ELON CHRON: The Daily Chronicle of Elon Musk's Companies

“As the saying goes, there are lies, there are damn lies and then there are statistics…” – Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA ($421.62, +2.82%):

– Uber Freight and Tesla launched the Dedicated EV Fleet Accelerator Program today. This subsidizes Tesla Semi purchases to reduce upfront costs, integrating them into Uber Freight’s network for predictable revenue, and matching carriers with shipper demand. A two-month pilot showed Tesla Semis drove 12,377 miles over 394 hours, using 1.72 kWh/mile with 60 hours of charging, cutting fuel and maintenance costs by up to 40% compared to diesel. Eligibility requires a contract with Uber Freight.

– Rapha Kessedjian, Tesla recruiter, announced a Tech Talk Event at Tesla Laval, Quebec, Canada, on September 18th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The event offers an opportunity to meet Tesla technicians and leaders, enjoy food, and learn about the service technician role. Link in the sources section

– Cybertruck reservation holders in the UAE can now order the vehicle. The public configurator will launch in the coming weeks for the Middle East.

– Tesla Staff Program Manager Anastasia Calcasola along with the Regional and Local Teams opened a new Gallery and Service Center in Englewood, New Jersey.

– The 2025.32.6 update introduces several features (@NotATeslaApp):

Child Left Alone Detection for Legacy Model Y, alerting via lights, tones, and app notifications.
Security enhancements across all models.
Rave Cave, which auto-activates in Park for newer models.
Enhanced frontal airbag system for 2023+ Model 3 and Y.
Low Power Mode for energy conservation.
Dog Mode minimum temperature set to 64°F.
Improved battery range estimates for Legacy S and X.
Grok activation via long-press of the mic button.
PIN to Drive now supports Start FSD from Park.
Drowsiness detection recommending FSD use.
Improved reverse visualizations for Intel-based vehicles.
Reduced Bluetooth audio delay for AMD-based units.
Service Mode improvements, including software reinstall restrictions and Chinese translations for ODIN routines.

– SunCompany CEO Juan Diego Gomez and Tesla’s Latin America Business Development and Policy lead Sandra Barba Lizarralde at the Lathrop Megafactory. Per Juan, “If energy demand grows 35% yearly as expected, we might need dozens of Megafactories around the world. Thanks to Sandra for such an amazing invitation to learn about the energy future!“

– The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into door handle issues on approximately 174,290 Model Ys from 2021. This following nine reported incidents where electronic door handles became inoperative due to low 12VDC battery voltage, preventing reentry. No injuries or fatalities were reported. The NHTSA noted that manual door releases exist inside the cabin, but children may not be able to operate them.

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

Giga Nevada: Zanegler (@HinrichsZane), 16th of September, ’25. Zane takes over the new LFP Battery Factory, the Semi Pilot Facility, the Semi Factory, and Giga Nevada.

■ SPACEX:

– The National Defense University Foundation’s 2025 Patriot Dinner successfully honored President and COO of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell (@Gwynne_Shotwell), and Chairman of Tang Industries, Michael Tang, with the American Patriot Award. Gwynne won for her leadership in advancing U.S. aerospace innovation and national security through private enterprise partnerships. And Michael for his patriotic philanthropy in supporting defense initiatives. The event celebrated her contributions to strategic leadership, warfighter missions, and national defense via service and vision, with gratitude extended to honorees, supporters, and attendees for its memorable impact.

– The next gen V3 Super Heavy Booster Test Tank 18.3, fresh from Mega Bay 1. Should head to Massey’s soon for cryo-testing. Pics by @StarshipGazer and @LabPadre‘s live feed.

– The Texas Department of Transportation (@TxDOT) continues to asphalt Hwy 4. Driving on the shoulder to avoid potholes all the way to Massey’s isn’t as exciting as it sounds… They have now reached Rocket Ranch. Pic by Anthony Gomez (@AnthonyFGomez). Follow Anthony and support Rocket Ranch (@RocketRanchTX).

– Last night Test Tank 17 underwent its 5th cryo-testing at the Massey’s. Video via @LabPadre‘s live feed.

– A court order for the lawsuit by Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) against the FAA and SpaceX shows that United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Carl J. Nichols has denied the CBD’s motion for partial summary judgment. It grants the government’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment, and grants SpaceX’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment, based on an accompanying memorandum opinion.

– You’ll Thank Me Later… Per Elon today, “Watership to transport spaceship from Starbase to Cape Canaveral.” Like the other SpaceX drone ship names, “You’ll Thank Me Later” is the name of a General Contact Unit (GCU) ship that appears in Iain M. Banks’ Culture Series, notably the novel ‘Look to Windward.’ This barge is Marmac No. 308 with a Deck size 300′ x 100′ (91.4m x 30.5m) and was built by LAD Services of Louisiana, in Morgan City, for McDonough Marine; the tugboat and barge leasing company SpaceX purchased/leased their current drone ships from. TheSpaceEngineer (@mcrs987) noted the video above is it launching last week on the same day as Elon’s vague post of “You’ll Thank Me Later“.

– Vera Mulyani, founder and CEO of Astrobiome Space, attended the launch of Falcon 9 Cygnus CRS-2 NG-23 on Sunday to watch the launch of her project. Astrobiome is developing space-enhanced bio-fertilizers, with the mission to revolutionize microbiome-farming on Earth and beyond. Per Vera, “A Successful launch with clear blue sky… I cried tears of joy. 10 years of hard work and a 3 minute moment of lift-off… Now you are in the sky Astrobiome! Godspeed! I am truly humbled.”

Starbase City Commission Meeting (Located at 39046 LBJ Blvd, Unit 2, Brownsville, TX 78521):

City Commission Regular Meeting, September 17, 2025 7:00 PM
City Commission Regular Meeting, October 15, 2025 7:00 PM
City Commission Regular Meeting, November 19, 2025 7:00 PM
City Commission Regular Meeting, December 17, 2025 7:00 PM

Countdown to 180 (116 – Falcon 9, 0 – Falcon Heavy, and 4 – Starship):

Launch 121! Wednesday, 17th of September, at 8:41 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 17-12 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
Launch 122! Thursday, 21st of September, at 5:30 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-61 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Launch 123! Sunday, 21st of September, at 5:20 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-27 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Launch 124! Sunday, 21st of September, at 10:37 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 NROL-48 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. This is the eleventh batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.
Launch 125! Tuesday, September 23rd, at 7:32 a.m. ET, Flacon 9 IMAP & Others will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) is a NASA mission to study interactions between solar wind and local interstellar medium. Carrying a suite of 10 scientific instruments to investigate how particles are accelerated, determine their composition, as well as help to advance space weather forecasting models. This launch also includes several secondary payloads from NASA, which are: Lunar Trailblazer, space weather satellite SWFO-L1, mission GLIDE to study far ultraviolet emission in exosphere, and the Solar Cruiser solar sail mission.

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■ THE BORING COMPANY:

– Michel (@Mic_VegasSphere) dropped an update of the Vegas LOOP from the Thomas and Mack airport location on Paradise Rd. Their are two tunnels in place and dirt was actively being removed from one. So a Prufrock was busy boring. Per Michel, “The rest of the way to the airport is above ground.”

Michel also drove by the Firefly station on the way to the airport. He saw a crane removing the tunneling equipment, so maybe they are wrapping up this station’s bore. Follow and support Michel!

■ NEURALINK:

– Ryan Tanaka (@RyanTanaka3) of Nerua Pod (@NeruaPod) interviewed Audrey Crews (@neuranova9), Neuralink’s 9th Telepathy patient and the first female. This is a wonderful in-depth interview where Audrey shares more about her life than ever before. Her accident, the struggles and challenges from her spinal injury, and how Neuralink has changed everything and given her hope. Such a good interview.

Ryan is donating all the revenue he makes off the interview to Audrey, so please watch it on YouTube to help generate funds. I have also provided Audrey’s GoFundMe. Both links are in the sources section. Per Audrey, “This is a deeper dive and was very nervous to share so much, but I wanted to be honest. So please share and watch.”

■ STARLINK:

– Gwynne also spoke at the World Space Business Week (WSBW) 2025 event in Paris today where she stated the company plans to begin testing Direct-to-Cell (DTC) services using its newly acquired $17 billion S-band spectrum from EchoStar, and will conduct phone tests by late 2026. They also aim to launch their next-gen Starlink DTC satellites in two years. “This is the start, by the way, of a huge amount of work. We’re working with chip manufacturers to get the proper chips in phones.” Gwynne on Flight 10, “My Starship team needed that win… I was really pleased. They did a great job. We met every mission objective that we wanted to.”

– SpaceX has halted new residential Starlink kit orders in Lagos and Abuja due to network capacity in areas like Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lagos Island, and Surulere. Prospective customers can join a waitlist with a deposit. The pause aims to maintain service quality for existing users, with potential solutions including more Gateways or expanded satellite coverage.

– iPhones 13 and later running iOS 26 can now receive satellite data via T-Mobile’s Starlink DTC service, T-Satellite. This includes Apple apps like Compass, Fitness, Maps, Messages, Music, and Weather. iPhone support is limited to six Apple apps, excluding third-party options like WhatsApp or X. Messages compatibility may enable FaceTime. T-Mobile plans expansions soon.

■ 𝕏:

– Venus (@venuseswilliams) and Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) are debuting their exclusive X Originals podcast series, “Stockton Street”. The first bi-weekly episode releases tomorrow, September 17t, at 11 a.m. EST. The video podcast features conversations on their sibling rivalry, Grand Slam achievements, current lives, misconceptions, business ventures, health, wellness, pop culture, and surprise guests.

– X Safety posted that X is now in partnership with StopNCII .org. X introduced technology to combat intimate image abuse and has a zero-tolerance policy for sharing non-consensual sexual, nude, or intimate images. Users can now create unique hashes (digital fingerprints) of their images on their device via StopNCII. org, sharing only the hashes—not the images—with the organization to maintain privacy. X uses these hashes to detect and block matching content that violates its non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) policies, suspending offending accounts.

– According to Nikita Bier (@nikitabier), 500,000 spam accounts have been suspended.

■ xAI:

– Per Elon, “We are literally painting MACROHARD on the roof of the Colossus II supercompute cluster in Memphis big enough so you can read it from space.“

– Grok’s web interface has introduced a new sidebar feature that allows users to jump directly to specific answers, bypassing scrolling. To use it, simply hover over the sidebar and click on the desired section for quick navigation. H/T X Freeze (@amXFreeze).

– xAI has added a Grok Changelog showing exactly what has been added or fixed in each update.

– xAI’s planned 552 acers Solar Array is to be sublease to Seven States Power Corporation, a Tennessee not-for-profit utility formed in 2007 for Valley Authority members. The sublease resolution has been approved by the Memphis and Shelby County Port Commission and will be discussed at the EDGE board meeting tomorrow, the September 17th 2025.

– Per xAI’s Andree Jacobson (@nmswede), “It’s quite amazing what industry has accomplished in the last 10 years on the compute frontier… Went from datacenters of a few megawatts, to gigawatts today. GPUs were starting to get a bit better, CPUs had 4 – 16 cores. Today, we’re at what 192-ish cores on the high end.”

– OpenAI just hired Mike Liberatore, xAI’s former CFO, as its new business finance officer. Liberatore left xAI after only 3 months. I guess the rivalry between Elon and Sam continues.

■ ELON NEWS:

– Elon gave us a glimpse into his work schedule and I get exhausted just reading it… “Daddy is very much home. Am burning the midnight oil with Optimus engineering on Friday night, then redeye overnight to Austin arriving 5am, wake up to have lunch with my kids and then spend all Saturday afternoon in deep technical reviews for the Tesla AI5 chip design. Fly to Colossus II on Monday to walk the whole datacenter floor, review transformers and power production (excellent progress), depart midnight. Then up to 12 hours of back to back meetings across all Tesla departments, but particular focus on AI/Autopilot, Optimus production plans and vehicle production/delivery.”

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