(Austin, Texas) Meet special guest, Minimal Duck aka Arash Malek. Arash is an artist at heart with an eye for clean, elegant, minimalistic design. When I first tried his scentwedge pine scented natural wood product (Mountain Forest) in my Model Y, I was instantly enchanted with the peaceful, non-overpowering scent. As a fine perfume customer and collector of Chanel, Dior, nYc, Burnt Hair by Singed and many more fragrances, I believe that to leave the house without wearing a scent, you are leaving the house partially undressed.
Likewise, you are driving your Tesla without the full benefit of an extraordinary scent if you pull out of the driveway without a scentwedge in your Tesla. I loved hearing Arash explain his business model during our podcast, all the while driving with me on FSD beta in Austin. Our conversation went beyond scentwedge.
We also talk about Austin jobs, Elon Musk, and the Tesla community. Hope you enjoy!
Tesla Model 3. Image Courtesy Arash Malek/Scentwedge
Try Arash’s “Collective” He says, “Experience everything we have to offer and explore the scents you love. This kit is about a 3 month supply of Scentwedge. Includes a 2-week supply of every scent we have to offer. Scents Included are: Valencia, Grounded, Big Sur, Coastal Forest, Mountain Forest, and The Summit.”
Tesla Model Y in Iceland. Image Courtesy Arash Malek/Scentwedge
Don’t have a Tesla yet to put Scentwedge into? Use this code to receive a nice sum of money when you order: www.tesla.com/referral/gail74884
Don’t own a bottle of Burnt Hair by Singed? You can order it here.
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on Earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
Did you watch Tesla Investor Day on March 1 live from Gigafactory Texas in Austin? Master Plan 3 was created for the investor and Elon Musk said he meant “the broadest definition of investor, as in the people & life of Earth. It will be a message of good hope & positivity for the future.”
This article is part 1 of a series that will examine the message of good hope and positivity for the future. The “investor” is considered the people & life of Earth instead of only retail and institutional investors.
The People of Earth
You may have heard Elon Musk explain how our earth is like a small vulnerable candle in vast darkness and that we must not let that candle blow out. Each of the 8 billion people who are alive today has a unique story and their life is amazing. The generations that come after yours can live in a clean beautiful future. Master Plan 3 explains how to make this a reality.
The Life of Earth
The life of earth takes on many forms as depicted in the header picture of this article. All life should be preserved so the earth can remain healthy. Non-human life forms need us humans to work to preserve them. It is easy to destroy the earth and we should stop doing so. Tesla shared a picture of our current state and this is what needs to change to protect the life of earth.
Our energy economy is dirty & wasteful. Image courtesy Tesla.
Message of Good Hope
Stamped Tesla car parts, courtesy Tesla, Inc.
No one feels great after listening to a message of doom and gloom. If we want to inspire the young generation to raise a family then the older generations can start by sharing a message of good hope.
Tesla shared a pretty gloomy photo at the start of Investor’s day of our current dirty and wasteful energy economy that leads to a polluted world and the goal is to change humanity from depending on fossil fuels to one of clean-energy use exclusively.
Tesla also shared what seemed like an infinite number of stamped vehicle body parts. I was first hit with how cool and artistic it looked and then later I was hit with the message that Tesla may one day be able to create limitless vehicles that are affordable for people to own or ride in. What a message of good hope this really is!
The new Gigafactory in Mexico will build a new vehicle that is expected to be a huge volume product.
Elon Musk highlighted the challenges, which may explain why Mexico was selected for the next gigafactory,
“Demand for our vehicles, in terms of desire to own them may as well be infinite, it’s indistinguishable from infinite at this point.
The affordability is what matters so as you make the car more affordable we will have to amend go crazy basically. The hard part is building the cars. I can’t emphasize that enough.
The hard part is building the cars and the entire supply chain that goes with the cars. this is a logistics challenge of extraordinary difficulty.
All the things that have to go into the car have to scale with the car while everything is doing an exponential ramp and if you miss even one of those things — and, it doesn’t matter why, earthquake, fire, revolution, I thought I’ve heard them all! If any part of that supply chain gets interrupted, then you have a seizure.
The hard part is building the cars in the supply chain that goes with it.” Elon Musk
Gigafactory Mexico is a message of hope that Tesla will be able to build affordable vehicles faster and at greater volume.
Tesla has the magnificent support of the government of Nuevo León, Mexico and Mexico is home to many automotive clusters that have grown up throughout the country as a way to more effectively support local manufacturers through economies of scale.
Message of Positivity for the Future
Positivity means you have an optimistic attitude. Master Plan 3 is achievable. It is fitting that the Tesla HQ is in Texas. Texans are known for having a “CAN DO” attitude. Elon Musk said,
“The thing that is needed at a very large scale, that’s not currently present, is a vast amount of battery energy storage.
Our rough calculations is that this is about 240 TeraWatt hours — 240,000 GigaWatt hours. It is actually a lot of batteries, but it is actually a very achievable amount that’s a combination of electric vehicles and stationary storage.” Elon Musk
Elon and the Tesla team explain how battery storage can be achieved and I’m going to add that it will create endless job opportunities so the road it takes to get to a clean energy future is a bright one. I will write more about this in Part 2 of this series.
Master Plan 3
On the live stream, Elon spoke about the most important message, Master Plan 3,
“There is a clear path to a sustainable energy Earth.
It doesn’t require destroying natural habitats.
It doesn’t require us to be austere and stop using electricity and be in the cold or anything.
The story, and I think this holds together quite well – it will be actually published in a detailed white paper with all of our assumptions and calculations — is that there is a clear path to a fully sustainable earth with abundance.
In fact, you could support a civilization much bigger than Earth and much more than the 8 billion humans could actually be supported sustainably on Earth.
I am often just shocked and surprised by how few people realize this. Most of the smart people I know actually don’t see a clear path, they think that there’s not a path to a sustainable energy future or at least there’s not one that is sustainable at our current population or that we have to resort to extreme measures. none of this is true.
So we are going to walk through the calculations for how to create a sustainable energy civilization.”
Elon Musk
A Sustainable Energy Economy is Within Reach & We Should Accelerate It. Image Courtesy Tesla, Inc.
To be continued…
In my next article, I’ll write more in depth about Master Plan 3 and how it affects you and future generations. Please subscribe to my blog to get a notice of when my articles publish.
Tesla Semi and Model S 3 X Y make an appearance at Investor Day. Image courtesy Jeff Roberts.
Gail Alfar, Author, Military Veteran. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – March 5, 2023. All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
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Let your Tesla take you to the Hair Salon | Enjoy this fun drive through Austin’s suburbs and I’ll share a few hacks with you! | Special sponsor is ATX Auto Finishes!
We’ll go to the Hair Salon together, followed by a short trip to see inside of ATX Auto Finishes! Our 10-minute video is just for you!
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on Earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
Ready to get money off when you reserve your Tesla with Gail’s Special Code? Use this when you order for goodies: www.tesla.com/referral/gail74884
Join Gail to go get groceries at HEB. We’ll drive through Austin’s streets together following the ice storm that hit Austin and most of Texas in February, 2023. Gail will show you some fun ways to relax while using FSD beta to get around town. Enjoy the podcast!
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
Cybertrucks (lots of them!) on the roads are essential for Tesla’s mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.
As we await delivery of first Cybertrucks, it’s worth looking at the ecosystem forming in anticipation. This article takes us on a journey into our future cyberworld and looks at,
Travel, hunting and camping applications
Military, law enforcement & apocalypse mods
Artistic expressions
Travel, camping and hunting applications
Image Courtesy Tesla, Inc.
Tesla has people excited with their beautiful render of a camping addition. Camping enthusiasts are ready to reserve this the moment Tesla makes it available.
Cybertruck Hunting mode has been suggested, “One of the things I’m really looking forward to in my CT is hunting Elk on southern Montana public lands. My dad’s truck was modified to disable all lights (interior, headlights, brake lights, blinkers, etc., with the flip of a couple of switches. Has anyone given any thought as to what a “Hunting Mode” might do? It would be great if all lights could be disabled from the control screen, and the screen itself dimmed, once you were off road.” (Michael Jorge, Cybertruck owners club)
StreamIt, Inc. created the CyberLandr, a retractable camping add-on that has solar panels mounted on top allowing you to stay off the grid for days. The Green Product Award went to this American company for creating a distinguished product in sustainability, innovation & design. For information regarding CyberLandr visit https://cyberlandr.com/features.
Image of CyberLandr courtesy StreamIt, Inc.
One South African company is already putting a Cyber-inspired camper-trailer on the road. Edgeout won the Red Dot Design Award 2022 in the category Product Design. Red Dot jury panel said, “With its innovative construction and distinctive exterior design, the EdgeOut conveys robustness and mobility,”
Edgeout camper-trailer
Military, law enforcement and apocalypse technology
Police forces in Mexico and the United Arab Emirates placed early reservations for Cybertruck.
San Luis Potos, Mexico with its 2.8 million people may enjoy 15 Cybertrucks for local law enforcement and logistics. Cybertruck is “common sense,” – Adrian Esper Cardenas, Mayor
When Adrian Esper Cardenas announced the purchase of 15 Cybertrucks the media questioned the maintenance of the vehicles, to which the mayor pointed out that maintenance costs are “zero.” Cardenas assured the press that if an engine fails, the guarantee will be applied for replacement; If a headlight breaks, you can order it online. “It’s very easy,” he said.
Jay Leno asks Elon: "But why make it bullet proof...?"
Elon to Jay: "Do you want your Cybertruck to be bullet proof or not?"
Jay: "Yea, I guess I do want my Cybertruck to be bullet proof!"
Military applications are natural for Cybertruck. The dreamer in me imagines Giga Texas with an underground facility where apocalypse, combat ready and law enforcement Cybertrucks with accompanying drones are assembled. Tougher wheels and suspension are needed for these applications.
“… the body panels are bulletproof to a handgun so it’s probably helpful in the apocalypse. Let me tell you, the truck you want in the apocalypse is the Cybertruck. We wish to be the leader in apocalypse technology.” Elon Musk
Cybertruck Heavy Duty. Image courtesy Z AV Design
CyberMonster, safe loading and artistic expressions
Monstertruck owners make up a small but enthusiastic market. Expect to see websites that will guide you on the best ways to convert Cybertruck into CyberMonster.
Remote control monster Cybertrucks available now on amazon
Ramp for safety and practicality
Cybertruck ramp image courtesy Tesla, Inc.
Tesla makes safety a top priority and loading truck beds is difficult and dangerous. Cybertruck reduces the chance of injury with a retractable ramp and elevated front suspension. Tesla says,
“Raise and lower suspension four inches in either direction for easy access to Cybertruck or the vault, while self-leveling capabilities adapt to any occasion and assist with every job.”
“Every job” will include harp transportation,
“Harp transportation! Our daughter plays the harp. It’s big, it needs to be wrapped up and put on a hand truck every time we move it (multiple times a week for practices). When I saw that ramp off the back, and the size of the bed confirmed it would be large enough….. that’s when my pre-order went in. It will save my back.” (reddit user MotorFloating)
“Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy. Needs be able to get from Starbase to South Padre Island, which requires crossing the channel.” Elon Musk
My take is that Tesla needs to get Cybertrucks on road fast as possible by scaling production for hundreds of thousands of eager reservation holders. This will greatly accelerate Tesla’s mission. I believe people will receive a high-quality utility vehicle that will be open to many aftermarket modifications.
An ecosystem is starting in anticipation of Cybertruck and will get bigger as people take delivery. This article covered fantasy mods and practical ones that can be reserved or purchased now. If you know of an accessory or mod that I should include, please let me know!
Gail Alfar, Author, Military Veteran. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – February 12, 2023. All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
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(Austin, Texas) In this episode, Guest Ash Martian, a Tesla investor, computer engineer, FSD beta tester, and friend, comes along to explain details about the importance of attentiveness while using FSD beta.
FSD on the Freeway at Night
Using FSD beta on freeway journeys means increased safety. Enjoy the Podcast with this special guest, who has a passion for going to Mars one day. Find Ash on the X app at https://x.com/1stMarsColonist
Gail’s Tesla Podcast #4 FSD on freeway featuring guest Ash Martian. We discuss the current FSD and upcoming Version 11. Come drive with us to Georgetown, Texas. pic.twitter.com/3TTBCxJtCY
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on Earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
Welcome back to What’s Up Tesla. I hope you are doing great. I live in Austin, Texas and this week we are recovering from a severe ice storm. Many people are still without power as I write this article. Austin’s power relied on having a stable connection to the Texas grid and when ice layers built up on the Live Oak trees it caused banches to break and this led to downed power lines. Yes, many of our power lines are still above the ground and one solution would be for the city to install below-the-ground power lines. Another solution is for large apartment buildings and housing developments to become self-sufficient through the use of solar power backed by battery storage (Tesla Solar and Powerwalls).
Sometimes instead of talking about all these problems, I like to kick back and talk about a future with Cybertruck! This article explores why it’s so good, in fact, it’s mentally healthy to anticipate the delivery of Cybertruck.
When can we expect Cybertruck to be delivered?
Several indications point to Cybertruck deliveries later this year with rapid scaled production in 2024. I say this because Elon Musk has extraordinary talent at scaling production and he led Tesla in scaling Model Y production in the USA, China and Berlin. His investment in Cybertruck is massive and the 9000 ton Giga Press at Tesla in Austin built exclusively for Cybertruck castings is just a fraction of that investment.
Tesla’s 9000 ton Cybertruck Giga Press (shown here being assembled) rests in Austin at Gigafactory Texas. Photo courtesy Joe Tegtmeyer.
“Giga Texas is a $10B+ investment over time, generating at least 20k direct & 100k indirect jobs” – Elon Musk on Twitter
Why anticipating delivery of Cybertruck is good for us
In a statement from the National Institute of Health,
“Anticipation, paying attention to the upcoming stimulus predicted by a contextual cue (Bermpohl et al., 2006), has important implications in human well-being and mental health. Anticipation confers important evolutionary benefits to human beings. Specifically, expecting the forthcoming events allow active preparations in cognitive, affective, and behavioral strategies (Grupe et al., 2013), which ensure survival in the changing and potential challenging environment (Gilbert and Wilson, 2007). Furthermore, the deficits of anticipation of future experience have been associated with extreme low levels of well-being, such as depression (MacLeod and Byrne, 1996; Abler et al., 2007) and anxiety (Nitschke et al., 2009; Boehme et al., 2014; Heitmann et al., 2014)” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5767250/#sec-1title
In short, anticipation is often as valuable as the actual end experience. For example, there are tens of thousands of people who are excited by the prospect of humans one day going to Mars. It is truly important to be able to wake up in the morning and be excited about the future. SpaceX’s Starship mission to Mars accomplishes this for many people. Likewise so does the excitement of Cybertruck. Elon Musk said,
“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.” -Elon Musk
What Will You Do with Your Cybertruck?
Every so often I see somebody ask on Twitter how many Cybertrucks they have on order or what they plan to do with their Cybertruck(s). Here are some of the comments seen on Twitter,
“Work on the farm and hauling cattle.” – Justin Owens
“Stare at it parked in my driveway, sitting in a camping chair drinking a home brew.” – Rich
“Use as an everyday car and haul garden things.” – Richard
“I will definitely have to up my clothes game to drive that f*cker. The Crocs are right out. Black tee shirt in.” – Todd Gunter
“Showed my wife a pic of the Cybertruck… her reply “buy one” looks like we’ll be adding another Tesla to the garage” – Kobayashi Maru
“I can’t bear the wait, it is painful. This product is so sick, even more than Model X. Happy to be one of the first to get this masterpiece. All variations are secured (with FSD): TM, DM, RWD.” – Green Power
When Cybertruck sightings occur, hundreds of people begin to analyze the changes they notice. Everybody is excited about what the final product will look like. In the most recent sighting there were changes noted in the rearview mirrors and lighting. Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter that Cybertruck will have a solid red lightbar in the rear. Owners can remove the new triangular shaped rearview mirrors after purchase.
There is a period of time when different styles of windshield wipers were spotted. This led to extensive speculation and a lot of outspoken views on why people did or did not like the large solo windshield wiper.
My thought is that as we get closer to Cybertruck deliveries this year there will be many Cybertruck sightings which will fill people with more anticipation and excitement. My other take is that Cybertruck will continue to evolve and improve over time so it’s exciting to think that the longer somebody waits to take delivery, the more refined the product will be!
In addition to Cyber anticipation, Tesla investors day is on March 1, and there’s a possibility that a new product will be announced which will lead to more anticipation!
Cybertruck on Mars, Unknown Artist
CONCLUSION
Research shows that it is beneficial to anticipate things like an upcoming wedding, birth, vacation, job change or major life shift.
It is important to our well being and survival, “Specifically, expecting the forthcoming events allow active preparations in cognitive, affective, and behavioral strategies (Grupe et al., 2013), which ensure survival in the changing and potential challenging environment (Gilbert and Wilson, 2007). Furthermore, the deficits of anticipation of future experience have been associated with extreme low levels of well-being, such as depression (MacLeod and Byrne, 1996; Abler et al., 2007) and anxiety (Nitschke et al., 2009; Boehme et al., 2014; Heitmann et al., 2014)”
If you are anticipating Cybertruck with excitement, this is a very good thing. I think Cybertruck will be a major life shift for many people. There are plans set in motion that people have for where they will park their Cybertruck, what they will do with their Cybertruck(s), how they will use Cybertrucks for their business and how they will travel and have adventures off-road in the vehicle.
Additionally, it is exciting to talk about the science-fiction attributes of the vehicle. I love discussing the possibility of the vehicle being on Mars or used in a zombie apocalypse or in fantastical military situations. If I tallied up all the hours that I thought about these things or talked about these things, it would be in the hundreds of hours. It’s provided me and my family with endless conversation and laughter.
Austin Ice Storm, February 1, 2023. Photo courtesy Shane Ware.
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – February 5, 2023. All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
(Austin, Texas) On this amazing drive, Gail shows you how smooth Tesla FSD beta runs in busy downtown East Austin. The car confidently slows as a person runs into the street. Gail also takes us through a high-crash intersection. This interesting thing about using FSD beta, as demonstrated in this episode, is that if the vehicle cannot (this may happen for many reasons) make a turn exactly where it should in order to reach a destination, then it will automatically correct itself. In this case, the car corrected itself by turning into a shopping center parking lot, moving through it, going back onto public streets, and then finding its way to the destination. This is how a human driving (who knew the area well) would do it. Unfortunately, as humans, we do not know every area of every city well. However, using FSD beta overcomes that obstacle. Enjoy the podcast!
Gail’s Tesla Podcast #3 FSD Shortcuts To Your Destination. Watch Gail make a mistake and then the Tesla corrects it by taking her through a little mini mall and around the corner. All on FSDbeta. pic.twitter.com/bVUqckwesO
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author and podcaster is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on Earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
Welcome back to my blog. It’s been 12 months since I first rented a shared office space to start “What’s Up Tesla.” I am committed to doing more to support the mission of Tesla and Elon Musk, as there is a long road ahead. In the coming year, I’ll keep dedicating time to this blog and my Podcast as we watch Tesla move with success through uncertain times and prove they are the only OEM that will thrive in 2023 and beyond.
In this episode, Gail explains how easy it is to engage FSD beta on very curvy roads in a suburban area. She shows how easy and accurate the innovative software is and demonstrates its safety. Enjoy the podcast.
Gail’s Tesla Podcast #2 FSD On Curvy Hills. FSD works great in Austin’s Hills, kinda feels like magic. Enjoy the podcast. pic.twitter.com/2C0AJGZ191
Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla. All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author is to support Tesla (the most American vehicle manufacturer) and Elon Musk in both making life better on earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization.
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