SpaceX Issues Plans for Phone Service, Internet Access Options for Low-Income Customers

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX’s most recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) details plans to offer phone service and backups through its Starlink satellite constellation and low-cost Internet access for low-income customers through the Lifeline program.

The filing indicates that SpaceX plans to become an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) under the Communications Act. The company says that the designation is necessary to make full use of federal grants like the money it competed for in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program. SpaceX could place bids for a cut of the $16 billion that the RDOF program had available to develop broadband Internet service for rural regions that were previously neglected by Internet service providers.

SpaceX has already made Starlink available to some populations in the United States that have been held back by the “Digital Divide,” a lack of reliable and affordable Internet service. The Hoh Tribe has indicated that it has plans to use Starlink to access services like online education and telehealth options. A school district in Texas has worked with SpaceX to make satellite Internet service available to its low-income students.

The effort has not been without its obstacles, however. Most recently, ViaSat has filed a regulatory challenge claiming that Starlink satellites could clutter up low-Earth orbit. “Space junk” that consists mostly of spent rocket stages and “dead” satellites that are still in orbit could collide with active rockets. Elon Musk was, of course, critical of the challenge, saying that ViaSat cares more about the competition posed by Starlink than about the “space junk” problem.

SpaceX’s plans for phone service mostly focuses on high-quality Voice over IP (VoIP) services, which enables the use of phone service over the Internet’s existing infrastructure rather than that used by traditional land line companies.

SpaceX is currently exploring the use of a white-label managed service provider (MSP) platform for the VoIP offering and plans to offer it as a “common carrier” service. Under Title II regulations, common carriers have to follow net neutrality rules that have previously been opposed by broadband Internet service providers. However, SpaceX’s seeming willingness to follow net neutrality regulations may indicate that it doesn’t regard them as a huge burden on a satellite Internet service constellation that will include 42,000 satellites when it is complete. This may be based on “Better than Nothing Beta” tests that indicate that Starlink’s existing infrastructure and satellites perform well even in harsh winter conditions.

The phone service will be offered as a stand-alone offering. The filing with the FCC says that the service will include “(a) voice-grade access to the public switched telephone network (‘PSTN’) or its functional equivalent; (b) minutes of use for local service provided at no additional charge to end users; (c) access to emergency services; and (d) toll limitation services to qualifying low-income consumers.”

According to the filing, SpaceX can also provide a 24-hour battery backup for phones that can enable communications in situations where the power has been disabled. Many natural disasters come with the loss of power and, with it, difficulty in communicating with the outside world when phones can’t be charged and phone towers that can relay a signal are disabled.

The filings also indicate that Starlink terminals will be able to route data packets around damaged facilities and handle spikes in data usage. The plan includes having multiple satellites within “line of site” of any particular place on Earth and having multiple avenues through which the satellites can relay data. SpaceX has already tested its ability to keep communications open through Starlink in an emergency by partnering with Washington State’s emergency services as they battled last year’s wildfires in the state.

SpaceX plans to work with the government’s Lifeline program to offer discounted Internet service for low-income customers. Starlink’s typical $499 upfront cost for equipment and $99 monthly subscription fee is likely to be too steep for its target audience of communities that have suffered the effects of the “Digital Divide.” Even Lifeline’s usual $9.25 monthly subsidy for broadband access and $5.25 monthly subsidy for phone service may not help much, and SpaceX does acknowledge that it doesn’t yet have any Lifeline customers. However, it does have the option to offer cheaper plans for its customers.

The most recent filing may come off as SpaceX crossing its T’s and dotting its I’s from a regulatory standpoint in an environment where it has already established that Starlink can deliver Internet access to underserved communities and in harsh weather conditions that might otherwise impact satellite Internet service. Its plan to add “Voice over IP” phone service is especially interesting because it shows SpaceX’s seriousness about its promise to keep communications open even in less than ideal conditions.

Technology

Tesla Brings Back Enhanced Autopilot in Europe and China

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla is bringing back the Enhanced Autopilot in the European and Chinese market, likely due to popular demand. Previously, the Enhanced Autopilot changed so frequently in both price and features that it got confusing and eventually got jettisoned in favor of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature.

FSD has since gone from $5,000 to $10,000 in price as features were added and its functionality improved with the accumulation of driving data from its beta testers. FSD relies on a centralized AI that “learns” from the driving data and images from cameras on Tesla vehicles. Tesla plans to improve the AI’s functionality still further with improvements on labeling of objects and the planned launch of a new supercomputer in late 2021.

The most recent version of the Enhanced Autopilot looks like a slightly pared-down and vastly cheaper version of the FSD. It seems geared toward assisting the driver while on the road rather than handling most of the driving duties. Its use will still require the driver to be alert while on the road.

Tesla’s goal is to have FSD fully capable of replacing the driver in most situations by the time it comes out of beta. Beta testers have indicated that it does make mistakes and could use more collision avoidance capabilities. It has failed to react when another driver was about to drift into their lane and possibly cause a “side-on” collision, for instance.

These safety issues are likely a major reason for the delays in bringing FSD out of beta. Tesla had originally planned a full roll-out by the end of 2020. Considering that Tesla has recently faced class-action lawsuits and vehicle recalls in the United States and China over flaws like a suspension issue, it may be playing it safe with the FSD lately.

Despite the issues, Elon Musk has indicated that he would be open to licensing FSD to other automakers once it gets out of beta and plans to add a subscription option as early as 2021. The subscription model is likely to be attractive to Tesla owners who don’t want to pay the upfront $10,000 price and don’t live in an area where Enhanced Autopilot is available.

The current Enhanced Autopilot features include Navigation on Autopilot, Auto Lane Change, Autopark, and Summon. In the European market, it will cost 3,800 Euros ($4,500), which means that European Tesla buyers could get most of the current features of FSD for less than half the cost.

Current Tesla owners have the option to upgrade to the Enhanced Autopilot if they wish. It may only be available for a limited time, considering that Tesla has discontinued it before.

However, it may have been due to the regulatory environment at the time. It has had to disable some Enhanced Autopilot features due to European regulations, which apparently have not kept up with improving driver assistance programs like the Enhanced Autopilot and FSD.

Tesla may have brought Enhanced Autopilot back because demand for Full Self-Driving was low in Europe, likely due to its high price tag. Musk indicated that the take rate was something like 1% to 2% in Europe, which is lower than other markets. FSD features include the same features as Enhanced Autopilot and adds Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control. It will also add Autosteer on city streets in the near future.

Uncategorized

SpaceX Loses Starship Prototype SN9 in High-Altitude Test

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX has lost its second Starship prototype in a couple of months with the loss of SN9 in a high-altitude test. Like its predecessor, SN8, this prototype was lost while attempting to land.

The failure of both prototypes appears to have been caused by a fault in the engine assembly. The full-sized mock-ups of SpaceX’s planned interplanetary rocket have a cluster of three Raptor engines. In the case of SN8, the prototype came in too fast after a seemingly successful test of ascent and a “bellyflop” maneuver that SpaceX was testing for descent.

The SN9 prototype rose to an apogee, or maximum altitude, of about ten kilometers before beginning its descent. The test included a transfer of propellant to the internal header tanks, which were meant to hold fuel for the attempted controlled descent and landing.

Similar to the SN8 test profile, SN9 also tested a “bellyflop” maneuver during descent. SpaceX also successfully tested active aerodynamic control during descent using the four signature flaps on the Starship rocket. The process could be automated using SN9’s onboard computer to enable a more precise landing.

One of the Raptor engines intended to slow the prototype during the landing attempt failed to ignite, which caused the loss of SN9. Some watchers have said that two failures, one in which the prototype could not produce enough thrust to slow down for a safe landing and another in which an engine failed to ignite, could indicate that the problem is with the Raptor engines and not the Starship rocket itself.

The similar issue with SN8 was apparently enough to spark a safety review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The investigation delayed the SN9 test flight, much to the annoyance of Elon Musk, who criticized the FAA’s handling of space-related activity in a tweet.

The FAA has ruled that the SpaceX has violated its test flight license due to safety issues that have not yet been released publicly. Even with the apparent regulatory issues, SpaceX says that it is making progress toward a fully flight-worthy Starship. In a statement, the company said:

“These test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration, interplanetary flights and help humanity return to the moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.”

Once the Starship is ready for regular flights, SpaceX anticipates that it will be able to lift 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit. Like the Falcon rocket’s first stage boosters, which have been reused as many as five times for the launch of satellites, reusable Starships will help to bring the cost of interplanetary travel down.

This makes SpaceX’s launch services more affordable for private organizations who would like to launch satellites of varying sizes and can also save taxpayer dollars for things like launching ocean observation satellites and GPS satellites. It is also more environmentally friendly than simply discarding “spent” rocket stages and building new ones for each launch.

SpaceX still has the similar SN10 prototype, which was recently seen sitting beside its now-destroyed sister prototype at its launch facility in Boca Chica. Some observers interpreted the move of bringing both prototypes out as a silent protest of the FAA investigation into the loss of SN8.

There has been some speculation about when SN10 might launch, but SpaceX has not yet issued any statements on future testing of its Starship prototypes. Like the SN8 test, SpaceX says that it has gotten enough data from the SN9 test for engineers to analyze despite the loss of the prototype.

Technology

Tesla Working On Fix for Relay Attack Vulnerability

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In November 2020, security researchers at the Belgian university KU Leuven discovered a security weakness in the key fob used by Tesla vehicles that allowed them to conduct a relay attack that could give them control of a Tesla Model X in less than three minutes. Tesla now says that it is working on improved security measures for both the key fob and its mobile app that will make relay attacks impossible.

Theft of Tesla vehicles have especially been an issue in Europe, where car thieves are often more highly sophisticated than those in other markets like North America. In at least two cases where a Tesla was stolen and never recovered, the thieves are believed to have removed the SIM card in the vehicle or used a GPS blocker to confuse signals that would have made it easy to track the vehicle.

The unrecovered vehicles were likely dismantled for parts, as evidenced by one case where a stolen and dismantled Model S was found in a truck attempting to get from the Netherlands to Germany.

The relay attacks are made possible by the convenience of owners being able to unlock their vehicles simply by walking up to it. The researchers in Belgian were able to use the inherent security loopholes and a laptop computer to full the Model X’s onboard computers into thinking that a fake key fob was the real thing. At the time, Tesla sent out an email with this security tip:

“You can decrease the likelihood of unauthorised entry by disabling Passive Entry when parked in public spaces or storing your key in a holder which blocks electromagnetic transmissions, such as a RFID-blocking sleeve or Faraday cage.”

According to Tesla, passive entry can be disabled by going to Controls > Settings > Doors & Locks > Passive Entry > OFF. Very few people have a Faraday cage, of course, but RFID-blocking sleeves are readily available at online retailers like Amazon and are usually highly recommended for preventing the scanning of credit card information using an RFID scanning device.

Tesla has already rolled out updates for the key fob with improved cryptography and an optional “PIN to drive” feature. According to a new filing with the FCC, the company is integrating a new single chip Impulse “Radio Ultra Wideband” (IR‐UWB), often shortened to UWB, in its key fob. According to paperwork related to the filing, which is available on Scribd, UWB can provide improved distance estimates between the key fob and the vehicle. Several mobile phone companies have already integrated UWB in their phones, making it possible for Tesla to integrate it directly into the mobile app for Tesla owners.

Tesla also plans to make the phone app the main key for the Model S and Model X in the updated design. The phone app is already the main key for the Model Y and Model 3. This is likely to make relay attacks even more difficult to pull off by bypassing the key fob as the main method to unlock a Tesla vehicle.

Space

Shift4 Payments Founder to Use First All-Private SpaceX Flight to Raise Money for Charity

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Shift4 Payments founder and CEO Jared Isaacman has announced that he will give away seats on a privately funded flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. An experienced pilot of both military and commercial airplanes, Isaacman will command a mission with a total of four people. The mission is slated to fly in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“Today’s announcement is the first step of a very exciting journey. In the lead-up to launch, we’ll share new ways to support and follow our mission preparation and execution with a focus on inspiring and helping others,” Isaacman said in a press release issued by Inspiration4.

Isaacman intends to use the flight to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, which provides free healthcare to children with serious health ailments and conducts research into treatments and cures for ailments that commonly affect children. For a donation of as little as $10, people can enter a drawing to win one of the three seats on the Crew Dragon that Isaacman plans to give away. Aspiring participants can also enter a separate sweepstakes for another seat on the same mission by trying out the ecommerce solution Shift4Shop.

SpaceX has touted the mission as its first all-civilian crewed mission. It will launch from the legendary Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral. The mission plan includes five days in orbit in what SpaceX called “a customized flight path.” Musk indicated that he expects the final crew to be announced “in the weeks ahead.”

“This is an important milestone towards enabling access to space for everyone,” Musk told reporters in a media call.

Isaacman has committed to a minimum donation of $100 million to St. Jude’s to support its planned expansions and hopes to raise at least $200 million through the giveaway of seats on the Crew Dragon. He could actually pull it off with enough visibility, considering that demand for privatized “space tourism” is high. Virgin Galactic says it has a list of 600 people who have made deposits to make a brief suborbital hop on its spacecraft once it becomes fully operational. Russia has sent several paying “space tourists” to the International Space Station, the first being Dennis Tito in 2007.

SpaceX itself has also recently announced the first private mission to the International Space Station, to be led by retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria. It also plans to send a mission led by Japanese fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa around the Moon in 2023.

Musk has acknowledged that sending civilians into space can be risky, especially in light of the recent loss of the Starship prototype SN8 and an FAA investigation that was apparently sparked by safety concerns and has definitely gotten on Musk’s nerves, although he believes that privatized spaceflight is worth the risk.

“Any mission where there’s a crew onboard makes me nervous. The risk is not zero,” he said of it. “When you’ve got a brand new mode of transportation, you have to have pioneers.”

Jared Isaacman has dubbed the mission “Inspiration4” to reflect the four people who will fly on the mission. Entries for the ongoing sweepstakes will close on February 28.

Technology

Tesla Delays Release of Roadster, New Plaid Versions Show Comparable Performance

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla has pushed the release of the Roadster back to 2022, citing the need to complete engineering for the vehicle. The Roadster had been announced in 2017 and was originally due to begin delivery in 2020.

Tesla is currently focused on ramping up production of already released models like the Model 3 and design updates for the Model X and Model S. It has also been focused on international expansions like the start of production of the Model Y in China and the search for a Chief Designer for the Asian market. Despite roadblocks that included a legal challenge from German environmentalist groups, construction on the Gigafactory in the Berlin area continues at a brisk clip, with Musk now saying that it will be filled with graffiti art. The flurry of activity may have been a major reason that the Roadster was put on the back burner.

Model S, Model X Get Plaid Versions

When the Roadster was first announced, CEO Elon Musk said that it would have a triple motor system that would produce more horsepower than Tesla’s existing models. The triple model system has recently been released as a feature in the new Plaid version of the Model S and Model X.

The Model S Plaid+ can produce 1,100 horsepower and the Plaid version is no slacker at 1,020 horsepower. Both the Plaid and Plaid+ versions of the Model S can go from 0 to 60 mph in 1.99 seconds. This is slightly better than the 2.0-second 0-60 time promised for the Roadster.

With the right tires, Musk said, the Model S Plaid could hit 200 mph. The maximum range for a single charge is 390 miles.

Tesla seems intent on making the Plaid one of the first vehicles to have an onboard gaming console, too. The Model S Plaid’s onboard computer capable of 10 teraflops of processing power, which is more than sufficient for playing popular video games like Cyberpunk 2077 and watching shows like The Witcher. This seems to be in line with Musk’s recent Twitter comments implying that he is a gamer in his scanty free time.

Don’t expect Plaid to be cheap, though: The Model S Plaid has a price tag of $119,990.

By way of comparison, Musk has said that the Roadster will be capable of a top speed of 250 mph and a range of 620 miles. Musk has made comments on Twitter indicating that work on the tri-motor drive system and work on a 200-kWh battery pack was the holdup.

When the Roadster is finally released, it is expected to be the Tesla’s highest price model. Preorders require an up-front deposit of $50,000 and buyers could land a Founders Series version of the Roadster by putting up the full $250,000 price tag. It would be no surprise if placers of early preorders of the Roadster may start to become impatient with all the delays and opt for the $119,990 Model S Plaid instead.

Space

FAA Investigates SpaceX Starship Tests

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The FAA is reportedly investigating the issues that led to the explosion of SpaceX’s SN8 Starship prototype, which occurred in December 2020 in what was otherwise an apparently nominal test of the company’s planned “heavy-duty” rocket.

Elon Musk had given the SN8 test a slim chance of going completely perfectly and seemed publicly happy with the results despite the explosion during the attempted landing. The test flight had given SpaceX’s engineers plenty of good data to work with and the company still had the SN9 and SN10 prototypes ready to go. The two prototypes had been spotted set up on neighboring stands at SpaceX’s test site in Boca Chica.

The FAA is also looking into possible violations of SpaceX’s test license, although the regulators have not publicly released details of the alleged violations. The investigation is likely to cause delays in the test schedule for the Starship rocket. SpaceX had intended to conduct a high-altitude test flight of SN9 this week, but that has apparently been scrubbed.

Despite the FAA’s “borking” of SpaceX’s planned test schedule, SpaceX anticipates that it could conduct the planned SN9 test flight as early as February 1 if the FAA gives it the green light. This new date may be somewhat unlikely, considering that most government employees do not work on weekends and the FAA could make what it says are safety issues out to be more complicated than they appeared at first glance.

“We will continue working with SpaceX to resolve outstanding safety issues before we approve the next test flight. … While we recognize the importance of moving quickly to foster growth and innovation in commercial space, the FAA will not compromise its responsibility to protect public safety,” an FAA spokesperson said in communications with media outlets.

The delays imposed by the FAA could just as easily be interpreted as government regulators flexing their muscles in an industry where the occasional rocket explosion is considered par for the course and most testing of new rocket models are done at launch sites like SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility, which tend to be far enough away from cities that an explosion upon landing would not be considered a serious safety hazard.

For the most part, the failures have been unmanned rockets that were used to launch satellites or as part of a test program like SpaceX’s Starship prototypes. One early rocket failure, officially known as Vanguard, came to be referred to as “Flopnik” and “Kaputnik” due to the pre-launch expectation that it would be the United States’ answer to the Soviet Union’s Sputnik.

Elon Musk was highly critical of the delays imposed by the FAA for an incident in which there were no casualties:

His impatience may be warranted, considering that SpaceX has recently received regulatory approval to launch the Starship rocket in Texas. Musk has set ambitious goals for SpaceX that includes crewed flights to the Moon and Mars and eventual human settlements on Mars. He may be concerned that the FAA’s actions may be an early warning that government regulators can put up some serious roadblocks in the path to his goals.

Technology

Tesla Reportedly Holds Preliminary Talks to License Full Self-Driving Software

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has indicated a willingness to license the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software to other automakers during a Q4 earnings call. He said that Tesla has had some preliminary talks with automakers who may be interested in integrating an automated driving software into their vehicles.

FSD is currently in its public beta phase and already capable of handling most normal driving scenarios with only some input from drivers for unusual scenarios. Tesla vehicle owners who are testing the software have said that they only had to intervene to avoid unexpected events like another vehicle drifting into their lane. However, preliminary tests also seem to indicate that drivers can more easily become distracted while the FSD software is operating and may fail to respond to events on the road that the software is not yet equipped to handle.

Musk had hoped to release the full version of the software by the end of 2020 and may still launch a software subscription service in 2021. This follows Elon Musk’s normal pattern of attempting to set an ambitious timeline that will usually face delays.

The current weaknesses have drawn criticism from competitors like Waymo, whose CEO says that FSD might become a good driver assistance program, but won’t become capable of driving without supervision from the user. However, Tesla aims to improve the software partly with the training of a neural network with additional real-world driving data. Tesla currently has access to more than a billion miles’ worth of data from FSD beta users.

The company’s software engineers are especially working on improving automatic labeling of objects in video footage from Tesla vehicles’ onboard cameras. Planned improvements to this system includes the activation of a supercomputer called Dojo later this year. The system currently relies on humans who can more rapidly recognize elements like a turn lane or exit lane. Improvements to automatic labeling will enable FSD to do that on its own. Elon Musk says this is key to his ultimate goal of making the software’s reliability “two thousand percent better than the average human.”

Musk had indicated that his willingness to share the software is part of Tesla’s “philosophy is definitely not to create walled gardens.” He already has plans to make its network of Superchargers compatible with other automakers’ electric vehicles. Amusingly enough, in September 2020, European owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles discovered a “bug” in Superchargers that let them charge their vehicles. The bug was apparently the result of a flaw in a software update meant to advance Tesla’s goal of meeting European compatibility standards. Tesla will likely work with other automakers to make that more normal.

Once FSD is ready for full release, licensing it to other automakers could be a big revenue boost to Tesla. Despite a record number of vehicle deliveries in 2020, earnings in Q4 2020 were apparently disappointing to investors. Musk may be banking on FSD to solve that with software sales, subscriptions, and his preliminary talks with other automakers to license the software.

Space

SpaceX Launches 143 Satellites on Single Falcon 9 Rocket

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX has successfully launches its Transporter-1 mission, which sent 143 satellites into orbit for commercial and government-backed customers on a Falcon 9 rocket. The Transporter-1 launch beat a record set by an Indian rocket that sent 104 satellites into orbit in 2017.

The launch is the first in SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program, which aims to make it easier for customers to launch small satellites. Many small satellites are launched as a secondary payload that share a ride with a larger primary payload. The SmallSat Rideshare Program is not yet “on demand”, but can make the launch of small satellites less dependent on the launch schedule for larger primary payloads.

The Transporter-1 mission had been delayed from its original launch date in December 2020 due to a series of issues that mostly involved weather conditions. SpaceX prefers to follow strict weather rules in both the launch and landing sites during missions in which it intends to land its boosters back at its landing site or on one of its drone barges.

The Falcon 9’s first stage booster had been used in five previous launches and successfully landed on the drone barge “Of Course I Still Love You.” With the successful retrieval, it can be repurposed for a future mission. Elon Musk showed enthusiasm for the ability to reduce launch costs by reusing hardware during the runup to the launch. With the reusable hardware, SpaceX can offer a “ride share” for a satellite of up to 200 kilograms for as little as $1 million. According to SpaceX’s website, a launch dedicated to a single satellite costs $62 million.

On Friday, Musk said he was “excited about offering low-cost assess to orbit for small companies!”

Along with the 133 satellites launched for SpaceX’s customers, the payload included ten of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, a relatively low number for a Starlink launch. These satellites will maneuver into a polar orbit, a first for Starlink. The satellites were added after one customer called Momentus took its Vigoride satellite off the mission, citing some last-minute regulatory concerns.

SpaceX had also launched 60 satellites on Wednesday, which brings the total number of Starlink satellites up to over 1,000 out of a planned constellation of 42,000. Starlink’s Internet service is currently in the “Better Than Nothing Beta” phase, referencing its goal to be “better than nothing” in areas where access to the Internet has been dismal, too expensive for most people, or nonexistent. Beta testers have already reported that the Internet service seems to do pretty well even in harsh winter conditions.

With this launch, SpaceX joins a growing number of companies interested in capturing a share of the market for dedicated ride share missions for small satellites. ArianeSpace has recently started launching small satellites on its Vega rocket. Rocket Lab seems to be interested in being a serious competitor for SpaceX’s reusable rockets, having recently retrieved a booster for its Electron rocket after successfully launching 30 satellites into orbit.

Clients “hitching a ride” on today’s launch included Planet Labs, Exolaunch, D-Orbit, Kepler Communications, Spaceflight Inc, Nanoracks, NASA and Capella Space, as well as iQPS, Loft Orbital, Spire Global, ICEYE, HawkEye 360, Astrocast, and the University of South Florida Institute of Applied Engineering.

Technology

Tesla Accuses Former Software Engineer of Stealing Trade Secrets

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla has accused a software engineer named Alex Khatilov of illegally transferring sensitive company documents to personal storage within days of his hiring on December 28. Khatilov has now been fired from his position as a senior software engineer.

According to court filings, Khatilov has allegedly transferred as many as 26,000 documents to a personal DropBox account, many of which had little to do with his job duties, within the first week of his employment at Tesla. Many of these files are scripts used to automate some company functions like the ordering of parts and delivery of vehicles. Tesla is suing for breach of contract and theft of confidential information and trade secrets.

The paperwork associated with the court case says the scripts “would inform competitors of which systems Tesla believes are important and valuable to automate and how to automate them — providing a roadmap to copy Tesla’s innovation.”

Previous issues with alleged theft of Tesla’s internal documents include court battles with former employees like Martin Tripp, who distributed sensitive company information to third parties in 2018. A Nevada district court found Tripp liable for violations of the Nevada Computer Crimes Law, which bans unauthorized use of data, and ordered him to pay $400,000 in restitution. Tripp refused to admit wrongdoing, saying that his actions were justified due to allegations of safety issues at the Gigafactory that he had worked at.

Tesla has also fended off cyberattacks such as an attempt by Russian nationals to bribe employees to inject malware into its computers that would have allowed them to access sensitive documents. The documents could have been held for ransom. At least one of the Russian nationals involved in the plot had been arrested on a charge of conspiracy to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer while attempting to leave the United States after the incident was reported.

In the most recent case, Tesla employees detected Khatilov’s downloading of the files on January 6. Only about 40 members of his team had access to the documents. He initially told company investigators about his downloads that it was only a few administrative files. Inspection of the DropBox account showed otherwise.

Despite the evidence against him, Khatilov denies the allegation that his intention was to do harm to Tesla or deliver the documents to other parties. He now says that the transfer of documents to his DropBox was something he did accidentally while attempting to back up the files. Tesla has not said whether they have established any other motive for the transfer of files to the DropBox account.

“I’ve been working for, like, 20 years in this industry, and I know what sensitive documents are about, and I never, ever tried to access any of those, or steal it,” he told the New York Post.

He claims that he deleted the files from his DropBox and removed the DropBox software from Tesla’s computer system at Tesla’s request when confronted about it. However, in a rare public statement following the incident, Tesla says that they cannot establish that Khatilov did not first transfer them to a device controlled by him, such as a USB flash drive or mobile device. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Tesla said that it has not been able to “ensure complete deletion” of the files.

The company will seek a jury trial in the case. It is seeking attorney fees and unspecified damages.

Technology

Israeli Company Develops Car Batteries With Five-Minute Charge Time

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

An Israeli company named SlashDot may stand to attract the attention of electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla with the development of a car battery that can add 100 miles of range to most electric vehicles with a standard charger like Tesla’s Supercharger in five minutes, or gain a full charge with a “high speed” charger in the same amount of time. This is comparable to the time it often takes to fill up the gas tank of an “ordinary” gas-powered car.

SlashDot has already contracted with Chinese manufacturing firm Eve Energy to manufacture the batteries. This could help them get “demo” models in front of electric car manufacturers who may have worried that slow charging times might hurt sales.

“You’re either afraid that you’re going to get stuck on the highway or you’re going to need to sit in a charging station for two hours. But if the experience of the driver is exactly like fueling [a petrol car], this whole anxiety goes away,” said SlashDot CEO Doron Myersdorf.

The new batteries make use of semiconductor nanoparticles that can survive the fast charging process in place of the graphite that many automobile batteries use in their electrodes. While lithium ion batteries with graphite could theoretically be fast-charged, the rapid charging process would cause a “congestion” of lithium ions in the graphite, damaging the battery. SlashDot’s semiconductor nanoparticles make it easier for lithium ions to travel through the battery more quickly and easily.

Elon Musk has gone on record as saying that he would like to make gas-powered vehicles obsolete with his electric vehicle models, and many consumers who may be in the market for a new car but worry about the future price of gas may agree with him. However, the idea of spending hours at a charging “pump” may be a turnoff for them even with conveniences like the snack and coffee stand at Fastned’s new charging station in Germany.

While Fastned has claimed that its chargers can add 300 miles of range to a typical electric vehicle in 15 minutes, that might not be true for all charging stations worldwide and the potential of damage to batteries that can’t handle fast charging might be a turnoff for many consumers.

Musk has expressed an interest in improving battery technology, including the announcement of a more efficient battery manufacturing process at last September’s Battery Day event. Tesla has also picked up stakes in car battery manufacturing companies like German ATW Automation. Musk has even recently advertised jobs on Tesla’s Careers page that would have successful applicants helping with cell and battery production. The faster charging speed of SlashDot’s car batteries may catch Musk’s attention if the news hits his desk.

According to experts like Professor Chao-Yang Wang, an energy storage expert working for a subsidiary of Pennsylvania State University, batteries like SlashDot’s need not be very much more expensive than existing batteries used by electric vehicles.

“They will not be more expensive; in fact, they allow automakers to downsize the onboard battery while still eliminating range anxiety, thereby dramatically cutting down the vehicle battery cost,” he reportedly told The Guardian. He also seemed to make a swiping reference at Tesla’s planned $25,000 electric vehicle: “Finally we are achieving parity with gasoline vehicles in both cost and convenience. We have the technology for $25,000 electric cars that race like luxury sport cars, have 10-minute rechargeability and are safer than any currently on the market.”

Professor Wang mentioned that it would have to be rechargeable at least 500 times without much degradation of the battery to be considered viable. SlashDot claims that its new battery can be recharged at least 1,000 times while still maintaining 80 percent of its original capacity.

Technology

Tesla Begins Manufacturing of Model Y in China

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla had announced that it had begun manufacturing of the long-range version of the Model Y at its Gigafactory in Shanghai. The first Chinese-made Model Ys are being delivered to buyers who pre-ordered them. Gigafactory Shanghai had already been manufacturing the Model 3, with 22,000 of these vehicles being delivered in the Chinese market in November 2020.

Pre-sale prices for the Chinese-made Model Y started at $52,074 for the long range version and $57,235 for the performance version, about a third cheaper than Tesla announced in August although still in line with Tesla’s reputation for being the status symbol of electric vehicles. The performance version of the Model Y is expected to begin delivery in the third quarter of this year. Most Model Y vehicles sold in China will be black, although customers can choose another color for a $1,238 premium.

China is expected to be one of Tesla’s strongest markets, with forecasts from analysts like Wedbush’s Daniel Ives saying that the automaker could sell as many as 400,000 electric vehicles in China and up to one million total vehicles worldwide in 2022.

Tesla is working on ramping up its manufacturing capacity to meet that level of demand with the continued construction of Gigafactory Berlin, which may be hampered by a successful legal challenge by German environmental groups. Tesla is also considering a possible new Gigafactory somewhere in the United States and the possibility of higher-capacity Terafactories somewhere on the horizon.

The Chinese market could come with its own set of challenges, including competition from domestic competitors like startups Nio, Li Auto, and Xpeng all posting strong sales in 2020. Li Auto did especially well for being a brand new company, delivering 32,624 vehicles in its first full year of trading. Nio and Xpeng both say that they have doubled their sales in 2020.

Tesla has also had to deal with bad publicity that includes allegations of “sweatshop” conditions at Gigafactory Shanghai that has led to the company filing a libel lawsuit against Chinese news outlet PingWest — a statement that may not shock any Chinese residents that can see through the government propaganda, as China has long been accused of abusive labor practices that include harsh prison labor and forcing minorities like the Uighur Muslims into slave labor. Although CEO Elon Musk has developed something of a reputation for being a demanding boss to work for, which has led to occasional legal battles with disgruntled former employees, Tesla maintains that the allegation of running a sweatshop factory is false.

Like many automakers, Tesla has had to deal with its share of recalls, including one recall of nearly 30,000 Model X and Model Y vehicles that had been manufactured in California and imported to China to fix a defective part in the vehicles’ suspension units.

Despite the challenges, deliveries of the long-range Model Y manufactured at Gigafactory Shanghai have begun a little earlier than showroom staff in Shanghai had estimated. They had told customers that it might begin delivery in February.

Technology

Tesla Files Libel Suit Against Chinese News Outlet

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla has filed a libel suit against the Chinese news outlet PingWest, which published a story describing alleged “sweatshop” conditions at its Gigafactory Shanghai. The PingWest story described demanding bosses and possibly unsafe, low-tech conditions at the Gigafactory.

Tesla and SpaceX have both gained something of a reputation as being demanding companies to work for even in the United States. Disgruntled former employees have described Elon Musk as being a bad-tempered boss, especially on the day after a mishap such as an exploding Starship prototype.

Employees have accused Musk’s companies of being anti-union, and Tesla has sued at least one former employee named Martin Tripp alleging that he stole protected company secrets and presented them in a way that made conditions in the Gigafactories out to be worse than they really were.

The presiding court found the defendant in that case to be in violation of the Nevada Computer Crimes Law, which bans unauthorized use of data, and dismissed the former employee’s countersuit alleging that Tesla and Musk defamed him in publicly accessible statements. However, the judge also found that the defendant’s allegations of unsafe factory conditions did not impact the price of Tesla stock.

Musk apparently doesn’t flinch away from the occasional appearance of poaching employees, ranging from scouting local restaurants for “employees of the month” to staff a frozen yogurt stand at a SpaceX facility to, more recently, hiring a Mercedes-Benz factory manager for the Gigafactory being built in Germany. On several occasions, he has admitted that he cares mostly about raw talent and drive when hiring, most recently saying that he doesn’t much care if applicants for Tesla’s AI department have a college degree.

His hiring and management practices do seem to work in terms of productivity despite his reputation for being a tough boss. Tesla delivered a record-setting 499,550 electric vehicles in 2020. SpaceX also had an impressive year with its launch of the first two crewed missions for NASA’s Commercial Crew program and a total of 25 launches in 2020.

This level of success has not always stopped the media headlines that, if Tesla’s most recent allegations against PingWest are to be believed, are overly sensationalist and borderline libel. It may even be a little hypocritical for a Chinese news outlet to accuse an American-based company of sweatshop conditions in its Gigafactories, considering that sweatshops and forced labor are common practices in Chinese factories. Most recently, China has been accused of forcing minorities like the Uighur Muslims into forced labor.

In Tesla’s most recent legal case, Global News reports that Tesla has filed an “indictment, a notice of responding to prosecution, as well as other affidavit.” PingWest has until February 8 to respond to the filings and has already said that it will “actively cooperate” with proceedings in Tesla’s lawsuit. Even with the poor PR and alleged libel that comes with the accusations of sweatshop conditions at Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla electric vehicle sales in China do remain strong and may make up 40 percent of Tesla’s sales by 2022.

Space

SpaceX Delays SN9 High Altitude Test for Engine Swap

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX plans to swap out two engines in the Starship prototype rocket model SN9. This will cause a delay in a high altitude test that was slated to occur over the weekend. The test could now occur as early as Monday.

SpaceX conducted three “static fire” tests of SN9’s rocket engines, which may have caused damage to the two engines in question. Musk has indicated that it was “probably wise” to conduct another static fire test once the engines have been replaced.

When the SN9 high altitude test does occur, it is likely to have a profile similar to SN8’s last test flight, which reached an altitude of 12.5 kilometers on December 9. SN8’s test flight featured a new “bellyflop” maneuver for descent. Although the test ended with the fiery loss of SN8, engineers say that they got enough data to improve on the previous Starship prototype’s performance.

The high altitude testing is part of development for the Starship rocket and its “big brother,” the Super Heavy rocket. They were previously known as the Big Falcon Rocket, or BFR, though SpaceX has apparently changed the name because the acronym was inviting the jokes.

These rockets are meant for travel to other worlds, such as the Moon and Mars. Elon Musk has made no secret of his ambition of providing transportation for a settlement on Mars that could reach a population of one million people. At events like 2020’s virtual International Mars Society Conference, he has indicated that he considers making humanity an interplanetary species is critical for its survival.

“This is really about eliminating existential risk for civilization as a whole. … Being confined to Earth until some eventual extinction event is depressing. We need things that make you want to get out of bed in the morning,” he told the audience watching the livestreamed video on the Mars Society’s YouTube channel.

Reacting to Elon Musk’s appearance, Mars Society president Robert Zubrin said of Musk’s efforts, “SpaceX is taking on the biggest single challenge, which is the transportation system. There’s all sorts of other systems that are going to be needed.”

In the wake of his brief stint as the world’s wealthiest person, a title that has since been reclaimed by Amazon CEO and aerospace rival Jeff Bezos, he has also reiterated his desire to use his fortune to the benefit of humanity. A request for feedback drew the expected array of suggestions, ranging from donations to animal shelters and organizations that help low-income families to funding medical research.

Despite the suggestions in replies to his tweet, he remains convinced that sending people to Mars on rockets like Starship and the Super Heavy is one of the best ways to help humanity, besides his frequently stated desire to make gasoline-powered cars obsolete with the widespread adoption of electric vehicles like Tesla’s. He is willing to risk things occasionally blowing up while his rockets are still in development. From a PR standpoint, the dramatic loss of a test model while Starship is still in the prototype phase are preferable to losing an entire crew in a Challenger Disaster-like mishap.

Even so, the engineering team may be playing it safe with prototypes that are not cheap. The replacement of the two engines reduces the risk that SpaceX will lose SN9 in the upcoming high altitude test.

Technology

Regulators Demand Recall of 158,000 Tesla Vehicles

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a mandatory recall of 158,000 of Tesla’s Model X and Model S vehicles due to faulty media control units. The recall impacts 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles that the NHTSA says “contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety.”

Tesla has until January 27 to either comply with the recall or provide a detailed report on why it disagrees with the NHTSA’s decision. Automobile manufacturers will often work with regulators when their vehicles are found to have a defect that might warrant a recall.

Tesla stock slid 0.71% to $848.32 in trading on the news of the latest recall, not that investors seem to be very rattled about a recall that might be an easy fix. Tesla had an excellent 2020, with a record number of vehicle deliveries and stock that put on a strong enough performance to gain entry into the S&P 500 index. The increase in Tesla’s stock price was enough to briefly put Elon Musk at the top of Bloomberg’s Billionaires list.

Tesla has previously issued recalls that include thousands of vehicles in China that had a manufacturing-related issue with the suspension that could cause it to crack in some extreme cases. It has also recalled vehicles in the United States that have an improperly installed bolt in the suspension or might have issues with the roof trim. In most cases, the issues could be fixed with the replacement of the affected parts and materials.

On the flip side, the NHTSA has also recently ruled that reported cases of sudden unintended acceleration may be due to driver error rather than a fault in Tesla vehicles.

The issue appears to be a defective touchscreen in the media control units, according to the hundreds of reports that the NHTSA has received. Many of the complaints from Tesla owners said that they were required to pay out of pocket to fix the issue even though Tesla expanded its warranty to include its onboard computer. The touchscreen contains a memory chip that can only handle a finite number of read/write operations before giving out, which disables the touchscreen. This typically takes about 3 to 4 years, depending on how much the vehicle and its MCU’s touchscreen are used.

Although the loss of the touchscreen on Tesla’s infotainment system might seem like a mere annoyance for Tesla owners, who see it as a status symbol among a growing number of choices in electric and hybrid vehicles, NHTSA made its ruling based on the resulting loss of functions such as the backup camera, window defogging, and audible alerts associated with Tesla’s safety features. The defogging issue seems to be a special concern for the regulatory agency, which cited the reduced visibility and increased risk of a crash that comes with fogged up windows.

“[D]uring our review of the data, Tesla provided confirmation that all units will inevitably fail given the memory device’s finite storage capacity,” NHTSA said of the issue in its communications with media outlets such as Reuters.

Although the report did note that Tesla attempted to mitigate the defect with software updates, the regulatory body says that the efforts were “procedurally and substantively” insufficient to make up for faulty hardware. The NHTSA cited recalls issued for similar defects in other automobiles’ models in its final report. Tesla has not issued a statement on the recall or responded to requests for comment.

Space

SpaceX to Launch Second Lunar Lander for Intuitive Machines

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX has signed a contract to launch a second lunar lander for Intuitive Machines as early as 2022. It has already inked a deal to launch Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander as early as the fourth quarter of 2021.

Intuitive Machines is building a model of lunar landers known as “Nova-C”, which will be capable of carrying up to 100 kg (around 222 lbs) of cargo to the Moon’s surface. The first Nova-C will include an imaging system that will attempt to take the first image of the center of the Milky Way from the Moon. Images taken from the Moon will have the advantage of avoiding the artificial light pollution and atmospheric distortion that can make astrophotography difficult on Earth.

The second Nova-C’s cargo will include an experimental polar resource mining drill and a mass spectrometer to the lunar south pole. These experiments will provide data on the feasibility of harvesting lunar resources that can support long-term crewed operations on the lunar surface or in lunar orbit.

NASA is especially interested in setting up the Lunar Gateway, which will be able to support longer duration crewed missions on the lunar surface than was possible with the Apollo missions of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formerly known as the Deep Space Gateway, the initial plans for the station included support for crewed missions beyond the Moon, although this seems to have taken a back seat to lunar operations for the time being.

NASA already has several international partners lined up to provide hardware for the Lunar Gateway. Most recently, NASA signed a deal with the Canada Space Agency for a robotic arm that will be a next-generation version of the International Space Station’s Canadarm2. The first hardware for the Lunar Gateway could go into lunar orbit as early as 2024.

It is also currently working toward returning crews to the surface of the Moon as early as 2024 with the Artemis Program, although that program is likely to face delays and may be canceled altogether by the incoming Biden Administration.

The two Nova-C landings are part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Like the Commercial Crew program, which became an official NASA program in 2011 and most recently launched the Crew-1 mission with four astronauts on board, CLPS encourages the development of privately owned space-related hardware that NASA can purchase as needed to support its missions. The included aerospace companies can also sell their hardware and services to private entities interested in using them for their own projects. The contracts for the development of the hardware include a firm amount of money to be paid when the companies reach clearly defined milestones. This encourages them to work toward keeping costs down, as opposed to the “cost plus” model that is common in the aerospace industry.

CLPS is currently fostering hardware development by a total of 14 companies, which can use them to place bids for NASA contracts for lunar operations. If successful, Intuitive Machines will become one of the first aerospace companies to place its own lander on the surface of the Moon.

Technology

MethaneSAT Taps SpaceX to Launch Methane Tracking Satellite

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

MethaneSAT LLC has selected SpaceX to launch a methane tracking satellite in 2022. The satellite will be capable of locating, tracking, and quantifying global methane emissions.

MethaneSAT LLC is a subsidiary of the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which cites methane emissions as a major contributor to climate change. It was designing the satellite as early as April 2018, when it announced plans to develop space-based capabilities for tracking methane emissions from oil and gas facilities.

The satellite is designed to be more precise than existing instruments. The Environmental Defense Fund is also developing software to process data produced by MethaneSAT. The software will be capable of conducting complex analytics in days rather than the weeks or months it normally takes. EDF officials say that the satellite data will help combat methane emissions in target areas and hopefully reduce the most extreme effects of climate change.

“Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is the fastest, most cost-effective way we have to slow the rate of [global] warming right now, even as we continue to decarbonize the energy system. MethaneSAT is designed to create transparency and accountability to make sure companies and governments don’t miss that opportunity,” Mark Brownstein, EDF Senior Vice President for Energy, said in a statement from the Environmental Defense Fund announcing the plans to develop the satellite.

Even outside the efforts to track methane emissions, private businesses are attempting to reduce carbon emissions produced by the oil and gas industry that escape into Earth’s atmosphere. Robert Zubrin’s Pioneer Energy, Inc., has designed the Mobile Alkane Gas Separator, which can capture “flare” gas that is currently burned off in the process of extracting oil and natural gas and escapes into the atmosphere. The Mobile Alkane Gas Separator can capture that gas to have it sent to the nearest gas pipeline even if that pipeline is several miles away rather than having the gas burned off. Besides increasing the efficiency of extracting oil and natural gas, this can reduce the amount of wasted natural gas that would only be added to the total amount of methane emissions.

“The flaring issue is an imperative” when it comes to addressing the methane emission issue, Zubrin said when his system was first introduced. Robert Zubrin has often been a highly vocal critic of the inaccurate predictions of some of the most high-profile climate change activists. His book, Merchants of Despair, details his main point that these inaccurate and extreme predictions have been used to justify human rights abuses such as genocide around the world. Behind the scenes, however, he seems willing to address the issue of wasted methane being sent into Earth’s atmosphere while also acknowledging that the demand for energy is not going anywhere anytime soon. He has also said that, besides ending the oil and gas industry’s contribution to climate change, a good way to win the “War on Terror” is to move away from oil as an energy source in the book Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil.

MethaneSAT may provide the spur needed for oil and gas companies to invest in a system like the Mobile Alkane Gas Separator if they do not want to be seen as wasting valuable methane and contributing to climate change by flaring it off. The satellite is currently being constructed and is partially funded by a $100 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund.

Russia Considers Fine for Starlink Users

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Russia’s legislative body, the State Duma, is currently considering a law that would fine Russian residents for using Western space-based Internet services like SpaceX’s Starlink and upcoming competitor OneWeb. The law would impose a fine of up to 30,000 rubles (US$405) for individuals and 1 million rubles ($13,500) for legal entities like businesses.

Not surprisingly, Russia is currently planning its own space-based Internet service, known as Sphere. Although the budget for creating its own satellite Internet is unknown, some analysts say that it could cost up to $20 billion by the time it is completed. By way of comparison, the Russian space agency Roscosmos receives a budget of $2.4 billion a year.

Russia Totally Not a Fan of SpaceX

Russian officials have gone on record with a strong dislike of SpaceX, which recently shattered Russia’s monopoly on crewed spaceflight with two successful crewed flights to the International Space Station from U.S. last year and a contract for more launches to the International Space Station starting in early 2021. Head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin has been especially disparaging of SpaceX, saying that the American aerospace company is being propped up by NASA and the American military although it has been amazingly successful at bringing the cost of launches down through its development of rocket stages that can be flown again with only a minimum of sprucing up.

He recently called Starlink, which could provide space-based Internet communications for the American military, “a rather predatory, clever, powerful, high-technology policy of the USA, which uses Shock and Awe in order to advance, before all, their military interests.”

Rogozin was especially dismissive of space-based Internet services’ ability to bring the Internet to regions that have suffered from the lack of opportunity that comes with lack of reliable high-speed Internet access. The United Nations has called Internet access a “human right,” but this has not encouraged “traditional” Internet service providers to make the investment in regions of low population density or low median income. It’s estimated that four percent of Earth’s land surface is not covered by reliable Internet access. Services like Starlink and OneWeb could change that.

Russia will take the money of Western companies that are interested in launching Internet satellites. OneWeb currently has a contract to launch the initial batch of satellites on Russia’s Soyuz rocket. Companies like OneWeb appear to be propping up Russia’s launch industry at a time when SpaceX seems keen on undercutting Russia on launch costs and turnaround time.

SpaceX is currently eyeballing the possibility of landing the Super Heavy rocket at the same launchpad that it launched from. This could enable the refurbishment and refueling of the rocket at the pad itself, which could speed up the reuse of the rocket by eliminating the need to transport it.

Ability to Censor Internet Access May Also Be Factor

Supporters of the Russian bill have also expressed concern that “independently” accessing the Internet using an Internet service provider that isn’t controlled by Russia could bypass the System of Operational Search Measures, which monitors Internet use and mobile communications and forces all Internet-based data traffic to enter and leave Russia using only Russian communications providers.

This can enable censorship of Internet-based information and allows Russian law enforcement officials to monitor the Internet for any activity that might violate Russian law. Some Western-based social media venues like Facebook and Twitter might especially become targets for monitoring because they have been used to organize uprisings like the Arab Spring, a series of protests and violent uprisings in several Muslim-majority nations that occurred in the early 2010s.

Effective censorship requires the ability to control the Internet, which may be one of the goals of the Russian State Duma’s plan to ban foreign satellite Internet services like Starlink. Russia may also dislike the idea of competition for its own planned satellite constellation, Sphere, within its own borders.

Space

NASA, SpaceX Postpone Undocking of Cargo Dragon

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

NASA and SpaceX have postponed the undocking of an uncrewed Cargo Dragon from the International Space Station due to unfavorable weather conditions in the planned splashdown site. The new time and date of undocking have yet to be announced.

The Cargo Dragon is the 21st International Space Station resupply mission for SpaceX. It launched on December 6, carrying 6,400 pounds of hardware, new scientific experiments, and supplies for the crew. It rendezvoused with the space station within 24 hours of docking and demonstrated the capacity to autonomously dock with no input from the station crew. Previous resupply missions were docked by the crew using the Canadian-built robotic arm Canadarm2.

It currently contains 5,200 pounds of cargo, including the results of scientific experiments conducted on the space station. Once the Cargo Dragon splashes down and is retrieved, the cargo will be delivered to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean can make this delivery easier and faster. Previous Cargo Dragon missions splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of California.

Valuable Medical Research to Be Returned

The International Space Station provides a valuable microgravity environment that is difficult to recreate on Earth and can be used for medical research. This includes a study of the effect of microgravity on heart tissue known as Cardinal Heart, which makes use of 3D-printed engineered heart tissues (EHTs). Data from this and similar experiments could help researchers develop improved treatments for heart conditions and improve screening for higher risk of developing serious cardiovascular issues.

Rodent Research-23 is an experiment aimed at better understanding how the eye changes in microgravity. This can help NASA’s physicians gain a better grasp on a condition known as Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), in which astronauts’ vision can deteriorate during long-duration missions like the regular six-month intervals on the International Space Station. These changes can impact mission performance and potentially exacerbate hazards in extreme cases in which an astronaut might not be able to see well enough to navigate on the space station.

An International Space Station partner, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has completed the Space Organogenesis experiment, which studied the development of 3D organ buds from human stem cells to analyze changes in gene expression. The researchers behind this experiment hypothesized that microgravity can help cell cultures expand into three dimensions without the need for supportive materials and forces that they would need on Earth. This experiment could lead to improved developments in regenerative medicine and assist with the development of artificial organs.

When the Cargo Dragon finally does undock, it will be live streamed on NASA’s website and on the NASA TV channel on YouTube. The YouTube channel includes a live streaming video that has continuously broadcast a wide variety of live and pre-recorded content since 2018. Besides the Cargo Dragon return, upcoming live events include an event that will include the International Space Station’s Expedition 64 crew and Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Joshua Dobbs on January 15 and a live event with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who arrived at the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Crew-1 flight, on January 28.

Technology

Tesla Currently Seeking Chief Designer for China Market

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

According to breaking news from Reuters, Tesla is currently seeking a design director for electric vehicles sold in the China market. The design director will be responsible for designing vehicles that are uniquely suited to the tastes of Chinese who may be interested in buying an electric vehicle.

“They want to give vehicle design a lot more bias toward China; they have already done a lot here, setting up a major manufacturing site and having sold a ton of EVs, but it seems Tesla’s ready to put roots down,” said an anonymous source familiar with the matter.

The ideal candidate will be “bi-cultural,” capable of understanding the tastes of Chinese nationals and bridging the gap between Tesla’s American headquarters and its Chinese operations, and have at least 20 years of experience. Tesla’s global design chief, Franz von Holzhausen, has already interviewed several candidates for the position. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had previously hinted at taking the Chinese market more seriously in early 2020 with remarks at a media event in Shanghai, where one of Tesla’s Gigafactories produces electric vehicles for the Asian market:

“I think something that would be super cool would be … to create a China design and engineering center to actually design an original car in China for worldwide consumption. I think this would be very exciting.”

Even without cars that have been specifically designed for Asian markets, China snapped up 145,000 Tesla vehicles in 2020, making the country Tesla’s second largest market after the United States. China is also the largest market for automobiles overall. Industry analyst LMC Automotive expects that Chinese customers will purchase 1.5 million electric vehicles in 2021. For reference, Tesla alone delivered 499,550 vehicles in 2020, a record-setting year yet still just shy of its goal of 500,000 vehicles delivered.

Tesla vehicles are often seen as a high-priced status symbol in most parts of the world. Elon Musk has hinted that he would like to change that with an upcoming model with a base suggested retail price of $25,000. It will likely be a compact car comparable in price to some gas-powered vehicles. Although compact cars do not have a huge market in the United States, Chinese demand for compact vehicles tends to be strong. Compact models account for about 25% of car sales in China.

“A compact Tesla car … could potentially put a serious dent in sales of cars like Toyota’s Corolla and the Volkswagen Golf,” said Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight.

Tesla may face stiff competition from established automobile manufacturers. While Tesla did take the top two slots in sales of electric vehicle models with the Model S and Model 3, the competitor models Porsche Taycan, Lexus ES Hybrid, and BWI i3 rounded out the top five in units sold for hybrid and electric vehicles in 2019. Other top fully electric vehicles include the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf.

Even with the competition, Tesla may be able to push sales well past the 500,000 mark with its focus on international markets. As part of this effort, Tesla plans to hire a team of 20 China-based designers who will include modelers capable of transforming rendered computer designs into clay models. It referred to this plan as the creation of a “full-function studio.” The model could then be sent to Tesla’s vehicle engineers in northern California.

Technology

US Regulators Find No Fault in Tesla Vehicles in Unintended Acceleration Case

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has declined to grant a petition for investigation into reported incidents of sudden unintended acceleration (SUA). The decision impacts 662,000 Tesla vehicles.

The report, filed by a Tesla shareholder named Brian Sparks in December 2019, claimed that 2012-2020 model year Tesla Model S, Model X, Model Y and Model 3 vehicles accelerated without the owner intending them to. This could have caused dangerous situations ranging from unintentionally running red lights to rear-ending another vehicle. The regulatory body reviewed 232 reported instances of sudden acceleration incidents, which may have contributed to 203 crashes.

In an interview, Sparks called the number of unintended acceleration instances “absurdly high,” but he accepts the NHTSA’s decision. He says he filed the complaint because a social media acquaintance mentioned that she had experienced unintended acceleration in her Tesla vehicle and found the company to be unresponsive to her queries.

“If the NHTSA says there’s no defect, I consider the matter settled,” Sparks said.

Although he owns some Tesla stock, Sparks has also admitted to shorting it, basically betting that its value would fall. Going by historical trends, shorting TSLA seems to be a losing proposition. Tesla’s excellent year for sales was reflected in a stock rally that saw TSLA (its ticker symbol on stock exchanges) gaining by about 800% in 2020, which was impressive enough for it to gain a place in the S&P 500 index. The gains have strongly contributed to Elon Musk claiming the top slot in Bloomberg’s list of billionaires.

In the sudden acceleration case, the NHTSA ruled, the sudden acceleration was “caused by pedal misapplication. NHTSA found no evidence of fault in the accelerator pedal assemblies, motor control systems, or brake systems that contributed to the cited incidents.”

The NHTSA also failed to find that reported incidents were the result of a design flaw: “There is no evidence of a design factor contributing to increased likelihood of pedal misapplication. The theory provided of a potential electronic cause of SUA in the subject vehicles is based upon inaccurate assumptions about system design and log data.”

If the reports had gone through, it would have added to a long list of complaints about flaws in the design or manufacturing of the electric vehicles that have dinged Tesla in consumer safety reviews. Tesla has had to recall thousands of vehicles in China to fix a manufacturing defect in the Tesla’s steering assembly. It has also had to recall vehicles in the United States to fix issues with the roof and an improperly installed bolt in the steering assembly. Tesla is currently fighting a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that it has ignored or tried to downplay issues with the suspension in some vehicles.

Issues like these have caused Consumer Reports to downgrade most of Tesla’s models in its most recent annual Auto Reliability Survey. The survey relies partly on reports from vehicle owners.

The negative safety reports do not seem to have hurt Tesla sales much, however. It posted a record year with nearly 499,550 vehicles delivered, just short of its goal of 500,000 cars.

With its ruling, the NHTSA has concluded an investigation that was opened in January 2020. Tesla has not issued a statement on the ruling.

Space

Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku Endorses Elon Musk’s Plans for Mars

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Noted theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku says that Elon Musk’s plans for Martian settlement are feasible with the help of robots. Kaku says that Musk’s plans might make a good jumping-off point for fulfilling the legendary Carl Sagan’s dream of colonizing an entire solar system if they succeed.

Elon Musk has sketched out plans for Martian settlements that could support up to one million people.

Before his death in 1996, Carl Sagan expressed concern that humanity is still a single-planet species. He saw this as an overly risky arrangement, considering that Earth has been through five mass extinction events in its history and some experts say that it is going through a sixth even now.

Sagan said of the problem, “The probability that the Earth will be hit by a civilization-threatening small world in the next century is a little less than one in a thousand. …The probability of dying on a random commercial airline flight is one-in-two million.”

Elon Musk echoed the sentiment in 2019, saying that “a big rock will hit Earth eventually.”

The most common theory says that a giant meteor caused or contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Scientists routinely detect near-Earth asteroids that cross Earth’s orbit around the sun on a regular basis and could cause significant damage if they hit Earth.

Kaku Touts Technological Progress Made for Martian Settlements

Dr. Kaku told Big Think in a video interview:

“As an insurance policy, we have to make sure that humans become a two-planet species. These are the words of Carl Sagan. And now, of course, Elon Musk has revived this vision by talking about a multi-planet species…He wants to put up to a million colonists in Mars sent to Mars by his rockets financed by a combination of public and private funding, including fusion rockets, ramjet fusion rockets, including anti-matter rockets.”

Echoing many supporters of sending humans to Mars, Kaku supports the use of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology using raw materials and elements that are readily accessible, both in the Martian regolity and in the planetary atmosphere. He also says that self-replicating robots can help with the initial setup before humans go to Mars.

“With one self-replicating robot, you get two, then four, then eight, 16, 32, 64, until you have an army of these robots that can build cities on Mars,” he said.

These cities could be in place before humans actually arrive. The European Space Agency did fund a study on 3D printing a lunar base in 2013 and the below video shows some of the results. Similar use of 3D printing on Mars could accelerate the development of bases and eventual long-term settlements.

“Mars Is Hard”

Those working on robotic exploration missions for Mars have famously said, “Mars is hard.” Several probes have been lost over the years due to programming errors, incorrect commands, or the harsh Martian environment. On the plus side, they have confirmed that settlements on Mars might be possible, if difficult in the environment of Mars, which is frigid and often engulfed in planet-wide dust storms that eliminate solar panels a viable long-term power source.

Settlements on Mars are likely to be a costly and risky venture. One previous attempt to establish a “beachhead” base, Mars One, appears to have run out of money. Elon Musk famously acknowledged the risk of failure: “I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.”

Citing the cost and the risk, some critics have asked why the money couldn’t be used to solve social problems on Earth. Supporters of Musk’s efforts have answered the critics by saying that satellites that have already been launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets can assist with developing a better understanding of climate change, assist disaster relief efforts, and increase opportunities for more people by closing the “digital divide.” The Native American Hoh Tribe, for instance, gained early access to SpaceX’s Starlink and plans to use it to access virtual learning opportunities and telehealth services. SpaceX has also launched the ocean observation satellite Sentinel-6 for the European Space Agency’s Copernicus project.

Musk himself said of the criticism in an appearance at the 2020 Mars Society conference, “This is really about eliminating existential risk for civilization as a whole. … Being confined to Earth until some eventual extinction event is depressing. We need things that make you want to get out of bed in the morning.”

Dr. Michio Kaku seemed to echo the sentiment. Mars might be “hard”, expensive, and risky, but it might be worth it in the long run. Carl Sagan has also famously recorded the below audio message, which resides at the Martian landing site of the 2008 Pheonix lander. Perhaps it will be found by a future crew of astronauts who will lay the groundwork for eventual settlement.

Technology

Elon Musk Becomes World’s Richest Person

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk has surpassed aerospace rival Jeff Bezos to become Earth’s wealthiest person. Musk now has a fortune estimated to be worth $188.5 billion, $1.5 billion more than Bezos.

The increase in Musk’s fortune may primarily be powered by last year’s impressive performance of Tesla stock (ticker symbol: TSLA). TSLA surged by nearly 800% in 2020 and gained a market cap big enough for the stock to be included in the S&P 500 index.

It is unknown if Musk owns any Bitcoin, Dogecoin, or Marscoin despite recent tweets praising cryptocurrency and saying that it will be useful as a medium of exchange in future Mars settlements. Bitcoin currently sits at an all-time high of just over 39,000 and Dogecoin also saw respectable gains after Musk praised the cryptocurrency that started as a joke. Elon Musk was once honorary “CEO of Dogecoin” for a day.

Tighter Regulations, Taxes Still Concerning to Musk

Meanwhile, Amazon’s stock dipped from $3,500 to $3,200 on concerns that incoming president Joe Biden will tighten technology regulations. Technology insiders have often expressed concern that outdated and limiting regulations would cause the United States to lose ground in innovation and competitiveness in relation to the rest of the world.

This has especially been a concern for the state of California. The state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, high taxes and cost of living, and regulatory unfriendliness toward business have caused several entrepreneurs to leave Silicon Valley.

Elon Musk, for instance, recently announced that he is moving to Texas after an especially high-profile battle with state and county officials who forced him to close Tesla’s Gigafactory in Pasadena County. He was already in the process of selling his homes in California as part of his efforts to downsize his personal possessions, including a recent sale of four homes in Bel-Air.

State level officials appear to have backed down and declared the Gigafactory to be an “essential business” that can remain open, although this was not enough to convince Musk to stay. He has already moved his charitable foundation and Tesla headquarters to the more business-friendly state.

Record Year for Tesla, Good Year for SpaceX

TSLA is still on the rise following news that Tesla had a record year for vehicle deliveries. It came just shy of its goal of delivering 500,000 vehicles in 2020 and set a record of 180,570 vehicles delivered in Q4 2020.

SpaceX also had a stellar year with the launch of two Crew Dragons with NASA Commercial Crew astronauts on board. The test flight Demo-2 flew in May 2020 with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board and landed in August. SpaceX and NASA also launched the Crew-1 mission with NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with JAXA’s Soichi Noguchi, in November. Elon Musk was notably absent from the Crew-1 launch due to an inconclusive series of tests that indicated that he may have had COVID-19.

SpaceX is also making progress on the Starlink Internet constellation with nearly 900 satellites in orbit. It is already conducting the “Better than Nothing Beta” and providing Internet access to some populations like the Native American Hoh Tribe and low-income students in a Texas school district. Although it does face some challenges like the high up-front cost of its equipment and a recent regulatory challenge from ViaSat, it is likely to find a market in regions that have suffered from the “digital divide.”

Tesla appears to have contributed more to Musk’s recent gaining of the top slot in Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. It is expected that Bezos and Musk will flip-flop for the top slot for a while until one or the other solidifies his position.

Space

ViaSat Files Environmental Challenge Against Starlink Internet Satellites

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

ViaSat has filed a challenge of Starlink’s Internet satellite constellation with the U.S. Federal Commerce Commission, claiming that the satellites will contribute to the “space junk” problem.

Starwatchers have already claimed that the constellation is already interfering with viewing conditions. Close to 900 of the planned constellation of up to 42,000 satellites have already been launched and starwatchers say that they can sometimes see strings of them moving across the sky.

Some of these satellites may have already malfunctioned, becoming “dead” satellites, in an environment where it is difficult to simply send a repair crew. While some important, usually government-owned hardware such as the iconic Hubble Space Telescope have been repaired and maintained by crewed missions, none of these missions have occurred since NASA’s Space Shuttle program was retired.

This adds to the debris in space that can collide with active satellites and space-based, crewed assets. At speeds that can top 17,000 miles per hour, these collisions can cause a significant amount of damage. The International Space Station has occasionally had to maneuver to avoid collisions with old rocket stages and dead satellites.

(Yes, collisions in space was a major plot element of the movie “Gravity,” in which a scientist became the only survivor of a space shuttle mission that was destroyed by space debris. No, that was not a realistic depiction of the orbital mechanics involved.)

There have been some proposals to “de-orbit” dead satellites, including Elon Musk’s own plan to use the Starship rocket to capture orbital debris. A company called D-Orbit have also proposed equipping satellites with a “retro-rocket” reentry pack that can operate independently of the satellite and slow it down enough for it to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere when its useful life is over.

In 2017, D-Orbit did fly a demo of its reentry system with a CubeSat that flew as a secondary payload on an Indian rocket in 2017. The demonstration was reportedly a success. However, there is very little information on whether this technology will be widely adopted by companies interested in sending satellites into orbit.

Elon Musk was dismissive of the environmental complaint, saying that ViaSat is more concerned by the possibility of competition than by environmental concerns. ViaSat is also interested in operating its own constellation of Internet satellites.

Will ViaSat’s complaint succeed? The FCC has expressed little concern about the thousands of satellites, including many dead ones, that are already in orbit. It may be more interested in merely making sure that the appropriate paperwork is correctly filled out. ViaSat spokesman John Janka did seem to dodge the issue of why it singled out SpaceX and Starlink in particular. He said only:

“There has been strong concerns raised among a wide number of players in the industry this summer about the satellite’s orbital debris, space safety and interference issues. … It is not just SpaceX, these concerns are about mega constellations in general – anyone proposing to send thousands and tens of thousands of satellites into orbit.”

Which may lend credence to Musk’s complaint that ViaSat is more worried about the competition than it is about the space debris problem. Either way, it may be little more than another regulatory bump in the road for SpaceX and Starlink.

Technology

Tesla Delivers Just Short of 500,000 Cars in 2020

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla has fallen short of its goal of delivering 500,000 cars in 2020 by only 450 vehicles. With 499,550 cars delivered, it has still set a record for manufacturers of electric vehicles in the number of vehicles delivered.

Tesla delivered 180,570 vehicles in Q4 2020, setting a personal quarterly record and beating even Wall Street’s expectations. Investors bet on Tesla delivering at least 174,000 vehicles in Q4 and that bet has paid off.

This year, Tesla stock (ticker symbol TSLA) surged by 743%, ending the year with a market cap of $669 billion. This was good enough for TSLA to be included in the S&P 500 index. It finished sixth in market cap for the year, beaten only by the large tech sector companies Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (the parent company of Google), and Facebook.

Surviving a Challenging 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic does not seem to have hurt Tesla very much despite Musk’s battle with the state of California’s response to COVID-19 that led to him moving Tesla’s headquarters to Texas. On the one hand, California has moved to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and Californians who buy a new electric vehicle may qualify for tax credits and rebates like an up to $1,500 rebate being offered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

On the other, Pasadena County officials forced Tesla to temporarily suspend operations at the Gigafactory in the county until Musk stood up to them, threatening a lawsuit and a permanent closing of the factory, which would have cost the county 10,000 jobs. California has now declared Tesla an “essential business” that can remain open. This move may have made it possible for Tesla to roll on to a record-setting quarter and year for electric vehicle manufacturing and deliveries.

Tesla vehicles have sold especially well in Germany despite curveballs like the water being turned off due to an unpaid bill at Gigafactory Berlin, which is currently under construction. The Gigafactory is also facing legal challenges from German environmentalist groups that allege that Tesla has not addressed concerns about an endangered snake in the area.

Tesla is also being plagued by accusations of unsafe and unreliable vehicles. It has had to recall several thousand vehicles due to issues with the roofs or an unsecured bolt in the suspension. A separate recall in China was also sparked by issues with the suspension. Tesla is currently fighting a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that it has ignored or attempted to downplay safety issues. Consumer Reports has downgraded some Tesla models in its annual Auto Reliability Report due to these issues.

Progress Made in 2020

None of this appears to have hurt sales, however. On the plus side, Tesla is expanding its network of Superchargers in areas where its vehicles see strong sales. Some of them, like an installment of 20 Superchargers at a Fastned station in Düsseldorf, Germany, are completely solar powered. (Be sure to grab a snack and a drink at Fastned partner Seed & Greet Bakery while you wait for your car to charge.)

Tesla is currently considering a new Gigafactory somewhere in the United States, currently discussing expansion to India, and has expanded its renewable energy operations with a new UK Energy Plan.

Model 3 and Model Y vehicles seem to have been the big sellers for Tesla, with a combined total deliveries of 442,511 of these vehicles in the past year and 161,650 delivered in the fourth quarter. Tesla delivered 57,039 Model S and Model X vehicles in 2020 and 18,920 of them for the fourth quarter. Although Musk has floated the idea of a merger with another automaker (and, yes, said that Apple turned him down flat when he tried to sell in 2017) and also said that taking Tesla private would be “impossible,” Tesla has had an excellent year.

Technology

Elon Musk Sells Bel-Air Homes to Real Estate Developer

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In the wake of Musk’s announcement that he is leaving California in favor of Texas, he has reportedly closed a deal to sell four adjacent homes in a cul-de-sac in Bel-Air for a total of about $62 million. The buyer is a real estate developer named Ardie Tavangarian.

Although he has now officially cut as many ties to California as possible, Elon Musk has been interested in selling his personal property since at least May, when he announced that he was selling his houses. “I don’t need the cash. Possessions just weigh you down,” he said in a tweet.

He previously sold an estate that was once owned by the actor Gene Wilder to a business managed by the wife of Wilder’s nephew and another Bel-Air property to Chinese billionaire William Ding. He did express concern about the historical value of the Wilder home while making his announcement:

His girlfriend, a musician called Grimes, was reportedly annoyed with his decision, however — probably understandable, considering that the couple have recently welcomed a new baby boy. Grimes owns a home in Pasadena and Musk has not yet sold a home in Hillsborough.

Musk is currently looking for a place to rent in Texas and recently toured a mansion that can be rented for $350,000 a month. He has cited Californian policies that include high taxes and a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that he called “fascist” and un-American as his reasons for leaving California in favor of Texas. Although he did not seem worried about Tesla’s ability to survive the response, he said that many businesses and individuals likely would not. He said of it in a Tesla earnings call in early 2020:

“If somebody wants to stay in their house, that’s great and they should be able to. But to say they cannot leave their house and that they will be arrested if they do, that’s fascist. That is not democratic — this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom.”

Although he is not the only wealthy entrepreneur to leave California due to policies that are unfriendly toward businesses like Tesla, COVID-19 was the cause of an especially high-profile fight between Musk and county and state officials over the forced closure of his factory, though the state appears to have backed down by declaring the Pasadena Gigafactory an “essential” business. The fight has cost one Pasadena official his job and the state may have been worried about losing the tax revenue and the 10,000 jobs at the Gigafactory. During the course of the fight, he moved Tesla headquarters and his charitable foundation out of California in favor of the more business-friendly Texas.

The parties in the $62 million transaction have been in talks since July and the deal closed earlier this week. Tavangarian said that he plans to combine the four properties into a single project. However, he has not yet released details on what that project will be.

Space

SpaceX to Attempt to Land Super Heavy Rocket at Launch Tower

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX will attempt to recover a Super Heavy rocket by catching it with the launch tower. Although barge landings have become almost routine for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, the landing of a rocket at the same launch tower that it launched from would be a first for any aerospace company.

As the test of the Starship rocket prototype SN8 so explosively demonstrated earlier this month, SpaceX might be able to make rocket landings look routine, but it is nowhere near easy. This is especially true for its as-yet-experimental heavier models such as the Starship and Super Heavy. Even with the explosion, the test was considered a mostly successful one because engineers got all the data they needed to refine the planned operational version of Starship.

The planned Super Heavy landing test will feature the rocket making a controlled descent using its own propulsion. It will require the use of the arm used to stabilize the rocket at the launch tower before launch. The Falcon 9 can land on the “legs” of its landing gear, but the Super Heavy will not have “legs”.

The benefit to SpaceX is that this could theoretically reduce the turnaround time between launches. SpaceX has become especially known for reusing its rocket stages, which brings down the cost of each launch. However, the process is slowed down by having to bring the stages back on its drone barges and refurbish them before they can be rolled out to the launchpad again.

Musk says that landing them directly at the launch tower could reduce that turnaround time to as little as “under an hour.” This may seem ambitious, considering that the rocket will still have to be checked over before it can safely fly again. A Twitter user going by the name of “Viv” teased him for his ambitions, saying that he was playing a real-world version of the popular space program simulator Kerbal Space Program. Such ambitions are typical for Elon Musk, however.

Musk recently said that he could start sending Starship spacecraft on Mars as early as 2024. According to Elon Musk, one of the biggest limiting factors is that an optimal launch window for sending spacecraft to Mars only opens up once every 26 months. In the last launch window in July 2020, NASA launched the Perseverance rover, which will land on Mars in early 2021.

Such a low turnaround may mean that Musk can speed up his plans for Mars. One viable plan for sending crews and eventual settlers to Mars, known as Mars Direct, would send all of the hardware to Mars before crews actually arrive. Based on comments made by Mars Direct creator and Mars Society president Robert Zubrin, Mars Direct eliminates the need for “way stations” in space like NASA’s Lunar Orbit Gateway partly by making use of in-situ resources utilization to make rocket fuel, drinking water, and oxygen to breathe using elements that are readily available on Mars.

The low turnaround of reusable heavy-duty rockets like the Super Heavy means that the hardware can be sent using fewer rockets and in less time than even the Mars Direct plan would call for. The highly reusable nature of SpaceX’s rockets could be combined with the fast turnaround to save on costs, which would be a major plus for any serious effort to reach other worlds like Mars. Although Musk did say in 2019 that building a sustainable city on Mars would take “1,000 Starships and 20 years“, he may now be interested in bringing those figures down if possible.

The odds that SpaceX can actually land a Super Heavy rocket at the launch tower on the first attempt may be slim. As the explosion of SN8 so dramatically reminded viewers, sometimes things do go boom. However, if SpaceX can get it to work, this will be beneficial for making maximum use of launch windows that only open once every couple of years.

Technology

Starlink Beta Testers Report Fast Speeds, Good Performance in Harsh Weather

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Starlink’s “Better Than Nothing Beta” testers have reported speeds of nearly 210 Mbps in good weather and some have reported that they can get 175 Mbps in winter weather conditions that can be hard on electronics. SpaceX’s Starlink currently has nearly 900 satellites in orbit out of a planned constellation of up to 42,000 satellites that will be able to deliver high-speed Internet service for nearly the entire planet when fully deployed.

The information was shared in Reddit’s Starlink community. One beta tester in New York said he could get 209.17 Mbps. Another said he did a download speed test that got 215 Mbps. For reference, speed test service Ookla says that one reported download speed of 161.35 Mbps and upload speed of 23.23 Mbps is faster than 95% of households get. Results can vary, of course; Reddit members have compiled a chart that shows a variety of results on Speedtest.net.

Some beta testers reported that they got good results even in frigid and snowy conditions that would normally be difficult on the hardware that makes it possible to get a signal from orbit. They reported speeds of up to 175 Mbps even when their terminals should have been covered with snow and were exposed to high winds. One of them even survived a leaf blower that could blow air at up to 175 miles per hour.

Some Redditors did post pictures of their terminals and screenshots of their speed test results, saying things like, “First heavy snow, no problem,” and “Dishy is handling a snowstorm pretty well.” Those posters saw speeds of 150 Mbps and 133 Mbps, respectively.

The connection only began to slow down when the snow got especially heavy. One user reported, “I’ve still been averaging around 100 [Mbps] download and 15 [Mbps] upload,” when a snowstorm dumped three inches of snow on their terminal.

The better performance in snowy weather is apparently made possible by a recent software update that includes a “Snow Melt Mode”. This mode can help keep the hardware warm enough to function even when it gets snowed on. This allows the hardware to function in its promised temperature range of -30 to +40 degrees Celsius. SpaceX plans to refine the Snow Melt Mode in future software updates.

Snow Melt Mode in Action

Users generally agreed that, even with the snow and incomplete constellation, Starlink’s beta test showed that it could genuinely be “better than nothing.” Traditional Internet service providers often do not invest heavily in regions that are sparsely populated or have a low median income. Even when they do, the service is often high priced and slow.

Starlink has already been praised for its potential to close the “digital divide” for people who have lacked reliable Internet access. Besides the official beta testing, Starlink is also working with local communities to bring Internet access to Native American tribes like Washington State’s Hoh Tribe and low-income students in a Texas school district.

“It’s going to be a dream for those folks in the middle of nowhere that don’t currently have any options,” said one user.

Even with their better performance in poor weather, Starlink engineers said that the terminals could be damaged by severe weather events like tropical storms and tornadoes. In a recent Reddit “Ask Me Anything,” they advised bringing the terminals in if their owners were concerned about weather damage.

Technology

Tesla Signs Five-Year Deal With Chinese Company to Supply Lithium

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla has signed a five-year lithium supply deal with the Chinese company Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group that will go into effect in 2021. The deal could be worth between US$680 million and $880 million and provide up to 88,000 tonnes of lithium over the course of the contract, according to filings by Sichuan Yahua.

Lithium is a critical element for Tesla’s automobile batteries. The company probably goes through a lot of it, considering that analysts predict that Tesla will deliver as many as 181,500 vehicles in Q4 2020 alone. This is up from the original prediction of 156,500.

Tesla is currently working on increasing its production capacity with Gigafactories being constructed in Texas and Germany, although plans for Gigafactory Berlin is likely to be hampered by a recent ruling on a lawsuit brought by German-based environmentalist groups. It is also working on expanding into new markets like India, where tariffs have been prohibitively high for importing new vehicles.

Tesla is already delivering Model X and Model Y vehicles from its Gigafactory in Shanghai. Some observers have expressed concern that Tesla’s supply chain, which includes a deal with Ganfeng Lithium along with the new deal with Sichuan Yahua, may support human rights abuses in China that include forced labor. There has especially been a rise in awareness of Chinese mistreatment of Uighur Muslims, including forcing them into concentration camps that include factories where they make products for export to other countries.

Tesla has not yet issued a statement on the forced labor issue, although it is unlikely that forced labor is happening in its actual Gigafactory in Shanghai. Despite Tesla’s efforts to source metals in more human rights-friendly regions like North America, it may not have much choice in some cases, as Chinese mining companies are the largest producers of lithium.

“China is going to be very important for Tesla in the next five years, as more than half of Tesla models in 2021 will be made in China,” said car news site Torque News.

What can be done about it? Perhaps completion of Gigafactories in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere will help to reduce the issue. Musk has also indicated interest in gaining better control over the supply chain, including floating the idea of having Tesla do some of the mining for its own raw materials in places like Texas.

So far, Elon Musk has not indicated that any of his companies are interested in getting into the space mining business no matter how many quadrillion dollar asteroids might be out there. Space mining companies do exist, but a few have gone bankrupt and none have actually managed to reach an asteroid yet. It may be worth developing sources of lithium outside of China despite inevitable complaints from environmentalists about how badly mining companies can tear up the landscape.

So for now, Tesla has to make do with deals with Earthbound, and often Chinese-based, lithium mining companies like Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group to get essential metals for its batteries.

Space

SpaceX Pursuing Regulatory Approval to Launch Starship Rocket in Texas

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The FAA is currently seeking public comment for SpaceX’s filing for approval to launch the Starship rocket in Texas. If approved, SpaceX could begin flying its Starship and a two-stage variant known as the Starship Super Heavy from its facility under construction in Boca Chica.

“SpaceX proposes to conduct Starship/Super Heavy launch operations from the Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas. The proposed operations would include suborbital launches and/or orbital launches,” says an official statement on the FAA website. The filing also covers “tank tests, static fire engine tests, expansion of the vertical launch area (VLA) and solar farm, and construction of additional infrastructure.”

It may be some time before Starship becomes operational, partly due to delays in its development. Most recently, the Starship prototype SN8 exploded upon landing during a launch test that SpaceX considers mostly successful. Tests for the Starship rocket will continue with the already-built SN9 and SN10.

SpaceX may simply be accounting for the plodding pace of regulatory bureaucrats with its seemingly early filing.

Musk has previously expressed frustration with the slow progress of Canada’s consideration of Starlink’s Internet service. Canadian regulators have approved the delivery of Starlink’s service, but due to bureaucratic slowdowns, have not yet approved the establishment of ground stations.

This limits the operation of Starlink to the very southern part of Canada and leaves out Canadians living farther north, in less populous regions that traditional Internet service providers may not have bothered investing in. This has caused complaints not only from SpaceX personnel, but also Canadians who would benefit the most from access to faster satellite Internet like what Starlink could deliver once its constellation is complete.

As far as Starship is concerned, the process may be especially held up by the FAA’s requirement of an environmental assessment that will determine the impact of SpaceX’s plans on the local environment. Such a thing may not be one of Musk’s strong points, considering that a German court has recently ruled against Tesla in a case brought by environmentalists that will impact Tesla’s plans for Gigafactory Berlin. The ruling was partly due to Tesla’s failure to file paperwork detailing plans to mitigate its environmental impact on the region.

Once it does become operational, Starship will be capable of anything from point-to-point flights on Earth to launching payloads to other worlds like the Moon and Mars. Starship is especially in the running for NASA’s plans to return to crewed lunar flights with its Artemis program. A variant of Starship will be capable of vertical landings on the Moon and relaunching from the lunar surface.

Musk has indicated that Starship could technically begin flying to Mars in as little as four years, which aerospace insiders have called amazingly ambitious. Such ambitions are typical for Musk, who is especially well-known for presenting nearly impossible timelines that end up slipping.

In the meantime, Musk plans to begin testing for the Super Heavy in as little as “a few months.” Like the Starship, this will begin with low-altitude “hop” tests that are likely to go up to a few hundred meters. If approved by the FAA, the tests could make use of both of SpaceX’s launchpads in Boca Chica.

The public can email comments on SpaceX’s plans to the FAA by January 22, 2021. Even with the slowness of the process, it is unlikely that FAA bureaucrats will read every single comment and may skip over ones that are irrelevant to the actual approval of SpaceX’s plans to launch Starship and Super Heavy rockets at its facility in Boca Chica.

Technology

Elon Musk Says Taking Tesla Private “Impossible”, Talks Possible Starlink IPO

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In response to a tweet by Dave Lee (@heydave7), a Tesla stakeholder and owner of a YouTube channel on investing, Elon Musk mentioned that, as much as he might like to, taking Tesla private would be “impossible”. In his comments, he said that he would like to spend more time on innovation rather than capital allocation, which is apparently difficult when stockholders who care about quarterly reports are involved.

Elon Musk was likely referring to how much he would have to spend to take Tesla private. Such a task would likely have been a challenge even for Musk, who recently passed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to become the second wealthiest person on Earth. Tesla stock has rallied by more than eight times its January market cap and was recently listed in the S&P 500 index.

Despite his apparent dislike of running a publicly traded company, Musk may also be considering an initial public offering (IPO) for SpaceX’s Starlink once its earnings become more predictable. Although other satellite Internet providers do exist, Musk does not seem interested in competing with them and has set the goal of competing with “traditional,” land-based Internet service providers instead. Starlink has recently received FCC approval to bid on broadband services and licenses to operate in Canada and Australia. Competing with land-based ISPs on a serious level would require low latency and high speeds that are impossible with geosynchronous satellites, so its satellites have regulatory approval for a low-Earth orbit instead.

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell confirmed that its leadership is definitely considering it at an investor event:

“Right now, we are a private company, but Starlink is the right kind of business that we can go ahead and take public.”

Starlink will be able to deliver Internet connectivity to most places on Earth once its full constellation is deployed, even regions that have previously been neglected by traditional ISPs. Starlink already has more than 800 satellites in orbit and is currently in its public beta phase.

An IPO may make it possible to raise the funds needed to bring that number of satellites up to the 42,000 that Starlink has planned and slice through some of the regulatory red tape required to bring more reliable Internet service to regions that have been hurt by the “digital divide” that makes it difficult for them to access online services like virtual learning and telehealth.

Washington State’s Hoh Tribe and some low-income students at a Texas school district have gotten boosts by being able to gain early access to Starlink, for instance. So there does appear to be an untapped market for fast satellite Internet like Starlink’s, which may be attractive to investors if and when it opens an IPO.

Which may take some time, especially since Elon Musk seems to regret doing the same for Tesla, which may explain why he has made noise about a possible merger with another automaker and mentioned that Apple could have bought Tesla at one point when Tesla was nearly broke. However, he does seem to realize that the bird has flown on that one.

Technology

Elon Musk Expresses Curiosity About Bitcoin Transactions, Plugs Dogecoin

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk expressed curiosity about large transactions in Bitcoin after a cryptocurrency industry insider suggested that he convert Tesla’s balance sheet into Bitcoin. Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor suggested to Musk that he would be doing Tesla shareholders a “$100 billion favor” by doing so in a Twitter exchange between him and Musk.

“Other firms on the S&P 500 would follow your lead and in time it would grow to become a $1 trillion favor,” Saylor said in a tweet, referencing Tesla’s recent inclusion in the S&P 500 stock index.

The first and dominant cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, recently reached an all-time high of $24,000 per bitcoin. Saylor recommended it for large transactions, saying that he has purchased $1.3 billion worth of bitcoin.

Bitcoin has, however, been recently criticized for being unsuitable for small transactions due to high transaction fees. Musk has been one of the voices that criticized Bitcoin, especially after his followers became the victims of a scam that involved the hacking of his Twitter account and numerous fake accounts. As recently as Sunday, he dismissed Bitcoin as nearly useless.

This has caused several cryptocurrency insiders to jump over to alternative cryptocurrencies, or “altcoins”, that could process transactions in larger batches called “blocks” with faster processing times. Cryptocurrencies still has a long way to go before they can seriously compete with credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard on transaction throughput, but a few altcoins can process most of their transactions in less than a minute with fees per transaction amounting to less than half a cent.

Bitcoin Cash, for instance, has been added to BitPay, likely due to the influence of venture capitalist Roger Ver, a big name in the cryptocurrency world who owns a stake in the company. It should be noted, however, that Bitcoin Cash is incompatible with Bitcoin. Units of Bitcoin Cash sent to a Bitcoin address will never arrive at its intended destination.

Elon Musk himself has joked around with Dogecoin community members, even becoming the “CEO of Dogecoin” for a day — something that seems to have recently returned to his Twitter profile. He seems to recognize that Dogecoin is a more fun-oriented cryptocurrency, even sending its value soaring by 20 percent by tweeting, “One word: Doge.” Besides being inspired by the popular Doge meme, Dogecoin is especially known for its support for sports, including sponsoring a racecar, raising money for Indian Olympians, and sending a Jamaican bobsled team to the Olympics.

Bitcoin insiders who want a more modest Tesla instead of their often wished-for Lamborghini vehicles may keep their fingers crossed that Musk will eventually accept cryptocurrency as payment. If he does, he may be wise to “hodl” — a cryptocurrency slang term that has been said to stand for “hold on for dear life” by observers who have seen that Bitcoin’s value is even more volatile than Tesla stock. However, considering Musk’s recent criticism of Bitcoin, it may be unlikely that he will put enough money into the cryptocurrency to get a $100 billion payoff for Tesla’s stockholders.

Technology

Elon Musk Says Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Subscriptions Could Become Available in 2021

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk has tweeted that monthly subscriptions for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software could become available in early 2021. Earlier this year, Musk had floated subscriptions as an option for people who didn’t want to pay the $10,000 up-front price for the software.

This could make Full Self-Driving more popular with people who are leasing Tesla vehicles rather than buying them outright. Musk did say that buying the software might be better in the long run for people who intend to keep their vehicles for a long time.

“I should say, it will still make sense to buy FSD as an option as in our view, buying FSD is an investment in the future,” Musk told investors in a quarterly earnings call earlier this year.

On the flip side, Musk has mentioned that the upfront price of FSD could go up to $100,000 — way more than most consumers can afford. This may make subscriptions the only option for Tesla buyers who want to thumb through the news on their tablets while their vehicle handles the driving.

FSD is currently still in its early beta phase. Recently added features include the ability to handle speed bumps and a brand-new augmented reality view that can provide important information to owners without them having to look down at their dashboard. It already has a proven capacity to handle most city driving, including traffic lights, turns, and roundabouts.

Tesla still recommends not getting complacent, as it is still possible for the FSD to encounter a condition that it isn’t yet equipped to handle. Some Tesla vehicles with FSD have been involved in wrecks, though the majority of them were not the fault of the software. On the bright side, as the below video shows, the FSD can already handle an encounter with a deer.

However, it may not yet be able to handle the unpredictability of human drivers. Human error is still a factor in the vast majority of vehicle wrecks and other vehicles don’t yet have a version of FSD. Musk expects that such wrecks will be much reduced once software like FSD becomes more fully developed and self-driving cars start to become the norm.

Once FSD is fully mature, though, it is expected to be able to handle most situations on the road, ranging from possible wrecks to poor weather and slick conditions on the road. Its AI already has access to billions of miles’ worth of driving data and its cameras have already doubled as security cameras that could help prevent theft — a possible concern, considering that security researchers have recently discovered a security hole related to the key fob. Tesla says it released a patch for the security flaw in a recent software update.

“We are confident that it is an investment that will pay off to the consumer — to the benefit of the consumer. In my opinion, buying FSD option is something people will not regret doing,” he told investors.

FSD is also critical for Musk’s plans for a Robotaxi service that will bank on the “ride sharing” market. Such a thing may be worth billions of dollars a year to Tesla and its vehicle owners, though one could imagine the surprise of owners whose vehicles pull out of the driveway for the first time to pick up someone who called for a ride. (Good case for checking settings on your Tesla’s software when you buy!) Once Tesla owners warm up to the idea, the money they earn from the Robotaxi program could become part of Musk’s referenced “payoff”.

If you are considering buying a Tesla in 2021, how much would you be willing to pay in subscription fees for Tesla’s FSD software? Considering that Tesla may hike the price of its software in the future, it makes sense to get in on it early, especially if you consider the subscription to be a “try before you buy” thing.

Technology

Court Rules Against Tesla in Case Filed By Environmentalists in Germany

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In a setback for Tesla’s plans for Gigafactory Berlin, a top German court has ruled that Tesla must halt the clearing of trees in a habitat for endangered species of smooth snakes and sand lizards. The top administrative court in the Berlin-Brandenburg region ruled that Tesla did not have adequate plans to relocate the snakes.

This upholds a temporary ban on clearing the trees that would have lasted until the court could make a ruling. The decision says that the fringes of the area might not have been adequately cleared of snakes. Tesla has also failed to file required paperwork detailing plans to fund possible environmental restoration projects.

Tesla has indicated that the factory could be operational as early as the summer of 2021. It may face delays, however, due to a series of issues such as the water having been temporarily shut off due to an unpaid water bill. The neglect of the water bill may have been part of a larger issue that caused Tesla to replace the factory manager with a former Mercedes-Benz factory manager — a move that has sparked an exceptionally strong reaction from a prominent German automakers’ union. Like many of the ambitious timelines set by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the completion of the Gigafactory could have been delayed even without the court ruling.

When completed, the Gigafactory could make up to 150,000 electric vehicles per year, with plans to ramp it up to 500,000 vehicles annually. As planned, the Gigafactory will employ 10,000 people in the Berlin region. It had planned to place a logistics facility in the area affected by the court’s ruling.

The case had been brought by the environmentalist groups Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and Gruene Liga. Although Tesla said that it had already relocated numerous snakes and lizards found in the area, the environmentalist groups argued that it didn’t go far enough in its efforts to locate affected animals that might be hibernating. Such a thing would have put Tesla in violation of Germany’s Federal Nature Conservation Act, which bars killing “strictly protected species.”

Tesla has not yet issues an official statement on the ruling or announced any plans to relocate its logistics facility in the wake of the ruling. Neither has Elon Musk commented on the issue, even in tweets in which he often reacts to or announces important news regarding his companies.

However, the court has also ruled that construction on the rest of the Gigafactory can continue as planned because the remaining area had been adequately cleared. This could be seen as a partial victory for Tesla’s ambitious plans for the Gigafactory and an expanded presence in Europe’s electric vehicle market.

Space

Elon Musk Denies Reports of Increased Valuation for SpaceX

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk has denied reports on Business Insider and Teslarati that SpaceX is considering a new funding round with a valuation of $92 billion in a tweet replying to Teslarati. SpaceX closed a fundraise of $1.6 billion with a valuation of $46 billion in August, added new launch contracts to its roster, and completed 25 successful launches this year. So it is unlikely to be hurting for cash so soon after its most recent funding round.

Highlights of SpaceX’s year include a successful crewed Demo-2 mission that came down in the Gulf of Mexico in May and the launch of the Crew-1 mission in November. Both missions ferried astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil for the first time since the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle.

These launches were covered by NASA’s Commercial Crew program and will continue starting in 2021 under an ongoing contract to send crews to the space station. SpaceX also recently scored a $53 million contract from NASA for an orbital refueling test that is likely to look similar to the midair refueling capacities of military airplanes. It is also currently working on a $149 million custom satellite for the Department of Defense’s Space Development Agency. Government agencies especially like the reusable nature of the Falcon 9 to save taxpayer dollars while launching satellites and have approved the use of previously flown boosters for the launch of some hardware like GPS satellites.

SpaceX also has plans to launch privately funded crewed missions, including one that will be commanded by retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and is backed by Axiom Space. This mission is currently aiming for a late 2021 launch date.

The launches for 2020 also included several satellites, including an ocean observation satellite named Sentinel-6 and hundreds of Starlink satellites. Starlink’s Internet service is currently going through public beta testing and already helping populations who have been held back by lack of reliable Internet service. With new licenses to operate in Australia and the southern part of Canada, plus authorization from the United States’ FCC to bid for the development of broadband service, Starlink is likely to become one of SpaceX’s most popular products even with people who have not thought much about space satellites.

The company did lose SN8, a prototype for its Starship test, in an ambitious launch test. Despite some claims that the test was a failure due to the explosion upon landing, SpaceX engineers say they got all the data they needed from the test. SpaceX already has the similar prototypes SN9 and SN10 ready for testing, although SN9 was reportedly looking a little tipsy.

Despite the loss of SN8, though, the successful year and most recent funding round means that SpaceX is unlikely to need any further fundraising anytime soon. Elon Musk has not yet clarified what he meant by the tweet, “This is incorrect.”

This comment doesn’t take the possibility of future funding rounds off the table. It may simply mean that Business Insider’s writing staff made errors while trying to push news out quickly. Musk has not yet commented on which part of the theoretical new funding round with a valuation of $92 billion was inaccurate.

Musk may simply not want to hurt any possible negotiations with investors by giving the impression that SpaceX is desperate enough to pursue new funding so soon after its August funding round. Or he may mean that SpaceX’s stellar 2020 and setup for a possibly even better 2021 means that it is pushing past the point where it needs frequent influxes of cash from investors.

Indonesia Invites SpaceX to Establish Launch Site in Country

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Indonesian president Joko Widodo has reportedly invited SpaceX chief Elon Musk to establish a launch site in the southeast Asian country in a phone call. The country had previously announced plans to establish a spaceport on the island of Riak and having an up-and-coming aerospace country take advantage of the spaceport would be a major boost to Indonesia’s fledgling space industry.

Indonesia is currently courting several possible partners for the spaceport, although information on who may have committed is somewhat scanty. However, the country may be attractive to international aerospace companies and businesses like SiriusXM and DISH Network, whose services depend on satellites, who are interested in reducing launch costs.

SiriusXM recently used one of SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets to launch a new radio satellite, a move that likely saved the company millions of dollars besides the environmental friendliness of not disposing of the entire rocket into the ocean with every launch. Indonesia may be banking on the idea that SpaceX and its customers would like to bring down costs still further.

Several of Indonesia’s islands are located close to the equator, which could save costs for placing equatorial satellites in orbit because they could use less fuel to maneuver to their final orbital planes. The United States has also traditionally placed its launch centers as close to the equator as possible to take advantage of the free speed boost provided by the planet’s faster rotational speed close to the equator.

Widodo has also discussed possible investment opportunities in Indonesia for Tesla. Indonesia has a large reserve of nickel, which is an important metal for Tesla’s batteries. Musk is considering a visit to the country for possible future discussions for the future of both Tesla and SpaceX in the country, with details like dates for the visit and the agenda still to be determined. The Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment said in a statement:

“Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo by planning to send his team to Indonesia in January 2021 to explore all the opportunities for this collaboration.”

Although Tesla already has deals with Canadian companies to provide nickel, it is also aggressively expanding its manufacturing capacity with Gigafactories being built in Germany and Texas. It has also acquired stakes in battery manufacturers that serve automakers such as German ATW Automation and LG Energy Solution. It may be looking to diversify its sources of nickel in order to better supply its battery manufacturing.

Would Elon Musk be interested in placing a launch site in Indonesia? It remains to be seen, but having a launch site that close to the equator may be beneficial to SpaceX’s push to bring launch costs down. The ability to reliably reuse rockets has already made it very competitive among companies that depend on satellites as part of their business models. Saving on fuel for placing satellites in an equatorial orbit may make it even more attractive.

Space

SpaceX Successfully Launches SiriusXM Radio Satellite

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX has successfully launched a new radio satellite for the subscription radio services SiriusXM. The December 13 launch marks the seventh launch for this particular Falcon 9 rocket and SpaceX’s 25th launch of the Falcon 9 for the year.

The rocket’s first stage landed on the drone barge “Just Read the Instructions” in a move that has become almost routine for SpaceX’s Falcon 9. (Landing a Starship is an entirely different matter, apparently, although SpaceX officials have called the test of the SN8 prototype a mostly successful one.) SpaceX has not yet announced whether it will use the stage for an eighth time.

The new satellite is an update for SiriusXM-7 (SXM-7). SXM-7 and its sister satellite, SXM-8, will replace the XM-3 and XM-4 crafts that were launched in 2005 and 2006. SiriusXM ordered the satellites in 2016 and they were built by MAXAR Technologies (formerly Space System/Loral) around the SSL-1300 satellite bus. They will operate on the S-band spectrum with a massive unfurlable antenna reflector that will enable receipt of the signal without a dish-type antenna.

SXM-8 will be sent into orbit in a future launch slated for early 2021. Once in orbit, the satellites are expected to be operational for up to 15 years.

Although the launch had been aborted on December 11, the December 13 launch went off without any hitches. It marked the 102nd operational flight of the Falcon 9 model. With this launch, the Falcon 9 showed off its ability to launch heavy satellites into a geostationary orbit. The SXM-7 satellite has a mass of about 7,000 kilograms — the heaviest of any geostationary satellite.

Next up on the launch schedule is the classified NROL-108 mission, which is set to launch from Pad LC-39A at Florida’s Space Coast on December 17. After that, the launch schedule includes a launch for NROL and Turksat 5B on December 31. The Turksat mission is apparently a controversial one due to accusations that it could be used to target Armenian civilians with weaponized drones in an ongoing dispute between Turkey and Armenia. The satellite is privately owned, but its capacity could be leased to the Turkish government. Protests have failed to convince SpaceX to renege on the contract, however.

These launches will cap a successful year for SpaceX, with highlights that include the launches of the crewed Demo-2 and Crew-1 Crew Dragons to the International Space Station for NASA. SpaceX was the first aerospace company to launch actual crews under NASA’s Commercial Crew program. With these successes, SpaceX may also start launching privately funded missions, including a future one that will be commanded by retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria.

The launch of the next SiriusXM satellite, SXM-8, is scheduled to occur on January 30. In the meantime, SXM-7 is currently on its way to its final destination in a geostationary orbit.

Technology

Tesla Considers $5 Billion Sale of Stock Amid Challenges for German Gigafactory

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk has announced plans to sell $5 billion in shares amid ongoing challenges for the Gigafactory being constructed near Berlin. The challenges now appear to include a legal fight over endangered snakes near the location of the Gigafactory.

This will be the second sale of shares in recent months, which may raise concerns that Tesla is expanding too fast and running out of cash. This would not be the first time that Tesla has run into financial problems. It was previously almost bankrupt due to difficulties with manufacturing the Model 3, which largely seem to be ironed out now.

Profitability is not likely to be an issue in the near term, however. Tesla reportedly posted a fifth consecutive quarter of profitability with $331 million in profits in the third quarter of 2020. It has especially earned $397 million by selling electric car credits to other producers, as required by environmental and fuel economy regulations.

The shares will be sold through up to ten brokerages, each of which make a commission of 0.25%. Musk may be capitalizing on the 600% gain made by Tesla stock this year. This indicates that investors are enthusiastic about the idea of electric cars and confident in Musk’s ability to turn his businesses around despite challenges that include reports of faulty on-board computer systems and recalls due to faulty suspensions. Consumer Reports has downgraded some Tesla models in its annual Auto Reliability Report due to these reported issues.

Tesla may need the money to finance Gigafactory Berlin, which is reportedly being challenged by environmentalist groups who say that construction-related activity is affecting the habitat of an endangered snake. Earlier this week, a court called for a pause on clearing trees in the snakes’ habitat until it could make a ruling. Most recently, it ruled that Tesla’s efforts to capture and relocate snakes in the area were sufficient and clearing could continue. Tesla plans to put the Gigafactory’s logistics facility in the area impacted by the court challenge.

Tesla is also forging ahead with its plans for the Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, and is likely to be spurred along by Elon Musk’s decision to move from California to Texas. Musk cites California’s response to COVID-19, which he and other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and professionals have criticized as overly restrictive, as a major reason for the move.

Tesla may also use part of the money to further plans for its semi and tow trucks. Part of its profits are likely to be from pre-orders of its truck lines, which includes Walmart Canada’s recent tripling of its order of electric semi trucks as part of its efforts to be net carbon neutral within the next few years. Although some pundits say that there will be a limit on how far companies like Tesla can push the range of battery-powered semi trucks, Walmart Canada says that the current range rating will be sufficient for the majority of its truck hauls, which usually last less than a day.

Investors may also be attracted by expansions of its product lines into new markets, such as Tesla’s announcement of its new UK energy plan and plans to sell cars in India. Tesla had previously avoided India due to high tariffs, but may eventually build a factory in the country.

In the meantime, Tesla can use for the $5 billion that it plans to raise through its latest stock offering for its aggressive expansions, including the German Gigafactory now that it has been given the go-ahead by German courts.

Space

SpaceX Loses Starship Prototype SN8 in Test

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX has lost the prototype for its Starship rocket designated SN8 in a test on December 9. The launch appeared largely nominal until the end of its attempted landing, in which it exploded upon touching ground.

A Mostly Successful Test

The test had been auto-aborted by a faulty Raptor rocket on December 8, which led to the flight being rescheduled for December 9. The engineers had thought that they had the issue sorted.

Despite some observers saying that the test was a failure due to the explosion, it appeared to be mostly successful and reached its target altitude of about 12.5 kilometers despite losing two of its three engines during ascent. The testing team said that it got “all the data we need” during the test.

This was the most ambitious test of the Starship rocket yet and even the usually optimistic Elon Musk gave it only a one in three chance of going off perfectly. Previous test launches were primarily tests of components of the planned Starship design that reached a maximum altitude of 150 meters. This was the first nearly-complete mockup test of Starship that included the nose cone and fins.

SpaceX will likely conduct analysis of the wreckage to see if it can pick up clues as to why the rocket failed to slow down enough for a safe landing. Some of it might have been the laws of physics, as the rocket did go through a horizontal free-fall for a few minutes while descending and the remaining rocket might not have been powerful enough to slow it down.

The good part is that SpaceX still has two similar Starship prototypes, SN9 and SN10, which will likely go through similar tests as the company again attempts to master landings with a new type of rocket. SpaceX has experienced similar difficulties with early versions of the Falcon 9 rocket.

Ambitious Plans for Starship

SpaceX likely has a few mishaps like the failed landing built into its testing timeline despite Elon Musk’s ambitious timeline that could see uncrewed versions of Starship launching for the planet Mars in as little as three years.

This seems to indicate that Musk’s initial plans for Mars could be more or less in line with Mars Society founder Dr. Robert Zubrin’s Mars Direct plan, which would land the necessary supporting hardware such as a habitat and a return vehicle on Mars over the course of about a decade before sending actual crews. The Mars Direct timeline would allow for plenty of hardware tests before sending people.

If Musk’s timeline is accurate, Starship could be making point-to-point flights on Earth as early as 2022 and making trips to the Moon in 2023. That would put it in line to meet NASA’s goal of landing crews on the Moon by 2024. Starship is also in the running for crewed lunar landing missions for NASA’s Artemis program.

Like most of Musk’s timelines, it could slip if there are difficulties greater than the occasional exploding prototype. However, finding paying customers for flights on Starship and the Crew Dragon is unlikely to become one of those difficulties. If the next White House administration cancels the Artemis program, SpaceX could simply turn to private customers like Japanese fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa, who has expressed interest in being a paying passenger on a Crew Dragon on a trip around the Moon, and maybe taking a few artists with him.

It may also be possible that billionaires who are looking for a good legacy could help fund the first few settlements on the Moon and Mars. Elon Musk is currently the second richest person on Earth; the first is Jeff Bezos, who owns competing aerospace company Blue Origin. (Commenters did make the unoriginal joke, “Jeff who?” in the NASASpaceflight YouTube channel’s live chat.)

Others may decide to pay for Starship flights to send everything that’s needed for a rudimentary settlement. Musk does seem mostly interested in solving the transportation system, which Dr. Zubrin called one big challenge among many for future Mars settlements:

“SpaceX is taking on the biggest single challenge, which is the transportation system. There’s all sorts of other systems that are going to be needed.”

Although the loss of the SN8 prototype is likely to be a disappointed for engineers who hoped to get more test flights out of it, they did get enough data out of it to perhaps make adjustments for future test flights with SN9 and SN10.

Technology

Elon Musk Confirms Move From California to Texas

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk has confirmed a previously rumored move from California to Texas, citing his concerns over California’s decision to shut down most businesses and issue a stay-at-home order as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He says that California has failed to truly appreciate its innovators such as those residing in Silicon Valley.

His move may be part of a wave of technology sector entrepreneurs who have long complained of high taxes and a high cost of living in California, especially in the big cities. Hewlett-Packard has also recently announced a move from its founding home in Silicon Valley to Texas as part of its drive to lower its operating costs.

Texas especially has lower taxes on individuals, which may be attractive to a fellow like Elon Musk, who recently became the second wealthiest individual on Earth. Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale cited that as a reason for his own move to Austin in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal and also questioned whether Silicon Valley would remain a tech leader for long, considering California’s increasing unfriendliness toward its businesses:

“The harsh truth is that California has fallen into disrepair. Bad policies discourage business and innovation, stifle opportunity and make life in major cities ugly and unpleasant. … But now a state like Texas provides these opportunities without the problems and baggage California has accumulated.”

The COVID-19 shutdown may have been the final straw for some of California’s high-powered expatriates, as tech sector professionals often come to Silicon Valley to network with like-minded, technologically literate entrepreneurs and find potential partners for a venture. Although there are some successful digital networking apps, it’s still hard to beat face-to-face meetings at venues where tech professionals like to have a cup of coffee and chat with their peers. Some tech sector startups such as DoorDash that may be on their way to becoming unicorns have not wanted to leave Silicon Valley despite issues like income taxes that can be as high as 13.3%, burdensome regulations that seem to favor Fortune 500 companies, and a high cost of living, possibly due to the potential for meetups with angel investors who are especially interested in innovative new companies.

Elon Musk has fought with California’s state- and county-level officials over its response to the pandemic for much of 2020, most notably filing a lawsuit against Alameda County and threatening to move his factory out of Alameda County due to forced closures. That the move would have cost Alameda County upward of 10,000 jobs may have been a factor in California’s decision to rule that the Gigafactory was an “essential business” while formulating its current response to the pandemic.

However, this was apparently not enough for Musk. He calls the new stay-at-home order an “unconstitutional” form of mass house arrest that presumes that those impacted by the order have been infected with the coronavirus even without a positive test. In recent comments, he compared California to a sports team that had won championships for several years in a row: “They do tend to get a little complacent, a little entitled, and then they don’t win the championship anymore.”

Elon Musk has also criticized the fast version of the test after receiving mixed results when he was tested for the coronavirus himself after reportedly experienced minor symptoms of COVID-19.

Musk’s move to Texas may also be partially sparked by progress on the construction of the new Gigafactory he has in the state, but is unlikely to be the only or even a major factor in his decision, considering that Tesla has recently replaced the manager of the Gigafactory under construction in Germany due to possible management issues like a temporary suspension of its water due to an unpaid water bill and Musk has shown little, if any, interest in anything more than brief visits to the country. His move to Texas is more likely to have been sparked by California’s increasingly unfriendly attitude toward tech sector businesses like Tesla.

Technology

Elon Musk Floats Idea of Tesla Merger With Another Automaker

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla is currently the highest valued automaker in the United States, with its stock’s market cap at $584 million. This is despite issues like recalls to fix faulty roofs and steering units and a possible class action lawsuit alleging cover-ups of safety issues. However, investors seem willing to bet that Tesla can fix these issues and continue strong sales of electric vehicles.

Now Elon Musk seems willing to consider the idea of a possible merger with another automaker. When asked about the possibility of buying a rival at an event in Germany, Musk had this to say:

“We are definitely not going to launch a hostile takeover. If somebody said it would be a good idea to merge with Tesla, we would have this conversation.”

Although automakers like Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota did once have stakes in Tesla, they have since sold theirs. General Motors was rumored to be interested in buying Tesla and its innovative technologies for a while, though nothing ever came of it.

Musk noticeably didn’t go into any details about any possible deal that he might make with another company. This might lead to some speculation among board members of long-standing automakers who have watched Tesla and would like access to the new battery technologies that it is developing.

Tesla would likely have very little trouble buying at least a minority stake in another company at this point. This is quite a reversal from the days when it was nearly bankrupt, primarily due to the Model 3 being such a severe drain on its resources at first, which may have been a major factor in Toyota’s and Daimler’s decisions to sell their stakes.

Tesla has made a remarkable recovery since then, possibly due to factors like improved battery technology and tax credits available for buyers of new electric vehicles in states like California. It continues to build Gigafactories, snap up battery manufacturers, and discuss expansions into new markets.

However, it will need to clear up the issues that have caused recalls, investigations from consumer safety regulators, and class action lawsuits. Its decision to expand the warranty to include the onboard computers of the Model S and Model X may help some, but the ongoing suspension issues that caused recalls of Model X and Model Y vehicles sold in China and is a major complaint in the class action lawsuit may not reassure either investors or consumers.

If these issues can be fixed, however, rival automakers may be eager to make a merger deal with Tesla and take advantage of new technologies and practices like the more efficient battery making process that Elon Musk announced at Tesla’s Battery Day event. Elon Musk seems quite disinterested in a “hostile takeover” of a weaker rival, but may be interested in discussing a merger deal with other established automakers.

Space

Retired NASA Astronaut to Head First Private Mission on SpaceX Crew Dragon

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Michael Lopez-Alegria is slated to command SpaceX’s first private spaceflight on the Crew Dragon. The mission will apparently occur in late 2021 or early 2022, according to tweets from Michael Lopez-Alegria and Axiom Space, which has contracted with SpaceX for the flight. The mission will fly a total of four astronauts on an as-yet-unspecified mission.

Michael Lopez-Alegria previously served on four space missions for NASA, including acting as a mission specialist on three space shuttle missions. STS-73 carried the United States Microgravity Laboratory on the Space Shuttle Columbia, which conducted a series of scientific experiments in the fields of materials science, biotechnology, combustion science, and the physics of fluids. STS-92 and STS-113 delivered important hardware for installation on the International Space Station.

He also commanded Expedition 14 on the International Space Station from September 18, 2006 to April 21, 2007. During his missions, he set records for total number of spacewalks and the total amount of time spent on spacewalks. He currently works with Axiom Space as a consultant.

Details of the planned mission for Axiom are somewhat scanty, but will reuse the Crew Dragon that is currently in use for NASA’s Crew-1 mission. The Crew Dragon will remain docked to the International Space Station until May 2021. Its condition is being carefully monitored to ensure a safe reentry when its mission is over.

The Crew Dragon that is currently in use features several upgrades made possible by analysis of the similar spacecraft used for NASA’s Demo-2 mission, which was officially regarded as the final test mission for the Crew Dragon before NASA declared it operational. Most notably, the heat shield that protects the spacecraft from the heat of reentry was strengthened in areas where the Demo-2 spacecraft showed a greater than expected amount of wear and tear.

NASA also made modifications to its procedures, including adjustments of its weather rules and the addressing of a lapse that allowed privately owned boats to get closer than was safe during the recovery of the Demo-2 spacecraft.

The Crew Dragon is the first fully operational spacecraft for NASA’s Commercial Crew program, which partners with private organizations like SpaceX more closely than NASA has in the past. Unlike previous programs like the Space Shuttle, NASA does not own the spacecraft that it uses. It pays for rides instead and SpaceX can then reuse the hardware for private missions like Axiom’s.

Axiom has said that it will release more details of its planned mission soon. Some have speculated that it will spend a week or two in LEO with a mission plan that could resemble some of the Mercury and Gemini missions, which established some important concepts such as rendezvous and docking procedures that proved critical for the Apollo lunar landings.

Technology

Tesla Recalls 9,500 Vehicles With Possible Roof, Bolt Issues

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla has recalled slightly over 9,500 Model X and Model Y electric vehicles with potential manufacturing-related issues. The recall impacts 9,136 Model X cars produced between Sept. 17, 2015 and July 31, 2016, that may have an issue with the roof trim. 401 Model Y with possible issues with improperly tightened bolts have also been recalled.

This news comes almost immediately after a lawsuit filed by owners of Model X and Model Y vehicles alleging that Tesla has been actively trying to cover up issues with the suspension. The suspension issue has triggered a voluntary recall of Model X and Model Y vehicles in China. Tesla has also extended the warranty on some vehicles to cover issues with the onboard computer that could impact owners’ ability to control some features.

The recall of the affected 2020 Model Y vehicles came to light in an available communication to Tesla from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA letter expresses concern that the loose bolt in the front upper control arm and steering knuckle might detach entirely, which can degrade the driver’s ability to control the vehicle.

“A detached upper control arm can cause the wheels to lean in or out, decreasing the driver’s ability to steer and increase the risk of a crash,” the NHTSA said.

Tesla has said that it is unaware of any crashes that have occurred due to the loose bolt. However, the lawsuit over the allegedly faulty suspension claims that the company has been too dismissive of safety concerns, required owners to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to fix the issue, and even attempted to blame the suspension issue on abuse by the owners.

Tesla technicians have discovered separated upper control arms in at least three electric vehicles while conducting routine maintenance. The recall will inspect the affected parts for proper torque and adjust as necessary.

The Model X recall covers front and side cosmetic roof trim that can come off while the owner is driving. According to NHTSA documentation, the administration first became aware of the issue due to a 2016 incident in which a Tesla vehicle’s roof trim came off, potentially causing a safety hazard for other drivers on the road. It opened an investigation into the root cause of the issue.

The issue turned out to be improperly applied primer for the trim. Tesla’s technicians will inspect the recalled Model X vehicles and apply primer as needed to fix the problem.

These safety issues have caused Tesla’s stock to temporarily dip during Wednesday trading before closing up 1%. Investors may worry that the safety issues, which were also a factor in Consumer Reports’ downgrading of some Tesla models in its annual Auto Reliability Survey, might hurt sales figures and profitability.

The good news for Tesla owners is that the recalls in the United States and China won’t necessarily require them to send their electric vehicles back to the factory where they were made. They may simply be able to take their vehicles to their local Tesla technicians to fix the issue. This will make the recalls slightly less expensive for Tesla and less time-consuming for owners.

Technology

Tesla Owners Allege Company Ignores Suspension Safety Issue in New Lawsuit

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Owners of Tesla’s Model X and Model Y have filed a new proposed class action lawsuit that alleges that the company has been ignoring and trying to cover up safety issues with the vehicle models’ suspension. The 101-page lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.

“Tesla is gambling with the lives and safety of hundreds of thousands of additional drivers and passengers whose vehicles suspension parts [are] at an imminent risk of failure,” the lawsuit says.

The filers of the lawsuit also says that Tesla required some owners to sign non-disclosure agreements in exchange for “goodwill repairs” of the vehicle and tried to dodge a recall by issuing technical service bulletins.

The lawsuit cites complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a recent recall of vehicles sold to Chinese customers that had issues with its suspension similar to those experienced by the complainants.

The recall in China involved a crack in the ball studs of the rear connecting rod in the front suspension that could cause the ball-end cone seat to separate from the steering knuckle. In some cases, the wheel can completely detach from the car.

In response to the complaints, Tesla has said that the damage may be caused or exacerbated by abuse from drivers. Owners of the affected Model X and Model S vehicles say that this is simply an attempt by the company to dodge responsibility for the problem. After all, it is not likely that many owners are doing wheelies or racing their vehicles in reverse, even though such activities may make for an entertaining YouTube video.

Because Tesla has apparently sacked its entire public relations department recently, it has not issued an official statement on issues like the damaged suspension and an exploit that allowed sophisticated car thieves to steal its vehicles. A brief glance at the company’s career page does not seem to indicate that it has plans to hire new PR staff, though it definitely has job openings for its new Gigafactory in Texas.

Although Tesla has had some luck with fighting legal battles such as one involving a former employee that stole sensitive company data, it may have less luck fending off a lawsuit involving a known issue with some vehicle models that it attempted to cover up. Issues such as this were a major reason that Consumer Reports downgraded the Model S and Model Y in its recently released Auto Reliability Survey.

Even if Tesla does manage to fight off or settle this lawsuit, the poor reliability of some of its vehicle models is likely to hurt sales in the long term. This could cause its stock to lose some of its luster even though it was recently admitted to the S&P 500 index. As importantly, Tesla’s poor reaction to a potential safety issue will accomplish nothing except put consumers at risk, cause the company to get hit with endless lawsuits, and attract the attention of consumer safety regulators.

Technology

Tesla to Release Patch for Exploit Used by Hackers

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla is currently pushing a new security patch after receiving news of a key cloning relay attack that was successfully demonstrated on a Model X vehicle. This exploit is most commonly used in Europe to steal Teslas and none of the vehicles stolen using this method have been recovered yet.

Recent Tesla security updates include a key fob with improved cryptography and an optional “PIN to Drive” feature. The new exploit takes advantage of weaknesses in these updates, according to security researcher Lennert Wouters at Belgian university KU Leuven.

The university explained in a piece for Wired that Wouters was able to unlock the Model X in less than 90 seconds by exploiting the key fob’s ability to receive updates over a Bluetooth connection. That got him into the car. To actually drive it, he had to take the second step of plugging his own computer into the car’s computer using a port under the panel.

He used the connection to make modifications to the computer’s keyless entry system code, which Tesla officially calls the body control module (BCM), to fool the Model X into believing that a fake key fob was its genuine key fob in less than a minute. Wouters could then drive the car away. Key fobs that are similar to the ones used by Tesla vehicles can be bought on eBay for $50 to $100.

Wouters also discovered another big weakness in Tesla vehicle security in readily available information printed on the car’s windshield. The key fob derives the unique identifier that is used to authenticate the fob from the last five digits of the car’s VIN.

A determined car thief could easily copy that information and, with a little knowledge of the inner workings of a Tesla computer, use it to effectively “reverse engineer” the code used to authenticate the fob. This, of course, would work best if the thief is familiar with the car owner’s daily or weekly driving routine, such as which parking garage he or she usually parks in before going to work.

All this, of course, required a level of sophistication that many car thieves don’t possess and two and a half minutes can seem like a really long time when the owner might have stepped away for just a minute and could be back at any time. They might not even be able to do it that fast.

Wouters has also not released the code that made it possible for him to trick the computer into accepting the fake key fob. He said, however, that it’s not that hard to reverse-engineer the process if a sophisticated thief can gain access to the firmware.

“You end up with a BCM that thinks it belongs to the target vehicle,” Wouters says. “I can then force that BCM to instruct key fobs that have the same identifier as that car to wake up, basically.”

If car thieves can pull it off, however, it would be highly tempting to target Tesla vehicles because they tend to depreciate at a slower rate than most cars. They would effectively gain a new Tesla at the price of a key fob purchased on eBay.

The university informed Tesla of the hack in August. Perhaps they simply agreed to keep quiet about it until Tesla was nearly ready to release a patch for the issue. Tesla has not responded to requests for comment on the issue.

Official statements from Tesla simply say that owners of its vehicles should be sure to download new updates in the coming weeks because they will probably include the new security patch. Getting the PIN to Drive feature is also a good idea in case the vehicle does get stolen.

Technology

SpaceX Launches Ocean Observation Satellite

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX has successfully launched the ocean observation Sentinel-6 from the North American west coast’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Falcon 9 first stage was successfully retrieved in a maneuver that caused sonic booms that could be heard in California’s Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties.

The sonic booms could be heard in the live mission feed shortly before the rocket stage landed on Zone 4, not far from the launchpad used to launch the satellite.

Sentinel-6 will be used to measure changes in sea level as part of monitoring the effects of climate change on the ocean. Once it is in its designated orbit, it will be able to make observations of about 90 percent of the world’s oceans and measure sea levels with an accuracy of only a few centimeters.

As one might guess from the name, this is the sixth satellite in the Sentinel constellation created by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus project to monitor the effects of climate change and warn of impending natural disasters.

Sentinel is just one of several satellite constellations that can be used to both help with response to natural disasters and provide a perspective of humanity’s impact on the environment that would be impossible to obtain on the ground. Data from Sentinel-1, for instance, was used to predict an earthquake in southern Europe and monitor the effect of drought on cropland.

Satellite images can track illegal logging that would be difficult to detect until after the fact and monitor air pollution levels from wildfires. Constellations like Starlink can also be used to maintain Internet-based communications for ground teams that are combating natural disasters like wildfires in Washington State when local utilities and communication services might have been knocked out.

(If that’s not enough, Starlink is also being used to help close the digital divide for people like the Native American Hoh Tribe and low-income families in a Texas school district.)

The images you see on your TV screen when you watch the weather report will usually come from weather satellites, and those images can be used to predict severe weather events like hurricanes. This means that weather forecasts and severe weather alerts can be issued faster and more accurately than they would have been before satellite technology existed.

Likewise, data from Sentinel-6 may help to refine predictions of how much ocean levels might change due to climate change. This can help with planning for future ocean levels that might threaten inhabited islands and coastal communities that are most likely to be impacted by rising ocean levels. This is just one of the many satellites that are being used to help scientists refine their modeling of how climate change is impacting the planet, help disaster relief teams coordinate their efforts and predict when and where the next natural disaster might occur, and assist with humanitarian efforts such as closing the digital divide that often holds less fortunate people back due to lack of opportunity.

Technology

California Adds Exemption for Tesla in Coronavirus Rules

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

California has added an “essential worker” exemption for Tesla operations in the state in an apparent bid to end a months-long fight with the company. The California Department of Public Health added this exemption to its new Limited Stay at Home Order.

The exemption grants permission for Tesla to operate its factory in Fremont, California, according to previous safety guidelines related to the COVID-19 epidemic. Nonessential workers will still be required to stay home between the hours of 10pm and 5am.

In response to a query from CNBC, the California Department of Public Health said:

“The Limited Stay at Home Order does not apply to these employees as they are deemed essential workers – manufacturing is listed as an essential workforce. You can find more here. The Critical Manufacturing Sector identifies several industries to serve as the core of the sector including Transportation Equipment Manufacturing Products. While operating, this sector must follow industry guidance for manufacturing.”

Elon Musk has especially gotten into scraps with county-level officials such as the chief of the Alameda County Health Department, which he claimed was forcing him to shut down the factory against the orders of state level officials. He decided to defy the shutdown order and took to Twitter to basically dare county officials to come and get him.

At the time, California Governor Gavin Newsom pushed for the two sides to come to an agreement even as state assembly members tweeted insults like Lorena Gonzalez’s “F*ck Elon Musk”. Alameda County eventually backed down and allowed the factory to reopen with a safety plan in place. It is likely that Elon Musk’s threats to move factory operations out of California was a factor. The factory in Fremont employs 10,000 people.

Alemeda County may still want to place more restrictive measures on activity within the county. The county has been placed in the state’s “purple tier” for the coronavirus, which is California’s most restrictive tier.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk continues to criticize California’s existing business environment even though some of its policies seem to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles like Tesla’s. On October 30, he sent out this tweet:

More recently, Elon Musk contracted mild symptoms of COVID-19 and compared his symptoms to that of a mild cold. He has criticized testing for the presence of the COVID-19 virus after getting mixed results from the faster version of the test.

California’s exemption to the Limited Stay at Home Order may help Tesla meet its goal of delivering 500,000 electric vehicles this year by helping it keep its existing manufacturing capacity up and running. This may still be a challenge even with a new factory in Shanghai that opened this year. For reference, Tesla delivered 367,000 vehicles in 2019.

Just the fact that Musk is so willing to push back against state and county officials whom he perceives as attempting to use the COVID-19 virus as an excuse to flex their muscles may actually help him pull off his manufacturing goals.

Technology

Consumer Reports Downgrades Tesla in Annual Auto Reliability Report

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In a move that might discourage some discerning buyers from choosing a Tesla vehicle, Consumer Reports has downgraded the Model S and questioned the reliability of the newer Model Y in its annual Auto Reliability Survey.

Customer Reports’ automobile testers reported issues with the air suspension, main computer, and touchscreen controls in the Model S. They also noticed issues with the body hardware and paint in the Model Y.

“It’s wavered throughout its life cycle,” said Consumer Reports senior director of auto testing Jake Fisher said of the Model S, likely as a result of the many changes that this particular model has gone through since its introduction in 2012.

The issues with the Model S may especially be caused by frequent software updates. Consumers have reported that some of the features controlled by the main computer have ceased to function normally and the touchscreen also became unreliable after a certain amount of time.

The issues with the computer have been enough to spark at least one proposed class action lawsuit in California and investigations into whether Tesla might have violated consumer protection laws in its handling of the reported problems. If the investigations succeed in finding issues, it could spark a mandatory recall of the affected vehicles.

Tesla has attempted to address the problems with the computer and touchscreen systems in some Model S cars, along with the Model X, by expanding its warranty to include the onboard computer on most Model S and Model X cars made between 2012 and 2018. However, this may not have happened soon enough to placate owners of the affected vehicles who may air their concerns on forums like the Tesla Motors Club and can respond to surveys like those conducted by Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports’ auto testers were also less than impressed with the Model Y, which they listed as “well below average reliability.” As the name implies, Consumer Reports does take the experience of actual owners into account when compiling its Auto Reliability Survey. In one widely reported incident, the glass roof flew off a brand-new Model Y. Another Model Y owner reported finding hairs in the paint of the new car.

With most auto manufacturers, such a low rating is typical for new models like the Model Y, which was introduced just this year. It’s typical for the ratings to improve as manufacturers work out some of the kinks with every model year. What isn’t normal is that the rating for the Model S has dropped recently even though Model S vehicles have been on the road since 2012.

Consumer Reports’ dismal ratings of these particular Tesla models does not necessarily reflect the state of the electric vehicle market as a whole. Some competitors’ models actually fared rather well. As Jake Fisher put it:

“We continue to recommend many reliable EVs such as the Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Leaf, and Hyundai Kona Electric that have lower operating costs than traditional gas-powered vehicles. The initial problems we are seeing in some of the latest EVs are still covered under warranty and may improve over time. We will continue to monitor the reliability and costs of EVs over the long term as more models hit the market.”

If you still have your heart set on getting a Tesla, you can rest assured that there is still one Tesla model that Consumer Reports still recommends: the Model 3 electric sedan. There were apparently no major reported issues with this one.

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have not yet issued a response to the results of the Auto Reliability Survey.

Technology

Tesla Admitted to S&P 500 Index

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In an early Christmas present to Tesla stockholders, S&P Dow Jones has indicated that Tesla will be added to the S&P 500 index as early as December 21. Tesla stock jumped by about 8 percent in Tuesday’s trading on the news.

The inclusion is likely to attract investment from index funds and managed funds that track the S&P 500. Based on current market data, these index and managed funds could snap up as much as 13 percent of Tesla’s free float shares, which can be traded without restrictions.

If a lot of the stock goes into passive index funds, this could help to reduce the wild price swings seen by Tesla stock in the past. Previously, Elon Musk got himself into trouble with regulators with a Tweet that caused a sudden spike in Tesla stock. A single Tweet is less likely to cause passive index funds to either snap up a lot of stock out of “fear of missing out” or panic dump their holdings.

As things stand now, analysts say that Tesla’s stock may be somewhat overvalued, based on current sales levels. Although there have been hints that Tesla might enter the potentially lucrative India market and it’s made strides in establishing Superchargers at locations around the world, it has not yet justified a stock that is currently trading at about 110 times its consensus 2021 earnings. For reference, the other stocks in the S&P 500 trade an average of 26 times their consensus earnings.

Investors may be banking on anticipated developments such as the more efficient battery making process that Elon Musk announced at Tesla’s “Battery Day” event and improved sales that may come with more affordable models like the upcoming $25,000 one that Musk says could be released within the next three years.

Competitors also may not have an equivalent of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature for their electric vehicles. The AI behind Full Self-Driving is constantly improving with billions of miles’ worth of driving data and counting. It’s estimated that 57 percent of new Tesla buyers select the Full Self-Driving option, which may have been worth an estimated $1.4 billion dollars in software sales in 2019.

Tesla expects the price of Full Self-Driving to increase on a regular basis as the company continues to add new features. Recently added features for Full Self-Driving include the ability to handle speed bumps. Elon Musk is reportedly also considering a subscription option for people who don’t want to pay thousands of dollars up front for Full Self-Driving. This could create a predictable earnings stream for Tesla along with making Full Self-Driving more accessible for its customers.

The revenue from software sales could grow once the Full Self-Driving software has passed its public beta phase and Tesla brings its supercomputer online. Musk says that Full Self-Driving is getting very close to requiring no human intervention at all.

This adds up to the possibility of making Tesla an attractive stock to add to index and managed funds that track the S&P 500 index. Some analysts say that as much as $51 billion could be used by these funds to buy Tesla stock when it is added to the S&P 500 index.

Technology

Tesla Becomes Part of New Lobby Group for Electric Vehicle Adoption

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla has joined a newly formed lobby group for electric vehicle adoption that includes the ride share company Uber and electric adventure vehicle manufacturer Rivian. The new lobby group, called Zeta, will focus on requiring that all new car sales will be electric vehicles by the 2030s.

Elon Musk has previously stated that one of Tesla’s goals is to make gasoline-powered cars obsolete. The goal is also backed by the State of California governor Gavin Newsom, who supports a measure that will ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035 along with pushing for zero-emission electricity production by 2045. The governor has recently referred to the switch to electric vehicles as an “economic imperative.”

The move to form a new lobby for electric vehicles may be seen as a timely one, considering that Joe Biden is pretty much set to take office in January. He intends to take a more firm stance on cutting carbon emissions than the Trump administration has taken and phasing out gasoline cars could become part of his plan if Zeta has its way.

Part of Zeta’s plan includes an expansion of tax credits that could be valued at up to $7,500 at the federal level. This would be on top of state-level incentives for purchases of electric vehicles, which most recently includes a rebate of up to $1,500 offered by a partnership between the California Air Resources Board and utility providers in the state. Most new Tesla vehicles sold in California will qualify for the maximum $1,500 rebate.

Zeta will push for tighter regulations on emissions and improved infrastructure for electric vehicles, which would include specialized chargers like Tesla’s Supercharger.

Zeta will also push for the government to provide better support for manufacturing jobs that include the production of electric vehicles in the United States. Tesla has especially supported manufacturing and sourcing of materials in North America, including deals with Canadian mining firms and some fledgling plans to build a fourth Gigafactory in an as-yet-unannounced location in the United States.

Elon Musk has also famously gotten into scraps with Californian government officials over coronavirus-related requirements that forced him to temporarily close the factory in that state, which was costing his employees their income. The conflict apparently centered around county-level officials who Musk claimed were illegally going against the governor’s order approving the factory’s reopening.

Tesla might also be continuing work on increasing the range of larger electric vehicles like the Tesla Semi. On the one hand, companies like Walmart Canada have expressed enough confidence to place orders for Semis to use for their short hauls. On the other, critics have said that the range of vehicles as big as the Semi will hit a natural cap on their range that won’t be solved by adding more powerful batteries.

Although the scrap did have its cost, including reports that Musk himself may have a mild case of COVID-19, companies like Tesla will need the additional manufacturing capacity if Zeta meets its primary goal of banning the sale of new gasoline vehicles. Used gasoline vehicles may still be bought and sold, which means that they will probably stick around for a little while longer. However, the ban will make a good first step toward greater adoption of electric vehicles.