After 11 years in California, Tesla moves to Texas

Tesla heads South ... SpaceX names Endurance ... Elon Musk looks for hires. It’s the free edition of Musk Reads #267 — subscribe now to receive two more emails later this week.

Last week, Musk Reads+ subscribers heard from Xiaofan Zhang, who has developed a solar car on his next project: Tunnel transit! This week, Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart reveals his vision for a future form of rocket technology.

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Musk quote of the week:

“Hell yeah.” — Elon Musk tweeted on October 9, agreeing with a user who called for an inaugural Giga Texas party complete with “great Texas BBQ/Austin food trucks and the biggest Tesla owners meetup in Tesla history.” Sounds pretty good. Can I hear you say “hell yeah”?

Tesla: Moving on down to Texas

On October 9, Tesla celebrated the opening of Giga Berlin with a rave and “Gigabier,” which Musk announced as part of the Giga Berlin experience.

Although the factory is still contested by locals with environmental concerns, Musk claims that Berlin will deliver vehicles by December 2021.

Back on U.S. soil, Tesla will be moving its headquarters from California to Austin, Texas, a significant event for the shift many Texans fear: Austin becoming the new Silicon Valley.

Although many Californians have been moving to Texas in search of low taxes and cool-factor, in Tesla’s case, the move seems at least partially inspired by a strained relationship between California officials and Tesla.

Or rather, one edgy tweet from California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.

In reality, the move is most likely fueled by a combination of factors, including taxes, Texas’ pro-business attitude, and the fact that Musk enjoys living in Austin, says Texas Monthly in a recent article dissecting the matter “If Musk wants to [...] stamp his likeness upon the energy industry, before departing for Mars, it makes sense to do it from Texas,” the article reads,

This week, Tesla also…

• Broke a record in China
• Granted Full Self-Driving to around 1,000 drivers
• And got a stock bump

SpaceX: Time to get Endurance

NASA is scheduled to use a Crew Dragon capsule for its upcoming, crewed October 30 launch, and that capsule now has a name: Endurance.

Since the flight is made up of three NASA astronauts who have not yet gone to space and a Crew Dragon capsule, the name is fitting — it references 19th-century Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and his ship, the HMS Endurance, suggesting that this flight is part of the search for the new new frontier.

And it is. SpaceX and NASA both continue to push the bounds on who goes into space and how. Read more on Inverse.

And speaking of endurance, Musk fans waiting for Starlink are going to need some more.

Although Musk is pushing for Starlink sign-ups now, saying the company can “hit max users in some areas fast” and that users can expect alpha “nationwide rollout by end of month,” the Starlink site begs to differ. For some areas, the site indicates that coverage won’t begin until 2023, a fact unaided by Starlink’s 500,000-user backlog. Maybe hold on to your deposits for now.

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More stories from Musk’s world...

A ranked list of everything Musk-related and online, handpicked weekly with bionic precision.

10. Elon Musk took to Twitter to find his newest A.I. researchers. Could it be you?

9. You’ll be able to buy the Cybertruck soon… for your kid’s Barbies. Collector website Mattel Creations is unveiling their take on Tesla’s elusive truck on October 15 at 9 a.m. Eastern time. Vroom vroom.

8. Tesla conducted their Annual Shareholder Meeting on October 7, and Tesla Daily live blogged it. Thanks, Tesla Daily.

7. Musk has been “dying to do a supersonic, electric VOTL jet,” but probably won’t, because as he spelled out in emoji, it might cause his brain to explode. (Probably not literally.) NASA’s brain is intact as the organization works on a soundless, faster-than-sound jet. It’s not electric, but it’s definitely something.

6. A close-up shot of Jeff Bezos’ gasping face is “defacing various corners of Twitch.” Or, I guess, Bezos-facing various corners?

5. Bezos-rolling won’t help Blue Origin, which has inspired a “complete lack of trust” between it and its employees. Read more.

4. And, uh, the Blue Origin flight with Star Trek’s William Shatner has been delayed to Wednesday, October 13, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. To boldly go (during optimal weather conditions).

3. In positive interstellar weather updates — NASA’s Mars rover, Perseverance, has discovered sites of former flash floods on the planet, a big find for better understanding Mars’ relationship to creating life. Read more.

2. Aside from feeling a little sick for her first two days of SpaceX’s Inspiration4 flight, crew member Sian Proctor already misses space. Read more on Inverse.

1. And a piece of Musk history: Musk Readers seem to love breakup gossip, so here’s some more. On May 8, 2010, Musk’s first wife, Justine Musk, addressed (misogynistic, still very common) “gold digging” accusations during the demise of their three-year relationship. “This is what I asked for from my ex-husband and father of my five children, Elon Musk,” Justine wrote. “The house, alimony and child support, $6 million cash…” Justine followed her transparent list by wondering, “Is that what I deserve? I don't know.” “Who exactly deserves that kind of wealth?” she implored readers to consider.

The ultra-fine print

This has been Musk Reads #268, the weekly rundown of essential reading about futurist and entrepreneur Elon Musk. I’m Ashley Bardhan, assistant to Musk Reads.

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