S.E. Robinson, Jr.

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

Added 2025-08-19 20:28:03 +0000 UTC

19th of August, 2025

"To figure out who will win any given technology race, just look at the rate of acceleration of innovation & growth..." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

■ TESLA TSLA -2.11%↓ ($329.31, -1.75%):

- As reported yesterday, the new Model YLs were on the way to showrooms. They have arrived and are on full display across China. Tons of videos and pics have been posted. China deliveries are expected next month. According to Tesla China VP Grace Tao Lin, the Model YL pre-launch video received 10 million views in 3 hours, and today's official announcement exceeded 1 million views in 1 minute.

Here are key features that have been discovered:

Price: 339,000 yuan ($46,700 USD)
Range: 327 miles (EPA est.)
Performance: 0–62 mph in 4.5s, AWD, 250 kW Supercharging
Battery: 82 kWh LG NMC
Suspension: Second-gen with continuous variable damping
Weight: 4,602 lbs (2,088 kg)
Dimensions: 196" L, 65.7" H, 119.7" wheelbase, 169 mm ground clearance
Storage: 89.6 cu ft (2,539 liters)

19" Wheels
New Starlight Gold paint ($1,670 USD extra)
Interior: 6-seat, 3-row layout; all-black headliner; redesigned front seats (ventilated, heated, adjustable); captain’s chairs in second row with powered armrest (ventilated, heated, electric); heated third row with power folding, cupholders, air vents; 12v outlet in trunk.
Screens: 16" central, 8" second-row
Features: 18 speakers, RGB ambient lights, silver-plated glass roof, acoustic glass, HEPA filtration, 8 cameras (incl. front bumper with washer)

- Tesla is opening their seventh location in the Greater Vancouver area, the Port Coquitlam Service Center, located at 1028 Nicola Avenue. It is a 60,000 sq ft Sales, Service, and Delivery Center. The grand opening event is on Saturday, August 23rd, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

- Over the summer, Tesla initiated FSD testing on Japan's public roads nationwide. The company plans to introduce FSD to already-sold vehicles as soon as they receive regulatory approval from the National Police Agency (NPA) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

- Today, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco ruled that Tesla must face a certified class-action lawsuit from California drivers who allege that Elon and Tesla misled them for eight years by falsely claiming their vehicles had the hardware and capabilities for full self-driving. The lawsuit includes drivers who purchased FSD from October 20, 2016, to July 31, 2024, and opted out of Tesla’s arbitration agreement.

- Model Y financing in the U.S. is now 3.99%, up from 3.49%.

- In Texas and California, you can now lease a Pre-Owned Model 3 or Y for as low as $0 down & $225/mo.

- The Referral program changed. When using a referral towards a Model S or X, buyers will get a $250 discount. Model 3, Y, and Cybertruck buyers still get 3 free months of FSD.

- Tesla China now has a $350 turn signal stalk retrofit for Model 3s made after February 7, 2025. Availability for earlier models coming later. All new Model 3s in China now come with a turn signal stalk.

FLYOVERS (flight links in sources section):

Giga Nevada Semi Factory: Zanegler (@HinrichsZane), 18th of August, '25. “Watershed Event! Drone flight video from August 18, 2025 How did the site handle the gully-washer rain event? At the end of the video, we catch a major, watershed event delivery of production equipment. Parking drama down at the LFP factory.”

■ SPACEX:

- Amazing night shot by Carlos (@cnunezimages) around Starbase. Air Separation Unit build site, Giga Bay build site, Pad2 OLM, and Pad 2 Chopsticks.

- The Navigational Warning for Starship Flight 10 has been posted for the Indian Ocean.

- Concrete trucks at the Air Separation Unit build site this morning. Pic by Base Camp Zero (@clwphoto1).

- SpaceX is funding a $4.4 million upgrade to South Padre Island’s Cameron County Beach Access #3, and is expected to be complete in 2026. The undeveloped site at 28495 State Park Road 100-North will gain a modern parking lot with 159 spaces, new dune walkovers, pavilions, picnic tables, restrooms, showers, barbecue pits, rinse stations, and eco-friendly lighting. It is backed by an $817,000 Texas General Land Office grant and is part of a $24 million coastal park initiative. Construction has already started. This is a 42 mile drive from Starbase on the north side of the island.

- In SpaceX HQ at Starbase, On display they have V1 Raptor 59 from BN3 and V2 Raptor 352 from Super Heavy Booster 12. Pic by @StarshipGazer.

- Melanie Richards, Tesla Supply Chain Strategy & Operations Lead, walked the factory floor at SpaceX Hawthorne with the SpaceX Women’s Network and the Women in Tesla team. "It was a deep dive into first-principles engineering at scale. Fascinating to see the same manufacturing and design principles that guide Tesla also at work at SpaceX: Apply first principles → reduce to fundamentals, reason up.

Design for manufacturing → cut complexity, reduce parts, simplify connections.
Build for scale → vertically integrate, automate where it matters, and eliminate steps that don’t add value.
Relentless iteration → move fast, test, learn, and feed improvements back into design.

From humanoid robots to autonomous cars, satellites, and rockets—it’s clear the same principles are reshaping industries and defining the future of technology."

- Omar (@WholeMarsBlog) drove by SpaceX Hawthorne and spotted multiple Falcon 9s under construction!

Starbase City Commission Meeting:

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

Countdown to 180 (100 - Falcon 9, 0 - Falcon Heavy, and 3 - Starship):

Launch 104! Thursday, 21st of August, 11:40 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 OTV-8 (X-37B) (USSF-36) will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Booster landing location is unknown. This is the eighth flight of the X-37B program. The X-37B is a dynamic and responsive spacecraft responsible for conducting a range of tests and experiments. The OTV-8 mission in Low Earth Orbit includes operational demonstrations and experiments of next-generation technologies, including laser communications and the highest performing strategic grade quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space. Mission partners include the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Innovation Unit.
Launch 105! Friday, 22nd of August, at 8:44 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 17-6 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
Launch 106! Sunday, 24th of August, at 2:45 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Dragon CRS-2 SpX-33 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This will be the third flight for Cargo Dragon C211. It previously flew the CRS-26 and CRS-29 missions. The booster will return to site and land at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is the 33rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.
Launch 107! Sunday, August 24th, at 6:30 p.m. CT, Starship Flight 10 will launch from the Orbital Launch Mount at Pad 1 in Starbase, Texas. Super Heavy Booster 16 will do a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America. Starship 37 will test an in-space Raptor engine relight, validate the heat shield for re-entry, test the payload bay door and simulate payload deployment with faux Starlink satellites. S37 will then attempt a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, off the northwest coast of Australia.
Launch 108! Wednesday, 27th of August, at 1:49 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-11 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Launch 109! Saturday, 30th of August, at 7:05 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 17-7 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.

■ THE BORING COMPANY:

- The above Vegas LOOP pics were posted August 13th by Kolby (@kolbyratigan). The first pic is taken at the LVCC on Paradise Rd. The second pic is at 4300 Paradise near the Virgin Hotel. The third pic is at the Firefly site on Paradise. And the fourth an final pic of the Prufrock is at a TBC staging yard in the LVCC Green Parking Lot, right next to the Tesla Supercharger in the Platinum Lot.

■ NEURALINK: N/A...

■ STARLINK:

- Ivan Zverzhanovski, United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) Deputy Resident Representative in Honduras, is spearheading an initiative to bridge the digital divide with strategic partners Hondutel and Starlink. The "ConectaH" (Connect Honduras) program will provide high-speed satellite internet to over 3,100 schools, health centers, parks, and public spaces across Honduras by late October 2025. This effort was launched this month with expectations of enhancing digital inclusion, empowering communities, and advancing sustainable development by ensuring reliable connectivity in critical public areas.

- SpaceX is criticizing Virginia’s $613 million BEAD program proposal that allocates only $3.2 million to Starlink for 5,579 of 133,000 subsidized broadband locations. They are favoring fiber installations at $6k - $8k per site. SpaceX offered $60 million to serve nearly all eligible households. The company, accusing the state of bias and wasteful spending, urged the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to reject the plan. Local provider All Points Broadband will receive $171.4 million for only 19,801 locations and Amazon’s Kuiper $4.46 million for 6,957 locations.

- SpaceX is also urging the NTIA to reject Louisiana’s $1.36 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) plan. It currently allocates over $400 million for fiber installations to connect 80% of 127,000+ eligible locations. that is $4,449 per location. SpaceX is arguing it violates new Commerce Department rules prioritizing cost-effective, technology-neutral solutions. SpaceX applied to serve nearly all locations for under $100 million via Starlink. Louisiana only awarded SpaceX $7.7 million for 10,327 locations.

- SpaceX filed a request with the FCC to use E-band frequencies (71.0-76.0 GHz and 81.0-86.0 GHz) for its first-generation Starlink constellation of 4,408 satellites. This is to enhance capacity, speed, and reliability for rural and underserved areas, complementing existing Ku- and Ka-band frequencies.

- SpaceX has formally sent a letter South Africa to replace its 30% Black ownership rule for telecom companies with an equity-equivalent program. The formal proposal includes the SpaceX investments in infrastructure and digital inclusion the announced a month ago; free Starlink for 5,000 schools and 2.4 million students.

■ X:

- X Devs announced that the API v2 is now live for self-serve Pro API users. You get instant real-time notifications for X posts, DMs, and more via webhooks. This enables heightened interaction responsiveness, advanced account insights, and scalable automations. Link in sources section.

- X Global Government Affairs posted that the UK's Online Safety Act mandate over "harmful" content empowers regulators to arbitrate speech, potentially restricting debates on controversial topics. This could result in algorithmic biases that favor certain views and undermine free expression for all users. X is calling for collaboration to safeguard liberties while protecting users.

■ xAI:

- Yesterday, xAI opened the doors at Colossus 1 on Paul R. Lowry Road in Memphis to reporters for the first time. The tour was led by xAI's Colossus Lead and General Manager, Brent Mayo (@BrentM_SpaceX). Photography was prohibited, but what has been posted by those who attended, they were blown away by xAI’s integration of AI infrastructure and sustainable energy solutions. Last checked Colossus 1 is supported by 212 Tesla Megapacks, but multiple reporters say it is 208. We get to see the new cooling tower, the new substation, Plus some Megapacks. The Megapacks are obviously not installed, which makes me wonder if they are staged and waiting to be installed at Colossus 2 on Tulane Road. Video by Action News 5 Memphis and pics by WREG News Channel 3 Memphis.

- According to Prashant (@Prashant_1722), Grok achieved a 1,343,408% growth rate from August 2024 to July 2025, ranks No.2 among 10,500 AI tools, and has a weighted average score of 0.42. This surpasses OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini with an average session duration of 15 minutes 43 seconds. Grok averaged 129.8 million monthly visits in the latest quarter. Per Elon, "Great work by the Grok team! August will be much higher."

■ DOGE:

Estimated Savings: $205 Billion

Amount Saved Per Taxpayer: $1,273.29

■ ELON NEWS:

- Per Elon, "Even a patch of Spain could power all of Europe with solar... I mean solar+batteries. The entire Starlink constellation of over 7000 satellites, which go through Earth's shadow many times per day, are just powered by solar+batteries. And Earth is just a giant satellite."

■ THANK YOU:

Thanks for reading, everyone!

For August, I am giving away Optimus, the Tesla Bot Action Figure ($45), to one of you guys.

If you are looking for some cool Musk Company Merch, you can also support the content by checking out the new shop! If you order anything let me know what you think, good or bad. serobinsonjr.shop

REFERRALS:

Tesla: 3 free months of FSD or $400 Off Solar Panel Installation. ts.la/stephen746292
Starlink: Free Month for either Residential or Roam service! https://www.starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-3527509-65487-76
T-Mobile (Starlink Direct-to-Cell): $50 credit 45 days after you activate. Direct-to-Cell has dropped from $20 to $10 per month! https://share.t-mobile.com/stephenr-3419
SOFI (ARK Venture Fund): $25 worth of stock. SOFI is the only outlet the public can invest in Cathie Wood's ARK Venture Fund ($ARKVX). This ARK fund includes SpaceX, xAI, Tesla, X, and a ton of other major AI, Tech, and Bio companies. Of note, investing in the fund requires an initial $500. https://www.sofi.com/invite/invest?gcp=ecf25d1c-7bc9-4ee0-a407-a51849297288&isAliasGcp=false
Robinhood: Get a Free stock. https://join.robinhood.com/stepher-fcc938