Topics

via TheWorldNewsOrgWorld News

via TheWorldNewsOrgWorld News

via TheWorldNewsOrgWorld News

Plenty of work lies ahead of both companies, but progress abounds Amidst a seemingly relaxed July for SpaceX, the company has been working intently with NASA to prepare for its first Commercial Crew mission in as few as seven months. NASA’s combination of strict technical requirements and partial flexibility with the famously fast-moving aerospace company have resulted in a collaborative environment that Elon Musk recently deemed beneficial to the company. Deemed Demo-1 in relation to the first flight of Dragon being Demonstration Flight 1, SpaceX workers are almost ready to integrate the service section and pressure vessel compartments. The pressure vessel is be…

The S-Curve: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is constantly referring to it, but what does it even mean? It could be the reason Tesla’s Model 3 revolutionizes the automotive industry. The California-based electric car maker recently tweeted a visual representation of the S curve to make things clear for Tesla fans. As factory production ramps up, the low volume numbers in the beginning allow management to tweak and adjust logistics in order to create a product in the most efficient manner. This requires time and energy, and results in a lot of trial-and-error for a company. As the company produces more of its product and fine-tunes its process, it becomes more …

Tesla may have a Gigafactory rival overseas. Terra E Holding GmbH CEO Holger Gritzka announced that the company would be opening a battery production facility that would rival the likes of Tesla’s, according to Bloomberg. The company is evaluating five sites in Germany to build its 34 gigawatt-hour battery factory after winning government support for the project, which will reach full capacity by 2028. Although in the early stages, the construction of this new facility signals that another company may be throwing its hat in the ring with Tesla. For CEO Elon Musk, the news may be invited as it brings Tesla closer to achieving its master plan. It’s s…

Tesla’s quarterly earnings report and call yesterday impacted the company’s stock in a way that surprised some Wall Street analysts: It went up. The earnings call presented a perfect alignment of revenue, Model 3 gains and overall capital, leading to an immediate 2% bump and another another 6% gain in after-hours trading. The after-hours action demonstrated that the initial reaction to the numbers for Q2 2017 is hugely positive, with the stock hitting $345. At today’s opening bell, TSLA came in at $346.50, a huge jump from yesterday’s closing in the mid-320s. Analysts at Baird Equity Research still view Tesla Inc ‘s stock as a “top pick for 2017, with the f…

Just curious.

Most “out of no where” celeb relationships exist to sell albums/movies.

Intentionally sunk for the insurance money, to offset prior mistakes.

What if I told you that one indicator has predicted every US stock market crash since the great crash of 1929? The most commonly used market crash indicator among traders I know comes from the interest rates of government-issued bonds. To try to make everyone else feel like we earn our money, we use a fancy term: The Inverted Yield Curve. What does that mean? The US government issues bonds called Treasuries. With some of them the government doesnÂ’t have to pay you back for a long time, say 10 or 30 years. With others the government has to pay you back in a relatively short period of time, say 1 or 2 years. Ordinarily, if the government gets to keep my mone…

The latest Tesla Model 3 reservation count pegs the number at 518,000 gross reservations and 455,000 units after cancellations. The latest number was confirmed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk during Wednesday’s questions and answers portion of the company’s 2017 second quarter earnings. Musk noted that the net 455,000 Model 3 reservations occurred over the course of the year and includes Model 3 cancellations, but has continued to see net gains of roughly 1,800 Model 3 reservations being placed per day since last Friday’s Model 3 Delivery Event. Up until the delivery event, rumors of Model 3 reservation counts exceeding 400,000 remained largely unconfirmed by the Silicon…

After previously stating that the upcoming Tesla Model Y compact SUV would utilize a brand new architecture, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the vehicle would in fact have substantial carryover from Model 3 components. Speaking during the questions and answers portion of the companyÂ’s Q2 Earnings call, Musk noted that TeslaÂ’s executive team brought him back from the “cliffs of insanity”. Adding, “after talking to my executive team, the Model Y will use a significant amount of Model 3 components.” Musk had stated in the past that Model Y would be built on a completely new architecture and from a dedicated factory. Part of the new chassis would have be…

During Wednesday’s Q2 earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that their should be “zero concern that Tesla will achieve a 10,000/week production rate by end of next year.” This seriously solidifies TeslaÂ’s past production expectations. Tesla expects to produce 1,500 Model 3s in Q3 along with an increase in Model S/X deliveries. The company also guided in the shareholder letter that they expect reach a 5,000/week run-rate by the end of 2017. Tesla has not given guidance for Model 3 sales in Q4, due to the number of variables associated with their S-curved production ramp of the Model 3. Musk debuted the production ready Model 3 on June 28 and hande…

Tesla has confirmed through its 2017 Second Quarter Update Letter that Model 3 is using the company’s high energy density 2170 cells in its battery pack. This confirmation puts to rest previous speculation that Tesla was producing a lithium ion cell with a much larger form factor specifically for Model 3. Tesla had begun mass production of its 2170 form factor cells earlier in the year for use in its line of commercial and home energy storage solutions – Powerpack and Powerwall. The company confirmed today that Model 3 battery packs will also be sharing the same lithium ion cell type, however built on a new production line at the Gigafactory facility outside of Reno,…

Tesla released its second quarter 2017 earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, summarized in the Q2’17 Update Letter. The results largely surprised Wall Street after the company posted fourth quarter earnings loss of $1.33 per share, quite a bit lower than estimated analyst losses of $1.82. Revenue was $2.78 billion versus an estimate of $2.51 billion. REVENUE In the letter, Tesla announced that “Automotive revenue grew 93% as compared to Q2 2016.” The company’s revenue consisted of $2.28B in automotive revenue, $286M in energy generation and storage, and $216M in service and other revenue. Automotive revenue actually slightly declined over the first q…

Tesla has announced that the first Solar Roof installations have been completed on the homes of select employee. These first customers of Tesla’s glass roof tiles have maintained a tight feedback loop with the product team, allowing the company to flush out final field testing of its energy generation and storage products. “The first Solar Roof installations have been completed recently at the homes of our employees, who we chose to be our first customers to help perfect all aspects of Solar Roof customer experience. By pairing either Solar Roof or our existing retrofit solar panels with a Powerwall, our customers can enjoy sustainable energy independence.” said Tesl…

Soda consumption in the United States fell to a 31-year low in 2016, according to Beverage-Digest. That decline can mainly be attributed to waning demand among health-conscious consumers. Here's how much each drink category grew between 2015 and 2016, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation. Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2017/08/01/american-soda-consumption-plunges-31year-low/103953632/

A small group of Tesla’s top referrers gathered for a separate presentation at the Model 3 delivery event where representatives told them future prizes could include “amazing adventures.” The group was thanked by two company representatives who said the group had referred more than 7,000 individuals to purchase a Tesla. They also nodded toward special, secret prizes that were in store for top referrers. The prizes would be “amazing adventures, the kind of adventures — you couldn’t pay for these kind of adventures.” The different steps will be released along the way as secret levels for referrers to break through. The separate reception at the delivery event and the…

By Kirk Larson Social Security Washington Public Affairs Specialist Tragedy strikes without warning. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 2.7 million people will die in the U.S. this year. For families who lose a wage earner, it can have a devastating financial impact in addition to the emotional one. If you work, some of the Social Security taxes you pay now go toward survivors benefits for workers and their families. In the event of your death, certain family members — widows, widowers (including your divorced spouse), children and dependent parents — may be eligible for survivors benefits. Today, in Washington State, t…

By Kirk Larson Social Security Washington Public Affairs Specialist What happens if I work and get Social Security retirement benefits? You can get Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time. However, if you are younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit, we will reduce your benefit. Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, we will not reduce your benefits no matter how much you earn. • We use the following earnings limits to reduce your benefits: If you are under full retirement age for the entire year, we deduct $1 from your benefit payments for every $2 you earn above the annual limit. …

By Kirk Larson Social Security Washington Public Affairs Specialist Recently, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report to Congress presenting the financial status of the Social Security trust funds for the short term and over the next 75 years. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds are projected to become depleted in 2034 with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time. In the 2017 Annual Report to Congress, the Trustees announced: The asset reserves of the combined OASDI Trust Funds increased by $35 billion in 2016 to a total of $2.85 trillion. The comb…

Tesla Model 3 fans now have a fun look at what the user experience could be like on the vehicle’s center touchscreen. Andrew Goodlad, who goes by the name @Ichorus on Twitter, shared an interactive touchscreen simulator that he created. The simulator is interactive and allows Tesla fans and soon-to-be owners to toy with similar features that the real Model 3 touchscreen will have. The LCD touchscreen is lauded as the command center of the new luxury, mass market EV — itÂ’s the brains behind a Tesla driverÂ’s entire user experience. Drivers will be able to adjust mirrors, control air conditioning and vents, play music, as well as adjust seat positions, light…

The Hyperloop One prototype pod accelerated down the length of its 500-meter-long test tube in the Nevada desert, reaching a top speed of 192 mph before gliding to a stop. The test of its XP-1 passenger pod traveled for just over 300 meters before the brakes activated and the vehicle gradually decelerated. The company claims the pod clocked the highest speed a Hyperloop has gone. The company plans to push its pods at speeds closer to 750 mph as time goes on, A little technology background, the nearly airless tube was depressurized to the” equivalent of air at 200,000 feet above sea level,” the company says. The pod utilized magnetic levitation to travel ab…

Neuralink, Musk’s brain-computer interface company, is in the process of expanding rapidly and has several new technical job openings on their website. There is heavy focus on applied engineering, particularly in the context of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also known as micromachines or “really tiny robots”, as I like to call them. Not only is this a rapidly growing field of study and application as of late, but MEMS as a priority implies that in the near term, Neuralink is structuring itself as an advanced nanotechnology incubator, with a focus on biocompatible (safe for humans) applications. The human brain is thought to contain as many as 100 billion ne…