Elon Musk says Silver Lake, Goldman advising on taking Tesla private

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday tweeted that he would work with buyout firm Silver Lake and investment bank Goldman Sachs as financial advisers on a proposal to take private the electric car maker.

But a source said Silver Lake was offering its assistance to Musk without compensation and had not been hired as a financial adviser in an official capacity. Moreover, Silver Lake is not currently discussing participating in the deal as an investor, the source said. Silver Lake declined to comment.

Musk, who is still looking for funding for the plan, also said law firms Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Munger, Tolles & Olson would be legal advisers on the plan.

Musk shocked markets last week with the tweeted announcement that he was considering taking Tesla private for $420 a share, a price that valued Tesla at more than $70 billion, and that he had "funding secured."

Move over electric cars: Musk now wants to make bricks for low cost housing

Move over, candy and flamethrowers. Elon Musk tweeted out plans Monday for yet another side venture: alleviating the nation's housing crisis.

"The Boring Company will be using dirt from tunnel digging to create bricks for low-cost housing," he wrote in a tweet about his nascent tunnelling enterprise.

Company spokesman Sam Teller confirmed the plans, saying the bricks will come from the "excavated muck." "There will be an insane amount of bricks," Teller wrote in an email.

How many affordable housing units that will create, though, is a different matter, says Juan Matute, a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, and associate director of UCLA's Institute of Transportation Studies.

Musk’s tweet "assumes that housing costs are driven by construction materials, and particularly, construction materials that can be replaced by bricks," Matutue said. "That's not the case." At least in California, the only state where Boring Co. has started digging a tunnel, land and labour drive prices more than anything else.

It's not me, it's Berkshire: Buffett says his firm's name will outlast him

If a major company needs capital or a private firm wants to sell, Warren Buffett’s checkbook is often the one they seek out.

Will that stay the case when it’s someone else’s signature?

That was the question from several Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders at the firm’s annual meeting Saturday, adding a fresh angle to the topic of succession for the 87-year-old chairman. Berkshire’s desire to utilize a cash pile that has grown to more than $100 billion makes finding large-scale deals a key issue for whoever will be the conglomerate’s next leader.

Buffett downplayed any unique skill he has to drum up deals, using his inability to find recent ones as evidence. Berkshire often makes large investments in times of panic, when its stable capital, and not the Buffett name, is the allure, he argued.

“The reputation belongs to Berkshire now,” Buffett said at the meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. “We are the first call and will continue to be the first call.”
Charlie Munger, Buffett’s 94-year-old vice chairman, said already most acquisitions are coming from the chiefs of the company’s operating subsidiaries, not he and Buffett.

Buffet dares Musk to beat his candy biz, SpaceX founder accepts challenge

Elon Musk recently took aim at the idea a successful business needs a “moat” -- a competitive advantage that keeps rivals at bay. The pace of innovation, he said, is more important in the long run.

On Saturday, Warren Buffett and his business partner, Charles Munger, shot back.

“Elon says a conventional moat is quaint, and that’s true of a puddle of water,” Munger, 94, said. “It’s ridiculous. Warren does not intend to build an actual moat. Even though they’re quaint.”

Munger and Buffett, 87, were responding to a question at Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s annual meeting about Musk’s comments this week. The pair often talk about trying to expand the “moats” around their businesses.

“First of all, I think moats are lame,” Musk said during an earnings call for his Tesla Inc. on May 2. “They’re like nice in a sort of quaint, vestigial way. But if your only defense against invading armies is a moat, you will not last long. What matters is the pace of innovation. That is the fundamental determinant of competitiveness.”

Tesla burnt $ 1 billion in Q1 and Musk finds analysts' questions 'boring'

The earnings report started optimistically enough, with Elon Musk forecasting an end to Tesla Inc.’s cash-burning days after blazing through another $1 billion last quarter.

But by the end of Tesla’s first-quarter conference call, Musk was berating analysts for asking “boring” questions, the shares had plunged and any shred of predictability was out the window.

Musk, 46, has built up a showman’s reputation as the founder and chief executive officer of Tesla, calling on true believers to help him overcome the “haters” who question his company’s ability to usher in an electric-vehicle age on an ambitious timetable. His performance Wednesday revealed his willingness to bite the hand that feeds, ridiculing representatives of Wall Street’s biggest banks who tried to pinpoint how he’d live up to his promises to build more Model 3 sedans and generate cash in the second half of the year.

“The boring questions can also be categorized as the tough ones,” said Dave Sullivan, an analyst at AutoPacific Inc. “I hope the Tesla fans know how to swim, because without the answers to the tough questions, it looks like Musk is leading them straight into the water.”

Elon Musk's Boring Company raises $112.5 million for hyperloop tunnels

Elon Musk's Boring Company has raised $112.5 million in equity, the firm said in a regulatory filing on Monday, as it seeks to build underground tunnels for its hyperloop transportation project.

Musk, who also leads electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc and rocket company SpaceX, is seeking to revolutionize transportation by sending passengers packed into pods through an intercity system of giant, underground vacuum tubes known as the hyperloop.

The funding comes about five months after Musk said the Boring Company would compete to fund, build and operate a "loop" to connect downtown Chicago with O'Hare Airport.

Musk had earlier sold Boring Company hats and flamethrowers to raise funds.

The Boring Company says tunnel-digging projects can cost as much as $1 billion per mile. Its goal is to lower these costs by a factor of 10 or more, its website says.

Falcon Heavy: SpaceX's amazing launch, but what about environmental impact?

SpaceX has now launched the most powerful spacecraft since the Apollo era – the Falcon Heavy rocket – setting the bar for future space launches. The most important thing about this reusable spacecraft is that it can carry a payload equivalent to sending five double-decker London buses into space – which will be invaluable for future manned space exploration or in sending bigger satellites into orbit.

Falcon Heavy essentially comprises three previously tested rockets strapped together to create one giant spacecraft. The launch drew massive international audiences – but while it was an amazing event to witness, there are some important potential drawbacks that must be considered as we assess the impact of this mission on space exploration.

But let’s start by looking at some of the many positives. Falcon Heavy is capable of taking 68 tonnes of equipment into orbit close to the Earth. The current closest competitor is the Delta IV heavy which has a payload equivalent of 29 tonnes. So Falcon Heavy represents a big step forward in delivering ever larger satellites or manned missions out to explore our solar system. For the purposes of colonising Mars or the moon, this is a welcome and necessary development.

Tesla sticks by target of 5000 Model 3s by Q2, Musk warns spending may rise

Tesla Inc said on Wednesday it was sticking with Chief Executive Elon Musk's revised production targets for its Model 3 electric sedan, but posted its worst-ever quarterly loss, and warned that spending would increase slightly this year.

Shares of the Palo Alto, California-based company were barely changed in extended trading.

Money-losing Tesla's long-term viability depends on annually selling billions of dollars of Model 3s, the new sedan that starts at $35,000, about half the price of its flagship Model S. Tesla said that net reservations for the new model were stable during the fourth quarter.

Production delays have curtailed deliveries of the vehicle to customers - only 1,550 deliveries in the fourth quarter, far below the 4,100 vehicles expected by analysts - meaning revenue from the highly anticipated vehicle has yet to hit Tesla's bottom line.

Musk's Mars plans: SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket soars in debut test launch

The world's most powerful rocket, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, roared into space through clear blue skies in its debut test flight on Tuesday from a Florida launch site where moon missions once began, in another milestone for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's private rocket company.

The 23-story-tall jumbo rocket, carrying a cherry red Tesla Roadster automobile into space as a mock payload, thundered off its launchpad in billowing clouds of steam and rocket exhaust at 3:45 p.m (2045 GMT) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Boisterous cheering could be heard from SpaceX workers at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, where a livestream feed of the event originated. Several hundred spectators packed a campground near Cocoa Beach, 5 miles (8 km) from the space center, to watch the blastoff.

Falcon Heavy will be a success if it doesn't blow up on launch pad: Musk

The maiden flight of Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s larger and more powerful Falcon Heavy rocket will be a success if it doesn’t blow up on the launch pad, according to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk.

“This is a test mission, so we don’t want to set expectations of perfection,” Musk said on a call with reporters Monday ahead of the planned demonstration flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad.”

The new rocket, which is expected to take off as early as 1:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, is a reusable “super heavy” launch vehicle that will allow the closely held company to bid on heavier commercial and government payloads. It has double the capacity of its closest competitor, United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy. And competitors are watching closely, with Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin LLC and ULA’s Tory Bruno both wishing Musk good luck via Twitter as tourists swarm Florida’s space coast.

Tesla Model 3 production delay raises cashflow risks; shares down 3.6%

Tesla Inc shares fell as much as 3.6 per cent on Thursday, setting the company up to lose nearly $1.9 billion in market value after it pushed back a production target for its much-anticipated Model 3 sedan yet again.

Analysts stayed upbeat, saying the electric car maker had finally set an achievable target for their mass-market sedan that is priced at $35,000. Investors, however, are likely to focus on how the delay will impact Tesla's cashflow, a big challenge for many quarters now.

Tesla said on Wednesday it would likely build about 2,500 Model 3s per week by the end of the first quarter, half the number it had earlier promised. The company now expects to reach its goal of 5,000 vehicles per week by the end of the second quarter.

"With absolute Model 3 sales tracking behind expectations and Model 3 gross margin improvement likely to be pushed out until production reaches greater scale, the expected cash tailwind from Model 3 will take longer to manifest itself than was anticipated," Evercore ISI analyst George Galliers said in a note.

Tesla, headed by Elon Musk, has been struggling to overcome production bottlenecks and reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss in the July-September quarter.
READ MORE

For Elon Musk, Google's 'Clips' camera doesn't 'seem' innocent

Google's artificial intelligence (AI)-based "Clips" camera has not impressed Tesla founder Elon Musk, a famed critic of AI.

"Clips" does image recognition and AI processing on-device, deploying machine learning to automatically click best pictures for you.
Musk, who thinks AI could trigger World War III and poses a far greater threat than North Korea, has now tweeted against "Clips" and its prowess.

Musk took to Twitter with reference to a video of "Clips" posted by The Verge.

"This doesn't even 'seem' innocent," he tweeted.

Google declined to comment specifically on Musk's tweet, CNET reported on Monday.

The $249 "Clips" is a lightweight, hands-free camera that helps people capture spontaneous moments.

"We've put machine learning capabilities directly into 'Clips' so when you turn it on, the camera looks for good moments to capture. Clips looks for stable, clear shots of people you know," Google said.

The camera shoots short-motion photos that last several seconds. The clips sync wirelessly and in seconds from the camera to the Google Clips app for Android or iOS.

"Finally, all the machine learning happens on the device itself. And just like any point-and-shoot, nothing leaves your device until you decide to save it and share it," Google added.
READ MORE

Watch: SpaceX launches 10 satellites from California air base

A SpaceX rocket carried 10 communications satellites into orbit from California, two days after the company successfully launched a satellite from Florida.

The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off yesterday through low- lying fog at 1.25 pm pacific daylight time (PDT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles. It carried a second batch of new satellites for Iridium Communications, which is replacing its orbiting fleet with a next-generation constellation of satellites.

About 7 minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first-stage booster returned to earth and landed on a floating platform on a ship in the Pacific Ocean, while the rocket's second stage continued to carry the satellites toward orbit.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 on Friday launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida and boosted a communications satellite for Bulgaria into orbit. Its first stage was recovered after landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who founded Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX, believes reusing rocket components will bring down the cost of space launches.

Iridium plans to put in place 75 new satellites for its mobile voice and data communications system by mid-2018, requiring six more launches, all by SpaceX.

The $3 billion effort by the McLean, Virginia, company involves complex procedures to replace 66 operational satellites in use for many years. Some of the new satellites will be so-called on-orbit spares, or older satellites that remain in orbit on standby for use if the newer ones malfunction.

Swapping out and deorbiting some old satellites has already begun, Iridium CEO Matt Desch said in a pre-launch call with reporters.

Several old satellites have been moved into lower orbits to use up their remaining fuel and configure the solar panels for maximum drag so they will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up.

The first re-entry was believed to have occurred on June 11, Desch said.

"It's hard to celebrate something like that, but these satellites have put in almost 20 years of service, and making sure we've cleaned up after ourselves as we deploy our new constellation is a priority," he said.

The new satellites also carry payloads for joint-venture Aerion's space-based, real-time tracking and surveillance of aircraft around the globe, which has implications for efficiency, economy and safety especially in remote airspace over the oceans.

READ MORE

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a lot more in store than the latest Model 3

After Tesla reported earnings on Wednesday, Elon Musk cracked open the lid on his box of secrets.

While most investors focused on rising costs and execution risk as he prepares for his most important product launch, the CEO dropped a pile of hints about what new adventures may be in store for the darling of America’s electrified future. Here are some noteworthy nuggets.

Model 3 is ‘close to the bullseye’

As Tesla approaches the July launch of its first mass-market car, Musk provided details that may assuage nervous investors (and reservation holders). The newest Schuler press line has been powered on, paint shop prep is complete, the welding and assembly lines are coming together, and there have been no major hiccups with the test cars. “It’s been pretty close to the bullseye,” Musk said. “I don’t know anything that would prevent us from starting production in July and exceeding 5,000 units a week by the end of the year.”

The Model Y is coming in 2019

Tesla plans to launch its follow-on car to the Model 3, a compact SUV called the Model Y, in late 2019 or 2020. Musk said the Y will be built on an entirely new platform from the 3, which surprised a number of analysts and may be partly responsible for the stock falling 5 per cent on Thursday. Building a new vehicle from scratch costs more and takes longer than a more subtle redesign, but Musk said doing so will allow Tesla to dramatically increase the rate of production with a new level of robotic manufacturing.

READ MORE