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

“Any device that can be controlled via computer or phone can be controlled by a Neuralink implant…” – Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

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■ TESLA ($429.24, -0.21%):

– Optimus looking like a track star! “Just set a new PR in the lab!”

– The Helios Megapack 50MW Battery Energy Storage System in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan. It was developed by Manoa Energy and successfully achieved commercial operations last week.

– Mohammed Nassar, Tesla Americas Power System Lead, announced that Tesla will participate in Day 2 of the SEIA Energy Security and Reliability Online Symposium tomorrow, December 3, to discuss advancements in Grid-Forming (GFM) Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for North American applications, including sub-cycle autonomous voltage and frequency maintenance via Tesla inverters.

– Jason Gies, former Head of North America Operations at Windrose, has joined the Tesla Semi Team in a Business Development role. He previously built Windrose’s regional operations and brings extensive EV fleet experience from Hendrickson, AxleTech, Navistar, and ABB E-mobility. Per Jason, “Tesla has continued to invest since its unveiling in 2017. Built without diesel baggage, it forced legacy OEMs to rethink their strategies. Now, most legacy OEMs are reverting to what they know, while Tesla is about to launch. As more trucks hit the road, the question isn’t if electric heavy-duty trucks work; it’s when they take over for sub-500-mile applications.”

– A Giga Christmas! Giga Berlin is ready, now let’s see the other Giga Factories get on board. Pics by Giga Berlin’s Abel Subbota, Martin Heroldt, student Elias Hiebel, and Mark-Holger Hiebel.

– At Giga Berlin, Tesla has increased salaries by 4% for production employees, effective retroactively from December 1st! This raises the starting monthly salary to approximately €6,000 ($7,000), which exceeds the collective agreement wage in eastern Germany by 14.5%. HR manager Erik Demmler stated the adjustment was implemented independently without union influence, fulfilling Tesla’s commitment to regular salary reviews.

– Del Mar College of Corpus Christi, Texas, has partnered with Tesla for a 16-week paid Chemical Operations Internship at the Robstown Lithium Refinery and Giga Texas. Eleven Process Technology and Instrumentation students will participate, gaining hands-on training in lithium refining and safety, with completers eligible for scholarships or full-time Tesla jobs; the program runs through 2026. Per Klarissa Garcia (@Klarissa24g), Tesla Lithium Sr. Site Specialist, Community & Site Relations, “So incredibly proud of our 2025 Fall Chemical Operator Interns! They’ve truly set an outstanding standard for future cohorts! These talented individuals are gaining hands-on experience while working side-by-side with some of the very best operators in the Coastal Bend. Excited to see all the great things they’ll accomplish in their careers!”

– Tesla Dubai has launched a Pop-Up store at the iconic City Walk in Dubai. The setup allows visitors to experience the Model Y and 3 in an elegant open-air environment, connect with the team, and test drive both models at the City Walk Main atrium. Pics by Muhammad Ali, Tesla Dubai Store Manager.

– Tesla’s latest firmware build references to a new IMX00N camera sensor code signaling preparations for upgraded exterior cameras as a successor to the Sony IMX963 used in Hardware 4 (HW4). The IMX00N details remain undisclosed.

– Starting January 1st, Tesla is raising the monthly fee for its Windshield Protection Plan on Model 3s and Ys in the U.S. from $12 to $16.

– Today at NeurIPS 2025 in Vancouver, attendees got to meet Optimus. Video by Ric Burton (@_ricburton).

– Tesla China wholesaled 86,700 vehicles in November, including domestic sales and exports, marking a 9.95% YoY, and a 40.98% MoM rise from October. Cumulative January-November 2025 wholesales total 754,561 units, down 8.30% year-over-year.

– According to Tesla China, as of today there are over 2,400 Supercharger stations, over 12,000 Supercharger stalls, and over 640 Destination Chargers built and operational in mainland China. The charging network covers 100% of provincial capitals and municipalities in mainland China.

FLYOVERS:

Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 2nd of December, ‘25. “Busy start to December & much colder at the site. We check out the far SW construction area & material storage yards, the outbound lot with lots of new vehicles, a new electrical system installation N of the EOL facility.”

■ SPACEX:

– Last night, launch 159 of Falcon 9 Starlink 15-10 took place from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This was the 20th flight for first stage booster B1081. It previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter-13, TRACERS, NROL-48, and 10 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. 27 Starlinks were deployed.

– Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was removed from the prime crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission after allegedly photographing confidential SpaceX materials that included engines and internal documents with his phone during training in Hawthorne, California. This is in violation of US ITAR export control rules. The incident has lead to his immediate replacement by fellow Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Roscosmos stated the change was due to Artemyev’s transfer to another job. NASA and SpaceX have not commented publicly due to the ongoing investigation. The Crew-12 mission remains scheduled for launch on February 15th, 2026.

– Starbase Giga Bay construction progress by Amy (@mymatrixplug)

– SpaceX officially announced that it received a Record of Decision from the Department of the Air Force approving the redevelopment of Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for Starship-Super Heavy launch and landing operations, and construction has commenced for the two launch towers. Along with Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) and Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), SpaceX will have three Florida pads and three towers for Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship, supporting commercial, national security missions, and NASA.

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

City Commission Regular Meeting, December 17, 2025 7:00 PM

Countdown to 180 (154 – Falcon 9, 0 – Falcon Heavy, and 5 – Starship):

Launch 160! Tuesday, 2nd of December, at 3:16 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-95 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 161! Thursday, 4th of December, at 10:12 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 11-25 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 162! Sunday, 7th of December, at 8:13 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 11-15 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 163! Sunday, 7th of December, at 4:40 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-92 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.
Launch 164! Tuesday, 9th of December, at 2:16 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 NROL-77 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The booster will return to launch site (RTLS) and land at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is a classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office.
Launch 165! Wednesday, 10th of December, at 12:54 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 15-11 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.

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■ THE BORING COMPANY:

– TBC posted a new Music City LOOP Blog Update. Here are the highlights:

Project Progress: TBC completed the launch pit excavation using controlled blasting, assembled and lowered the Prufrock-MB1 TBM into the shaft, and scheduled its launch for December 15, 2025. The vertical cassette for the conveyor system was installed and is undergoing calibration.

Permits Status: Out of 45 required permits, 27 have been secured, 10 are under review, and 8 remain pending, primarily related to additional launch sites. Key pending items include TDOT tunnel permits beneath state highways and CSX structures, airport tunnel lease agreements requiring federal approval, and station agreements for over 30 locations.
Engineering and Geotechnical Work: Route plans were refined with agency feedback, extending the Broadway tunnel along West End Avenue toward I-440. Supporting data includes 17 new core borings, 7 MASW surveys, 174 historical borings, 7 private geotechnical reports, and full utility verification.

Environmental Impact Assessment: The EIA and third-party review will be published by December 15, 2025, showing positive or neutral impacts across all categories: noise, air quality, hazardous materials, land use, aquatic resources, species, cultural resources, geology, transportation, visual impacts, utilities, and sensitive populations. The project emphasizes zero-emissions operation and energy-efficient design.
Safety Record: Zero incidents or injuries have occurred, with 100% PPE compliance. Safety measures include steel soldier piles, wood lagging, concrete shoring, ongoing ZPIT machine development, and established emergency protocols with Nashville Fire Department and Tennessee Mine Rescue Association.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement: The team held weekly meetings with state departments, in-person sessions with Metro departments and over 20 Council members, responded to 100+ public inquiries, hosted an X Spaces session on November 24, 2025, conducted 50+ volunteer events, engaged 130+ organizations, and presented to thousands. Hiring is active for full-time roles and internships.
Next Milestones: TBM launch is targeted for January 2026, following the December 15, 2025, machine launch and EIA publication. Focus remains on securing remaining tunnel permits and lease agreements.

– Inside the TBC HQ in Bastrop, Texas. Created by GoldenEra Development (@GoldenEraNews) out of Austin.

■ NEURALINK:

– John (@teslaownersSV) has posted an new interview with Neuralink Patient 7, Jake Schneider (@PairedWith_P7)! Check it out and follow/subscribe to support John’s work!

– Neuralink Technology Lead, Andy Broyles (@Andy__Broyles), with Rocky Stoutenburgh, aka Rocky NoHands (@RockyNoHands). “As a fellow gamer and on 2 hours of sleep I had an absolute blast setting up and helping Rocky visit and play some video games against Neuralink employees. The balance of Work Hard, Play Hard is unmatched.”

– Speaking of Rocky, the questions he brought to Neuralink are being answered and posted. Here are a few responses:

We believe that building a performant, high-bandwidth brain-computer interface requires placing electrodes by neurons of interest. We designed our implant with thin, flexible electrode threads to do this as safely as possible.
While the surgery to get a Neuralink implant currently takes a few hours, our goal is to eventually deliver a LASIK-like procedure that can be completed in minutes.
Participants in our clinical trials have extended digital computer control to physical devices such as assistive robotic arms. Over time, we plan to expand the range of devices controllable via Neuralink.

– Michael T. Lawton, MD, (@mtlawton), President and CEO of Barrow Neurological Institute, shared updates on Neuralink and neuroscience advancements with community supporters at the annual Education Enrichment Event, he highlighted the ongoing collaboration with Neuralink on the PRIME Study enabling quadriplegic and ALS patients to control computers, design 3D parts, and operate robotic arms via thought. Barrow also participates in the CONVOY feasibility study for robotic control and contributed to Neuralink’s first peer-reviewed human data submission to the New England Journal of Medicine.

■ STARLINK:

– The Government of Guyana, through the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) and the Office of the Prime Minister, completed the LEO WiFiGY program, providing Starlink to all 253 Hinterland, Remote, and Riverain Indigenous villages, benefiting over 135,000 residents. The initiative, launched less than two years prior, is enabling access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities in previously isolated areas. Per Rebecca Slick Hunter, Director of Starlink Global Licensing and Market Activation, “Proud Starlink could be part of this great project. Thank you for the opportunity to make a difference.”

– Rumo hosted the VALE team at its Araraquara, Brazil, headquarters last week for a visit focused on demonstrating railway operations and the Starlink partnership project. This equips 400 locomotives with satellite antennas since February 2025 to ensure 97% signal availability, real-time telemetry, and two-way communication across 13,000 km of network in São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Goiás, and Tocantins. Rumo’s Chief Technology Officer, Marco Andriola, noted the initiative’s role in creating connected, intelligent trains.

– Entel Perú (@EntelPeru) and SpaceX have officially launched Starlink Direct-to-Cell via Power Signal. This offers nationwide coverage including 200 nautical miles offshore and up to 50 km from borders. Postpaid plans eligible include Power from S/29.90, Power Ilim from S/69.90, Entel Power from S/36.40, Entel Power Familiar from S/39.90, Entel Chip from S/33.40, and enterprise options like Empresa PRO 2.0 from S/33.90 up to higher tiers like Entel Power Familiar S/299.90. It currently supports SMS sending and receiving at 160-character limit with no specified speeds, while voice calls and data are in development.

■ 𝕏:

– Digital advertising by X for Grok inside Parnass Mall in Seoul, South Korea. “Look at X and ask Grok.” Pics by Andy (@kosarimine).

– X API has launched a new endpoint (GET /2/news/{news_id}) to fetch the platform’s latest breaking news stories, including summaries, hooks, entity contexts, topics, finance tickers, and related post clusters. It supports OAuth authentication and expandable fields like contexts and cluster_posts_results.

■ xAI:

– xAI’s Aditya Shah filed a construction permit on November 18, 2025, through with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development for an 88-acre solar farm adjacent to its Colossus 1 data center at 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, with no construction cost estimate provided; the site lies west and south of the facility on a 136-acre vacant lot owned by the same developer, projected to generate approximately 30 megawatts of electricity—covering about 10% of the data center’s estimated power needs amid its operation of over 400 megawatts in unpermitted natural gas turbines, for which local officials granted temporary operation of 15 units through January 2027 while xAI transitions to renewables.

– xAI is working on advanced image editing capabilities for Imagine. This will allow targeted modifications to generated or uploaded images while preserving surrounding elements intact. This functionality supports precise alterations such as replacing specific characters with alternatives, incorporating additional subjects into scenes, or adjusting environmental details without affecting the overall composition. H/T and video by @blankspeaker.

– Grok is now the No.1 productivity app in Norway! H/T Arve (@captainarve).

■ ELON NEWS: N/A…

Thanks for reading! As always, if you have any questions, feedback, or would like point out an error in the reporting, please do so in the comments.

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