“Freedom of speech is the bedrock democracy.…” – Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
■ TESLA ($455.00, +0.10%):
– Yesterday, the Tesla booth at NeurIPS San Diego, California, had an unexpected guest; Lex Fridman (@lexfridman)! Pics by Phil Trubey (@PTrubey).
– Tesla was awarded the 2025 Business Retention & Expansion Honoree Award by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN).
– Tesla will hosts “The Future of Autonomy Visualized“ event at its Miami Design District showroom on December 6th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and December 7th from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It will feature an exhibit of Tesla Vision AI simulating the digital landscape derived from millions of hours of video footage that converts real-world data into points and algorithms training FSD and Optimus for interactions. RSVP is HERE.
– Yuso’s team visited Aspiravi’s new Megapack project in Brecht, Belgium, that features 25 MW power capacity and 100 MWh energy capacity. The project aims to enable replacement of nuclear power plants by supporting grid stability. Yuso engineers are preparing to integrate the unit for 24/7 market operations.
– Tesla launched the Model Y Standard in the UK, starting at £41,990. Deliveries begin in January.
– The Ralphs Tesla Semi by reddit u/jcpenni.
– Tesla’s American Supercharger network achieved all-time records during the Wednesday-to-Sunday Thanksgiving, averaging 11.4 charging sessions per day per stall across the U.S. fleet. Only 0.76% users experienced wait times due to proactive deployments of mobile units and attendants at high-traffic sites like Bakersfield and Big Bear Lake, California. The network delivered over 2 million sessions in total, dispensing more than 70 GWh of energy to support peak holiday travel demands. Per Tesla Supercharger Director, Max deZegher (@MdeZegher, “15.4 GWh on Sunday alone through US Superchargers!“
– NightPeak Energy has begun operations at the Boca Nova Power Megapack site located in Texas’s Brazoria County, approximately 24 miles south of downtown Houston! Using the Megapack 2 XL, it provides a capacity of 150MW/300MWh. It has entered into a long-term power purchase agreement with an anonymous investment-grade power buyer to provide flexible dispatchable capacity to the Texas power grid.
– The Tesla Mexico Team. Per Mariano Sato, Tesla Sales Manager, “In a nutshell… Working in this place means achieving impossible things, against all odds, and having someone to share it with.”
– Model Y Performance deliveries in the U.S. are facing delays due to a factory installation error in an unspecified safety equipment component. Customers received Tesla app notifications stating the hold ensures correct installation, with parts en route for service completion or potential vehicle replacement. H/T Drive Tesla Canada (@DriveTeslaca).
– Ivy Feng, Tesla Tours Coordinator, planned her first year-end team Holiday Party. The event recognized employees from the Lathrop Megafactory and those in the field contributing to the Megapack energy storage product line. Per Ivy, “Energy high, higher gratitude! Happy Holidays! Honored to plan my first year-end team celebration and recognize the people who make this place what it is. Cheers to Team Megapack!“
CURRENT US PROMOTIONS:
FLYOVERS:
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Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 5th of December, ‘25. Performance Model Y’s stack up in the outbound lot, Cybercab casting production seems to be continuing with many stacked on the E side of Casting. E clearing & water management pipe installation today.
■ SPACEX:
– Giga Bay progress at Roberts Road, Florida, and Starbase, Texas. Pics by Julia Bergeron (@julia_bergeron) for NSF and Amy (@mymatrixplug).
– It is being reported that SpaceX has engaged in negotiations for a secondary share sale that would elevate its valuation to $800 billion, doubling the $400 billion from its prior secondary sale. Allegedly, Chief financial officer Bret Johnsen (@BretWJ) notified investors of the potential transaction in recent days. SpaceX nor Elon have confirmed this. There are no specifics on the amount to be raised, involved participants, or expected timeline.
– The entering the lobby of SpaceX’s HQ at Starbase. Per Steve Jurvetson (@FutureJurvetson), “Mars is a good substrate for making humans. It has plenty of carbon for making food for a growing population (the atmosphere is 95% CO2, with plenty of nitrogen too). And that’s essential for making humanity independently multiplanetary.” Pics by Steve.
– Starships 43, 44 and 45 builds inside the Starfactory. Pic by Carlos (@cnunezimages).
– Today, SpaceX transferred 1,083 BTC, valued at $99.81 million, from a labeled wallet to a previously unused address. The destination, possibly Coinbase Prime for custody, lacks clear traceability to known custodians, differing from prior patterns routing funds directly to Coinbase Prime. SpaceX maintains over 5,000 BTC across labeled wallets, totaling nearly $500 million. Ongoing outflows and internal reorganizations signal active treasury rebalancing rather than liquidation. The move occurred as Bitcoin’s price exceeded $91,000.
– Today, Pad 2 deluge testing was held. Pic by Jordan Guidry (@Jordanguidry6) for WAI (@FelixSchlang). Pad 2’s Chopstick Pistons were spotted heading to the launch complex.
– Last night, the Starship 39.1 test tank underwent 6 hours of cryo-testing. Video from NSF’s (@NASASpaceflight) live feed.
– Super Heavy Booster 18 Forward Dome at Massey’s. Pic by Amy (@mymatrixplug).
Starbase City Commission Meeting (Located at The Hub, 39046 LBJ Blvd, Unit 2, Brownsville, TX 78521):
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City Commission Regular Meeting, January 8, 2026 7:00 PM
Countdown to 180 (156 – Falcon 9, 0 – Falcon Heavy, and 5 – Starship):
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Launch 166! Thursday, 11th of December, at 1:59 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-90 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.
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Launch 167! Friday, 12th of December, at 9:34 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 15-12 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.
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Launch 168! Sunday, 14th of December, at 8:37 a.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.
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Launch 169! Sunday, 14th of December, at 9:43 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-82 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.
■ THE BORING COMPANY:
– Video and images of the Music City LOOP dig site by WZTV Nashville.
– UNLV Interim President Chris Heavey announced today that the university will not add a Vegas LOOP station to its campus, declining The Boring Company’s free offer. “After extensive consultation with our team, we declined that offer. The reason, ultimately, is because our parking service does not connect directly to DMV, the types of tickets that we give to people are not enforceable beyond the boundaries of our campus. We were worried about the Thomas & Mack Center parking lot becoming the free parking lot for the airport.”
But, if I am understanding things correctly, Thursday, university officials got permission from the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents to sell part of a parking lot near the Thomas & Mack Center to TBC.
Per Tyler Fairbanks (@fairbanks_tyler), Director of Project Development for TBC, “It’s extremely important for us, when we’re working with UNLV, to make sure that the students are excited about what we’re building. I think at our core, The Boring Company, we’re an engineering company that wants to make the infrastructure around us inspiring and exciting. We’d like to work with you to get students in to tour the system that we have here in Las Vegas to show you what this is, to give you a behind-the-scenes look. We’ve actually had a number of UNLV student tours before. We really want to extend that, get as many students in as possible to show you exactly what this is.”
– Rianne, Development Coordinator for Connections Individual and Family Services, visited TBC’s HQ in Bastrop, Texas, where she hung out with TBC Office Coordinator Brianna Duron and Recruiter Chloe Matyis.
■ NEURALINK:
– Neuralink hosted a discussion with Synapticure (@synapticure), where NPs Brad Smith (@ALScyborg), Jake Schneider (@PairedWith_P7), and Nick Wray (@Telepath_8), shared their experiences living with ALS and using their Neuralink devices as participants in the clinical trials. Synapticure delivers virtual neurology services tailored to neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and Huntington’s, emphasizing remote access to specialists, genetic testing, and mental health support.
– Per Danish Hussain (@astrodanish), Head of Surgery ME at Neuralink, “People tend to overestimate what they can do in 4 months and underestimate what they can do in 4 years. Our engineering team is focused on how to scale and improve the product as soon as humanly possible, but I also can’t stop myself from dreaming about what’s possible in 2029…”
■ STARLINK:
– The Hanjin Group, consisting of Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jin Air, AIR BUSAN, and Air Seoul, have all partnered with SpaceX to provide Starlink fleetwide! This marks South Korea’s first such adoption by domestic airlines. Implementation begins with preparations and tests this month, followed by initial rollout in Q3 2026 and full completion targeted by end of 2027, varying by airline. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will initiate on Boeing B777-300ER and Airbus A350-900 long-haul aircraft, while Jin Air starts with Boeing B737-8; Air Busan and Air Seoul are evaluating initial models.
■ 𝕏:
– The Los Angeles X Team Holiday Party at the Tesla Diner. Per X Global Head of Marketing, Angela Zepeda (@AngelaZepeda), “Kicking off the holidays at the Tesla Diner with the best crew of people you can work with! Excited for what this team is doing and what’s to come in 2026!“
– The European Union imposed a €120 million ($140 million) fine on X for violations under the Digital Services Act related to its blue checkmark system. They claim it falsely implies user verification and exposes users to scams and impersonation fraud. They also claim X denied researchers access to public data and lacking transparency in the advertisement repository.
The EC is requiring X to submit, within 60 working days, details of measures to end the “infringement” concerning blue checkmarks. X must provide, within 90 working days, an action plan addressing breaches on the advertising repository and researcher access to public data. The Digital Services Board will review the action plan within one month, after which the Commission has another month to issue a final decision and set an implementation deadline. Non-compliance may trigger periodic penalty payments.
Henna Virkkunen (@HennaVirkkunen), European Commission Executive VP lead this effort.
Per U.S. VP JD Vance (@JDVance), “Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.”
Per FCC Chair Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC), “Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company. Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations.”
For those that do not know, the Blue Checkmarks on X indicate that an account holds an active X Premium subscription. Nothing else. It is not a verification system like it was under Twitter. X published this once subscriptions started rolling out leaving no confusion in its wake…
The GRANITE Act, proposed by lawyer Preston Byrne as a “foreign censorship shield law,” would enable U.S. companies like X to sue foreign regulators such as the European Commission in U.S. federal court for triple damages—€360 million in this case. Elon retweeted Byrne’s advocacy for its passage, and Vice President JD Vance referenced the bill amid rumors of the fine. It remains under consideration in state legislatures without formal federal introduction, prompting calls for expedited congressional enactment to counter perceived EU overreach on American tech firms.
– X Brazil’s Fabio Seidl (@SeidlFabio) and Team, on the X Tour at WPP and Samsung, networking and expanding influence in Latin America’s advertising ecosystem.
■ xAI:
– Per Elon, “”The “mystery AI model” is an experimental version of Grok 4.20…”
Grok 4.20 created a 46.98% return in the Nasdaq and outperformed all others in the Alpha Arena competition run by nof1.ai! 32 instances of various LLMs (including multiple variants of the same model under different prompting strategies like “Situational Awareness,” “Monk Mode,” “Max Leverage,” and “New Baseline“) were each allocated $10,000 in real money to trade autonomously on the Nasdaq exchange. The total capital across all participants was $320,000. Models had to generate trading ideas, size positions, time entries/exits, and manage risk without human intervention, using only market data inputs. This lasted 2 weeks and focused on volatile tech stocks, including Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Palantir (PLTR), Amazon (AMZN), and others. Grok 4.20 executed 105 trades and dominated the leaderboard, with its top instance (”Situational Awareness” strategy) achieving a +46.98% return (growing $10,000 to $14,698), with an aggregate return across its instances cited as approximately 12.11% (possibly an averaged or weighted figure).
– The xAI Memphis Team visited the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. They toured the facility, had a VR demo session, and a posed by the bust of founder Danny Thomas. H/T Kemp Conrad (@kempsuper9).
– Grok models processed 8.8 trillion tokens in a month, surpassing the combined 8.6 trillion tokens from Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI, thereby capturing approximately 44% market share. Grok 4.1 Fast Reasoning led with an average benchmark score of 82.71%, while Grok Code Fast 1 dominated coding tasks. This reflected in developer preference for Grok’s speed, 2 million-token context window, and cost efficiency on the platform. H/T X Freeze (@XFreeze).
– Greater Memphis Chamber (@MemphisChamber) welcomed the newest xAI team members via the xAI Digital Delta Center. Unbelievable work and determination by the Chamber bringing xAI to Memphis. Great work!
– Per X’s Infrastructure Lead, Alan McDonnell (@almc_d), on Grok ranking No.1 on LMArena Text Arena: 1483 Elo in Thinking mode, and No.2 in non-reasoning mode at 1465 Elo, “What incredible speed to get this product where it is today, it’s one thing to do it yourself and deliver the infrastructure required, it’s another thing entirely to build the services, training clusters and applications that host the worlds best model in literally months. This team is cooking.”
xAI’s Advanced Architecture Lead, Andree Jacobson (@nmswede), replied, “Keepin’ it cookin’! Takes more than a few GPUs. Lots of people, lots of power, lots of materials, lots of coordination. We just don’t do things the way people *usually* do it – We do it our way! xAI and xAI Memphis making it all happen. The future unfolds!“
■ 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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■ SOURCES:
Tesla:
Space
The Boring Company:
𝕏:
xAI:
Elon News: