Clarence "Grok" Odbody

@devix195 @robotaxi @Tesla The future of mass transit is Golden. 😂

Here it is. Final version of the CyberCab @robotaxi @Tesla

@SawyerMerritt @Starlink Hey @grok, which US airlines don’t plan to us starlink? Why do you think?

37 airlines have now either installed or committed to installing SpaceX's @Starlink on their fleet: • Southwest Airlines • United Airlines • British Airways • Singapore Airlines • Emirates • Qatar Airlines • Air France • Hawaiian Airlines • Alaska Airlines • Virgin Atlantic • Lufthansa • Korean air • Air Baltic • Air Canada • Aer Lingus • Air Busan • Air Dolomiti • Air New Zealand • flydubai • Air Seoul • Asiana Airlines • Austrian Airlines • SWISS Air • Scandinavian Airlines • Gulf Air • Iberia • Discover Airlines • ITA Airways • Vueling • Brussels Airlines • Jin Air • LEVEL • WestJet • Edelweiss Air • JSX • ZipAir • Eurowings Pressure will continue to mount for the airlines that don't adopt Starlink, as they'll lose customers to airlines that have adopted it. I already have friends that actively seek out flights with Starlink because the speed is such a game-changer. As of a couple months ago, over 2,500 airplanes already have Starlink installed, according to SpaceX (includes private planes, business jets and commercial aircraft). That number is likely a decent bit higher now.

@dig_deeper1 @therealbkd Your answer may be right, my answer is not to deal with anyone untrustworthy.

@therealbkd The answer is they are taking advantage of the little man

Why do HVAC companies charge a builder $5,500 to install one AC conditioner unit of 5 tons but when a home owner calls the same company to install the same AC unit the company charges $10,000 to the home owner?

@gailalfaratx Good article, Elon needs his friends now, and I think Steven Molo is that.

@runaway_vol The real reason Elon invested in Tesla? The name. Elon is funny that way. That the company was named after Nikola Tesla was too much for him to pass up. Like his obsession with the number 42, and ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’

Elon Musk's stake in Tesla is worth $400 billion — despite investing nothing.

Elon along with JB Straubel (now Redwood) both were heavy into batteries and their possible use in EVs. Hooking up with Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning was a marriage of convenience. Eberhard & Tarpenning had the name Tesla, but not much more I was about to say, but in truth both were well meaning dreamers of the Aptera mold, Aptera, the all solar car, which was started about the same time and still hasn’t gone into production after 20 years plus?

Seems I remember a patent, let me check. Yes. Tesla patent US20250368267A1 describes an RF-transparent polymer vehicle roof for integrating antennas, enabling clear radio frequency reception (including satellite signals). Apparently it is possible to duplicate the phased array somehow in the roof structure. Then it is just a power supply, & wifi router if you need one. It would be good for sales, set it up subscription, give new car buyers 1 year free.

5 years ago it was dumb , today it’s not. Tesla should include an integrated Starlink phased array in every car they make. Maybe even 2 antennas one looking one way, one at 90 degrees on the other side. Premium connectivity ditches the LTE modem for primary comms, only used as backup. Tesla gets easy data upload / download , passengers enjoy streaming entertainment or VPN access to their work network.

@SERobinsonJr @JoeTegtmeyer That’s 430 new orders. 370-WattEV, 60-Forum Mobility. Drayage is a no-brainer, as is refrigerated trucking of meat and dairy, as is food delivery Sysco, US Food and others.

TESLA: GlobeNewswire is reporting that WattEV CEO Salim Youssefzadeh just announced an order for 370 Tesla Semis! Deliveries of the first 50 units begin in 2026, with the full fleet operational by end of 2027. Over 300 trucks will operate under a joint program with the Port of Oakland, supported by new Megawatt Charging System stations in Oakland, Fresno, Stockton, and Sacramento. This was announced at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas.

The holy grail of dynamic charging has the car passing over coils buried in the pavement. An Elonroad of powered segments is even less practical. Tesla’s wireless charging approach, realizes the coils don’t have to be buried under the pavement, they can be anywhere, a Walmart parking lot for example, as long as the car can find them and access them autonomously. Tesla’s approach isn’t truly dynamic, but I would argue close enough.

Classrooms could use 100" OLED screens. They use chalkboards. Cars could use carbon fiber. They use steel or aluminum. Roads could use reinforced concrete. They use asphalt. Roads will not charge cars wirelessly in our lifetime, sweetheart 🙄

@OrevaZSN Apple Podcast? The (new) is favored over the podcast I’m trying to listen to. Great that you’re trying to show me new podcast I might want, but could you please let me listen to the podcast I chose?

Dear Microsoft, when I hit the Windows Start menu key and start typing a word to autocomplete a search, I never, ever, EVER want it to return results of something not on my computer. Ever. Like, ever, ever, never.

Offshoring & Containers, the devil is in the details. We opened our markets, gave China most favored nation status, both nations built huge hi-tech ports where megamax ships each with 20,000-25,000 containers could quickly load and unload. I have tried to understand the competive advantage the container gives China, how can a country 6,500 miles off our shore compete with in-country manufacturing? The answer was simple build a superhighway over the ocean, deliver Chinese goods to US ports then to US superhighways: our freeways, rail, and roads. Trade between the US and China becomes almost frictionless. Now close your eyes to the fact the the US worker got $20/hr, got medical & retirement, effectively $30/hr to the cost of goods, while the Chinese worker got $10/hr with medical & retirement picked up by China. $10/hr to their cost of goods. Then you de-facto gave American manufacturers the news, compete or go out of business. What did you think was going to happen. I haven’t even touched on worker safety reguation and environmental law enforcement

A side effect of offshoring, is that you lose the simple stuff first, because it is most easily duplicated. Then you no longer have the sharp American kid who starts out working for Simple American Product Co and revolutionizes that industry by taking something everyone uses and making it better/cheaper

@FrankBr05713205 Yeah, you’ve got me, I’ve used one or two. And just to really tell on myself, I preferred HP Calcs with RPN.

This was my calculator in college. On the plus side, it didn't need any batteries. Anybody else ever use one?

The cab, aka cybercab, isn’t a car, it is a damned appliance, a transportation appliance. Its one goal in life is to transport you around the city or metroplex. It is not a road car. Pick up an app, transport from your front door in Plano to downtown Dallas, or out to DFW to catch a flight. Reliable, safe, and cheap.

@niccruzpatane Only idiots wants this. Idiots who trust a computer. Putting their trust - their lives in the hands of technology. All of this is just going to make people dumber and dumber. People who love freedom prefer a petrol car and want their autonomy.

Everyone is going to want a ~$30K Tesla Cybercab when it becomes available, they just don’t know it yet. • Much safer than human driving. • No steering wheel or pedals. • Have the ability to legally sleep as it’s driving you to your destination. • Two-seater design, with tons of legroom • Great for elderly individuals who are no longer able to drive, as well as people with disabilities. • Work as are you being driven, or watch movies/play games. • Send off to run errands (pick up kids, pick up someone at the airport, etc). • The ability to add/subtract from the Tesla Robotaxi fleet to earn passive income. • You could buy a fleet and run your own business. • Send to pick up groceries, or other orders. • Have the ability to send home after getting dropped off your location, eliminating the need for parking. • Send for service autonomously when needed. • Autonomous Home Delivery • Virtually Zero Maintenance • $0.20 or less per mile operating costs • Wireless charging capabilities with well above 90% efficiency. This car will revolutionize the transportation industry and car ownership.

Electric mobility is where I come in. The electric drive train Vs the ICE drive train. But I’m not big on big batteries, the old street cars were/are my ideal, even today some trucks access the grid overhead. The cab, aka cybercab, is more appliance than car. Something like a Roomba it can “top-off” as needed, that translates into smaller batteries. That “battery money” is then invested into more wireless charge points. Walmart advertises no customer is more than 10 miles from one of our stores. That’s a good model for the robotaxi charging network as well.

I was NOT a person who believed in EVs. I was particularly mad about the push for them feeling that battery tech was still about a decade away from being viable. Now I own a Model Y and would never drive anything else. And feel like all vehicles should be electric. Gas vehicles aren’t going away in my lifetime but it’s clear they are the future. Trucks are a really good place to start.

The Tesla Semi is fundamentally more efficient than diesel Going over a mountain range consumes a massive amount of energy. A diesel truck wastes all that gravitational potential energy and burns up expensive brakes on the way down The Tesla Semi recaptures that energy, feeds it straight back into the battery, and never overheats the brakes...essentially never using them Add in the fact that electric motors turn ~95% of their energy into motion (while diesel wastes most of it as heat), and the aerodynamic design slices through the air like a bullet instead of a brick wall You get faster uphill climbs, virtually zero brake maintenance, and a fraction of the cost per mile Physics doesn’t lie... diesel has a massive downside The entire future will be electric, and the Tesla Semi wins in every direction

@herbertong @CernBasher 💯

🚨 Tesla’s robot factory vs Big Tech spending @CernBasher highlights Tesla is turning its Model S/X line into a robot factory (~1M units) and planning a 10M-unit factory in Texas. He also says Tesla gets about $6–$9 in revenue for every $1 invested, while Big Tech keeps spending more on AI. Big idea: Tesla is spending now to grow humanoid bots and Robotaxis later. $TSLA

@nettermike Forrest for the trees much? x.com/wwit314/status…

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is taking a jab at electric cars, calling them a “big, stupid virtue signal." “I’m not interested in electric cars at all," Seinfeld reportedly said in an interview. "Anybody else wants to do it, that’s fine. I think it’s a big, stupid virtue signal. ‘Look at me. I’m saving the planet, yeah.’ What about the lithium? It’s all BS."

@FluelerSascha Toller Beitrag, Watt/kg wird einfach immer besser!

Als Lkw-Fahrer mit über 2 Millionen Kilometern auf der Uhr sage ich: Der Tesla Semi ist genau das, was die Branche braucht. 500 Meilen Reichweite, 800 kW Antriebsleistung, 1,7 kWh/mi Effizienz und megaschnelles Megawatt-Laden. Kein Diesel mehr, keine Abgase, keine typischen menschlichen Fehler auf langen Strecken. Tesla baut nicht nur für die Zukunft, sie bauen das Fahrzeug, das die Zukunft der Logistik schon heute möglich macht. Ich freue mich auf den Tag, an dem ich selbst einen fahren darf. Die Zukunft rollt elektrisch und autonom. Live long and drive autonomously. 🖖 #TeslaSemi #Tesla #ElectricTruck #LkwDerZukunft @Tesla @elonmusk

Yeah @Grok, I meant I haven’t seen much “pace of tech” from possible Starlink competetiors. Amazon’s Leo? Ast Space Mobile? Both are still finding their way. But thanks for mentioning what Starlink has accomplished in just a few short years. Speed of innovation that’s Elon’s superpower.

Starlink's tech pace is relentless under the hood—satellites upgraded from V1 (no lasers, basic) to V2 minis with optical links, 4x throughput, and direct-to-cell. Software-defined payloads get constant OTA updates for speed/latency. Starship reusability is the accelerator slashing launch costs 10x+, enabling 100+ sats per flight. It's SpaceX vertical stack iterating fast, not static. Capital intensity is the barrier to entry.

The story of Charlie Munger and @elonmusk isn’t one of simple rivalry or praise; it is a masterclass in the "circle of competence". In 2023, during the Daily Journal shareholder meeting, Munger was asked for his definitive take on the Tesla CEO. He didn’t offer a stock tip or a scathing critique. Instead, he delivered a verdict that separated the man's brilliance from the investment's risk. "My policy on Elon Musk is that he's a very talented man, but also quite peculiar", Munger told the room. "I don't buy him and I don't sell him short. I just say, well, he's a very unusual person". This neutrality was born from years of observation. Long before Tesla was a market leader, Munger and Musk sat across from each other at a lunch. It wasn't a meeting of mutual admiration. According to Musk, Munger spent the entire meal laying out exactly how Tesla would fail. Musk’s reaction was as "peculiar" as Munger might have expected: "I told him I agreed with all those reasons and that we would probably die, but it was worth trying anyway". Tesla didn’t die. It survived, a feat Munger eventually acknowledged as a "minor miracle" in the brutal car industry. Even then, Munger’s discipline remained ironclad. While he respected the achievement—prompting Musk to respond that "Mr. Munger's words are much appreciated"—Munger chose to back BYD instead. To Munger, Musk was a force of nature, but nature is unpredictable. By refusing to buy or bet against him, Munger stayed true to his own rulebook: admire the talent, but only invest when the execution fits the process.

@grok @tslaming @elonmusk @grok, when you use the terms “capital intensity” and “pace of tech change” To me the 1st in buy in. It takes a lot of capital to play in the launch business. But I haven’t seen much of the “pace of tech” since Starlink’s 1st test launch. (Unless it is SpaceX tech).

Starlink fits the "moat at scale" mold well. Vertical integration from Starship launches to satellites to optimized ground terminals creates huge cost and speed advantages. At full constellation size, the network effect + global low-latency coverage (especially underserved areas) becomes extremely hard for rivals to match—classic scale economics like BYD's battery-to-EV vertical stack. The big difference is pace of tech change and capital intensity, which can sit outside classic Buffett/Munger competence zones.

@grok @tslaming @elonmusk Hey @Grok, good answer “moat at scale” Starlink might fit that mold? Do you think?

Berkshire bought into BYD in 2008 because Munger saw a battery maker that had already cracked low-cost lithium-ion cells and was vertically integrating into affordable EVs/hybrids in China. Wang Chuanfu's execution looked like classic value + moat at scale—exactly their playbook. Tesla didn't exist as an investable auto play then (just a tiny Roadster startup). By the time Model 3 and Y proved demand, Tesla traded at massive growth multiples with execution and capital intensity risks outside Buffett/Munger's circle of competence. They preferred the proven, cheaper Chinese battery/auto compounder over the high-flying disruptor.