Monthly Archives: May 2021

Oh, Elon. You weren't satisfied with only tweeting about your upcoming Saturday Night Live appearance today so you decided to take another dig at former Tesla employee and current Lucid Motors CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson. We guess you just couldn't help yourself and had to tell the world that Rawlinson was never the Chief Engineer at Tesla.

The problem is, it appears as Elon isn't remembering it the same way Rawlinson does. But since that could be a simple case of he said, he said, we took the time to dig up some old Tesla Blog posts, videos, and even a screenshot of the Tesla website when Rawlinson worked there, courtesy of the Wayback Machine.

Rawlinson and I have spoken about this exact topic in the past, and luckily I still have the recording of our conversation. Here's how the man behind the Lucid Air explains what went on when Musk hired him to save and deliver the Model S.

"Elon reached out to me and said, look, I've got a bloody disaster on my hands, will you come and join us? I joined the company and I checked out where they were at. I remember it vividly. After the first few days at Tesla, I went to see Elon at Space-X on a Friday and he asked me: What do you think? I said Elon, it's a disaster. You're going to have to start again. He asked everything? I said yes, look, I know how to do this, let me design Model S from scratch. Elon asked: What, you mean nothing (can be saved)? I said if you want the best car, then trust me, it's from scratch. I thought well, he can only fire me, but he didn't, he said do it - and he meant it. He actually trusted me and empowered me to do it and we did do it." - Lucid Motors CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson on how he was tasked by Elon Musk to engineer the Tesla Model S.

We found these two videos in which Rawlinson explains Model S engineering. These identify Rawlinson as the "VP of Engineering", not specifically the Chief Engineer, as he is described in other places on the Tesla website.

Part 1:

And here's Part 2:

Below is the announcement that Rawlinson had joined the Tesla team as Chief Vehicle Engineer. You can find the full post on the Tesla blog from April 20th, 2010.

InsideEVs did reach out to Lucid Motors for comment, but it appears the company doesn't want to give this story any more oxygen than it already has. A company spokesperson replied:We have no comment to make at this time. As you will already be aware, Peters focus is on putting the worlds best EV into production, a car with over 500 miles of range that delivers new benchmarks in efficiency, power, range, performance, charge rate and luxury.

There's also this piece from the Tesla website that also names Rawlinson as the Chief Engineer for Vehicle Engineering.

Personally, I do love much of Elon's colorful personality. Sure, I think Elon (and Tesla) would be better off without some of his more outrageous statements, but overall, I believe his confident swagger was needed to get Tesla to where they are today.

That said, it appears that Elon misremembers Rawlinson's history with Tesla, or, even worse, he's guilty of creating some revisionist history. If what we've shown above isn't enough, check out this video of Rawlinson from the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. Additionally, we discovered this list of patents that Rawlinson and members of his team filed for, related to his work at Tesla.

We certainly don't mind some competitive banter between rival EV companies, but it's important to point out misinformation, which, after reviewing the information we found, seems to be the case. Take a look at the above information and let us know what you think in the comment section below.

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Elon Tweets That Rawlinson Was Never Chief Engineer At Tesla, Except He Was - InsideEVs

Elon Musks SpaceX is aiming to take a giant leap in human spaceflight with its next mission.

The private rocket company is scheduled to send the first ever all-civilian crew into space as part of a flight scheduled for September.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

The Inspiration4 missionwill launch the four civilians into space where they will travel across a low Earth orbit on a multi-day journey that will continually eclipse more than 90% of the Earths population.

The civilian crew members include Jared Isaacman, an accomplished jet pilot and founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments; Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant; Sian Proctor, a teacher and communicator; and Chris Sembroski, an engineer at Lockheed Martin.

Isaacman, who will be commanding the mission, is funding the flight and arranged the mission as a fundraiser for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.

In fulfilling a personal and lifelong dream, I recognize the tremendous responsibility that comes with commanding this mission. While a historic journey awaits us in space, I hope this mission reinforces how far inspiration can take us and the extraordinary achievements it leads to here on Earth, Isaacman said.

On Sunday, SpaceXs Crew Dragon successfully carried NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, back to Earth from the International Space Station.

The astronauts splashed down into the Gulf of Mexico just south of Panama City. The NASA Crew-1 astronauts had spent nearly six months in the International Space Stations (ISS) microgravity laboratory. The mission was the longest-ever duration for a crew launched in an American-built spacecraft.

SpaceX launched the crew to the ISS in November.

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Elon Musk's next SpaceX flight will have private citizens as the crew | TheHill - The Hill

Billionaire Microsoft founder Mr Gates and his wife, Melinda, are set to get divorced after 27 years. Announcing the news online, the couple said they made the decision after "a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, but will continue to work together on their foundation. Mr Gates, the fourth richest man in the world, married Melinda in January 1994, but stated that we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.

The 65-year-old is surpassed in wealth by only a handful of people in the world, including Mr Musk, but the pair have not always seen eye-to-eye.

They have both helped in the fight against COVID-19, with Mr Gates pledging $10million (7.21million) via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Musk redirecting Tesla resources to source and produce ventilators and teaming up with the German biotech firm CureVac of which Mr Gates is an investor.

Since last March, Mr Musk has appeared to downplay the severity of the virus, criticised stay-at-home orders and seemed to question death data.

In an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" last July, Mr Gates appeared to question his involvement.

He said: "Elon's positioning is to maintain a high level of outrageous comments.

"He's not much involved in vaccines. He makes a great electric car. And his rockets work well. So he's allowed to say these things.

I hope he doesn't confuse areas he's not involved in too much."

And that seemed to ruffle Mr Musk, who responded by posting multiple tweets, including "Billy G is not my lover" and "the rumour that Bill Gates and I are lovers is completely untrue.

During a podcast interview with the New York Times, his tone seemed more serious.

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He said what Mr Musk has accomplished with Tesla is one of the greatest contributions to climate change anyone's ever made and added that underestimating Elon is not a good idea.

Since Mr Gates met his wife at his company, their organisation has spent billions fighting causes such as infectious diseases and encouraging vaccinations in children.

The pair, along with investor Warren Buffett, are also behind the Giving Pledge, which calls on billionaires to commit to giving away the majority of their wealth to good causes.

Mr Gates stepped down from Microsoft's board last year to focus on his philanthropic activities.

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Elon Musk's fury with 'knucklehead' Bill Gates after shutting down 'lovers' claim - Daily Express

Originally posted onEVANNEX.

Formany kids after college, getting a job isnt so easy. Even if youre Elon Musk. It turns out that Musk had failed in his efforts to land a job in the internetindustryback in 1995.

According toNews18, Musk, now known for revolutionizing the electric vehicle market, in fact had failed to get a job at Netscape Communications, the company that created the first web browser, when he first reached Silicon Valley in the 90s.

A Twitter user with the handle Pranay Pathole wrote that when Musk applied at Netscape, he went to their office but was so shy that he didnt talk to anyone and later wasnt able to get a job anywhere.

The last part of the tweet drew Musks attention and he promptlyreplied to correct his admirer. I could get a job, just not at an Internet company (werent many back then), Musk replied.

Did this setback stop Elon Musk? Obviously not. Its reported that, A year after failing at Netscape, Musk launched his own company, Zip2, which [was] aimed at helping media companies come online. Compaq bought the company in 1999 and Musk co-founded PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in July 2002.

After helping media outlets enter the online arena and birthing the first successful online payment system, Musk could have easily stopped there, counted his money, and retired young. Instead, he decided to take on the auto, energy, and aerospace establishment with Tesla, SolarCity, and SpaceX.

Musks audacity doesnt stop there either. Now hes trying to end soul-crushing traffic with The Boring Company. Hes also trying to help create a safe, symbiotic future with AI via Neuralink. And it all started because a young Elon was too shy in the front lobby at his dream job.

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Elon Musk Couldnt Get the Job He Wanted, So He Got Busy Changing the World - CleanTechnica

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, left, with Endeavor's Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell at November 2015 event in New York City. (Ilya S. Savenok)

Its TIMEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Fans of combat sports would be familiar with this popular catchphrase of legendary Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ring announcer Bruce Buffer.

In fact, this writer is one and wished Buffer, the Voice of the Octagon, was present when Endeavor finally walked into Wall Street.

Eighteen months after pulling the plug on its listing plans due to unfavourable market conditions, the entertainment powerhouse made its stock market debut earlier this week. Other than the mixed martial arts platform UFC, Endeavor is also home to the William Morris Talent Agency as well as sports and modelling agency IMG.

The Los Angeles-headquartered firm raised $511 million in a US initial public offering (IPO), valuing it at around $10 billion. The eagerly awaited offering has revived hopes in Hollywood of a revival in the entertainment, content and live events segments, which have been dealt vicious uppercuts by COVID-19.

In 2020, Endeavor clocked $3.5 billion in revenues and its losses stood at $625 million. Reducing the $5.9 billion debt burden is a high priority for the company.

Lets take a look at some interesting facts about the firm, its promoters, its investors and its deals.

The High-Profile Emanuel Siblings

The firms founder is Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel,who loosely inspired the fictional character of Ari Gold in the hit HBO show 'Entourage.A New Yorker piece refers to Aris Chicagostyle aggression and how he craves the stature of a visionary, not of a mere corporate executive.

His elder brother Ezekeil Emanuel is an advisor to US President Joe Biden and a medical ethicist (an individual who advises hospital administrations on policies). The third siblingRahm Emanuel has been a White House chief of staff and mayor of Chicago.

A Celeb Client List To Die For.

Endeavors client portfolio includes some of the biggest names in showbiz, entertainment and sports. It has represented Hollywood celebrities like Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Martin Scorsese, Charleze Theron, Matt Damon and Christian Bale, sports stars such as Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Lebron James and Stephen Curry, talk show hosts like Oprah Winfrey and even musicians like Adele and Rihanna. It doesnt get bigger than this folks.

The Elon Musk Factor

Tesla founder and the worlds richest man Elon Musk has been tapped by Endeavor to bolster its board of directors.

Founder Ari Emanuel and Musk have known each other for many years and Endeavor would be hoping that the social media savvy, billionaire tech entrepreneurs cult-like status amongst retail investors would widen the appeal of the newly listed entertainment conglomerate.

And perhaps, its Twitter following too. It also wouldnt hurt if its stock mirrored the incredible rally seen in the shares of Tesla over the last year.

The Reliance Jio Connection

US-based tech investor Silver Lake, which backs Twitter and AirBnb, is one of the early investors of Endeavor. The former shot into prominence after acquiring PC maker Dell Inc along with Micheal Dell in 2013. In 2011, Silver Lake sold Skype to Microsoft for $8.5billion in one of the most successful private equity exits in history. Private equity firm KKRand Middle East fund Mubadla are also investors in Endeavor.

Ok, so whats the link to Reliance Jio?

Well, interestingly, both firms have several common investors. Silver Lake, KKR and Mubadla participated in the 2020 fund-raising blitzkrieg by Jio, which raised a stunning $15 billion in 10 weeks by sealing 11 deals.

There was a sporty connection as well between the two groups. Reliance Industries owns the glitzy franchisee-based soccer league Indian Super League, which was launched in 2014 along with Endeavor arm IMG. IMG exited the league in 2018 by selling its stake to Reliance.

The Beautiful Deal With Donald Trump

Former US president Donald Trump was once a client of Endeavor. In 2015, the firm acquired Miss Universe Organization, which was solely owned by Trump and was responsible for producing Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA and related content. The deal valuations were not disclosed and Endeavor considered it a strategic fit to its portfolio.

Trump was a presidential candidate when the deal was struck. He had owned the pageant for nearly two decades during which he courted multiple controversies for his sexist remarks. For instance, in 2019, he infamously boasted to talk show host David Letterman about his approach to the pageants, saying, "I made the heels higher and the bathing suits smaller.

A Fighting Chance

Think UFC and think of Irelands larger than life Notorious Conor McGregor and his Proper 12 whiskey brand, Brazilian legend Anderson Silva, former ladies champion Rowdy Ronda Rousey, who switched to the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and the humble Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, who wrestled with bear cubs during his childhood. In 2016, in the most expensive transaction in sports history, UFC was sold to Endeavor for $4 billion.

The UFC showcases real combat competition, unlike the WWE, which follows a scripted format. The firm is one of the largest Pay-Per-View event providers in the world, and its content is broadcast in over 156 countries and territories to more than 1.1 billion television households worldwide. Ari Emanuel and team are betting big on the UFC as live audiences come back to arenas and online views of fights surge in markets like China.

Endeavors Back Home

Some of the desi peers of Endeavor in the event and celebrity management segments include the likes of Wizcraft, Cineyug, Fountainhead, OML, Matrix, KWAN (now Collective Artists Network) and Bling. Additionally, the likes of Zee Live, which focus on onground experiences for audiences, have rolled out a countrywide theatre tour.

Experts tracking the domestic entertainment sector believe that the segment is disproportionately dominated by TV and cinema in terms of revenues. But as spending increases, these industry observers are confident that leisure expenditure in niche segments like live sports will grow at a rapid pace. Scalability may be a challenge and investors may play ball only if businesses reach the desired size, but the growth potential is high, they feel.

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The firm that connects Elon Musk, Rihanna, mixed martial arts and three Reliance Jio investors - Moneycontrol

Yet Virgin Galactic forges ahead. It plans to resume its rocket-powered flight test program in May, and its new chief executive, Michael Colglazier, the former head of Disneys international theme park division, appears intent on dealing with past difficulties. It recently unveiled a spaceship that includes metallic fasteners that help prevent disbonding, and a stability augmentation system that automates an aspect of the flight and allows for a smoother ride.

While these changes could address some of Virgin Galactics problems, its DNA as a rocket plane company remains the same a DNA that may present its greatest challenge, according to Luke Colby, a propulsion engineer who worked on Virgin Galactics spaceship program for nearly a decade and has also consulted for SpaceX and Blue Origin. If you want a space vehicle to be fully reusable for airline-like traffic, it doesnt have to look like an airplane, Mr. Colby said. It just has to function like one. And the physics really drive you toward a two-stage, vertical-take-off-and-vertical-landing rocket.

He accepted that Virgin Galactic is likely to be remembered as one of the first but not necessarily the most successful of the first new space companies a sobering admission. Its problem, he said, was that the company was driven by nostalgia for aeronautical flight. Blue Origin and SpaceX, on the other hand? They have been driven by the physics of spaceflight, he said.

Physics presented one challenge; human nature posed another. Put simply, Virgin Galactic has set a standard of perfection for itself that is noble but nave. As one test pilot said, Ninety-nine percent isnt good enough. An accident rate of less than 1 percent on an experimental rocket ship? Near impossible. Those are the hard realities of romance.

Perhaps thats what made this company so fascinating to watch: its hope, in spite of the odds. I wanted to see it succeed not because I cared who won the private space race but because I admired the passion and optimism shared by the techs and engineers and test pilots on the project. We can only hope when we fear failure, and that was one thing algorithms couldnt yet do: hope. The human factor had worked its magic on me.

My kids felt it, too. They still talk about watching that ship blast off and then later standing at the foot of the stage while Beth Moses, elated at what shed just witnessed, struggled to find the words to articulate her experience, while her husband and her own children gazed up at her in awe.

That, she said, is an indescribable ride.

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Opinion | Why Virgin Galactic Couldn't Beat Elon Musk to Space - The New York Times

On May 8, 2021, Technoking and Imperator of Mars Elon Musk will be making his comedy debut, hosting Saturday Night Live on NBC. Confirmation of his hosting is still getting many people very hot under the collar.

Even SNL cast members voiced their displeasure at having Musk on the show, one way or the other. Among them, Bowen Yang, Aidy Bryant, Michael Che, and writer Andrew Dismukes posted messages on social media, showing or hinting that they thought the host choice was a very bad one.

According to Page Six, if any one of these SNL regulars or others find the job of sharing the screen with Musk too much to bear, they can simply opt out of this weeks episode. Speaking historically, if a cast member has been that unhappy, they dont have to do it, a source tells the publication. [SNL boss Lorne Michaels] wont ever make them do anything they dont want to do. The same source says that Musk is very much a showman, which is probably a comeback to all those claiming Michaels and NBC sold out for bigger ratings. After all, SNL is hardly in the habit of bringing tech guys or public figures that are too controversial on board.

On a positive note, the report notes that not one of the SNL regulars has yet announced an intention to skip this weeks show. Good or bad, Musks appearance on the show will be history in the making. And, certainly, the ratings are bound to go up, especially since Mr. Technoking has made it clear that he has no plan of toning it down for the sake of the cameras.

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SNL Cast Members Can Skip the Elon Musk Show If They Really Hate Him Being There - autoevolution