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

“The path to solving hunger, disease and poverty is AI and robotics…” – Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA ($319.04, -0.67%):

– Tesla Validating the Bay Area for Robotaxi. Kyle Marieb (@kylemarieb) spotted two Model Y validation vehicles on El Camino Real, San Bruno CA. Approx 20 min drive to San Francisco.

– South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) has signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems from its U.S. factory in Michigan. This reduces Tesla’s reliance on Chinese suppliers due to U.S. tariffs. This new contract is from August 2027 to July 2030 with an option to extend by up to seven years and increase supply volumes based on discussions. LGES started production of LFP batteries at its Michigan factory in May and is considering converting some electric vehicle battery production lines in the U.S. to cater to energy storage systems.

– Josh West (@JoshWest247) spotted this Big Guy hard at work near the Fremont Factory.

– Tesla has stopped accepting new orders for Model S and X in Europe, redirecting customers to inventory vehicles only. Possible reasons include the refresh line updates at the Fremont factory, prioritizing North American demand, the U.S. 15% tariffs on Japanese battery cells, and/or demand.

– Robotaxi pricing is no longer capped at $6.90 per ride. The pricing of each ride now varies based on distance. H/T Tsla Chan (@Tslachan).

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 30th of July, ’25. “I’m back flying after a week in California and lots to see. Huge robotic assembly machines being repped for movement into expanded BIW 3rd floor! Tesla Semi stamping machine parts waiting for movement to Giga Nevada.

■ SPACEX:

– Last night, launch 96 of Falcon 9 Starlink 10-29 took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This was the 26th flight for first stage booster B1069. It previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and 21 Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. 28 Starlinks were deployed.

– As of this article being published, Starship 37 had begun prop loading for a static fire at Pad 1 on top of the modified transport stand… on top of the OLM. Let’s Go!

– Today, Starship 38 underwent its first round of cryo-testing. Screenshot from @LabPadre‘s Rocket Ranch (@RocketRanchTX) live feed. Link in the SOURCES SECTION.

– Yesterday at the McGregor test facility, SpaceX ignited a Raptor six times in rapid concession. This was similar to the testing of a Raptor 3 on the 15th of July.

Starbase City Commission Meeting:

Regular Meeting: 20th of August, at 7:00 p.m. CT. Located at 39046 LBJ Blvd, Unit 2, Brownsville, TX 78521

Countdown to 180 (93 – Falcon 9, 0 – Falcon Heavy, and 3 – Starship):

Launch 97! Wednesday, 30th of July, at 11:39 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 13-4 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 98! Thursday, 31st of July, at 12:09 p.m. ET, NASA SpaceX Falcon 9 Crew-11 will launch from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This will be Crew Dragon Endeavour’s 6th flight. Booster B1094 will return to site and land at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Launch 99! Monday, 4th of August, at 12:11 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-30 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 100! Saturday, 9th of August, at 7:05 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 17-4 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 ??! Flight 10 NET August 4th.

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■ THE BORING COMPANY:

– I had mentioned the other day that The Boring Company had already started preparations to get a head start on the Music City LOOP, and they have. They have installed a temporary fence for a base of operations on 0.8 acres of state-owned Parking Lot 16, located along the 600 block of Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. It is adjacent to the Andrew Jackson Building and below the Tennessee Tower and Capitol.

Though the lease is yet to be issued, Tennessee officials will meet tomorrow at 8 a.m. in the Cordell Hull State Office Building to vote on the site proposal for a lease from August 1, 2025, through March 31, 2027. Per tomorrow’s agenda, The Boring Company “needs a site downtown from which its tunnel boring machine can be launched and from which Lessor can manage construction activities related to the tunnel project.” Pics by Stuart Dyos of the Tennessean.

■ NEURALINK:

– UPDATE: It was previously reported that Neuralink was involved in a Bionic Eye study with the University of California at Santa Barbara and researchers at the University Miguel Hernandez in Spain. This is not true. I have been informed by Neuralink personnel that this is a data entry error on behalf of ClinicalTrials .gov.

– Neuralink Principal Investigator, Dan Adams (@Dan___Adams), was at Boston University’s Center for Brain Recovery as a panelist for day 1 of the Neuroscience of the Everyday World Conference (NEWC) with notable researchers and industry experts from around the world. Dan (far left in the pic) discussed neuro-technology. Other panelists included; Dr. Christoph Guger (g.tec medical engineering GmbH), Katherine Perdue (Kernel), and Brett Wingeier (NeuroPace).

– Per Neuralink co-founder DJ Seo (@djseo), “I’m finding it increasingly important to schedule intentional boredom. Set aside time to go for a walk, listen to white noise, or stare at a wall. Structured time for unstructured thoughts helps discover new connections.”

■ STARLINK:

– Starlink and Venus. Taken by the friend of Duncan McIlroy (@duncan_mcilroy) from 38,000 ft flying towards Delhi.

– Emiliano Cencini, a nurse and EMT, coordinated the health and operational plan for the 2025 Italian Gravel Championship, incorporating a Starlink network to provide connectivity and support dedicated software for real-time location and monitoring of resources, including the Advanced Command Post, ambulances, and teams across the Mining Museum Park of Abbadia San Salvatore, Amiata, and Val d’Orcia terrains.

– Jamie Beard, Live U owner, using Starlink for support at ITV live in Birmingham, UK. “There was uncertainty if the cell network would be good enough, so Starlink offered that extra level of connectivity.”

– Anna Wang, Unmanned Surface Vessel Regional Sales Director, announced the successful delivery of the latest-generation L42 USV to Compass Survey Company in Nigeria for hydrographic and geophysical surveys, featuring an interface with Starlink alongside capabilities for SBES, MBES, Maggy, SBP, SVP, and Tow SSS, plus 1500km extended endurance and redundant propulsion.

■ X:

– X has introduced a new ad strategy that focuses on “unregretted user minutes,” a metric Elon always pushes. It emphasizes user-preferred, interest-aligned ads that boost engagement. The strategy integrates AI, including Grok, for ad creation and transparency via “Explain this post,” addressing bot-driven ad fraud concerns. It also prioritizes small and medium businesses (SMBs) with AI tools, aligning with the trend of SMBs allocating over 30% of their marketing budget to AI-driven social ads.

– Today, the U.S. sanctioned Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act, freezing his $2.3 million in assets and barring U.S. business dealings, citing human rights abuses and his role in Jair Bolsonaro’s coup trial. This is the judge who deliberately targeted Elon, X, and Starlink. Per Elon, “This is the FO part.” 😆

■ xAI:

– Per xAI’s Brent Mayo (@BrentM_SpaceX), “Being a leader in the community doesn’t just take money, it takes courage and commitment. We (the XAI team) are committed to all 3.”

On Tuesday night, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board approved xAI’s in-kind donation proposal for improvements to four schools near Colossus 1. These donations involve xAI paying directly, with no funds exchanged. The projects will exceed the $15,000 donation threshold, but xAI plans to hire local vendors to complete the facilities improvements.

Per Brent, “We do not want to cap ourselves to the amount we can give back to the children and the schools. Work could begin as early as tomorrow morning, and will continue as long as we are operational in the community. This is the neighborly thing to do and we look forward to this!“

The offering includes project management, construction, installation, replacement, and/or repair of the following:

General School: Painting of hallways, common areas, and classrooms; windows; lighting upgrades or modernization; plumbing and restroom modernization; HVAC and A/C units; landscaping and beautification upgrades and modifications.
Outdoor Athletic/Outdoor: Turf or natural grass football, baseball, soccer, and open play fields with associated bleachers; an athletic track; scoreboard; fencing or barriers; landscaping and beautification upgrades and modifications.
Indoor Athletic: Indoor basketball court with associated bleachers, a weight room and exercise area, lighting upgrades or modernization, and a scoreboard.
Specialized Areas (library, cafeteria, auditorium, etc.): Chemistry and technology labs with associated materials and resources; modular walls for individual study or collaborative work; furniture, wayfaring signage, and audio-visual equipment; lighting upgrades or modernization; and climate control systems and supportive technology.

Per Brent’s July 15 letter to interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond. “As an extension of the outlined scope of work, xAI would further commit to assume all financial responsibility associated with these actions and items with an understanding that no funds would change hands between the company and the school district. xAI will lead by example being a pillar in our funding structure and what it means to transform an entire community starting here.”

– Valentine is here… join the waitlist… iOS only.

– Per Elon, Grok Heavy subscribers get priority on all Grok beta releases for other products.

– Per Elon, “Grok Imagine is still early beta and is optimized for maximum fun, so should be evaluated as “fastest time to make a fun, shareable video”, rather than visual/auditory perfection. Our heavy duty video model will train on the 110k GB200s coming online next month.”

■ DOGE:

Estimated Savings: $199 Billion

Amount Saved Per Taxpayer: $1,236.02

■ ELON NEWS: N/A…

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