensive, flashy retail stores and replacing them with more practical garages where the cars can be repaired then great. Service is a looming issue for Tesla that also has to be addressed. More places not fewer would be better.

And solar? Weren't the Tesla retail stores supposed to double as places to showcase the Tesla solar products as well? It's not like a Powerwall  can be just dropped off at a person's home like a Model 3. The Powerwall has to be installed and homeowners are going to have questions. Questions that could be answered at a retail store. Maybe the plan is to have an all-mobile fleet of service vans for both cars and solar? Like I said confusing.

Tesla recently released its enhanced summon feature. But all I could think is I'd go apeshit if I got stuck behind a car moving that slow in traffic. Also until advanced summon works seamlessly for someone to retrieve their car back home from a bar where you took an Uber ride home the night before then it's not a real selling point for me.

The "Tesla Effect" hits Germany as VW, Daimler, and BMW fully commit to EV's.

Construction going 24/7 in China to meet the goal of opening the Gigafactory 3 by the end of the year.

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.

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!