Elon Musk, the man

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#3385644 20-Jun-2025 08:45

All eggs in one basket

Regarding the ISS, currently only the SpaceX (Crew Dragon) is available. Following the drama queens breakup between Musk and Trump, Musk threatened to decommission Dragon. Musk later clarified via X that he would not decommission Dragon

Obviously Russia (Soyuz) is still off-limits, unless there's a miracle peace plan in Ukraine.

China’s Shenzhou spacecraft is not available due to the U.S. Wolf Amendment.

Sierra Space (USA) Dream Chaser is highly likely available for cargo only this year. It's first uncrewed cargo flight to ISS scheduled in 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, may start charging rocket companies for every launch as part of their launch and re-entry licenses, if a recent budget reconciliation bill passes later this year.

Environmental Groups Sue the FAA to Stop Starship Launches: Extreme tech

[Even before the recent explosion] a bevy of environmental and cultural groups have filed a lawsuit not against SpaceX but against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The groups allege that the agency was so concerned with giving SpaceX the green light that it ignored the potential for serious damage to nearby protected habitats.

If successful, the lawsuit could effectively ground Starship for years.
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ezbee

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#3385798 20-Jun-2025 18:55

Over 50% of SpaceX is owned by investors even if he secured sweet 78% voting rights for himself.
He even borrowed 1Billion from SpaceX when he was short of working cash for Twitter in 2023.
https://www.wsj.com/business/elon-musk-spacex-loan-269a2168?msockid=0337f757885f671b2dd1e45589416621

He apparently has done this a number of times before as kind of his bank?

SpaceX has taken 20Billion or more since 2008 in NASA, Military funding.

Elon could be forced out of controlling SpaceX if he loses his security clearances.
Given his Ketamine, Exstacy etc habits and erratic behavior.

SpaceX needs the very profitable Space Station missions.
The Military and other Govt ones even more so, Starlink too.

Plus it keeps further funding of SpaceX competition suppressed.
Monopoly for SpaceX/Starlink is his big attractor of support.

I'm sure his investors and all those holding his debt reminded him.
Elon Musk is not free to just bankrupt the business.

Present state of Starship it needs future Govt money assurance even more?

Dreamchaser is far better concept IMHO, a spaceplane a thing of future from past.
Military have been operating the X-37B robot spaceplane for years so quite doable.
If only they got the funding and support for human rated systems that Boeing did.

Starliner, that was fixed price, so Boeing stopped, looks like Rocketdyne can fix thrusters if more money is forthcoming.

quickymart

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#3387866 28-Jun-2025 19:55

https://futurism.com/tesla-robotaxi-week-disaster

The First Week of Tesla's Robotaxis Has Been a Disaster. Who could've seen this coming?

Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.

(In all seriousness, Elon needs to come up with something soon to turn around Tesla's fortunes, otherwise he's up the creek without a paddle!)

kingdragonfly

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#3387868 28-Jun-2025 20:48

$4.20 rides. Christ, can Musk just stop it with the "cool dad" cultural reference. It's reported In 1971 in San Rafael, California a group of high school students known as the Waldos used "4:20" as a secret code for marijuana after school.

So the Grateful Dead spread its association with cannabis further.

And High Times magazine used the term in the 1990s spreading its usage globally. So most Americans over 40 know the term.

It's pretty fly for an EV guy, As if! Not!

A severe accident won't be all that and a bag of chips. Da bomb.

quickymart

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#3388183 30-Jun-2025 08:18

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/29/silicon-valley-elon-musk-donald-trump-00415544

He suggested Musk aims to explore every available avenue to establish competition with and ultimately overshadow bitter rivals. Low has known him for 14 years but doesn’t believe Musk has matured over time, and he’s convinced he never will.

An interesting big read from one of Elon's former friends, who says the orange buffoon should really watch his back, as the former is highly prone to holding grudges and seeking revenge.

kingdragonfly

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#3388207 30-Jun-2025 10:04

quickymart:An interesting big read from one of Elon's former friends, who says the orange buffoon should really watch his back, as the former is highly prone to holding grudges and seeking revenge.

As long as the rich have a vested interested, such as ~~corporate welfare~~ government contracts, Trump is safe.

When Daddy's gone, Trump's children will be screwed. At least Melania is sure to have an iron-clad prenup.

The Rules for Rulers

CGP Grey

quickymart

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#3388552 1-Jul-2025 10:02

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/musk-threatens-primary-members-congress-vote-trumps-megabill/story?id=123354700

On Monday, Musk criticized “every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history,” vowing that “they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Looks like that former mate's words above are possibly becoming prophetic!

quickymart

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#3388922 2-Jul-2025 09:06

Wow things look like they're really starting to blow up now:

quickymart

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#3389145 2-Jul-2025 18:49

And going in the other direction... https://futurism.com/elon-musk-chainsaw-empathy

And yet, now Musk says he has major regrets. In a baffling tweet, the billionaire claimed that he wishes he'd never grabbed the chainsaw.

[Argentinian president Javier] "Milei gave me the chainsaw backstage and I ran with it, but, in retrospect, it lacked empathy," he wrote.

Oh! Now he feels contrite? 🙄

Tinkerisk

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#3389348 3-Jul-2025 06:44

Well, Elon. Don't you know the parable of the shepherd boy and the wolf? A liar is never believed, even if he tells the truth. 😁

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet. - He who knows nothing must believe everything.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
Avoid Big Tech!
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

kingdragonfly

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#3389351 3-Jul-2025 07:38

quickymart:

From Edwin Edwards, the famously colorful and corrupt former governor of Louisiana.

"Don’t write anything you can phone. Don’t phone anything you can talk. Don’t talk anything you can whisper. Don’t whisper anything you can smile. Don’t smile anything you can nod. Don’t nod anything you can wink."

Like Trump, he also said this

"The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

quickymart

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#3390209 6-Jul-2025 10:11

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dn04lvgpdo >> Elon follows through on his threat to setup a new party.

Additional weekend reading - how the whole fallout between Elon and the orange buffoon actually happened: https://edition.cnn.com/business/timeline-elon-musk-trump-x-dg

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#3391723 7-Jul-2025 15:49

Reuters - Musk announces forming of 'America Party' in further break from Trump

07 July 2025

Summary

Musk forms 'America Party' opposing Trump's tax bill
Musk's feud with Trump may impact Republican 2026 election chances
Tesla shares affected by Musk-Trump fallout, despite Musk's wealth
Musk criticizes Trump's tax bill as harmful to U.S. economy
Musk plans to unseat lawmakers supporting Trump's tax bill

Despite Musk's deep pockets, breaking the Republican-Democratic duopoly will be a tall order, given that it has dominated American political life for more than 160 years.

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kingdragonfly

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#3391797 8-Jul-2025 09:44

Looks like Tesla doesn't have much confidence in their Robotaxi. They have safety monitors sitting in the front seat, with a thumb hovering over an "Emergency Hard Brake" button at all times. It's a reprogrammed door button

There's also a button on the front main screen that reads "Stop In Lane" which allows them to stop the car immediately in the lane.

Into two weeks of the trial, on public streets, with non-consensual pedestrians serving as NPC's, the Robotaxi somehow still managed to hit a parked car.

No sonar, ultrasonic, radar, or lidar are actively used while driving passengers.

Regarding Musk's clever idea of relying on just vision, Musk is designing an propeller less plane that has flapping wings with carbon fiber feathers :)

Tesla’s Robotaxis Have Already Caught This US Safety Agency’s Attention: PC Magazine

Tesla’s robotaxis began accepting paying customers on Sunday, and by the end of Monday a US safety agency contacted the company to discuss reports of incidents in the vehicles.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told Bloomberg it had contacted Tesla to discuss multiple videos that show the company’s robotaxis breaking traffic laws. Tesla's service is currently limited to an area within Austin, Texas.

The NHTSA told Bloomberg, “Following an assessment of those reports and other relevant information, NHTSA will take any necessary actions to protect road safety.”

The statement also says, "Under U.S. law, NHTSA does not pre-approve new technologies or vehicle systems — rather, manufacturers certify that each vehicle meets NHTSA’s rigorous safety standards, and the agency investigates incidents involving potential safety defects."
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A Tesla robotaxi inexplicably drove into a parked car: Engadget

One of Tesla's fully autonomous robotaxis grazed a parked car after completing a ride recently in Austin, Texas. In a video recorded by YouTuber DirtyTesla, a self-driving Model Y is seen turning and accelerating into a Toyota, making light contact with its tire. As seen in the video, the Model Y already dropped off its passenger, but had trouble navigating out of the dark alleyway afterwards. Tesla's robotaxi service launched in Austin just two weeks ago with a small fleet.
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Bung

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#3391800 8-Jul-2025 10:11

So Tesla have safety monitors sitting in the cars. Is that in addition to the remote controllers that were supposed to take over if the system glitched? When the cars a apparently ignoring local traffic laws is it the system or a remote driver involved.

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