Tag: Elon Musk

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SpaceX hikes prices of Starlink hardware and service

After hiking up the cost of Tesla vehicles early last week, Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX increased the costs of its Starlink service, according to emails sent out to users (via Tesla North).

According to the emails, both the Starlink hardware and software saw rate hikes, with the changes applicable in Canada as well. Users who already paid the deposit fee would now have to pay $699 for the Starlink kit instead of the regular $649 price, whereas new users would need to pay $759 for the kit. The service cost has also been hiked by $11 per month, from $129 to $140.

“The sole purpose of these adjustments is to keep pace with rising inflation. If you do not wish to continue your service, you can cancel at any time and return your Starlink hardware within your first year of service for a partial refund of $200. If you have received your Starlink in the past 30 days, you can return it for a full refund,” reads the email from SpaceX.

Starlink, which launched in mid-2019, makes use of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites that beam internet to the signal receiving dish kits. According to SpaceX, since Starlink’s beta launch in 2020, the company has tripled the amount of internet-beaming satellites, along with quadrupling its ground stations

Musk has been vocal about increasing inflation over the recent months, which when paired with an ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, has the potential to escalate further. Musk indicated that inflation was putting pressure on Tesla and SpaceX through increasing costs of commodities and metals. Canada’s inflation accelerated to 5.1 percent in January of 2022, while salaries largely remain the same.

It’s also worth noting that Musk’s wealth skyrocketed during the pandemic while working-class people continue to suffer from wage stagnation and rising prices.

Amid the conflict, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shipped over several Starlink terminals to Ukraine, to help keep the country connected to the rest of the world. Read more about it below:

Image credit: Shutterstock

Via: TeslaNorth

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Tesla fires employee after he uploads video showing flaws in Full-Self Driving Beta

A Tesla employee has been fired after they uploaded a video on YouTube that showed the company’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software in action, as reported by CNBC.

John Bernal, now a former Tesla employee, owns and operates the AI Addict YouTube channel, with his oldest FSD video dating back to February 10th, 2021.

According to CNBC, Bernal says that he had been verbally warned by his managers about his videos in the past, and that he was breaking Tesla’s policies and his YouTube channel was a major conflict of interest.

“Tesla relies on the common sense and good judgment of its employees to engage in responsible social media activity,” reads Tesla’s employee social media policy, while not mentioning anything about employees being critical about the company’s products.

One of Bernal’s older video, titled ‘[FSD Beta 8.2] Oakland – Close Calls, Pedestrians, Bicycles!,’ uploaded on March 15th, 2021 shows, as the title suggest, close calls with pedestrians and bicycles. After the video gained traction (It has 261k views), “A manager from my Autopilot team tried to dissuade me from posting any negative or critical content in the future that involved FSD Beta. They held a video conference with me but never put anything in writing,” said Bernal in a statement given to CNBC.

The video he got in trouble for however is this one, which shows his Tesla being unable to detect a green bollard, and banging into one.

Since then, Bernal has been fired from his job. He says that his separation notice does not include the reason for him being laid off, but that he still wishes to continue posting independent research and reviews of the software. Bernal would now have to go the extra mile and borrow a friend’s Tesla since his access to beta software was revoked when he was fired.

“I still care about Tesla, vehicle safety and finding and fixing bugs,” said Bernal in his statement to CNBC.

Source: CNBC

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Elon Musk wants to go up against Vladimir Putin in ‘single combat’

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a “single combat,” and the stakes are Ukraine. That’s enough internet for today.

Musk announced the banter challenge via his Twitter, and even tagged the Kremlin’s official English account. However, Putin is unlikely to see the Tweet since he’s banned the platform in Russia.

Musk, 50, has some experience in Karate, Taekwondo, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but isn’t likely a match for Putin. The 69-year-old is a 9th Dan black belt in Taekwondo (or at least, he was until recently when the honorary title was revoked) and a former lieutenant colonel at KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti).

It has become evident that Musk condemns the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the hands of Russia. He recently sent over several Starlink terminals to help keep the country stay connected to the rest of the world and has been vocal about the conflict on his Twitter.

Image credit: Vocativ, Shutterstock

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Elon Musk says Starlink won’t block Russian media ‘unless at gunpoint’

Elon Musk said SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service won’t block Russian news sources “unless at gunpoint” and apologized for being a “free speech absolutist.”

In a tweet (it’s always a tweet), Musk claimed some governments asked Starlink to block Russian news sources. Musk didn’t say which governments but noted the request didn’t come from Ukraine.

It’s an interesting stance to take considering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent crackdown on media outlets that share information contrary to the Russian government’s narrative about the invasion. Those who do could face prison sentences of up to 15 years.

Musk’s claim to be a “free speech absolutist” is especially interesting given his track record of harassing people who disagree with him, not to mention his repeated efforts to bust unions at Tesla.

Oh, and who could forget when Musk compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler. Yea, definitely the person I want championing free speech.

Musk’s stance puts SpaceX at odds with the growing list of tech companies taking action against Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine. It also comes after Musk tweeted excessively about efforts to deploy Starlink in Ukraine to help keep the country connected amid the invasion.

On that note, Musk also tweeted that SpaceX would reprioritize “to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming,” which would cause “slight delays in Starship & Starlink V2.”

Source: Elon Musk Via: Engadget

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Elon Musk deploys Starlink to keep Ukraine connected to the internet

Amid Russia’s ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine, reports coming out of the on-defence country suggest that constant attacks have caused internet outages in some parts of the nation, disabling the country from staying connected with the rest of the world.

Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov requested SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to provide Ukrainians access to Starlink’s internet connection.

Later the same day, Musk replied to Fedorov’s appeal, stating “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”

It’s worth noting that Starlink satellites don’t just magically beam internet to your phone or computers. Users need to have a receiving dish along with a Starlink router to access the internet.

In a follow-up tweet, Fedorov clarified that Starlink terminals (dish) are currently on their way to Ukraine, and thanked Musk for the aid and for supporting the distraught nation. In addition, the country’s official Twitter account also thanked the billionaire for the support.

In other Starlink-related news, CEO Musk recently announced a new Starlink high-performance antenna and Premium package with speeds ranging between 150-500 Mbps.

Source: @FedorovMykhailo

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Elon Musk compares Justin Trudeau to Hitler in latest edgelord move

Elon Musk, one of the key minds behind Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, is at it again.

In what can be described as something a 14-year-old boy that’s spent far too much time swearing at people in Call of Duty might do, Musk posted a meme comparing Canada’s democratically elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler.

Why might one of the world’s wealthiest men make such an offensive move, you might be wondering? Well, Musk is offering commentary on the ongoing vaccine-mandate/anti-vaccine occupation in Ottawa and the Canadian government’s efforts to curb its funding through cryptocurrency.

Musk’s post shows the Nazi dictator behind the genocide of 6 million Jewish people with the caption “stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau. I had a budget,” in reply to crypto-focused news outlet CoinDesk’s report that the Canadian government has frozen 34 crypto wallets tied to the occupation.

While undeniably offensive, the meme is also inaccurate given Trudeau’s government passed a budget last summer — though this happened after two years of not having one, according to The Daily Beast. Trudeau’s government recently controversially invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act in an effort to cut off funding from the occupation movement, giving financial institutions the ability to freeze the accounts of people involved in the blockades.

This isn’t the first time Musk has voiced his support for the occupation. Last week, the Tesla CEO tweeted “Canadian truckers rule” and has also suggested that the Canadian government is suppressing the demonstrations.

In an amusing turn of events, Musk tweeted a meme poking fun at people who mention Hitler when talking about politics back in late January.

Musk moved from South Africa to Canada in 1988 to attend Queen’s University in Ontario before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.

Source: @elonmusk 

Via: The Daily Beast, Gizmodo 

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Complaints regarding Tesla ‘Phantom Braking’ on the rise

Over the past three months, roughly 107 Tesla drivers have reported that their vehicle is making sudden stops — also known as ‘Phantom Braking’ — while driving in autopilot mode.

Phantom Breaking occurs when an autonomous vehicle falsely detects an object on the road or an oncoming vehicle and hits the brakes to avoid a potential collision. While the safety mechanism is useful when in a hazardous situation, it can be especially dangerous if another vehicle is tailgating you.

While the problem isn’t new given there have been reports regarding phantom braking since November, the issue is only now receiving mainstream attention following a Washington Post report, causing a drop in the electric vehicle maker’s shares.

According to the report, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received a surge in complaints lodged by Tesla owners regarding Phantom Braking over the past three months, compared to only 34 complaints in the preceding 22 months.

Many suspect that the problem has become worse since Tesla ditched its radar tech to solely use camera vision to detect nearby objects and other vehicles.

This is the latest in a string of safety issues plaguing Tesla vehicles. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) raised concerns regarding over 53,000 Tesla vehicles being programmed to roll through stop signs,

These vehicles will now receive an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the vehicles from autonomously performing a rolling stop through a stop sign.

In other Tesla-related news, Elon Musk says Canadians can expect Tesla Full-Self Driving Beta to drop in February.

Source: Washington Post

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Mobile Syrup

Complaints regarding Tesla ‘Phantom Braking’ on the rise

Over the past three months, roughly 107 Tesla drivers have reported that their vehicle is making sudden stops — also known as ‘Phantom Braking’ — while driving in autopilot mode.

Phantom Breaking occurs when an autonomous vehicle falsely detects an object on the road or an oncoming vehicle and hits the brakes to avoid a potential collision. While the safety mechanism is useful when in a hazardous situation, it can be especially dangerous if another vehicle is tailgating you.

While the problem isn’t new given there have been reports regarding phantom braking since November, the issue is only now receiving mainstream attention following a Washington Post report, causing a drop in the electric vehicle maker’s shares.

According to the report, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received a surge in complaints lodged by Tesla owners regarding Phantom Braking over the past three months, compared to only 34 complaints in the preceding 22 months.

Many suspect that the problem has become worse since Tesla ditched its radar tech to solely use camera vision to detect nearby objects and other vehicles.

This is the latest in a string of safety issues plaguing Tesla vehicles. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) raised concerns regarding over 53,000 Tesla vehicles being programmed to roll through stop signs,

These vehicles will now receive an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the vehicles from autonomously performing a rolling stop through a stop sign.

In other Tesla-related news, Elon Musk says Canadians can expect Tesla Full-Self Driving Beta to drop in February.

Source: Washington Post

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Musk says Canadians can expect FSD Beta to drop in February

Back in January, Elon Musk announced that Full-Self Driving Beta (FSD) for Tesla vehicles in Canada should release in roughly two to four weeks. We’ve now entered February, which is near Musk’s shared timeframe, and yet, FSD still isn’t available for Canadians.

However, in a Twitter reply to @NoahWebb_, Musk has raised hopes once again, stating that Canadians can expect FSD Beta to release later this month.

 

According to Musk, the delay in release is due to safety concerns, and because the team need to “confirm [there are] no significant issues, given slightly different road rules,” before proceeding with the rollout.

Though as we’ve seen in the past, Musk’s promises on Twitter should be looked at with an air of skepticism. Further, while delays are annoying, I wouldn’t consider Musk’s statements over the past few months to be empty promises, as Tesla employees have been testing FSD across Canada since February 2021.

This comes soon after Musk said that self-driving Tesla vehicles will be on road in 2022 and that the technology is safer than human drivers.

In other Tesla-related news, a Full-Self Driving feature that allowed some Teslas to roll through stop signs is now being disabled through an over-the-air update.

Source: @elonmusk

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Starlink Premium arrives with stronger antenna for extreme weather

Waking me from a dead sleep like a nightmare – An Elon Musk tweet has surfaced announcing a new Starlink high-performance antenna and Premium package.

The new low-earth-orbit satellite internet option web page claims that speeds range between 150-500 Mbps, with latency around 20-40ms. It further mentions that this could be a good option for businesses. The regular Starlink dish is only rated for around 100-200 Mbps and similar latency on Starlink’s website.

Starlink Premium is more than just a stronger antenna with faster speeds. It also comes with 24/7 support, a detachable 23-metre power-over-ethernet cable and a 1.8-metre power cable. Both of these cables are slightly shorter than what comes with the standard ‘Circular’ Starlink pack, but since the new model has a detachable wire, you can buy longer lengths in the Starlink Shop. As far as I can tell, the shop is only available to people with Starlink accounts, so at this time, we’re unsure of how much it costs.

The new unit is expected to begin shipping to customers sometime in Q2 2022.

As for the cost of the new dish itself. Starlink Premium is not cheap:

  • Deposit – $635 CAD
  • Hardware – $3,1700 CAD
  • Service – $635/month
  • Shipping & Handling $65
  • Est tax – $420
  • Total ——— $4,925

If you have a remote business and need internet, I guess the upfront cost of this is something you could swallow, but it’s incredibly expensive for regular people. Even the ludicrously expensive $635 per month for data service targets this at businesses, not families, which is disappointing.

Regular people instead are pushed towards the Circular dish, which costs:

  • Hardware – $650
  • Service – $130/month
  • Shipping & Handling – $65
  • Est. Tax – $92.82
  • Total ———– $937.82

It should also be noted that Starlink isn’t available everywhere yet, so you’ll need to have your address approved before your unit will ship to you. Furthering that, since the service uses satellites to beam internet down at Earth, some areas with heavy tree coverage can experience slow times and other issues when the satellites and the planet aren’t perfectly aligned.

The new Starlink Premium may solve that problem with its larger dish, but since it’s so expensive, it likely won’t be helping many existing Starlink owners.

If you’re interested in how Starlink performs, there is an interesting speed test/comparison that a community of owners has created on Reddit.

Source: Elon Musk, Starlink