Author: Gail Alfar

Gail has a bachelor of art in film/radio/tv and a bachelor of science in nursing She has worked for years caring for all ages of people with many diagnoses in over 5 hospitals and schools around the texas hill country Originally from north dakota, she is now based in austin and writes about sustainable energy for the website she created ‘What’s up Tesla’ and 'What's up Twitter' and maintains her nursing practice

Elon Musk, Peter Diamandis & Dave Blundin: Amazing Abundance – Part 3: Energy Foundation

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In Part 2, Elon dropped a bold bet on ultra-clean chip fabs where you could eat a cheeseburger without contaminating wafers. Now the conversation shifts to our future of abundance: energy.

Sitting in the glorious front lobby of Gigafactory Texas in Austin, Peter steers toward the concerns people in America are thinking about today: energy, health and education. Elon doesn’t hesitate because it is right in sync with his Master Plan 4 for Tesla.

Peter D.: I want to talk about energy, health, education, because those are people’s concerns. So on the energy front, the innermost loop of everything that you’re building and…

Elon: Doing right now, energy is the foundation.

Peter D.: What’s your vision for energy abundance? The sun in the next, you know, this decade. The sun. Yeah.

Elon: I mean, so the sun is everything.

Elon drives the point home with scale that rewires your brain

Elon: People just don’t understand how solar is everything. So everything compared to the sun, all other energy sources are like cavemen throwing some twigs into a fire.

The sun is over 99.9% of the solar system’s mass. Burn Jupiter? Still rounds to 100%. Burn four Jupiters? Same story.

Fusion?

Peter D.: Any interest in fusion?

Elon: Yeah, you know, coming— never going to guess how the sun works.

Peter D.: Giant coal plants.

Elon: I mean we have a giant free fusion reactor that shows up every day 93 million miles away. It’s farcical for us to create little fusion reactors. That would be like having a tiny ice cube maker in the Antarctic and saying, “Hey look, we made ice.”

Solar is the only scalable path

Dave narrows to the immediate bottleneck: powering the Memphis supercluster.

Dave B.: If you just narrow the question to the Memphis timeline. Between a gigawatt and 10 gigawatt. You’re not going to pull 10 gigawatts out of Memphis.

Elon: Maybe two or three.

They’re still in “Toyland” at 10 GW scale — yet xAI is already pushing boundaries.

Peter drops a plug for his Metatrends research, then presses on China’s solar dominance.

Peter D.: China has done an incredible job… They put in 500 terawatt hours in the last year, 70% solar. And they’re just scaling.

Elon: China has done an incredible job on solar. Yeah, it’s amazing. Production capacity around 1,500 gigawatts per year of solar.

The US lags. Energy = GDP = quality of life. The group agrees: America must scale solar aggressively. Tesla and SpaceX are already all-in.

The discussion turns to the GPU power crunch — why TSMC worries about overproducing chips.

Elon: If chip output is growing exponentially, but power harnessed is growing in a slow, linear fashion, then chip production can exceed the rate at which the AI chips can be turned on.

You need transformers, cooling, liquid-cooled racks. One burst pipe? A billion dollars gone.

xAI is solving it first

Elon: xAI is going to have the first gigawatt training cluster at Colossus 2 in Memphis… Mid-January will be a gigawatt… then 1.5 gigawatts probably April-ish.

My 2 Cents

It is amazing that xAI brought together natural gas turbines + Tesla Megapacks to smooth massive power swings for the data center ijn Memphis, and soon to be expanded to Southhaven, Mississippi. It is a symphony of engineering miracles! The finest engineers in Austin and Palo Alto, some even from SpaceX, and the future vision to seek only truth, beauty, and stay curious!

Part 4 dives into gaming, Civilization’s tech victory, and simulation theory.

Tesla Plans 304-Stall Supercharger Station in Firebaugh

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Tesla plans to build the world’s largest Supercharger station with 304 stalls, including 16 for Tesla Semis, in Firebaugh, California.

Tesla plans to expand its existing Supercharger site in Firebaugh, California, into the world’s largest with a total of 304 stalls — 288 for passenger vehicles and 16 dedicated for Tesla Semis — once complete.

This represents an 85% increase over Tesla’s current largest site (164 stalls at Oasis in Lost Hills, California). The project, approved via a conditional use permit last month, adds 232 new car stalls to the existing 56 (some sources note the current count as around 72, but the core expansion figure holds). It includes a separate area for Semi operations with its own access routes, plus an amenity building and outdoor seating primarily for truck drivers.

Here are examples of large-scale Tesla Supercharger sites for context:

Tesla: Largest Supercharger in the world: 168 charging spaces, 100 ...
Tesla Opens Its Largest Solar-Powered Supercharger Site in ...

Firebaugh sits along Interstate 5, a key corridor connecting Southern California ports to Central Valley and Bay Area distribution hubs. This strategic spot has made it a priority since the original site opened in 2020 as Tesla’s then-largest in the US with 56 stalls.

Why Firebaugh and why now

The expansion reflects long-term planning by Tesla’s charging team, coordinated with local utilities and jurisdictions. It accounts for forecasted EV adoption growth, with built-in flexibility to adjust pace based on real demand.

A Tesla Charging team member with years of experience emphasized this deliberate approach.

Here is the post from Tesla’s Max DeZegher, who has been building Superchargers since 2014:

The site’s location supports both consumer travel and commercial trucking, especially as Tesla ramps up the Semi program. Dedicated Megachargers for Semis signal confidence in heavy-duty electric transport along this major freight route.

Reactions from Tesla enthusiasts and observers

Enthusiasts and Tesla-focused accounts quickly highlighted the scale as a bold step in infrastructure for EVs and trucking.

Sawyer Merritt broke down the details early, noting the existing 56 stalls.

Here are key posts capturing the excitement:

So what

This move positions Tesla far ahead in high-capacity charging, especially as more non-Tesla EVs gain access to Superchargers and Semi deployments increase. It underscores the company’s commitment to scaling ahead of demand along critical corridors, potentially reducing wait times and supporting broader EV and electric trucking adoption in California and beyond.

Firebaugh’s rural setting along I-5 provides ample space for this growth.

Here is a map view of the Firebaugh area:

Map of Firebaugh city - Thong Thai Real

Tesla Model 3 and Y Receive Euro NCAP Best in Class Awards

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Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y received Euro NCAP’s Best in Class safety awards, with Model 3 as the safest Large Family Car and Model Y as the safest Small SUV.

Tesla Model 3 and Model Y take top Euro NCAP safety spots for 2025

Euro NCAP announced its Best-in-Class awards for vehicles tested in 2025, naming the Tesla Model 3 the safest Large Family Car and the Tesla Model Y the safest Small SUV. Both models earned five-star ratings under the organization’s stricter 2025 protocols, which evaluated more electric vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems than in previous years.

Here are the two Tesla models side by side.

How the awards were determined

Euro NCAP calculates Best-in-Class winners using a weighted sum of scores across four areas: Adult Occupant protection, Child Occupant protection, Vulnerable Road User protection (pedestrians and cyclists), and Safety Assist technologies. Only vehicles with standard safety equipment and five-star overall ratings qualify.

The Model 3 achieved high marks particularly in Child Occupant protection and showed improvements in driver assistance features. The Model Y excelled in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist, described by Euro NCAP as the “gold standard” for small SUVs.

These results come from tests conducted throughout 2025, Euro NCAP’s busiest year for evaluations.

Examples of crash test visuals and safety awards from Euro NCAP protocols.

Tesla’s announcement and immediate reactions

Tesla Europe & Middle East shared the news directly on X, highlighting the dual wins.

Here is the official post from Tesla Europe & Middle East.

Enthusiasts and Tesla-focused accounts quickly celebrated the results, emphasizing the company’s ongoing safety leadership.

Bullish takes from investors and fans.

Official Euro NCAP accounts also posted separate recognitions for each model.

Euro NCAP’s own highlights.

Broader context and impact

Tesla has a long track record of strong Euro NCAP results, with previous generations of these models also achieving top scores. The 2025 awards reinforce this under updated, more demanding criteria.

While the Mercedes-Benz CLA took the overall Best Performer title for 2025 (with Tesla finishing fractionally behind), the dual category wins for Model 3 and Model Y stand out in a competitive field that included more EVs than ever.

No major negative reactions appeared in recent X discussions around the announcement; coverage stayed focused on the safety achievement.

These awards help consumers identify leading safety options in popular segments, especially as electric vehicles continue to demonstrate strong performance in crash protection and active safety systems. The recognition arrives just before Euro NCAP introduces further protocol changes in 2026.

Elon Musk Talk with Diamandis, Part 2

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(Austin, Texas) Here, we’ll continue on our series where the discussion escalates from advanced AI and robotics into another frontier: nanotechnology and true atomic-scale manufacturing.

ELON MUSK: “Well, I think if you reframe things in terms of progress bar, like speaking of challenges. Progress towards a Kardashev 2 scale civilization”

Peter Diamandis introduces the idea of “atomic reassembly”, which is rearranging atoms precisely to build anything, like a sci-fi replicator.

Elon quickly connects this to current reality, noting that semiconductor fabs already achieve atomic-level precision for circuits (down to 2–3 nanometers, or roughly 4–9 silicon atoms wide).

Elon points out that today’s “2nm” process nodes are often marketing hype, but the core requirement remains near-atomic accuracy. Atoms must be placed exactly right.

Elon then drops a provocative critique: modern chip fabs are designing their ultra-cleanrooms wrong (overly focused on making the entire massive building sterile, with extreme air filtration and bunny suits that slow everything down).

Elon makes a confident bet: Tesla will build its own 2-nanometer fab (possibly a massive “TeraFab” to meet exploding AI chip demand), and it will be engineered so effectively that he can eat a cheeseburger and smoke a cigar right inside the fab without contaminating the wafers.

When pressed on how this avoids “cheeseburger grease” ruining the chips, Elon explains the key insight: maintain complete wafer isolation throughout the process, which is possibly the default in advanced fabs anyway.

Wafers travel sealed in boxes filled with pure nitrogen gas under slight positive pressure, creating an oxygen-free “nitrogen blanket” that kills bugs and blocks contaminants (Dave Blundin jokingly compares it to bananas at Walmart, preserved with similar insecticide-like methods). Combustion (like cigar smoke) needs oxygen to thrive, so the isolated system stays pristine while the human environment becomes far more livable and efficient.

The Transcript: 

Peter D.: And then we get to nanotechnology, which takes it even a step further.

Elon:  The thing about the—well, I’m not sure what you mean by—you mean like little nanobots?

Peter D.: Atomic reassembly.

Dave B.: Yeah.

Elon:  Oh, yeah, yeah, sure, sure. I mean, we’re already doing atomic level assembly for circuits, you know.

Peter D.: Amazing. Two, three nanometers.

Dave B.: Yeah.

Elon:  It’s only depending on how they’re arrayed. Four or five silicon atoms per nanometer. Yeah. So those are big atoms, though. They’re biggish.

Dave B.: Yeah, they’re not your little—

Elon:  I mean, I’m saying they should actually describe the circuits in terms of an integer number of atoms in a specific place.

Dave B.: They should. It’s all angstroms now.

Elon:  It’s just an integer. It’s like—we’ll call this the seven atom. Yeah, whatever. Yeah, like you say two nanometers, it’s…

Peter D.: Like no one knows.

Elon:  Nine silicon atoms, something like that. They’ve got silicon and copper and you know, so. But a bunch of these things are just marketing numbers. Like the 2 nanometer is just a marketing number. Oh yeah. But you still need essentially close to atomic level precision. Like the atoms really, you need to be in the right spot.

So I think they’re getting clean rooms wrong by the way, in these modern fabs. I’m going to make a bet here.

Peter D.: Okay.

Dave B.: Okay.

Elon:  That Tesla will have a 2 nanometer fab and I can eat a cheeseburger and smoke a cigar in the fab.

Peter D.: The air handling would be that good.

Dave B.: Do you have this sketched out in your mind? How are the atoms being placed? That they’re immune to cheeseburger grease.

Elon:  They just maintain wafer isolation the entire time, which is actually the default for fabs. The wafers are transported in boxes of pure nitrogen gas under a slight positive—

Dave B.: So are the bananas at Walmart, just so you know.

Elon:  Yeah, well that’s, it’s insecticide essentially. Like it’s pretty hard for anything that’s combusting to live without oxygen. Yep. So let’s talk about—so you like, you can kill the bugs just by putting a nitrogen blanket.

This leads into broader implications for radical abundance: if we perfect atomic reassembly at scale, manufacturing costs plummet, goods become nearly free, and humanity’s grand challenges shift dramatically.

Read Part 1 Here!

Elon Musk Talk with Diamandis, Part 1

Gail Alfar1 Comment

PART ONE

(Austin, TX) The setting is Tesla Gigafactory Texas, in Austin, the lobby is futuristic, Elon sits intentionally in front of a mural for Cybertruck with a prototype of a Cybercab right behind him. You can feel his confidence as he relaxes in his jeans, black T-shirt, and cowboy boots. This is a man who is changing the world.

THIS ARTICLE WAS UPDATED ON JAN 18TH, 2026

As the interview starts, Peter asks Elon how he is, and Elon responds, his mind on chips for Tesla, “Right now, putting a lot of time into chips”

I recall when I accompanied Johnna Crider to interview Elon in 2022. Then, you’d ask Elon how he was, and he had his mind on scaling production. Elon is deeply involved with his teams at Tesla, I think it may be what occupies his thoughts the most. Today, Peter asks Elon if he is personally putting a lot of time into chips. Great point, as most CEOs “tell” others to do the hard work. With Elon, he does the hard work. He always has. In fact, shortly after this interview, Elon posted here on X indicating his immersion into Tesla Chip design.

Diamandis: You are personally? (putting time into chips?)

Elon Musk: Yeah

Blundin: With some AI assistance, I assume…

Dave Blundin has joined this interview, taking time off from teaching his AI class at MIT.

Elon Musk: Not enough, haha. It’d be nice if we could just hand it off to the AI.

Blundin: I tried to do some circuit design actually with AI recently, just a couple weeks ago. Not happening yet.

Elon Musk: Ahh, very soon, though. I think probably at this point, Grok, if you took a photo and submitted to Grok, it could probably tell you if a circuit is—if there’s something wrong with it.

Blundin: All right, I’m going to give it a shot. You’re using the same Grok that I’m using?

Elon Musk: Grok keeps updating.

Dave Blundin: So 4.2. But 5 is soon, right?

Elon Musk: 5 is Q1. 4.2 has not been released yet externally, but yeah, I mean, if you just upload an image into Grok, it does quite a good job of analyzing any given image. Let’s see if I take a picture of you. What is it? Let’s see what it does

Diamandis: Yeah. What’s it going to say about me?

Blundin: Yeah, it’s going to say you’re a flawed circuit.

Elon is updating his phone’s Grok app, “I also have to remember to update it because we update the Grok app so frequently,” as the update happened, Peter Diamandis confesses he asked Grok to roast Elon.

Diamandis: I asked Grok to roast you. And I spit out my coffee. It was hilarious.

Elon Musk: Just say, be more vulgar. Just keep telling it to be more and more vulgar, until it’s like, haha, mother of god!

Blundin: Is Bad Rudy still out or did that get repealed? Bad Rudy’s still there?

Elon assures Dave Blundin that the Grok AI companion, Bad Rudy, is still around.

Diamandis: And I asked Grok, does Elon know what you say about him? And she goes—it’s a she for me—she goes, “What is he going to do about it?”

Elon Musk: HAHAHA, What is he going to do about it? Yeah, let’s see (shifting focus) Okay, so I just literally took a photo of you and it will tell you what it is.

Peter Diamandis: Did you ask it a question?

Elon Musk: No, nothing. I didn’t say anything, there’s no context whatsoever.

Elon shows Grok’s reply about the picture, “He’s wearing a black quilted jacket featuring a Sundance logo. Not quite true. It’s my Abundance logo.

Blundin: A little wrinkled on the clothing.

Elon Musk: Anyway, yeah, but basically, it’s pretty damn good. Yeah. “He’s smiling and relaxed with a laptop in front of him”. Should we say, Roast him.

Diamandis: It has to be read by you, though.

Elon Musk: I mean, I won’t read the whole thing, but—

Peter Diamandis: Give me a taste. I can take it.

Elon Musk: Okay (He reads part of Grok’s roast of Diamandis). “Check out that grin, dude. Smiling like you just discovered a new way to monetize hope”.

Cameron’s Movie vs. Star Trek

Diamandis: I want to try and answer the question, can AI and tech help save America and the world? I want to give people listening a dose of optimism. There’s a survey done in mid-December by Pew that said 45% of Americans would rather live in the past and only 14% said they’d rather live in the future. Which is insane to me. Obviously they never read history. The challenge is most Americans, all they have of the future—it’s like Hollywood has shown us killer AIs and rogue robots. Right. And people are worried about their jobs, they’re worried about health care, they’re worried about the cost of living. The challenge is how do we help people? I mean, you posted, you pinned on X: “The future is going to be amazing with AI and robots enabling sustainable abundance for all.”

Elon Musk: I was thinking of you when I did that. I was thinking, What would Peter Diamandis say? I was channeling you, haha!

Diamandis: Thank you. Thank you. I couldn’t agree more either. So my question is from a first principle standpoint, right. The rationale for optimism, you know, how do we head towards Star Trek and not Terminator?

Elon Musk: Towards Roddenberry, not Cameron? It’s the diverging path meme.

Diamandis: Avatar has some hopeful parts, but anyway, how do we go towards universal high income instead of social unrest?

Elon is realistic, and when Peter suggests an either/or scenario here, Elon sees both happening. Here he explains why.

Elon Musk: Well, because there’s going to be so much change, it’s sort of the, you know, it’s like, be careful what you wish for, because you might get it. Now if you actually get all the stuff you want, is that actually the future you want? Because it means that your job won’t matter.

Diamandis: If you’re living an unchallenged life. With no challenges. No. You know, if you become a couch potato, if it’s a WALL-E future, it does not go well for humans.

A WALL-E future means a dystopia where humans become lazy, overweight couch potatoes, totally dependent on technology and automation, with zero challenges or effort in daily life—like the bloated, screen-addicted people floating around in the movie WALL-E. It’s the warning: remove all struggle and difficulty, and humanity atrophies fast.

Blundin: And we’re used to being told, here’s your challenge. So people haven’t historically been very good at creating their own challenge.

Diamandis: I think Elon does a damn good job. Every time one company takes off, you start your next.

Elon Musk: I’m a glutton for punishment.

Diamandis: I think you are, thank God for that.

Elon Musk: So why do I do this to myself?

Blundin: Actually, after AI and robots, is there another thing after that?

Diamandis: Well, there’s always space conquering, you know, the universe.

Elon Musk: Oh, it’s just rocks, really! Hahaha! We just need to get there.

Diamandis: Why, Elon? Why are you so optimistic? Are you optimistic? Let’s start there.

Elon Musk: I’m not as optimistic as you are, but I’m more optimistic than most people.

Peter Diamandis really wants to know WHY Elon Musk is so optimistic. He will continue to press for an answer, and it is interesting, as Elon does not directly answer his question, and I’m including one of Elon’s most famous quotes, and my personal favorite for you!

“Better to live life erring on the side of being optimistic and wrong than pessimistic and right!

Be realistic, but, as Monty Python would say, always look on the bright side of life!”

Gail’s Tesla Podcast Ep 154: Robotaxi Ride in Austin – Interview & Waiting Scenario

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Hey Tesla fans! Episode 154 dives into my real Robotaxi experience in Austin, complete with a quick interview and the nitty-gritty of a waiting scenario during the ride. We explore how the system handles delays seamlessly, including on-screen support that pops up right when needed. It’s a peek at the future of autonomous rides—smooth, patient, and user-friendly, even in busy city traffic.

The episode blends chat and action: Starting with an insightful interview on Robotaxi tech, then shifting to the actual drive where we encounter a wait behind vehicles. Loved seeing the support interface kick in without any fuss!

Jump to 1:02 for the quick interview, 4:05 for the waiting scenario vibes, and 5:46 for the support screen appearance. This ride highlights Tesla’s progress in making autonomy feel natural and reliable.

Catch the full Robotaxi tour on X: Watch here — fast-forward to the support moment for that “aha” tech demo.

On to more autonomous adventures!

—Gail

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Gail’s Tesla Podcast Ep 153: Cruising Austin into 2026 – Happy New Year!

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Hey Tesla lovers! Kicking off the year with Episode 153, where we cruise autonomously around Austin on FSD, welcoming 2026 with hands-free magic. No interventions needed as the Tesla glides through downtown streets, past iconic landmarks, and under those beautiful city lights—pure effortless joy to start the new year.

The drive loops the heart of Austin: from bustling intersections and the skyline at dusk to serene bridges and festive spots still glowing from the holidays. It’s all about that seamless autonomy, handling traffic, turns, and vibes like a champ. Loved chatting about the future while the car does the work!

This short ep (under 3 minutes) captures the excitement of Tesla tech ringing in abundance for 2026. Whether it’s navigating past cyclists or admiring the Capitol, FSD makes every ride feel celebratory.

Catch the full New Year’s cruise on X: Watch here — jump in for the skyline views or holiday light remnants.

Here’s to autonomous adventures ahead!

—Gail

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Praises Elon Musk and Tesla’s Optimus in Resurfaced Interview

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2025 Bloomberg Clip Highlights Collaboration on AI, Self-Driving, and Humanoid Robots

A video clip from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s Bloomberg Technology interview, originally aired on May 28, 2025, has gone viral again on social media, fueling excitement about Tesla’s robotics ambitions and broader partnerships with Elon Musk.In the segment, host Ed Ludlow asked Huang about Nvidia’s deepening ties with Tesla and xAI across AI computing, autonomous driving, and robotics.Huang lavished praise on Musk and his ventures, calling his work across multiple fronts “world class” and “revolutionary.”

Here is the verbatim quote from the clip:

“Elon is just an extraordinary engineer, and I love working with him. We’ve built some amazing computers together. We’re going to build many more computers together. The work that he’s doing in Grok, his self-driving car, his Optimus—these are all, every single one of them, world class. Every single one revolutionary. Every single one of them are going to be gigantic opportunities. And we’re delighted, I’m delighted to be working with him on that. So I think the Optimus opportunity is just right around the corner. It’s very likely that humanoid robots are going to be robots that we can deploy into the world relatively easily, and this is the first robot that really has a chance to achieve the high volume and technology scale necessary to advance technology. And so I think this is likely to be the next multi-trillion dollar industry.”

Huang emphasized Tesla’s unique manufacturing expertise as a key enabler for scaling Optimus to high-volume production, setting it apart from competitors.

The clip was reposted on X on January 1, 2026, by prominent Tesla supporter CB Doge.

Elon Musk Joins Surprise X Space: Discusses 2026 Breakthroughs with Voice Doppelgänger Adrian Dittmann

Elon Musk Joins Surprise X Space: Discusses 2026 Breakthroughs with Voice Doppelgänger Adrian Dittmann

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January 1, 2026 – In a surreal and entertaining moment to close out the year, Elon Musk unexpectedly joined an X Space on 30 December titled “The Year Ahead 2026,” hosted by @AdrianDittmann—a user long famous (and occasionally suspected) for sounding eerily similar to Elon himself.

The result was a light-hearted, mind-bending conversation in which the two voices—virtually indistinguishable—greeted each other as “other me” and dove into an optimistic preview of what Musk believes 2026 could bring for Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and humanity’s future in space.

The highlight clip captures roughly five minutes of the exchange. Below is a mostly verbatim transcript (with some of Adrian’s longer, rambling comments lightly summarized for readability), manually transcribed due to the extreme voice similarity that confounded automated tools.

Transcript

Adrian: Yo Elon, what’s up man? Long time no see. Or like here rather because you know, “Spaces.”
Elon: Hello other me.
Adrian: Hi other me, that’s a good one! Yeah, so I’ve seen your year has been quite the adventure.
Elon: There’s been a lot, yeah. It’s been quite a year. I think 2026 is going to be a real banger year!
Adrian: Indeed, indeed.

(Adrian mentions the upcoming midterms and “narrative engineering,” then notes he’s very busy with work. Elon asks what the work is.)

Elon: What’s your work?


Adrian: Sorry, come again?


Elon: What work?


Adrian: Manufacturing stuff.


Elon: Okay, cool. What have you been making?


Adrian: I kind of don’t want to talk about it—it’s not entirely relevant. It’s kind of like a luxury product type thing, not that high up. It’s quite simple. I just don’t want to talk about it too much because I don’t want to bring attention to those people. I don’t want any harm to come to them, you know what I mean. So I just don’t talk about it as much.


Elon: Okay.


Adrian: Doing some automation stuff now. It’s pretty fun.

Elon on Tesla and SpaceX

Elon: Well, Tesla should have widespread robotaxi. That’ll be a big thing for Tesla in ’26. Optimus 3 will launch, and then hopefully SpaceX will achieve full reusability with Starship. Those are the pretty giant ones.

Adrian: I assume the first major shipments with Starship are just going to be like Starlink satellites, right?


Elon: Yup. And then we are going to go to the Moon!


Adrian: Oh yeah, yeah. Definitely. The space compute thing is like a really good accelerant, I think. So SpaceX becomes the major delivery company of choice then.


Elon: Yeah, haha.

(Adrian asks if Elon has thought about manufacturing on the Moon, noting that low gravity allows creating materials difficult or impossible to produce on Earth.)

Elon: Well, I think the biggest opportunity on the Moon is to actually make solar cells and radiators—so you’re manufacturing on the Moon anything that weighs a lot. Chips can maybe still come from Earth because they weigh very little. And then you can use a mass driver to put a billion tons of AI-powered satellites into orbit per year.

Adrian: Mass driver basically being like a kind of rail gun. I just like “rail guns”—it sounds cleaner. Like if you were on Dyson spheres before, pivot to this.


Elon: Well, this will create a Dyson swarm where there are essentially a bunch of intelligent satellites around the Sun.

(Adrian asks if manufacturing could be done in zero-gravity orbit instead, or if even lower gravity than Earth’s—like the Moon’s—is still needed.)

Elon: You need mass. Mass must come from somewhere. You need a lot of tonnage.

(Adrian asks if there will be a lot of tunneling (“boring”) on the Moon or if bases will mostly be surface structures, adding that underground lava caves make more sense.)

Elon: Ahhh, sure. We’ll figure it out. The most important thing is to get serious tonnage from the Moon in order to send even way more serious tonnage from the Moon. You can scale to a hundred terawatts of AI compute per year from the Moon.

(Adrian asks about magnetic shields for protection; Elon responds.)

Elon: Superconducting magnets could shield against solar wind and even high-velocity small objects. It’ll be fine—we already have 9,000 satellites in orbit, so we know what it’s like being in space. But… I randomly saw your chat. I have to head back to Tesla work meetings.


Adrian: Well, thanks for coming!

Highlights

  • Tesla: Widespread unsupervised robotaxi deployment in 2026 is expected to be a major milestone.
  • Optimus: Generation 3 of the humanoid robot is slated to launch and start performing useful tasks.
  • SpaceX: Full rapid reusability of Starship (including booster and ship catches) targeted for 2026, with initial major payloads consisting of Starlink satellites.
  • Lunar Ambitions: Manufacturing solar cells, radiators, and heavy components on the Moon, followed by using mass drivers (electromagnetic railgun-like launchers) to deploy massive quantities of AI-powered satellites at far lower cost than Earth launches.
  • AI Compute at Scale: Musk foresees scaling to hundreds of terawatts of AI compute per year, enabled by lunar resource utilization and orbital deployment.

My take: This was an unplanned and certainly unannounced X Space for Elon Musk. It appears he had a moment in between meetings to simply drop into the Space and chat. I think Elon would enjoy it if we all did this more. Back in November, I dropped into a Space, and got to chat, and it was memorable. If you’ve never done it, try it! In fact, when Elon does things like this, he’s actually working in X—it’s his job to try out the product. We’re lucky he bought X for the crazy price of $44 billion! Elon made this a fittingly futuristic way to ring in 2026.

(P.S. I couldn’t use AI to transcribe this—first it insisted the whole thing was a deepfake, then it completely failed to tell the two men’s voices apart. I finally gave up and did the transcript manually. Enjoy this rare treat!)

Gail’s Tesla Podcast Ep. 152: Floating Through Austin on FSD v14 – Sour Duck, JuiceLand & Night Drive

Gail AlfarLeave a comment

Hey Tesla enthusiasts! Episode 152 takes us on a dreamy night out in Austin, where FSD v14 made everything feel like floating on air. We hit up Sour Duck Market, Butter Half, and JuiceLand for some local flavors, followed by an epic full-city cruise under the night lights. Hands-off the whole way with zero interventions—FSD v14 is incredibly smooth, handling turns, traffic, and vibes like a true pro.

The route was a perfect Austin loop: Sour Duck for fresh market goodies → JuiceLand for refreshing sips → Butter Half for that quirky stop → wrapping with a mesmerizing drive through the glowing city. Loved how the autonomy let me just enjoy the scenery and chat about the future!

Jump to 2:44 for Sour Duck Market arrival, or 3:08 for JuiceLand vibes. At 5:56, it’s Butter Half time, then 6:20 for the stunning city at night views. This drive shows FSD v14’s next-level confidence in real-world scenarios.

Episodes like this remind me why Tesla’s tech is paving the way to abundance—effortless, fun, and reliable.

Catch the full floating tour on X: Watch here — fast-forward to your favorite stops for the action.

Smooth rides ahead!

—Gail

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