Category Archives: Elon Musk

It's just Tesla being Tesla again.

This week brought a new Tesla mystery, after the automaker quietly removed the Model Y Standard Range from its public configurator. The move came after the model was officially available for order via the website for less than two months, and got a $2,000 price drop last week. Needless to say, we joined prospective Tesla buyers in wondering what the hell happened.

CEO Elon Musk himself provided an explanation Monday evening after a Twitter user asked the Tesla boss what's going on. In Musk's words, "it's still available off menu." If that approach sounds familiar, it's because Tesla used it with the infamous "$35,000 Model 3." After some hoopla and fanfare welcoming the affordable EV's arrival, the electric sedan disappeared from the online configurator and became available for order by phone or in person. Effectively, Tesla didn't want to sell the particular version of the Model 3. Today, it's gone altogether.

Adding more context, Musk said in the same tweet, "I don't think the range, in many drive conditions, yet meets Tesla's standard of excellence." This seems to play back into Musk's thinking last year when he announced we weren't getting a Model Y Standard Range at all. Yet, this past January, the vehicle made a surprise debut online with a 244-mile estimated range. Musk in 2020 said the Model Y Standard Range would likely sport an "unacceptably low" 250-mile range, so he was on the money with that estimate. It sounds like Musk and friends had a change of heart. Or, it's another one of Tesla's epically creative no-money-spent marketing stunts.

If you're hoping for a reprieve in the form of a cheaper Model Y Long Range RWD, Musk shot that idea down in a followup tweet saying there's "too much product complexity" in Tesla's lineup as it stands. So, if you want a cheap Model Y, pick up the phone or head to a Tesla retail store. You won't see the company making any effort to sell the $39,990 electric SUV outright.

Tesla does not operate a public relations department to field requests for comment.

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Elon Musk explains what happened to Tesla Model Y Standard Range - CNET

This is awesome. I didnt even know it existed a week ago. Thats how a lot of people are reacting to Clubhouse, the social-media startup thats becoming asensation. Except in this case, the new fan was Elon Musk, who had just made his first appearance on the app, a voice-and-audio driven platform that lets people hold live discussionsbased on any number of topics and interests, with thousands sometimes in attendance. Musk was aJan. 31 gueston Good Time,a talk showco-led by a panel of venture capitalists and a Facebook Inc. tech executive.Days later, Facebook Chief Executive OfficerMark Zuckerbergmade a surprise appearance on the same program.Last month, I wrote abouthow Clubhousewas poised to become the next big social media powerhouse, citing the doubling of its weekly active user base to 2 million over a couple of weeks in January asa sign of its booming popularity.This latest wave of influential new users fromtechnology titans such as Musk and Zuckerberg topolitical figures and leaders in entertainment is driving another wave of exponential growth for Clubhouse, not only in the U.S. but around the world.

On Sunday, co-founder Paul Davison said the service reached 10 million weekly active users, which means its user base has blossomed fivefoldin a month. These numbers are all the more impressive given that the app still requires an invitation from a current user and is available only on iPhones (an Android version is planned).Davison alsonoted that overseas markets were key contributors in the companyslatest surge, with the app rocketing to the top of the App Store charts in dozens of countries. There may be profound implications.

According to mobile-app analytics research firm App Annie, Clubhouse reached No. 1atApple Inc.s App Store in more than 30 countries this year, meaning it is now a more popular download than Instagram, TikTok, Zoom or WhatsApp in those markets. It is not just one geography either: Clubhouse is doing well across cultures, be it South Korea and Japan orGermany and Italy.

What is most striking is Clubhouses success in areas with more autocratic governments across the Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. This may be an important development as it shows the tremendous thirst for open audio-based social conversation inside more authoritarian countries. In recent weeks, I have spoken withseveral users based in the Middle East. They were all extremely curious abouthow the rest of the world works while also extollingthe vibrancy of Clubhouse discussion rooms in their respective countries. One person in Saudi Arabia said there were hundreds of rooms some with thousands of participants talking about political and social issues. These kinds of live gatherings would be difficult if not impossible to hold in person.

The intimacy and back-and-forth nature of the voice-based mediumon Clubhouse may be a game-changer for political discourse. The one-on-one audio conversations fostered by the platform encouragerelationship-building in a way that text-based social networks such as Twitter and Facebook cant. And because there are no official records after discussions end, it will be more difficult for authorities to curb or censor specific topics.That may lead toeasier mobilization and coordination of new movements. In this way, its even possible that Clubhouse may finally help fulfill the promise of the Arab Spring demonstrations from a decade ago.

Thatpotential hasnt gone unnoticed. Earlier this month, users based in China noticed they could not access the service without using workarounds such asvirtual private networks to get around the countrys firewall. It suggests Chinahas decided to block access to Clubhouse.But asmy colleague Tim Culpan wrote, the generallycordial political discussion and sharing of viewpoints amongthousands of Chinese-speaking people around the world for a few weeks exemplified the best of what the platform could be.While similar restrictions may spring up elsewhere, Isuspect manycountries that allow Facebook and Twitter will keep the doors open for Clubhouse because of its rising popularity.

Clubhouses recent success does bring its own set of difficulties, includinggrowing pains as it builds outits infrastructure to serve its rapidly growing user base. Over the past week, the app frequently has become glitchy and unresponsive nearly every day.Davison has said the company hasslowed the development ofnew features to focus on keeping the service running and hiring new staff. And it is only a matter of time before Clubhouse will face serious trust and safety problems as it deals with the rising tide of charlatans and bad actorswho mayincreasingly try to inhabitthe platform.

I am optimistic that Clubhouse will become a platformof choice for healthier conversations compared withother social media platforms. The main problem with the traditional players such asFacebook and Twitter is that their advertising-focused business models incentivize the worst types of content. Because they generate more revenue from increased page views and ad impressions, they are more likely to turn a blind eye toconspiracy theories, harassment and misinformation that drive the most engagement on their platforms.Further, binary angry rants on Twitter and Facebook tend to getamplified over nuanced substantive discussions.

Clubhouse, on the other hand, is targeting a different model. From the beginning, the co-founders have said they wontpursue advertisingto generate revenue because it mightlower the quality of conversation and lead to bad behavior. Instead, the startup plans to pursue a transactional model whereusers can pay speakers directly through tipping, subscriptionsand event ticketing. Its the right move.

Many corners of the social-media world are toxic, especially wherepeople are able to fire off broadsides anonymously from behind their screens.But people tend to interact more politely in live conversation; Clubhouse may turn out to be the perfect antidote to the contentious climate. The startups game plan may be good for business, too. With its stunning emergence this year, Clubhouse has already become the biggest U.S. social-mediasuccess story in nine years after the Instagram, Twitter Inc. and Snap Inc. era. Theonly other new app to rival its recent ascendance is ByteDanceLtd.s TikTok which, notably,is alsoknown for its feel-good vibes. Clubhouse may surpass its U.S.-based peers over the next few years if it can truly perfect a better collegial environment on the internet.

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Clubhouse won over Elon Musk, now its conquering the world - HT Tech

Warren Buffett recently invested billions into big oil with his $4.1 billion stake in Chevron, which leads us to think that he just not into clean energy any more. In 2014, he invested billions more into renewables, but one would think that if you really cared about making the world a cleaner place, youd go all-in on renewable energy. This includes Tesla.

In light of Buffetts investment, Gali Filche from Hyperchange reshared a 2017 video he made titled, Dear Mr. Buffett, Buy Tesla. Gali asked this question: How much of Warren Buffetts empire is at risk if Elon Musks vision for the future is realized?

Gali mentioned that GEICO and BNSF Railway would have to compete with self-driving trucks. Gali also concluded that 48% of Berkshire Hathaways revenue was at risk of disruption due to Tesla. After looking over Berkshire Hathaways income statement from 2017, Gali noted that the first line of that statement was insurance premium earned.

These represent about $46 billion of Berkshires $233 billion of 2016 annual revenue. Approximately 21% of the total of Berkshires sales, and of that $46 billion of insurance premiums earned, about half of them 56% to be exact were related to GEICO, whose main business is car insurance. That means, in total, about 11% of the entire revenue of Berkshire is correlated to GEICO as insurance premiums earned, Gali said. This, Gali predicted, would be an issue due to self-driving cars.

He shared a clip from CNBC of Warren Buffett himself sharing how self-driving cars could hurt GEICOs business significantly.

Self-driving cars will be adopted if theyre safer. If theyre safer, theres less in the way of insurance costs. That brings down premiums significantly. So if the day comes when a significant portion of the cars on the road are autonomous, it will hurt GEICOs business very significantly, Buffett said. Gali pointed out that Buffett may think were 10 years away from full autonomy, but this will not be the start of the impact on GEICOs business model.

We think the impact is going to start happening right now. In fact, Teslas already begun offering its own insurance product. Because of their new Autopilot features, their cars are much safer than anything else on the road. Legacy insurance companies are slow to react to this and adjust the rates. Therefore, Tesla had to step in and create their own customized insurance product to accurately reflect the risks and safety of their vehicles. Teslas vehicles are only getting safer by the day as the company continues to invest in its Autopilot and autonomous driving software, and even if the car is never fully autonomous, even partial autonomy could result in as much as 90% improvement in safety, or 10, according to Elon Musk. This would be enough to flip the entire economics of insurance on their head, Gali said in the video.

Gali also believes that GEICO is at risk of losing almost the entirety of its business as the auto insurance market shrinks during the advent of self-driving cars.

This is just one example Gali gave as to why Warren Buffett should invest in Tesla. One key fact that Gali presented in his video was that two-thirds of Berkshires energy generation of the 30,000 megawatts that the company produced in 2016 were related to coal and natural gas. So, one-third was related to renewables, which is great, and I actually want to give Buffett a lot of credit for pushing renewables in his energy companies. Although, hes done it questionably with NV Energy in Nevada, kicking out SolarCity. Gali noted that was a different story for a different time.

If you think that Teslas solar roofs and their vision of a distributed energy system will take off, then thats going to pose an immediate threat to the entirety of your utility business, or at least compete with them to lower rates, Gali explained in the video.

In a much more recent video a few days ago Gali shared his thoughts on Buffetts investment into Chevron. You know Warren Buffett someone Ive said is an idol of mine, someone Ive looked up to, Ive recommended his book, The Snowball, on this channel. Hes what got me into investing, he said at the beginning of his video.

If Warren Buffet would have spent $5 billion on TSLA when it was $300 a share pre-split, his investment would have gone up more than 10, Gali pointed out. Ive been pounding the table Warren Buffett, buy Tesla, buy Tesla, buy Tesla! This is the future. Were all going electric. Its the next great American brand. And then next thing you know, he bought Chevron.

This hurt Galis heart simply because Gali believes in value investing in the companies you believe in that will change the world, whereas it seems that Buffett is value investing just to make money. Its as if Buffett doesnt care about the impact his billions will have on the rest of us.

Gali speaks of the mindset of investors in New York and why he left. They just live on a spreadsheet, I dont give a crap what business Im buying, I just want my investment to go up the most as possible. You know, its just about me, my perspective, not about whats good for the planet, not a systems approach, not thinking about other stakeholders, and I just think thats such a wrong mentality and I think everything about Buffett buying Chevron now leans into that mentality, and thats why its so frustrating.

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How Much of Warren Buffetts Empire is at Risk if Elon Musks Vision for the Future is Realized? - CleanTechnica

Elon Musk wants dogecoin moguls to share their wealth.

The billionaire Tesla CEO urged dogecoins largest owners to sell most of their holdings as he expressed concern about a small number of people hoarding too much of the cult cryptocurrency.

If major Dogecoin holders sell most of their coins, it will get my full support, Musk said on Twitter Sunday evening. Too much concentration is the only real issue [in my opinion].

I will literally pay actual $ if they just void their accounts, he added in an early Monday post.

Musks first tweet appeared to spark yet another wild movement in the price of dogecoin, a meme-inspired digital currency that was started as a joke.

The price initially jumped in the minutes after Musks tweet but went on to fall as low as about 4.8 cents late Sunday, marking a roughly 45 percent drop from the all-time high of 8.7 cents that it reached last week, according to CoinDesk data.

The coin pared the losses Monday morning to trade at roughly 5.8 cents apiece as of 7:18 a.m., down 6.5 percent from a day earlier, with a market value of about $7.5 billion.

Musks latest Twitter musings about dogecoin named for an internet meme that features a Shiba Inu dog suggested that hes sincerely invested in the coin despite his frequent jokes about it.

When another Twitter user posited that Musks effort to push big holders to sell was a sign that he legitimately sees Dogecoins potential as being the leading currency of the internet, Musk replied, Absolutely.

But the coin has nevertheless fallen from the all-time peak it hit on Feb. 7 as celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and Gene Simmons joined Musk in hyping it up.

Musk also claimed last week that he had bought some dogecoin for his infant son, X A-Xii, two days after Tesla revealed that it had invested $1.5 billion of its corporate cash in bitcoin.

Originally posted here:

Elon Musk wants top cryptocurrency Dogecoin holders to sell

Elon Musk, the CEO and co-founder of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), has been hailed as a genius entrepreneur, earning the nicknamemodern-day Tony Stark, after the fictionalgenius inventor and billionaire industrialist. According to theBloomberg Billionaires Index, he has an estimated total net worth of $209 billion, surpassing Jeff Bezos of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) as the worlds wealthiest person. Therefore, todays article introduces seven stocks to buy that Elon Musk would approve of.

Many InvestorPlace readers will remember that in 1999 Musk founded X.com, which later became PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL). He is also the founder of SpaceX, whose mission is to manufacture and launch rockets as well as spacecraft. In 2020, SpaceX had its first successful human space launch. Recent days have seen headlines on Starship, a fully reusable transport system capable of carrying up to 100 people to Mars.

There is no doubt Musk is a talented and successful entrepreneur. However, he can also be outspoken and at times controversial. For example, he has not been shy in using Twitters (NYSE:TWTR) platform to make public his positive views on Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) and Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD). Then, on Feb. 1, Tesla announced it was buying Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion. The company will also accept the cryptocurrency as payment.

Needless to say, Bitcoin has been reaching new highs since the announcement. The Musk Effect might be another example of the short-term nature of a hot stock market. But his followers are ready to take his lead and follow his words and moves.

For a large number of investors, Tesla represents the future of electric vehicles (EVs). But Wall Street also wonders if much of the future growth potential of the shares has already been accounted for in TSLA stocks current price. Whichever way the stock goes, there are several other companies and assets that are likely to benefit from the attention Tesla and Mr. Musk give them.

With that in mind, here are seven stocks that are in the spotlight thanks to Elon Musk:

Source: franz12 / Shutterstock.com

52-week range: $4.13 $7.561-year price change: 9.38%Dividend yield: 3.28%

Tokyo, Japan-based AGC is a glass manufacturer. Its products are used in a wide range of industries, from construction to automotive and solar energy. The company manufactures windshields for Tesla, offering investors an alternative way to invest in electric vehicles.

The company reported 2020 fiscal year results on Feb. 5. Net sales decreased 7% from the previous year. Similarly, net income also showed a 26% decline from a year ago. Analysts noted glass and chemicals segments showed decline in net sales and profit due to the impact of the pandemic.In the Automotive Glass segment, management underscored the decline in group shipments, except for China, due to decrease in worldwide vehicle production affected by [the Covid-19] crisis.

Despite the setback in 2020, management believes the business is on a recovery track, expected to show [a year-over-year] YoY increase in net sales and [operating profit] OP. I believe this niche manufacturer and supplier to Tesla needs to be on your watchlist.

Source: Shutterstock

52-week range: $4,106.98 $50,335.721-year price change: 396%

The memorable Bitcoin rally in the past year was mainly driven by institutional demand as well as retail investors willing to bet against traditional paper currency. JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) suggested that Bitcoin can potentially take the place of gold to a large extent, ready for considerable upside, as it competes with gold as an alternative currency.

After Elon Musk changed his personal Twitter bio to #bitcoin, the BTC-USD price surged more than 15% to over $38,000 on Jan. 29, before falling back to $34,500. Meanwhile, his tweets have moved other cryptocurrencies as well.

However, there are rumors of declining institutional interest in the cryptocurrency. If this is true, a tweet from the richest person in the world cannot necessarily change this reality. Data from crypto news and analysis company The Blockshows that hedge funds are shorting Bitcoin by more than $1 billion.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin fans continue to buy into the cryptocurrency, as this short-interest news has failed to curb the retail investor euphoria in Bitcoin. Although I believe there will be further institutional interest in the cryptocurrency, retail investors should be cautious. There is a lot of noise and speculation in the crypto space at this point.

Like the recent GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock headlines, it would not be surprising to see a clash in the coming months between hedge-fund short-sellers and bullish retail traders determined to push the Bitcoin price higher. Given the ongoing rally in the cryptocurrency, investors will continue to see wild swings in its price tag.

Source: quietbits / Shutterstock.com

52-week range: $29.95 $239.471-year price change: 340%

Etsy shares surged nearly 10% in premarket trading in late January after Elon Musk touted the company on Twitter, saying I kinda love Etsy in atweet.

The New York-based company operates an online e-commerce site. It offers a range of seller services and tools that help entrepreneurs start, grow and manage their businesses. Etsy competes with brands like Amazon Handmade,Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) and Big Cartel.

Etsy reported Q3 results in late October. Total revenue was $451.5 million, up 128.1% YoY, driven by strong growth. Net income was $91.8 million, representing a 520% YoY increase from $14.8 million in the prior year quarter. Furthermore, diluted earnings per share came at 70 cents. Cash and equivalents were $1.6 billion. The company has around four million sellers on its platform, representing about a 50% YoY increase.

CEO Josh Silverman said, We delivered very strong results during the third quarter, with consolidated GMS and revenue growth up 119% and 128% respectively, evidence of our focused execution, engagement with our buyers and sellers, and our strong brand, underpinned by the unique inventory in our marketplace.

The online platform has a dynamic seller base. As a result, sellers were able to shift inventory to products that become relevant such as face masks during the current pandemic and vote necklaces during the U.S. presidential election. The company has been a winner in 2020, and the share price clearly reflects this momentum.

ETSY stocks forward price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-sales (P/S) ratios are 105.26 and 22.08, respectively. This is a frothy valuation. Interested investors might find better value around $200.

Source: lumen-digital / Shutterstock.com

52-week range:$2.84 $14.291-year price change: Up 66.3%

Racine, Wisconsin-based Modine Manufacturing provides engineered heat-transfer systems for use in vehicles, construction and refrigeration markets. Its products include radiators, condensers, charge air coolers, heat-transfer modules, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and coils.

Notably, the company manufactures battery chillers for Tesla, offering investors another way to invest in the EV space. It has a long history in the automotive business.

Modine Manufacturing reported third-quarter results on Feb. 5. Revenue was $484.3 million, relatively flat compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Net loss in the third quarter was $195.4 million, compared to net earnings of $1 million in the prior-year period. Moreover, adjusted earnings per share were 41 cents, compared to 37 cents in the prior year. Adjusted free cash flow was $141.5 million in the third quarter, compared to $25.9 million in the previous year.

In recent quarters, the firm has been expanding operations, specifically to commercial HVAC. This move has led to improving free cash flow since the management team announced its strategy transition several years ago.

CEO Neil D. Brinker cited, After my first several weeks with Modine, I see great potential for us to leverage our technical leadership and innovation in thermal management to drive long-term growth and earnings improvements.

Management is noting a slow and steady recovery from most of its end markets and regions. MOD stocks forward P/E and P/S ratios are 7.51 and 0.40, respectively. I believe the stock offers good value around the current levels.

Source: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com

52-week range: $82.07 $309.141-year price change: 146.04%

As we have already noted, Elon Musk initially set up X.com, which he intended to become an online financial services firm. In 2000, it merged with Confinity, co-founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, two other internet entrepreneurs. The merged company became PayPal and was later acquired by eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY). Elon Musk left PayPal in 2002.

Over the past two decades, PayPal has grown to become one of the most important names in financial technology (fintech). Its combined payment solutions include PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom and Paydiant products. It also enables U.S.-based users to buy and sell Bitcoin on its PayPal platform.

Paypal reportedfourth-quarter and full year 2020 results on Feb. 3. Q4 revenue totaled $6.12 billion, an increase of 23% YoY. Q4 non-GAAP net income was $1.3 billion, a 30% YoY growth. Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) was $1.08, up 29% from the prior year period. The group generated $1.35 billion in cash flow, a 46% YoY increase. Free cash flow was $1.12 billion, representing a 50% YoY increase.

CEO Dan Schulman said, PayPal delivered record performance in 2020 as businesses of all sizes have digitized in the wake of the pandemic. In this historic year, we released more products than ever before and have dramatically scaled our acceptance worldwide, giving our 377 million consumer and merchant accounts even more reasons to use our platform.

PYPL stocks forward P/E and P/S ratios are 65.79 and 16.51, respectively. Given the impressive run-up in price over the past year, the valuation is on the frothy side. Yet, PayPals digital payment products are likely to stay in high demand.

The companys market capitalization is over $354 billion. Although there is likely to be occasional pullbacks in the share price, I expect PYPL stock to create shareholder value for many quarters to come.

Source: Shutterstock

52-week range: $26.76 $29.151-year price change: 50.1%Dividend yield: 0.83%

Switzerland-based Sika manufactures specialty chemical-based products, primarily for the automotive, renewable energy and industrial markets. It produces additives for concrete, sealants for roofing and flooring, waterproofing systems and light-weight components for the automotive and wind-generation industries.

SIKA reportedfourth-quarter results on Jan. 12. Sales stood at 7.88 billion CHF, while the company reported strong growth of 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Its products for environmentally compliant green buildings are becoming important.

CEO Paul Schuler said, The 2020 fiscal year was overshadowed by the global coronavirus pandemic, which had a number of serious repercussions for the construction and automotive sectors Sika managed to perform successfully in this highly challenging market environment and achieve above-average results.

Management expects a strong 2021, mainly due to government stimulus packages for new-build and refurbishment projects. Sika is also forecasting higher vehicle-production volumes this year. Its products are used to soundproof and reduce the weight of cars. Tesla, Daimler (OTCMKTS:DMLRY) and Ford Motor (NYSE:F) are among Sikas customers in the automotive industry.

SIKA stocks forward P/E and P/S ratios are 36.9 and 4.96, respectively. Potential investors should eye declines in the share price for a better entry opportunity.

Source: Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com

52-week range: $70.10 $900.401-year price change: 401.7%

We cant have a list of Elon Musk stocks without mentioning TSLA. Tesla has become the undisputed EV leader on Wall Street. The Palo Alto, California-based company is also involved in clean energy generation and storage products. Tesla currently has two vehicle production factories, located in Fremont, California and Shanghai, China. Additionally, construction of Berlin and Texas factories continue, and they are expected to start production in the coming quarters.

The automaker announced Q4 metrics on Jan. 27. Total revenue was $10.75 billion, up by 46% YoY. Net earnings were $903 million, showing 134% YoY growth. Furthermore, diluted EPS was 80 cents, a 95% YoY increase. Cash and equivalents, with the help of recent capital, were registered as $19.4 million, implying a 209% YoY increase. Free cash flow on the other hand, grew by 158% YoY and reached to $2,786 million.

Over a multi-year horizon, we expect to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries. In some years we may grow faster, which we expect to be the case in 2021, said Tesla management in a statement following its 2020 Q4 financials.

TSLAs price performance was remarkable in the past 12 months as it has returned over 400%. As a result, the stocks forward P/E and P/S ratios are 200 and 28.03, showing a rich valuation. Tesla is an extremely volatile stock. Short-term traders should be ready for price swings and exercise caution. However, long-term traders could regard dips in price as opportunities to buy.

On the date of publication, Tezcan Gecgil did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

TezcanGecgilhas worked in investment management for over two decades in the U.S. and U.K. In addition to formal higher education in the field, she has also completed all 3 levels of the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) examination. Her passion is for options trading based on technical analysis of fundamentally strong companies. She especially enjoys setting up weekly covered calls for income generation.

Read more:

7 Stocks That Elon Musk Loves And That You Should Too - InvestorPlace

Jeff Bezos is once again the richest man in the world.

Thanks to the drop inTesla Inc's (NASDAQ: TSLA), whose stock fell 2.4% on Wednesday, the founder of Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) regained his place at the top of the worlds richest people chart, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

With a personal fortune of $191 billion, Bezos stands up to Elon Musk ($190 billion), who ranked number one for six weeks. Musk's rise to number one took place in early January 2020, when Tesla's shares rose 743% over the year, with a $106 billion increase.

The Other Fat Cats:Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates has a net worth of $137 billion, thanks to which he took the third place in the ranking, followed byLVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (OTC: LVMUY) CEO Bernard Arnault with $116 billion, andFacebook Inc.(NASDAQ: FB) CEOMark Zuckerberg, ranking fifth thanks to his $104 billion.

Space Challenge:This is a challenge by means of equity destined to move into orbit. In fact, the two richest people also own two aerospace research companies: Blue Originand SpaceX.On February 2nd, Bezos stepped down from his role as CEO of Amazon to pursue his other activities, and referring to Blue Origin he said: This is the most important job I am doing.

See Also: Elon Musk's SpaceX Gets 60% Higher Valuation In Latest Funding Round At $74B: Report

Blue Origin will be wrestling with Musk's Space X, which has managed to establish itself in recent years. Both are now competing on several strategic contracts within the US space missions.

ThisarticleoriginallyappearedonFinancialounge.comand was translated from Italian to English.It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

For news coverage in Italian or Spanish, check outBenzinga ItaliaandBenzinga Espaa.

2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from:

Surpassing Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos Is Again The World's Richest Person - Benzinga

The SpaceX Falcon 9 lifting off from Kennedy Space Center in May last year.

When you think of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, chances are good that you also think of his electric car company Tesla or his space-exploration venture SpaceX (to say nothing of his history of stirring up controversy on social media, or smoking weed with Joe Rogan). Maybe you just know him as the richest person on Earth, having passed Jeff Bezos to take the top spot a month ago.

Before long, something else might come to mind when you think of Musk: a venture called Starlink that seeks to sell internet connections to almost anyone on the planet by way of a growing network of private satellites orbiting overhead.

Learn smart gadget and internet tips and tricks with CNET's How To newsletter.

After years of development within SpaceX -- and after securing nearly $885.5 million in grant funds from the Federal Communications Commissionat the end of 2020 -- Starlink's progress seems to be accelerating in 2021. In January, after about three years' worth of successful launches, the project surpassed 1,000 satellites delivered into orbit. Earlier in February, Musk's company disclosed that Starlink now serves more than 10,000 customers. Now, the service is in the process of expanding preorders to even more potential customers, with people currently living without access to high-speed internet as one of the top priorities.

All of that makes Starlink well worth keeping an eye on in 2021. For now, here's everything you should know about it.

Now playing: Watch this: Starlink space-based internet, explained

4:43

Technically a division within SpaceX, Starlink is also the name of the spaceflight company's growing network -- or "constellation" -- of orbital satellites. The development of that network began in 2015, with the first prototype satellites launched into orbit in 2018.

In the years since, SpaceX has deployed over 1,000 Starlink satellites into orbit across more than 20 successful launches. In January, for its first Starlink mission of 2021,SpaceX launched 60 satellites into orbit from Kennedy Space Center using the landable, relaunchableFalcon 9 orbital rocket. Subsequent launches, includingfour more in February -- two of which have already been completed successfully -- will bring the total number of satellites launched to 1,265.

That's the idea, yes.

Just like existing providers of satellite internet like HughesNet or ViaSat, Starlink wants to sell internet access -- particularly to people in rural areas and other parts of the world who don't already have access to high-speed broadband.

SpaceX's Starlink hardware includes a satellite dish and router, which you'll set up at home to receive the signal from space.

"Starlink is ideally suited for areas of the globe where connectivity has typically been a challenge," the Starlink website reads. "Unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure, Starlink can deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable or completely unavailable."

All you need to do to make the connection is set up a small satellite dish at your home to receive the signal and pass the bandwidth on to your router. Starlink offers an app forAndroid andiOS that uses augmented reality to help customers pick the best location and position for their receivers.

Starlink's service is only available in select regions at this point, but the service now boasts more than 10,000 customers, and the coverage map will continue to grow as more satellites make their way into the constellation. Eventually, Starlink hopes to blanket the entire planet in a usable high-speed Wi-Fi signal.

"Users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50 to 150 megabits per second and latency from 20 to 40 milliseconds in most locations over the next several months," Starlink's website says, while also warning of brief periods of no connectivity at all. "As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically."

Starlink has begun accepting preorders from customers interested in joining the company's "Better Than Nothing" beta program. The cost of the service is billed at $99 per month, plus taxes and fees, plus an initial payment of $499 for the mountable satellite dish and router that you'll need to install at home.

Starlink says that it's taking orders from customers on a first-come, first-served basis and that some preorders could take as long as six months to fulfill.

Fiber, or internet delivered via ground-laid fiber-optic cable, offers upload and download speeds that are indeed much faster than satellite internet -- but, as companies like Google will tell you, there's nothing fast about deploying the infrastructure necessary to get fiber to people's homes. That's not to say that there's anything simple about shooting satellites into space, but with fewer sharp-elbowed competitors -- and with a lot less red tape to cut through -- there's every reason to believe that services like Starlink will reach the bulk of underserved communities long before fiber ever will. Recent FCC filings also suggest that Starlink could ultimately double as a dedicated phone service, too.

And don't forget that this is Elon Musk we're talking about. SpaceX is the only company on the planet with a landable, reusable rocket capable of delivering payload after payload into orbit. That's a mighty advantage in the commercial space race. On top of that,Musk said in 2018 that Starlink will help provide SpaceX with revenue needed to fund the company's long-held ambition to establish a base on Mars.

If that day arrives, it's also likely that SpaceX will try to establish a satellite constellation on the red planet, too. That means that Starlink customers are potentially doubling as guinea pigs for the Martian wireless networks of the future.

"If you send a million people to Mars, you better provide some way for them to communicate," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in 2016, speaking about the company's long-term vision for Starlink. "I don't think the people who go to Mars are going to be satisfied with some terrible, old-fashioned radios. They'll want their iPhones or Androids on Mars."

Still, with top speeds currently pegged at 150Mbps, Starlink's satellite internet won't be anywhere near the gigabit speeds fiber is capable of anytime soon -- and that's due to the sheer distance each transmission needs to travel on its round trip from your home to the stratosphere. It's a factor that also jacks up latency, which is why you'll often notice awkward lulls in the conversation if you're talking to someone over a satellite connection.

That said, Starlink promises to improve upon existing expectations for satellite connections by placing satellites into orbit at lower altitudes than before -- 60 times closer to the Earth's surface than traditional satellites, per the company's claims. This low-earth orbit approach means that there's less distance for those Starlink signals to travel -- and thus, less latency. We'll let you know how those claims hold up once we're able to test the Starlink network out for ourselves.

That's definitely one of the downsides to satellite internet. Per Starlink's FAQ, the receiver is capable of melting snow that lands on it, but it can't do anything about surrounding snow build-up and other obstructions that might block its line of sight to the satellite.

"We recommend installing Starlink in a location that avoids snow build-up and other obstructions from blocking the field of view," the FAQ reads. "Heavy rain or wind can also affect your satellite internet connection, potentially leading to slower speeds or a rare outage."

There's plenty of concern about the proliferation of privately owned satellites in space, and controversy in astronomical circles about the impact low-orbiting satellites have on the night sky itself.

This long-exposure image of a distant galaxy group from Arizona's Lowell Observatory is marred by diagonal lines from light reflecting off Starlink satellites, shortly after their launch in 2019.

In 2019, shortly after the deployment of Starlink's first broadband satellites, the International Astronomical Union released an alarm-sounding statement warning of unforeseen consequences for stargazing and for the protection of nocturnal wildlife.

"We do not yet understand the impact of thousands of these visible satellites scattered across the night sky and despite their good intentions, these satellite constellations may threaten both," the statement reads.

Since then, Starlink has begun testing a variety of new designs intended to reduce the brightness and visibility of its satellites. At the start of 2020, the company tested a "DarkSat" satellite that included a special, nonreflective coating. Later, in June of 2020, the company launched a "VisorSat" satellite that features a special sunshade visor. In August, Starlink launched another batch of satellites -- this time, all of them were equipped with visors.

"We want to make sure we do the right thing to make sure little kids can look through their telescope," Shotwell said. "It's cool for them to see a Starlink. But they should be looking at Saturn, at the moon ... and not want to be interrupted."

"The Starlink teams have worked closely with leading astronomers around the world to better understand the specifics of their observations and engineering changes we can make to reduce satellite brightness," the company website reads.

We'll continue to cover Starlink's progress from a variety of angles here on CNET, so stay tuned. You should also be sure to read Eric Mack's excellent profile of Starlink -- among other issues, it takes a close look at the project's goals and challenges, as well as the implications for underserved internet consumers, and for astronomers concerned with light pollution obstructing views in the night sky.

Beyond that, we expect to begin testing Starlink's network for ourselves at some point later this year. When we know more about how the satellite service stacks up as an internet provider, we'll tell you all about it.

Excerpt from:

Starlink explained: What to know about Elon Musk's satellite internet venture - CNET

Elon Musk wants the Tesla Roadster to hover with rocket technology.

This book gives you the essential guide for easy-to-follow tips and strategies to create more financial success.

February16, 20213 min read

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he wants the companys Roadster to hover. According to theNew York Post, he made the remark on anepisodeof Joe Rogans podcast, which was released on Thursday.

Musk said hes working on adding rocket technology to the Tesla Roadster so that it can hover over the ground without, you know, killing people. He also said he thought they could make the sports cover hover but not too high. He suggested a height of about 1 meter above the ground.

If you plummet, you blow out the suspension, but youre not gonna die, he said.

Tesla has been working on updating the Roadster for several years. The car was the automakers first mass-market electric car. According to Musk, theautomakerexpects to finish engineering for the updated Roadster this year and start shipping it next year.

Musk said if Tesla is successful at making the Roadster hover, the car would be able to move through the air while floating over the ground. They are currently experimenting with the technology. He suggested that the automaker would offer a SpaceX option package, a reference to Musks space travel company. The package will fit the Roadster with a pressurized fuel vessel and a bunch of thrusters.

If Tesla is not successful at making the Roadster hover, Musk said the car could still feature rear thrusters that would make it ultra-fast. He told Rogan the thrusters would make the Roadster move like a bat out of hell even if it doesnt get hovering capabilities.

The Tesla CEO explained that at a minimum, he believes they should be able to include a thruster that appears when the license plate flips down, similar to how thrusters were equipped on James Bonds vehicles. The rocket thruster would apply three tons of thrust, according to Musk.

The Roadster has been in the works since before 2017 when Tesla initially revealed it. As a publicity stunt the next year, SpaceX launched a rocket carrying Musks own Roadster into space. The sports car floated past Mars for the first time in the fall.

Tesla is part of theEntrepreneur Indexbecause Musk is one of the companys co-founders, and other co-founders are also involved in leading the company. According to a study, one of the characteristics offounder-led companiesis that they are more innovative, and that certainly holds true of Musk and Tesla. Getting the Tesla Roadster to hover would be quite an innovation as technology currently stands.

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Elon Musk Wants to Make the Tesla Roadster Hover - Entrepreneur

One is the richest person on the planet; the other has been leader of Russia since 2000. And they could be about to meet in a way suited to the year 2021.On Sunday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk invited Vladimir Putin to join him for a chat on a new social media platform named Clubhouse.

It is an idea that began on Twitter - as Mr Musk simply wrote to the Kremlins account Would you like to join me for a conversation on Clubhouse?

He followed the message with another in Russian, writing: It would be a great honour to speak with you.

And it seems to have piqued the Kremlins interest as spokesperson Dmitry Peskov discussed the invitation in a subsequent conference call.

He told Reuters reporters: In general, this is of course a very interesting proposal, but we need to understand what is meant, what is being proposed... first we need to check, then we will react.

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising aspect is that Mr Putin, a former KGB officer, once described the internet as a CIA project and has for years styled himself as suspicious of modern technology.

Mr Peskov said: We want to figure it out first. President Putin does not personally use social networks directly, he doesnt have them.

Clubhouse, a San Francisco-based audio only app that was launched last year, requires newcomers to be invited by existing users before they can join.

It offers a selection of audio chat rooms that are divided by topic.

READ MORE:Iraq attack: Joe Biden poised after deadly rocket siege on air base

I think its just Elon Musk being Elon Musk.

Billionaire Musk is an ever-present voice on Twitter and has been particularly vocal on the topic of cryptocurrencies of late.

In reference to his plans to populate Mars, he promoted the idea of a new currency, telling his followers: There will definitely be a MarsCoin!"

It would be the worlds first extraterrestrial currency.

Originally posted here:

Elon Musk's offer to chat with Vladimir Putin described as 'very interesting' by Kremlin - Daily Express

Issued on: 12/02/2021 - 20:34

Video testimony before the US Senate has thrust an unsung hero into the limelight. On January 6, Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman directed rioters away from lawmakersandin one instancesaved Republican Senator Mitt Romney from the wrath of the mob. What to make of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial?

This Friday is Union Day in Myanmar,a national holiday, marked by the biggest turnout yet after seven days of growing protests against last week's coup. Protesters are defying martial law and rubber bullets. The junta marked Union Day by releasing prisonersbut it was clearly not enough to dissuade citizens from marching, nor was the warning to civil servants from the night before.

Another tangible win for women's rights came with the conditional release of Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul. She had spearheaded the right to drive movement.

Why is Bitcoin's value suddenly skyrocketing? And why has Elon Musk in this speculative frenzy announced that you'll be able to buy his cars using the cryptocurrency? The Tesla founder announced a massive bet on Bitcoin in a regulatory disclosure.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Laura Burloux.

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The world this week - Trump impeachment trial, Myanmar protests, Saudi activist released, Bitcoin and Elon Musk - FRANCE 24