Wow. You all really loved this raffle last week, it became one of our best performing ad partnerships in this newsletter of all time. And I get why!
So here’s the win-win-win one more time:

Win the EV of your dreams.

Choose from a Tesla, Rivian, Lucid (up to $80k), or take $50,000 cash instead.
Your pick.

This is the 12th Annual Tesla Raffle, and this year the prize pool includes some of the most sought-after electric vehicles on the road.

We at Tesla Space are a bit biased, of course, but we’ll forgive you if you drive off with the Rivian or Lucid.

Eleven lucky winners already. You could be number twelve, driving off in a brand-new, top-of-the-line EV.

Head to CCraffle.com to get your tickets. They were kind enough to give our readers a special deal, too: use the code “TeslaSpace” to get $25 off two tickets or $500 off fifteen.

Most importantly, your ticket does two things at once: gives you a real shot at an amazing prize, and helps ChesedChicago keep running 80+ programs that support families in crisis, from food and furniture to job placement and more.

Plus, you can supercharge your entry for $10 per ticket to add a Tesla Wall Connector (including installation) to your prize if you win.

Only 9,999 tickets will be sold. Once they're gone, or the drawing date hits, that's it.

Go to CCraffle.com and use promo code "TeslaSpace" to get $25 off two tickets or $500 off fifteen:

PS! If you enjoy our work, you should join us as a Tesla Space Insider. That’s where you get more of us.
Upgrade to Tesla Space Insider

Setting:

Peter Diamantis posting: “Elon doesn't need to run the best AI model. He needs to control the best hardware. Nvidia is the most valuable company on Earth and their models aren't the most popular. The hyperscaler play works.”

Elon:

Good background. But what I really liked was this bit he posted as a follow-up:

Which I selected to show here because I want to show you two images. First one comes from directly of the time Elon is talking about here. Elon looking at the debris collected from the Falcon 1 first flight, 2006:

And the second part, which you could say goes well with Elon’s “But you may have noticed that things are different now” lives in my head in the form of this “meme”:

PS! If you enjoy our work, you should join us as a Tesla Space Insider. That’s where you get more of us.
Upgrade to Tesla Space Insider

Bye Model X & S. Tesla held the event which I’m sure many you tuned into. If you didn’t, you can catch the full stream of the event here. If you tear up… there, there.

I’ll share a few ‘goodbye’ notes from the men behind it, in addition to what we heard on the event.

First, Elon himself at the event:

Lars posted, referencing that moment:

Franz:

and from Tesla’s own account:

Then, the Ride the Lightning Podcast had Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy on. Here’s the ~2hr episode.
The key topic: history & legacy of the Model S.

Among other things confirmed that the next-generation Tesla Roadster will be built in Texas.

Fun fact - the initial discussions about discontinuing the Model S and Model X took place over 1.5 years ago, so it wasn't a sudden decision as we saw in the media.

I highly recommend listening to this episode.
The Model S & X really did change the world.

PS, if you want to check out the Signature Edition Model S and Model X in person, Tesla has put both vehicles on display at the public Fremont factory showroom. There are only 350 of these editions in the world total…

Permits show Tesla is planning a dedicated autonomous fleet operations facility in Irving, Texas.

Aka, Tesla’s robotaxi depot.

The proposed site would include a 35,000-square-foot warehouse remodel housing fleet dispatch operations, vehicle servicing and repairs, cleaning and detailing infrastructure, 16 V4 Supercharger stalls, and space for up to 212 vehicles.

Here’s a video of Spencer visiting the location. There is, of course, nothing happening on the spot yet, but gives a good feel of the buildings and space.

We also recently got a video from Houston Robotaxi hub where Cybercabs were lined up parking —

And then, there is Dallas…

just a flip of the switch (or well, a tap on keyboard perhaps), and the fleet awakens.

Meanwhile, three Tesla owners are, right as we speak, going 2,647 miles (4,215 kms) driven on Tesla FSD across Canada, coast to coast, with zero human input. 100% on Self-Driving.

This tracker is live (here) and pulling straight from the Tesla telematics. They are on the road right as you’re reading this.

David Moss (the first to go coast-to-coast on FSD in the US), Devin Olsen and Spencer are the ones on the road. You can see some of their livestreams here and videos through their YT accounts.

This is the Tesla way.

Tesla has quietly deployed one of its most unique features yet: a location-specific “quiet mode” prompt for drivers charging at a busy Tesla Supercharger station after residents complained about late-night noise.

The prompt features a notification that reads: “Could you turn the volume down? Please be mindful of our neighbors.” It also features a button that allows users to immediately lower their Tesla’s volume.

From Tesla China:

Tesla has expanded access to its Supercharger network in China by allowing non-Tesla EV owners to purchase prepaid charging passes through WeChat. The program introduces two charging packages for compatible non-Tesla EVs:

“Trial” Pass: 79 RMB ($11.63) for 50 kWh
“Enjoy” Pass: 599 RMB ($88) for 400 kWh

The passes can be activated through WeChat and used at participating Tesla V3 and V4 Supercharger stations across China. Tesla’s promotional materials state the company now operates more than 2,600 Supercharger stations and 13,000+ charging stalls nationwide.

The Starship flew.

And it was beautiful.

Mission of the 12th Starship flight test was successful, here’s Starship flip and landing burn at the end of its twelfth flight test into the ocean. And here’s the onboard + then bouy view of the same, with the spectacular boom in the end (yes, they showed it this time).

There was also remarkable footage of the last Starlink satellite (dummy?) that was deployed from inside the Starship — from onboard the satellite itself, exiting the Starship. All in all, the Starship had 50 cameras on it, more than ever..

This was the first flight for the Starship V3. No booster catch this time, also ended up in the Gulf. An important comment on Elon as one of the biggest hurdles has been designing the effective heat shield: “No burn-throughs. Shield held.”

By the way, if you’re a space geek like so many of us, you’ll want to see this fresh NASA website for the Moonbase, nasa.gov/moonbase/, the permanent $20B U.S. base on the Moon.

PS, I missed this at first on SpaceX IPO prospectus, but SpaceX listed it’s potential Future Markets, as opportunities to pursue in the future:

Casually dropping that Asteroid mining there. No big deal.

Fun fact, SpaceX also now disclosed that it holds 18,712 Bitcoins. Worth around $1.45B as of now. We also got to see the lobby of SpaceXAI’s corporate HQ in Palo Alto:

Prufrock shared a 2-minute video “See how Prufrock continuously mines - pushing and building at the same time. The machines, from Las Vegas to Dubai, are remotely controlled from our Bastrop Operations Center. These advances help TBC deliver more miles each year in the battle against soul-destroying traffic.”

They are sure correct about the traffic.

Consider upgrading to become a Tesla Space Insider to support our publication!