Elon Musk.

[Masterofreality]

I don't know how many of you folks know who Elon Musk is. What he is is today's cross between Thomas Edison and Henry Ford- an inventor, engineer & visionary in a risk-taking entrepreneur's skin. Musk started Tesla Motors (electric cars) and SpaceX (private/commercial space travel) with mostly his own money, little government involvement, and certainly no guarantees of success. Both companies are succeeding.

Today, he introduced his latest idea-"Hyperloop" which is a whole new idea for mass transit. it would get you from LA to Frisco in 30 minutes.

Thank your lucky stars as you read the article below, that Idiot Ted Strickland and his construction union buddies, didn't jam that "high speed" rail from Cleveland to Cincinnati through. That project would have resulted in a train that averaged 40 mph and take 7 hours from Cleve to Cincy. Just like the Detroit People Mover, it would have been a ghost train slurping up millions a year in subsidies. Musk has a truly progressive idea.

Thank Gawd for aggressive, smart and fearless guys like Elon Musk. But then again, he is the "rich". The kind of guy that the current administration wants to soak in higher taxes. Damn that 1 percenter. All he does is take, take, take.

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/hyperloop

[Porkopolis]

Musk is a fascinating guy. I first became aware of him through a documentary about electric cars. If I had a place to charge a Tesla S it would be parked outside right now. Unfortunately my apartment complex only has a few spaces with charging capabilities, but I suspect that will change in the future. Tesla builds cars for people who love cars. Those cars just happen to be electric.

[Jumpy]

Elon Musk is the real life Tony Stark. His ability to foresee the future and bring his ideas to fruition years- decades even- before most people think they are viable is praiseworthy.

Everyone slobbers over Steve Jobs because he brought us shiny new gadgets that we never knew we needed, but Elon Musk is the true revolutionary of this generation.

[GoMuskies]

Hopefully the second route built will be Wichita to Las Vegas.

[waggy]

Elon Musk could very well be the anti christ. Just sayin'.

[bigdiggins]

Elon Musk could very well be the anti christ. Just sayin'.

Is he dating Jason Collins?

[STL_XUfan]

Elon Musk could very well be the anti christ. Just sayin'.

1247

[LadyMuskie]

Is he dating Jason Collins?

ha!

[blueblob06]

I think the growing success of Tesla is going to be a huge reason more and more people switch to electric cars. And for that reason alone, I think Musk is awesome. And when I read more about his other projects, wow. Very cool stuff.

[bobbiemcgee]

Cue the "just powered by coal" debate.

[GoMuskies]

Cue the "just powered by coal" debate.

Don't forget petroleum coke.

[Porkopolis]

Cue the "just powered by coal" debate.

True enough. In most places electric just displaces where the pollution is coming from while letting the driver pretend they are doing the planet a favor. But Musk isn't building electric cars for the traditional environmentalist reasons. He's building them because they are superior to fossil fuel powered cars. The guy thinks so far outside of the box that I'm not sure he's even aware there is a box.

[PMI]

I was at a wedding last June and started talking to a guy who had just started working for Tesla after grad school. He was telling me a little bit about the work they were doing and his enthusiasm was pretty obvious. I remember being intrigued and started (very periodically) following at their stock not too long after. I think it was somewhere in the mid to high 20s, and I thought that it was high and I'd wait it out. That wasn't long before the impending skyrocket. Needless to say, I'm an idiot.

[blueblob06]

Wasn't meaning to start a oil vs coal debate. I really don't care about the environmental aspect of it to be honest. I just like the idea of paying roughly 2 cents/mile to drive an electric car than about 5X that to put gas in it. Plus, no stopping at gas stations, oil changes, engine problems and maintenance, etc = much less headache and money in the long run.

PMI - I looked at Tesla stock about a year ago and thought about buying....I kept reading about all these investment firms that were saying NO, DON'T BUY, it's way too high already. I didn't buy. Today, it's trading at $147 a share! :bash:

[chico]

I've come around to the electric side of things. Yes, they do need power from somewhere, but there are many more alternatives - not just oil or coal, but any power source that can be converted to electricity can be used.

Tesla is doing pretty great things, but other companies are doing pretty great things as well, like AMP. They're based near Mason and started replacing gas engines with electric in existing cars. They are now looking at using their technology with delivery trucks. You'd think the charge wouldn't last long enough but the typical delivery truck only travels about 60-90 miles/day. Plus, they've developed a wireless charger - basically a mat under the vehicle that charges it.

[bobbiemcgee]

Wasn't meaning to start a oil vs coal debate. I really don't care about the environmental aspect of it to be honest. I just like the idea of paying roughly 2 cents/mile to drive an electric car than about 5X that to put gas in it. Plus, no stopping at gas stations, oil changes, engine problems and maintenance, etc = much less headache and money in the long run.


Has it's drawbacks as well. I don't believe the 2 cents a mile propaganda when you have a car with 900 lbs. of batteries that will need replaced someday. Probably comes out about the same. I do support the 7500 we give to every buyer, cuz it wouldn't have been developed without it. I drive my old honda's a long, long time and fix them myself (rarely), and I like to hop in the car and go on long roadtrips to nowhere without searching the internet for hours to find a charging station. They are beautiful cars, just need to increase the range a couple thousand miles.

[Muskie]

I've been wanting to read more about Tesla (Nikola Tesla) for years. After reading the tube idea on the blog, I am now more intrigued. Anyone ever read a good book on Nikola Tesla?

[ballyhoohoo]

Is he dating Jason Collins?

No homo

[blobfan]

Elon Musk could very well be the anti christ. Just sayin'.

No, although it could be a very bad scent for Axe Body Spray.

I think he's pretty awesome as an innovator. I love the philosophy that the answer is never 'no,' just 'we need to work on that.'

[PMI]

Elon Musk could very well be the anti christ. Just sayin'.

If this were pretty much anyone else, I would just disregard this as a flopped attempt at some kind of joke I'm not getting, but I actually have no doubt that waggy is being dead serous.

[blueblob06]

Has it's drawbacks as well. I don't believe the 2 cents a mile propaganda when you have a car with 900 lbs. of batteries that will need replaced someday. Probably comes out about the same. I do support the 7500 we give to every buyer, cuz it wouldn't have been developed without it. I drive my old honda's a long, long time and fix them myself (rarely), and I like to hop in the car and go on long roadtrips to nowhere without searching the internet for hours to find a charging station. They are beautiful cars, just need to increase the range a couple thousand miles.
Range is limited for sure. So, not good for roadtrips (unless you can afford Tesla of course) but it's great for a 2-car family. You'd use your electric car every day for trips under 70-80 miles and then your gas car when you need to drive further than that.

We'll see how it goes with the batteries. I don't know about the other car companies, but you get a pretty solid warranty on your battery if you buy/lease a Nissan Leaf.

[blobfan]

If this were pretty much anyone else, I would just disregard this as a flopped attempt at some kind of joke I'm not getting, but I actually have no doubt that waggy is being dead serous.

So, you're saying Waggy is personally acquainted with the anti-Christ?