The Daily Chronicle of Musk's Companies
"Grok is the most efficient high intelligence AI..." - Elon Musk (@elonmusk
■ SPACEX $SPCX ($146.15, +9.65%):
0:00 / 0:24
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2087398770648469917
- Today, launch 98 of Falcon 9 Starlink 17-49 took place from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This was the fifth flight for first stage booster B1103. It previously launched NROL-179, SDA-T1TL-E, and two Starlink missions. The booster landed on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. 24 Starlinks were deployed.
- Starship 42 inside Mega Bay 2 and Starship 43 inside the Starfactory. Pics by the amazing Carlos (@cnunezimages).
- SpaceX, Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman), and other contractors have passed initial tests linked to President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense system. Official confirmation comes from U.S. Space Force Director of the Golden Dome program Gen. Michael Guetlein at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium. Guetlein told reporters that the companies developing space-based interceptors have completed "Gate One." This first milestone involved finalizing designs and conducting component-level testing. All providers will now move to the next phase; demonstrating that the technology can operate in space. The broader Golden Dome effort has conducted two successful tests, one at White Sands Missile Range. Details of the tests remain limited for operational security reasons.
- It is being reported that SpaceX booked the Parador de Lerma, a 17th-century ducal palace in Lerma, south of Burgos in northern Spain, to host 140 American specialists, technicians, and enthusiasts, including two University of Berkeley professors, for observation of today's total solar eclipse. The hotel was closed to the public for a private event, and other local hotels were fully booked. The reports say Elon did not attend. Neither SpaceX, Elon, nor Paradores have confirmed this.
- Antonio Gracias (@AntonioGracias), Founder and Managing Partner of Valor Equity, filed a Schedule 13G with the SEC reporting beneficial ownership of 503,414,530 shares of SpaceX Class A common stock, or 6.5% of the class. He has shared voting power and shared dispositive power over the shares. The shares are held of record by multiple Valor Entities; Gracias may be deemed to beneficially own them by virtue of his position with the entities or their general partners. No single Valor Entity owns 5% or more. The percentage is calculated from 7,696,293,669 Class A shares outstanding.
- Starbase, Texas (@StarbaseTX), announced that applications for Starbase Police Admin positions are now open. Key responsibilities include Administrative Support, Police Records Management, Regulatory Compliance, Texas Public Information Act (TPIA), HR & Onboarding, and Customer Service & Special Projects. Link in sources section.
- Norway's sovereign wealth fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management and valued at over $2.3 trillion, disclosed that it held a 0.05% stake in SpaceX valued at $1.22 billion as of June 30th. This marked the fund's first public disclosure of the position. The fund also holds Tesla shares and is led by CEO Nicolai Tangen.
COUNTDOWN TO 145 (95 - Falcon 9, 1 - Falcon Heavy, and 2 - Starship):
- Launch 99! Saturday, 15th of August, at 2:52 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 USSF-366 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This will be the 18th flight for first stage booster B1088. It previously launched NROL-126, Transporter-12, SPHEREx, NROL-57, and 13 Starlink missions. The booster will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. This is a possible batch of Starshield classified LEO satellites for a U.S. government entity. Location of rocket stage drop zones are exact fits with previous Starlink Group 15 launches.
- Launch 100! Saturday, 15th of August, at 9:12 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The booster will land on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Launch 101! Tuesday, 18th of August, at 7:00 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 Starlink 17-50 will launch from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The booster will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
- Launch 102! Thursday, 20th of August, at 11:19a.m. ET, Falcon 9 Starlink 10-39 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The booster will land on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Launch ??! Sunday, 30th of August, at 7:26 a.m. ET, Falcon Heavy Nancy Grace Roman Telescope will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The two side boosters are will return-to-launch-site landing at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) and Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The center core will likely be expended. NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is an infrared observatory with a 2.4 m wide-field primary mirror. It has two instruments: the 300.8-megapixel Wide-Field Instrument (WFI) for visible and near-infrared imaging, and the Coronagraphic Instrument (CGI) for high-contrast visible and near-infrared observations using starlight-suppression technology. Objectives include exoplanet searches via gravitational microlensing and measuring dark energy, general relativity, and spacetime curvature through cosmic expansion and structure studies.
- Launch ??! Saturday, 12th of September, at 6:34 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 NASA Crew-13 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Vehicles to be used are Booster B1101 and Crew Dragon Grace. The booster with RTLS (return to launch site) and land at Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40). Crew includes Commander NASA Astronaut Jessica Watkins, Pilot NASA Astronaut Luke Delaney, Flight Engineer Canadian Joshua Kutryk, and Flight Engineer Russian Cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
■ TESLA $TSLA ($327.51, -1.59%):
- Grok Bot is NOT Digital Optimus.
Per Elon,
"Digital Optimus is different: real-time video human emulation..."
Digital Optimus (MACROHARD) is to be a real-time video human simulation system that continuously processes live computer-screen video plus mouse and keyboard inputs to emulate a human operating a computer. Grok serves as the higher-level navigator, while the Digital Optimus layer handles actions.
https://x.com/SERobinsonJr/status/2087519876021628990
- My flyover of the Tesla Semi Megacharger in La Porte, Texas. There will be 6-stalls, each able to deliver up to 1.2 MW (1,200 kW) of peak power, enabling a Tesla Semi to recover approximately 60% of its battery range in about 30 minutes. Conduit is installed and concrete has been poured; chargers are expected soon. Subscriber photo-thread in OG post.
- New Model 3 RWD orders in the U.S. are showing estimated delivery between Jan - March 2027.
https://x.com/MarcoRPi1/status/2087604470184354263
- Tesla has filed planning permits for a new 124 V4 stall Supercharger in San Francisco. It is to be loacted at a current yellow cab storage lot at the corner of Alemany Boulevard and Bayshore Boulevard (near US-101 on the city’s south side). It will include a 400 sq ft building with restrooms, a vending area, and support space. H/T @MarcoRPi1.
- Tesla has signed a lease for 40k sq ft at the American Steel Blocks campus (1960 Mandela Parkway) in West Oakland, California. The campus is a renovated multi-tenant advanced manufacturing and R&D complex totaling roughly 440,000 rentable sq ft. It offers high power capacity, up to 10 Gig internet, and is positioned in the growing East Bay cluster for AI, robotics, and hardware manufacturing. Jeff Bezos's Project Prometheus has also leased around 100,000 sq ft.
- Tesla filed patent US 12,703,296 B1 for a Global Headlamp that uses a pixelated light source (array of emissive elements such as LEDs or micro-LEDs arranged in rows). Configuration information is based on jurisdiction/homologation region, vehicle model, drive side, real-time location, and used to generate headlamp state information. The controller then activates specific pixels/rows at defined intensities to output a beam pattern (low-beam or high-beam) that complies with local regulations (e.g., FMVSS for the US or ECE for Europe, including left- vs right-hand traffic cutoffs). The same hardware works worldwide; different activation patterns are selected via software/look-up tables. Secondary rules (such as high-beam + fog light combinations) are also enforced by jurisdiction. In other words, the headlights work based on the rules and regulations set by the governments the car is currently located in and will change if moved to a different area with different rules. The design supports OTA updates and can include non-visible (IR/UV) elements for autonomy. Inventor is Robert Flynn.
- The Greater Irving – Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce held an economic development project where they had a site tour and Cybercab demonstration at Tesla’s planned Cybercab/Robotaxi operations facility in Irving, Texas. Tesla is renovating a 35,000 sq ft warehouse on W Royal Lane to serve as a maintenance, dispatch, repair, and cleaning hub for Cybercabs and Robotaxis. The site will also include vehicle storage and Superchargers.
- Parking Professionals completed an indoor parking stall project for Tesla Cybercab/Robotaxi fleet. The project was carried out with Layton Construction and the Tesla team. Location not given, but the general contractor, Layton Construction (though operating nationally) is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"We recently completed an indoor parking stall project for Tesla creating designated spaces for their autonomous vehicles. Instead of traditional paint, we used high-strength adhesive tape. The result: clean, professional stalls ready for Tesla’s AV fleet, all while working indoors and out of the heat. Big thanks to Layton Construction and the Tesla team for the opportunity to support this project. Proud to deliver smart, flexible parking solutions that keep pace with innovation."
https://x.com/HinrichsZane/status/2087590174071067077
- Zanegler is bringing a new flyover soon!
FLYOVERS:
https://x.com/JoeTegtmeyer/status/2087635442581860651
- Giga Texas: Joe Tegtmeyer (@JoeTegtmeyer), 12th of August, '26.
■ THE BORING COMPANY: N/A... boring.
■ NEURALINK: N/A...
■ STARLINK:
- Starlink is now active in Vietnam!
- Today AutoNation (@AutoNation) announced that it is deploying Starlink across more than 70 of its retail locations in 20 states. The company is the first automotive retailer to implement the service at scale, targeting sites with limited secondary broadband to strengthen network resiliency, support business continuity, and improve operations including vehicle sales, financing, service, parts ordering, and customer communications. Starlink provides pool-based capacity sharing and can be scaled without major infrastructure changes.
Per Lauren Dreyer (
@LaurenDreyer ), SpaceX VP of Starlink Business Operations,
"AutoNation is using Starlink in a way that reflects the future of business connectivity resilient, scalable, and designed to support critical operations... We are proud to support AutoNation’s commitment to operational continuity and customer service across its national retail footprint."
- SpaceX is in the final stages of securing a Starlink license to operate in Curaçao. Minister Charles Cooper of the Ministry of Traffic, Transport and Spatial Planning announced this after meeting with SpaceX Director of Starlink Global Licensing and Market Activation Rebecca Silk Hunter and regulator RAC. Once approved, service could begin within a few weeks. SpaceX will comply with local rules, including paying taxes, import duties, and lawful interception requirements. The rollout is expected to improve connectivity, support disaster response, education, healthcare, and provide public WiFi, with SpaceX viewing Curaçao as strategic due to existing data centers.
- The Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control) has deployed the Starlink connected CoE2-D2, a portable ADS-B aircraft tracking and surveillance system, at the 310 Fire in Parachute of Garfield County, Colorado. The system is housed in a Milwaukee Packout case for rapid field deployment. It features an advanced ADS-B antenna for reliable low-altitude aircraft tracking in mountainous terrain, integrated solar panels and battery for off-grid power, and a pan-tilt-zoom HD camera for remote monitoring. Starlink will continuously feed live tracking data and visuals to incident command centers.
https://x.com/Iberia/status/2087593936650961241
- Iberia airlines operated a special flight, IB1473, today to observe the total solar eclipse from the air. They livestreamed it using their newly installed Starlink! The service is being rolled out across its fleet.
- Today Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski (@KGawkowski) intervened after SpaceX updated Starlink rules that exclude Poland from its European regional zone of more than 30 countries. Starting August 17th, Polish Starlink Roam users face extra formalities, mandatory travel reporting and document checks when using the service outside Poland. Accounts registered in the shared European region do not. Polish accounts are treated as for use only in Poland, with a 30-day limit abroad before requiring a return, upgrade to a costlier plan or re-registration. Gawkowski contacted SpaceX demanding equal treatment for Polish customers and rejected general claims of local regulatory requirements.
Of note, large numbers of Starlink kits are bought in Poland and transferred to Ukraine. SpaceX and the Ukrainian government require terminals operating in Ukraine to be on an official whitelist for security reasons. Government and corporate contract terminals transferred by Poland are not affected by the new roaming limits.
■ 𝕏:
https://x.com/benjitaylor/status/2087603294722269439
- X is redesigning its Settings section.
- X has won its lawsuit against Australia’s eSafety Commissioner in the Federal Court. The eSafety Commissioner argued that X should also be regulated under the stricter Relevant Electronic Services (RES) Standard because the platform offers direct messages and chat features. This dual classification could have exposed X to tougher compliance rules and penalties of up to A$49.5 million. Justice Elizabeth Raper rejected the argument, ruling that X cannot be designated as both a social media service and a relevant electronic service. As a result, the RES Standard does not apply to X. The decision is a clear win for X against the attempted dual regulatory treatment.
■ SPACEXAI:
- Grok 4.6 was launched today! It has a focus on long-running agents and more interactive and visual work, sustaining complex multi-step tasks such as research, codebase work, and turning ideas into polished applications. It reaches frontier performance on several agentic coding and knowledge-work benchmarks.
https://x.com/ericzakariasson/status/2087566447178547494
Grok 4.6 is available immediately in Cursor (@cursor_ai) and Grok Build, with 2× included usage for the first week, as well as via the xAI API and partners. Pricing starts at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens.
Grok 4.6 High official benchmarks!
Per Elon,
"Smart, fast & amazing bang for buck! Grok 4.7 is significantly better than 4.6 and should be ready in 3 to 4 weeks. Initial training is complete and now we’re adding a massive amount of SpaceX company data in supplemental training... This will be something special. Grok 4.7 will exceed all current models... the SpaceX training corpus is so awesome & unique that I would be shocked if any model is better at real-world engineering than 4.7."
Per NVIDIA (
@nvidia ),
"Congrats to the SpaceXAI team on the release of Grok 4.6. Grok 4.6 brings frontier intelligence, running and trained on NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 with NVLink to deliver exceptional performance, reliability and lowest token cost."
- SpaceXAI's Cursor President of APAC & Japan, Simon Green, stated Cursor (@cursor_ai) has already started hiring in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai for remote positions in customer success, government affairs, technical support, and go-to-market roles. They are also looking to open their first India office. They plan significant go-to-market investments in India over the next five months.
Per Simon,
"Our first employees are just starting. Before the end of the calendar year, you will see us in physical locations."
- x.AI has urged U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California to reject OpenAI’s request for more than $1 million in attorney fees. OpenAI sought the fees after Judge Lin twice dismissed xAI’s trade-secrets lawsuit. x.AI argues the case was neither frivolous nor brought in bad faith, citing evidence that former employees took confidential company information. xAI is also appealing the dismissal.
- Here is the latest satellite image of MACROHARD, MACROHARDER, and miniHARD.
■ ELON NEWS:
- Guillermo Rauch (@rauchg), CEO of Vercel, posted, "We were promised flying cars and all we got is infinite superintelligence for everyone."
Of which Elon replied, "You will get flying cars."
So what is Elon referencing, Tesla Roadster SpaceX Edition, or the broader concept as autonomy and related technologies advance?
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OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT:
- ELON CHRON SHOP: Check out the awesome GROK BOT merch in the Shop. All purchases go towards bringing you the content.
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- Or schedule a DEMO DRIVE.
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■ SOURCES:
SpaceX:
- https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001181412/a988c65e-8874-4cf3-8485-7872c9c5eca7.pdf
- https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-wealth-fund-reveals-1-billion-spacex-investment-2026-8
- https://forms.clickup.com/9017715593/f/8cqyuw9-6637/5ERG5WQC7X341UOXY1
Starlink:
- https://newsroom.autonation.com/autonation-news/autonation-news-details/2026/AutoNation-Deploys-Starlink-to-Modernize-Connectivity-and-Enhance-Customer-Experience-2026-iNfREL8PMi/default.aspx
- https://chronostimes.com/starlink-binnenkort-ook-op-curacao/
- https://businessinsider.com.pl/biznes/polska-poza-europejskim-regionem-starlink-minister-interweniuje/rglwexq?utm_campaign=businessinsider-page-post&utm_content=article-fresh&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_term=cde-linkedin-fresh-articles-4054
𝕏:
SpaceXAI:
Elon News:
@SpaceX, @Tesla, @BoringCompany, @Neuralink, @Starlink, @X, @SpaceXAI, @Grok
