WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:04.360 Thank you and good afternoon. So we have lots of cover. 2 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:05.639 Elon does a lot of things. 3 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:10.519 There is at the moment one of his spaceships docked 4 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.839 to the space station, the Dragon spaceship. This is the 5 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.679 third time that's been docked. Second commercial one was launched 6 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:20.079 last week. Many of you may have followed the launch, 7 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.239 but there was drama. You know, there were solar panels 8 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:23.519 and all this kind of stuff we could follow on 9 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:24.160 your Twitter feed. 10 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:26.440 Yet drama, what's it? 11 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:28.800 Can you just tell us what it's like to be 12 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.079 Elon Musk in the control room during a launch when 13 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:34.799 something happens, when there's an issue. 14 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.000 Well, it's I mean, it's extremely nerve wracking. 15 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:41.560 I mean it's the thing about rocket launch is that 16 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:44.759 all of your work is distilled into these few minutes, 17 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:49.759 particularly the first several seconds around the lift off. Because 18 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:51.719 the worst thing that can happen with the rocket in 19 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:56.439 a touch word is if if you have an engine 20 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:59.399 failure or some huge failure right above the launch pad 21 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:02.039 and the whole thing can come down with about a 22 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:05.000 million pounds of T and T equivalent and destroyed the 23 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:07.640 whole lounch pad. That would be That's what's going through 24 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.239 my mind in case you're wondering, that's actually what. 25 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:12.040 I'm thinking about here. 26 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:18.519 So when it clears the lightning towers and it's gotten 27 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:22.519 further enough away from not actually destroying the launch pad, 28 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:26.640 then then it's that's one sort of go down a 29 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:33.159 notch on, you know, the fear and anxiety. And then 30 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:37.159 after first stage separation. 31 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:39.519 That's another one. And when the. 32 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:41.640 Second stage lights up, so it's sort of going down 33 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:49.439 in intensity as the rocket is going up. And the 34 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:51.680 thing is that the first three rocket launches that we 35 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:56.000 had failed okay, and then the first one failed quite 36 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:58.760 close to the launch pad, almost destroyed the launch pad. 37 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:00.159 In fact, I spent that. 38 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:04.359 They're picking up rocket pieces off the reef, which sucks. 39 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:08.120 So I think like there's a pretty powerfully ingrained fear 40 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.680 response as a result of that, because three in a row, 41 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:15.960 just you know, and the image of those rocket failures 42 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:17.599 kind of going through my mind as I seeing the 43 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.080 rocket launch. So that's what's going on. 44 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:22.599 And then in this case, you made it through the 45 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:25.000 state separation, but then there was an issue with the 46 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:27.159 solar cells. Tell me a little bit how you sort 47 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.240 of spotted the problem, diagnosed it, What does the team do? 48 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.719 I mean, you got there in the end, but how 49 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:32.199 does it work? 50 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.759 Yeah, so the solar panels are actually okay. But and 51 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:39.680 the rocket launch went went really well, so that that 52 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:44.000 was not a problem. Where things kind of went awry 53 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:49.080 was after spacecraft separation, we try to initialize the fourth 54 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:52.240 rustler pods. So there's fourth thrustal pots with a combined 55 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:56.960 total of eighteen engines, and the system is designed with 56 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:58.919 a huge amount of dundancy, so it can take all 57 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:01.800 sorts of failures and it's complete its mission. That's that's 58 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:05.879 the whole way it's been made. In fact, it can 59 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:07.800 it can work with even if it has only two 60 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:10.360 of the four thrust replies working, you know, they can 61 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:11.719 still do a mission. 62 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:17.360 So three weren't working. Wow, and. 63 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:21.280 That which was a huge puzzle, like what why are 64 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:23.960 three not working? Because these things are crash strapped, so 65 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:27.360 you'd kind of think that either maybe one wouldn't work 66 00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:30.639 or a crash strap pair wouldn't work, but not three. 67 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:32.159 It was really really strange. 68 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:38.199 So so we had the spacecraft just going through kind 69 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:43.960 of free drift in space, like we're just tumbling, and 70 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:46.719 which makes all it's also difficult to communicate with because 71 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.360 the antennas are like pointing, you know, every which way 72 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.000 you can imagine. So we had. All we had was 73 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:58.360 was a very flight two killer, it occasional two kill 74 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.840 a bit link that would go in and out and 75 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:04.599 that was an omnidirectional signal beaming off of the NASA 76 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:09.719 Tedrous satellite system. So in order to actually improve the 77 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:11.639 foot we first had to improve the bandwidth. 78 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:14.080 So we actually asked the Air Force. 79 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:17.360 If we could have some of their long range clameatory 80 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:20.360 scanners with would they give us access and we have 81 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:24.519 this communication system they would call the megaproxy, So we 82 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:28.160 had to recode the megaproxy to go through the Air 83 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.959 Force long range dishes to blast the spacecraft with enough 84 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:36.879 intensity to be able to upload new code to try. 85 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:37.680 To fix the problem. 86 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:44.560 And so we wrote some new software to essentially pressure 87 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:52.120 slam the two of the three oxidizer tanks that were 88 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:56.079 refusing to pressurize. And it turned out we've I think 89 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:58.959 we've figured out problem, which is that there's a there 90 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:01.240 was a slight chain which made to a check valve 91 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:04.040 that was in three of the tanks and not on 92 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:04.360 the other. 93 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:07.079 And we're able to replicate that problem the ground later. 94 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.519 And we're able to to basically have the have the 95 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:16.920 system build up pressure upstream, then release that pressure and 96 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:20.240 slam the valve. So we're trying to give it the 97 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:27.879 sort of the spacecraft equivalent to the heimlich maneuver basically, And. 98 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:27.959 And then we got one. 99 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:31.040 Of the pods too that looked like it was making progress, 100 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.639 and we didn't want to unfil the solar panels until 101 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:37.240 we had at least two pods. 102 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.199 Active so we could we could go from sort. 103 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:44.000 Of drifting to an active hold. But then the temperatures 104 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:47.399 of the solar panels, which are any protective covers, was 105 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:51.279 dropping and it can drop to like almost absolute zero 106 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:56.680 if it's pointing at a dog space. So so it 107 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.360 was dropping, dropping, dropping, and we're like, okay, we better 108 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.879 release the solar panels otherwise they could literally freeze in place. 109 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:07.720 And so we ran a simulation to see what would 110 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:11.120 what would happen, and it's actually slightly beneficial, and it's 111 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:11.399 kind of. 112 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:12.000 Like when a skater. 113 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.959 You know, when a skater puts her arms out, it 114 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:18.759 slows down, pull him in, it speeds up. So when 115 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:21.160 actually when the the arms went out, when the solar 116 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:23.120 panel raise went out, it slowed down. The rate of 117 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:28.959 rotation actually slightly helped us with maintaining communication with the spacecraft. 118 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:35.199 And so then we're able to uh with with the 119 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:39.399 precious lamp thing, get get it, get apart active. Then 120 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:41.720 then then a third one and then a fourth one. 121 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:45.240 Then we've got all four working and we're able to 122 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:47.879 continue the mission dock with the space station. In fact, 123 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:50.360 Dragon is currently duck with the space station right now 124 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:54.519 and if if all goes well, we'll return to Earth 125 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:55.639 in about a week or two. 126 00:06:56.759 --> 00:06:57.800 That sounds terrifying. 127 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:05.079 Why that was? 128 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:09.839 That was hardcore. I don't want to go through that again. 129 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:15.600 Okay, you are not just here in in in Austin 130 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:17.839 for south by Southwest, but also to meet with the 131 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:21.319 Texas legislature to talk about it possibly a launch base 132 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:22.279 here in Texas. 133 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:24.120 Tell us more about that. 134 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.160 Yeah, So right now we've got two main launch locations. 135 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:33.000 One is Cape Canaval in Florida and the other is 136 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:37.360 a Vanderberg Air Force Base in California. And so the 137 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:41.920 Cape Narral is good for kind of eastward launches, Vanderberg 138 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:45.399 for southerly launches, and we figured we need a third 139 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:46.560 launch site. 140 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:47.879 That's kind of a commercial launch site. 141 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:50.879 You know, it's not good because Cape Narval and Vanderberg 142 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.040 or air Force Bass, which which is cool, and it's 143 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:58.079 obviously there's an important need for air Force space launch bases, 144 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.920 as there is for air Force airports, but then there's 145 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:04.519 also a need for commercial airports. 146 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:06.199 And just like you wouldn't. 147 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.759 Expect commercial airliners to land at an air force base 148 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.720 in a normal course of events, it makes sense to 149 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:17.920 have a commercial spaceport. And we need to be able 150 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:20.439 to launch eastward and we want to be close to 151 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:21.040 the equator. 152 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:24.439 So that basically means. 153 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:31.920 The potential states are Virginia through Texas going south, Hawaii 154 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:36.519 and Puerto Rico because the other things when need to stay. 155 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:38.120 On US territory because. 156 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:42.919 Rocket technology like we're doing is considered an advanced weapons technology, 157 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:46.159 so it's very difficult to export that if you will, 158 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:51.440 to other countries and anyways, So those are our options 159 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:55.639 right right now. Texas is arguably the leading candidate, but 160 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:00.000 we need certain legislation pass that's supportive of space launch. 161 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:04.120 I don't think it's particularly controversial, but one of the 162 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:05.559 things we need, for example, is we need to be 163 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:07.440 able to close the beach when we're doing a launch 164 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:08.519 and Texas has. 165 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:09.399 The Open Beaches Act. 166 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:12.960 It's like, Okay, you know, we we can't launch if 167 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:15.720 there's someone right next to the rocket, you know, on 168 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:20.679 the beach. So that's I don't like I said, I 169 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.279 don't think it's a particularly controversial thing. 170 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:24.679 It's pretty straightforward. 171 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:28.360 And then and then we kind of need liberal protection 172 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.559 for kind of the one in ten thousand person case 173 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:35.000 who complains about the thing. Like we had this dude 174 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:38.360 who filed a lawsuit against us for our rocket development 175 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.879 site in Central Texas near Waco. He's like not even 176 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:45.200 in the same county, He's in a neighboring county, and 177 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:47.159 he like also thinks like the CIA is listening to 178 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.919 his brain waves. So we need like just a little 179 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:53.080 bit of protection for people like that. So we're not 180 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:55.679 like spending a ton of time in court. So that's 181 00:09:55.679 --> 00:10:01.879 basically what we're asking for. Learning major and I think 182 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:04.080 it's likely to move forward. So I think, you know, 183 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:07.759 if if things go as expected this this, it's likely 184 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:09.360 that we'll have a launch sight in Texas, which I 185 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:17.639 think be really cool around when so it founds on 186 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:20.279 how the environmental approval is going a lot. But I 187 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:24.000 think I think, well, if things go well, I mean 188 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.799 not all, not all of it's in our hands. So 189 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.360 but assuming that things go as expected, you know, there'd 190 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:31.879 be a decision this year and then we'll start construction 191 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:34.799 next year and then and probably the first launches would 192 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:37.480 take place and from there in two to three years. 193 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:38.279 Terrific. 194 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:42.679 Yeah, So Falcon nine or the rocket that launched a 195 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:46.360 dragon is traditional rocket, which is to say, it's disposable bits. 196 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:50.039 But you're essentially you're ultimately focused on reusable rock. Yes, 197 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:52.919 Grasshopper is the name of that. Can you talk a 198 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:57.080 little bit about what's why reusable, what's different about reusable? 199 00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:58.480 And I think you probably have some things to show 200 00:10:58.519 --> 00:10:58.840 as well. 201 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:05.240 Yeah, absolutely so reasonability is extremely important if you think 202 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:09.480 it's important that humanity extend beyond Earth and become multipenant 203 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:12.279 species and all that, and I. 204 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:13.440 Mean it's super important. I thought. 205 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:16.320 I think it's also incredibly obvious common sense, Like you 206 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:19.279 can imagine watching like star Trek and then they got 207 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:21.840 a new starship after every every trip that would be 208 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:28.039 pretty sarly, and and and every motor transport that we're 209 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:31.600 used to, like cars, plane strains, ormobiles, horses. 210 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:32.840 Bikes, they're all reusable. 211 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:39.320 But not rockets, and if we can't make rockets reusable, 212 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:43.279 the cost is just prohibitive. That the like the cost 213 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:46.720 of the fuel and oxygen on a Falcon nine is 214 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:49.240 zero point three percent of the cost of the rocket. 215 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.399 So it's basically it's a very tiny number. It's it's 216 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:56.519 very similar to an airplane. So it's how much does 217 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:59.200 it cost to fuel up an airplane and how much 218 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:00.360 does it cost to buying air plane. 219 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:01.399 They're very different things. 220 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:05.480 So if we're if humanity is ever to expand beyond 221 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.279 Earth and establish a self sustaining base and another planet, 222 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:10.080 is critical that. 223 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:10.840 We solve this problem. 224 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:13.480 Whether it's SpaceX or someone else, someone has to solve 225 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.639 the problem and we can have one hundred fold reduction 226 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:22.320 in the cost of space plight. So so that's what 227 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.360 SpaceX has been trying to do, and really that's been 228 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.200 the goal since the beginning of the company. So so far, 229 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:31.240 I'm not being very successful in that in that regard, 230 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:34.159 so but I think we kind of have a. 231 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:35.840 Handle on it. I think I think we've got to. 232 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:37.000 We've got a. 233 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:41.159 Design that in the simulations in and in CAD and 234 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:44.639 so forth, it it closes like it should work. 235 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:48.159 If we can build that thing. It should work, and. 236 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:52.159 In fact it may be worth just rolling the reusability 237 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:54.200 videos so people have a sense of what I'm talking about. 238 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:58.000 I don't know where that plays, but behind us a 239 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:07.240 farm us and people in the audience of that there. 240 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:14.000 Ye alright, So what you're saying here is that the 241 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.039 the first age after stage separation, the first aage turns around, 242 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:22.120 boosts back to the launch pad, and then lands propulsively 243 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:24.519 with landing gear. That's kind of how rocket should land. 244 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:37.639 That's that's the upper stage. This is the this is 245 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:43.840 the quick version of the video obviously, and then you're 246 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:46.559 seeing Dragon version two. So Dragon version two will land 247 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:50.480 on thrusters with landing gear with the at G as 248 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.759 accurately as a helicopter, so you can land anywhere on Earth. 249 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:54.919 That's with the accuracy of a helicopter. 250 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:58.320 One last question about space before we turn to two cars. 251 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:03.000 You've talked before about how you decided. 252 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:03.240 To get into this. 253 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:06.080 You were you founded you know, you go founded PayPal. 254 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:08.639 You don't really, I mean, you have a physics degree, 255 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.519 you know something about about you know the underlying mechanics, 256 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.039 but you didn't have any space experience. You decided I 257 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:18.879 think on a train to go to Mars, and decided 258 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:21.559 that you could out compete in NASA, that you could 259 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.039 get to Mars, you could get to space faster, cheaper, 260 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:27.879 better than one of the largest, the largest space agency. 261 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:28.960 In the world. 262 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:30.960 How did you get that confidence? 263 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:37.759 Uh? So, well, I think first of all, I should 264 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:42.320 say maybe give some of a preface to what happened 265 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:47.440 before starting SpaceX. In fact, the way I sort of 266 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:54.000 got into space was to do I was really disappointed 267 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:55.799 that we had not send anyone to Mars, that we 268 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:59.720 had not progressed beyond Apollo, and I kept waiting for 269 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:00.799 when we would. 270 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:01.840 And it just didn't happen. 271 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:06.559 A year after year, and and so a friend of 272 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:08.399 mine asked me about what I wanted to do after PayPal, 273 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.399 and I thought, well, you know, I was always curious 274 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:12.159 about space, but I didn't think about that there was 275 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:16.240 anything I could do do in space. And I went 276 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.200 to the NASA website to just see when are we 277 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:18.759 going to Mars? 278 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:20.120 And I can find that out. 279 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:26.360 I thought maybe it was there, but I well hid 280 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:32.039 them or something. But so so then I thought, well, 281 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:36.519 perhaps this is a question of will. Is there sufficient 282 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:40.600 will to do this? And the first idea I came 283 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.600 up with was actually to do a philanthropic mission to 284 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:46.840 send a small greenhouse to the surface of Mars with 285 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.759 seats and dehydrated jail that would hydrate upon landing, and 286 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:52.519 you'd have this cool greenhouse with these green plants on 287 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:57.519 a red background. That'll be the money shot and and 288 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:01.600 and then you know, people like precedents and superlatives, so 289 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:04.919 it be the first first life on another planet furthest 290 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.759 that life ever traveled, and that would get people excited, 291 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:10.480 and you also learn about a lot about want to 292 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:12.519 support earth. 293 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:13.720 Plants and a greenhouse on Mars. 294 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.519 The whole purpose of that was to get people excited 295 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:24.440 about sending people to Mars and increase NASA's budget. So 296 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.440 that was my whole goal. I was going to basically torch. Yeah, 297 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:34.679 it had nothing to do with competing with NASA. In fact, 298 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:39.919 my goal was to increase their budget. And I should 299 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:45.120 say that today NASA is our biggest customer. I mean, 300 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:51.480 we've got almost fifty launchers and about a quarter of 301 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.279 those of FANASA, but three quarters three quarters commercial, but. 302 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:56.320 One quarter NASA. 303 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:01.000 And NASA's been incredibly sort of been helpful, and we 304 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:03.000 wouldn't be where we are today without without the help 305 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:05.119 and NASSA. So it's gonna really got nice too. With 306 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.759 competing with NASA. It's really just about what do we 307 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.200 need to do to have an exciting and inspiring future 308 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:10.680 in space. 309 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.279 That's that's what I think really matters. 310 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:14.279 At the end of the day. 311 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:16.519 You didn't end up raising the fund the money to 312 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:19.680 pay NASA to the mission. You end up doing building 313 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:23.000 your own company, and ideally to do it cheaper than 314 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:23.680 government scout. 315 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:30.559 Yeah. So I was able to figure out how to 316 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:33.319 get the cost of the spacecraft and the greenhouse and 317 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:37.480 the communications system way less than it normally would cost 318 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:38.160 for such a thing. 319 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:41.119 I got stuck on the rocket and I. 320 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:45.160 Went to Russia three times to try to buy a 321 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.839 couple of their biggest ICBMs. 322 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:52.920 This is about. 323 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:54.799 This is in two thousand and one, late two thousand 324 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:58.359 and one and two thousand and two. It was definitely 325 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:04.480 an interesting experience, and I sort of got the feeling 326 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:05.920 I could have bought the Nook too, but. 327 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:07.680 I don't. 328 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.880 I don't want to go there. 329 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:14.279 And then when I when I got back from the 330 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:14.880 third trip to. 331 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:20.839 Russia, that that's when I thought, Okay, look, even if 332 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:26.480 we do even if we buy these these ICBMs from Russia. 333 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:27.480 I. 334 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:35.440 Thought, I thought my initial supposition was wrong. And so 335 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:38.559 what I thought really was that we'd lost the world 336 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:41.200 to explore, that we'd lost the world to push the boundary, 337 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:44.440 and and and in retrospect, that was actually a very 338 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:49.480 foolish error. Because the United States is a nation of explorers. 339 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:52.720 United States is a distillation of the humans. 340 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:53.359 Bird of exploration. 341 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:56.960 It's ludicrous to actually, in retrospect, to have made such 342 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:02.799 an assumption. But people to believe that it's possible, and 343 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:04.880 that it's not gonna it's not going to bankrupt them. 344 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:06.440 It's not They're not gonna have to give up something 345 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:10.119 important like healthcare. You know, it's going to be a 346 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.599 cost that isn't going to meaningfully affect their their standard 347 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:15.200 of living. And I think the United States would absolutely 348 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:20.839 be super, super excited about sending people to Mars, and people, 349 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:22.440 I think a lot of people really wish that would 350 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:27.480 occur anyway, So that was that was what I came 351 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:29.920 to conclusion of. And and I thought, well, if if 352 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:32.119 we don't make a difference in the cost of the 353 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.960 rocket of the transport system, it's all, it doesn't matter 354 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:37.559 it's it's not like I said, it's not a question 355 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.920 of will, it's a question of whey. And so that's 356 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.279 when I came back and started the SpaceX. But when 357 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:46.480 I started SpaceX, it wasn't with the perspective of like 358 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:50.160 a world just you know, take over the world and 359 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:50.880 with with. 360 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:52.519 Or some rockets. I don't know what the book I 361 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.000 was doing. It was like clueless. 362 00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:57.599 I thought the most likely outcome was that we would fail, 363 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.640 and the first three rockets did fail. 364 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:07.200 So and you put all your money into it. 365 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:11.559 Between Tesla, SpaceX and Solar City all in. Yeah, that 366 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:13.519 wasn't the plan at the beginning. 367 00:20:13.559 --> 00:20:18.480 By the way, and Peter Tail says, we don't think 368 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:19.200 big anymore. 369 00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:22.160 You must have some conversations with him about that. 370 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:25.400 Well, you know, Peter's spent a big supporter actually, so 371 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:31.599 he's he invested in SpaceX at a very important time 372 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:35.319 in two thousand and eight before we reached orbit, so 373 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:35.839 after our. 374 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:38.200 Third failure of it, before our first success. 375 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:42.240 So you know, big credit to Peter and Luke Nosik 376 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:44.200 and the other guys that I found. Respond Basically, my 377 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:47.559 my buddy's great well, my buddies from Papal saved my butt. 378 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:50.079 You know, it was really really good. 379 00:20:51.119 --> 00:21:00.680 So so let's talk about cars. Many and the audience 380 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:04.240 may recollect the notorious New York Times review of the 381 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:09.400 Model S, Yes, exactly of the Model S earlier this year, 382 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.640 and your reaction to that review, and the Times reaction 383 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:17.960 to your reaction, and the effect on your share price 384 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:22.200 and on orders and all that, and without rehashing the 385 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.799 review or the facts, I'd like it you just to post. 386 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:26.920 Mortem the entire experience. 387 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:30.039 How do I do a post mortem without any facts 388 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:30.480 or anything? 389 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:34.559 Post mortem? Post mortem? 390 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:38.119 Your reaction to the review and what you know put 391 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:40.119 you on the couch, and what would you do differently today? 392 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:41.440 Having seen the weight all played out? 393 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:57.039 Well, I think I think this one thing I didn't do. 394 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:03.079 And maybe still should, which is to post the rebuttal 395 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:06.759 to the rebuttal, because I withheld that and waited for 396 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:10.079 the public editor. I sent that information to the public editor, 397 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:13.599 waited for her to do her sort of thing, and 398 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:16.359 she came down kind of on the side of Tesla 399 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:19.839 with respect to the fact that the article was in error, 400 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:22.119 but but disagreed on the motive. 401 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:29.400 On the ethics, Yes, and because you impugned both facts and. 402 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:35.319 Ethics, I did, yes, and and and I think it was. 403 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:36.200 I think it was. 404 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:38.960 I would call it a low grade ethics violation, not 405 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:41.680 like a big one. I don't think he thought he 406 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:43.519 was doing anything particularly terrible. 407 00:22:44.119 --> 00:22:46.960 But I would call it a low grade, low grade violation. 408 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:49.440 And not not not of the Jason Blair, you know, 409 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:51.920 crazy fabrication variety. 410 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:54.640 But I would call it a low grade. It was 411 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:55.440 not in good faith. 412 00:22:55.519 --> 00:23:01.720 If that that's that's that's an important point. And I 413 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:05.079 probably should have posted that rebuttal to make that clear, 414 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:06.079 but I didn't do it. 415 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:08.599 That's what I regret. 416 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:11.480 So the only change you would make is that the 417 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:14.599 very last bit the rebuttal that you wrote but that 418 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:16.119 has not been published, you would get. 419 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:17.759 Maybe I should, you would get out there. 420 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:20.319 Yeah, So you would continue to use the same language 421 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:21.160 in the same way. 422 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:23.039 And I don't think the language was inaccurate. 423 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:24.559 I really don't. 424 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:29.519 You've often. 425 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:36.839 You've often said that one of your management techniques, one 426 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:38.599 of the secrets of your successes, that you listen to 427 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:43.759 negative feedback. Yes was a Times review not didn't fall 428 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:45.200 into the category of negative feedback. 429 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:48.400 I have no problem with negative feedback. I have a 430 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:51.359 problem with nor do I have a problem with critical reviews. 431 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:53.559 If I had a problem with critical reviews, I would 432 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:57.000 spend all my time battling critical reviews. There have been 433 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:01.640 hundreds of negative articles, hundreds, and yet I've only spoken 434 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.240 out a few times. I don't have a problem with 435 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:06.960 critical reviews. I have a problem with false reviews. 436 00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:09.079 All right. 437 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:15.400 One of the technologies that you had to you know, 438 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.680 basically developed to near perfection or at least or at 439 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:22.039 least work on hardest with lithium batteries for the electric 440 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:24.200 cars or run on lithuan batteries. Safety has always been 441 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:30.200 an issue, accidents, et cetera. Recently, Boeing had fires with 442 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:32.720 their lithium batteries, and these and the dreaminers now to 443 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:37.440 service because of that, you volunteered to help the Boeing executives, 444 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:39.279 I guess, diagnose and redesign. 445 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.039 Can you talk a little bit. 446 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:43.480 About what they did wrong, what you would have done differently, 447 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:46.480 and what do you think that the future of you know, 448 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:48.640 Boeing in others, airline batteries are going to. 449 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:52.160 Be sure well, first of all, on the bowing front, 450 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.480 I mean, obviously, even though SpaceX and Going compete on 451 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:56.599 the space side, we have no competition on the commercial 452 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:58.839 airline a side, and some of the comments that I 453 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:01.480 made about Boeing, somehow I've been interverted as an attack 454 00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:03.359 on Boeing, when it is in fact not an attack 455 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:03.759 on Boeing. 456 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:09.799 The only reason I actually, I mean, the main. 457 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:11.680 Reason I should say I offered to help, was that 458 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:14.640 there's a friend of mine, Richard Branson, who's whose airline 459 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:17.359 is suffering as a result of this with him iron Fire, 460 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:20.039 and here he was mentioning that, you know, he's losing 461 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:23.400 hundreds of millions he always airline is as a result 462 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:25.400 of this this problem. I said, well, I think we 463 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:27.559 could probably help, and then so he said, oh great, well, 464 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:31.240 let me connect you with the chief engineer of the 465 00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:33.559 seven eight seven. I said, cool, we're happy to help. 466 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:41.759 So provided some advice and hopefully that'll be helpful. And 467 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:44.160 I said, we're also happy to actually do the solution 468 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:47.359 if you want. And they haven't taken this stuff on 469 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:51.319 that offer, but we're happy to help, either in an 470 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:55.480 advisory capacity or to do the solution whatever would result 471 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:58.279 in the seven eight seven getting back to flight sooner. 472 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:02.160 We're just trying to you know, productive and helpful. So 473 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:06.559 I mean, I think in the case of the battery. 474 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:09.960 Voeing doesn't have a ton of in house battery expertise, 475 00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:14.759 so that they outsourced the battery and then you had 476 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:18.599 a whole bunch of kind of nested outsourcing where the 477 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:21.880 outsourced the battery system, and then and then that got 478 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.319 outsourced to another company, then to another company, and then 479 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:27.079 to a whole bunch of other companies. 480 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:29.759 And you're like four layers deep before you actually got 481 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:32.519 to any hardware. 482 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:36.279 And so that resulted and I think in a kind 483 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:39.920 of a breakdown of communication. I mean from an architectural standpoint, 484 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:44.079 The fundamental issue is that the is that I think 485 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:48.000 is that the cells are too big. The battery cells 486 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:51.119 are too big, and the gaps between the battery cells 487 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:54.920 are are not big enough. And the problem with a 488 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:59.759 big battery cell is that the thermal pathway is in 489 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:02.920 a most case scenario is very long. So you say, well, 490 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.160 if there's a hot spot in the battery, can it 491 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:08.160 get its heat out? And if it's deep in a cell, 492 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:11.359 it can't. It can't do that. And it's also hard 493 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:14.079 to thermally condition the cells. That the life of the 494 00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:17.920 pack will be will be dependent upon on the temperature, 495 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:20.559 with the average not the average temperature, but the worst 496 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:24.240 temperature at any point in any cell. So you want 497 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:26.720 to really even that temperature out. That's why Tesla is 498 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:29.559 a fan of having lots of small cells and then 499 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:33.400 actively cooling each cell to keep the temperature even and 500 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:37.119 make sure that if if hotspot does developed, it's a 501 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:40.640 very short pathway to the cooling system and it can 502 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:42.640 you know, take care of it. Then you also want 503 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:45.880 to make sure that it's again quite technical here, sorry, 504 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:52.480 it's it's passive propagation proof. So so if you even 505 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.319 if your active cooling system fails and you get them 506 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:57.519 more on away in a cell, that therm we're on 507 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:00.759 an event can't cascade into a neighboring cell, and you 508 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:03.480 get the thermal domino effect, right, I mean, it's it's 509 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:05.279 not it's not super complicated. 510 00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:07.079 So so. 511 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:16.279 It just if if you have big cells, you want 512 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:19.680 big gaps, and ideally you want you don't want big cells. 513 00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:22.599 If you do, you want big gaps, small cells, small gaps. 514 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:25.039 Yeah, I mean, so. 515 00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:27.640 I mean this is this is really important because because 516 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:30.079 the whole thing about this new generation of aeroplanes that 517 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.319 they're light, they use composites, they use electronics rather than 518 00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:35.880 mechanical systems, and so electricity drives the whole thing. 519 00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:38.400 So basically my understanding is that. 520 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:40.799 You need lithium batteries in the sky. It just doesn't 521 00:28:40.839 --> 00:28:42.279 work any other way. And your point is it can 522 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:42.680 be done. 523 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:44.000 Oh, totally can be done. 524 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:45.759 YEA, Like lithium is getting a bit of a bad 525 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:48.960 name here, Lithium is obviously the way to go. I mean, 526 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:51.319 people have lithium my own batteries and their cell phones 527 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:53.680 and their laptops. I mean, I don't think anyone's panicking 528 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:56.440 here with the fact that they go to lithium ion battery. 529 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.480 You know, next to a sensitive region of probably their body. 530 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:03.799 You know, got it. 531 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.359 Well, just staying on on on power for one last 532 00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:10.359 set of questions before well, before I returned. 533 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:12.759 To your life, which seems insane. 534 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:13.880 Is the same. 535 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:19.079 You're also a chairman of Solar City, which I believe 536 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:24.240 is America's largest solar installer. You know, so space transportation 537 00:29:24.440 --> 00:29:26.759 energy ticking. 538 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:27.440 Off the big ones there. 539 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:31.079 Now, you know, solar got a bad name over the 540 00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:33.680 last few years because of the cylinder meltdown, et cetera. 541 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:36.599 But in my sense that people different are not differentiating 542 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:38.880 between the making of solar cells and the using of 543 00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:42.160 solar cells and the Chinese competition and the glutting of 544 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:45.279 the market on the supply side is what solender what 545 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:46.200 got Cylinder in trouble. 546 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:47.960 They couldn't compete with the falling prices. But you're a 547 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:52.279 consumer of solar cells, So how do you see you know, 548 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:55.559 the Chinese, Chinese competition and sort of the glut of 549 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:58.279 solar solar cells on the market. What did I do 550 00:29:58.359 --> 00:29:58.519 with you? 551 00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:00.759 I mean, I think what China is doing in the 552 00:30:00.759 --> 00:30:03.799 solar panel arena is awesome because they're lowering the cost 553 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:07.039 of solar power for the world, and they have these 554 00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:11.160 huge gigafactories that they created out in the Chinese desert 555 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:15.000 and with a ton of funding from the Chinese government. 556 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:17.480 So it's like a giant donation from the tiny Chinese government. 557 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:22.319 Like thanks, that's awesome, you know, And you know, people 558 00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:25.079 sort of complain about a Cylinder, but I mean, obviously 559 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:27.519 anyone who's been involved in the venture world knows that 560 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:28.599 you don't at a thousand. 561 00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:29.799 There's some companies that die. 562 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:31.759 The only reason we know about Cylinder is because became 563 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:35.720 a political football, right, And I mean there are other 564 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:41.000 sort of panel manufacturers are still doing reasonably well, but 565 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:44.279 it is tough when you're competing. I mean, I think 566 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:46.680 a good rule of thumb was don't is, don't compete 567 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:52.880 with China with a commodity product. You know, you're really 568 00:30:52.920 --> 00:30:58.400 asking for travel in that scenario. And it's really super 569 00:30:58.440 --> 00:31:02.279 easy to make fifteen percent inefficient or standard efficiency solar panels. 570 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:04.799 It's super easy. It's like easier of the making freaking 571 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:08.160 drywall at this point. So it's like, is there everything 572 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:11.559 we should be competing with China in drywall manufacturing? Okay, 573 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:18.519 probably not so so, so that's the thing. So, and 574 00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:22.119 the hard part of solar power is not the panel, 575 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:26.519 it's actually the whole system. It's basically designing something that's 576 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:29.400 going to fit on particular rooftop because you have all 577 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:33.000 these heterogeneous rooftops. Then you've got to you've got to 578 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:35.640 mount the system, you've got to wire it up, you've 579 00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:38.240 got to connect it with the inverters connected to the grid, 580 00:31:38.519 --> 00:31:40.039 you've got to do all the permitting. I mean, it's 581 00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:43.799 a bunch of like thorny, unglamorous, stupid problems. But if 582 00:31:43.799 --> 00:31:46.160 somebody doesn't optimize them, they're still going to cost a 583 00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:49.759 ton of money and a lot of them are really 584 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:52.920 not they're not fun problems, they're not you know, exciting 585 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:56.240 problems to optimize, but but they are the problems that 586 00:31:56.279 --> 00:31:58.640 actually matter in the cost of solar power. 587 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:01.839 So it's really more like you know, like a like 588 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:05.599 a roofing contractor than it is at a company. 589 00:32:05.599 --> 00:32:07.680 I mean, what you're doing is you're putting a second 590 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:10.440 roof on a building. Yeah, okay, so. 591 00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:14.039 And you've got to do it at scale, and then 592 00:32:14.039 --> 00:32:16.160 you've got to manage all these systems because there's still 593 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:18.519 some I mean, even though the after sales service is small, 594 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:21.920 when you've got like hundreds of thousands of systems, that's 595 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:26.480 still a lot to manage. And and so what solar 596 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:32.799 City really is is a giant distributed utility and it's 597 00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:38.599 working in partnership with the house and business and in 598 00:32:38.680 --> 00:32:43.759 competition with the big sort of monopoly utility. 599 00:32:44.279 --> 00:32:46.559 I mean, I think it's like literally power to the people. 600 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:51.160 Okay, It's like it's literally So I think it's really 601 00:32:51.160 --> 00:32:52.880 awesome because utility has just never had. 602 00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:53.799 Any competition before. 603 00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:56.599 Yeah, and now they're like they have to actually think 604 00:32:56.599 --> 00:32:59.319 about the cost of power and figure out better ways 605 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:01.160 to do it. And the thing I think it's really great, 606 00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:04.880 and the credit there is really due to Lennon and 607 00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:07.920 Peter Rye co founders. I mean, I've hearn a few 608 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:10.039 ideas every now and then, but mostly it's just about 609 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:12.599 showing up at the board meeting to hear the good news. 610 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:14.440 It's those guys are just think sessional some job. 611 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:20.640 So you are CEO and CTO of SpaceX, so not 612 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:24.720 just running company progression chief technology officers as well. You 613 00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:28.079 are CEO and chief product designer for Tesla, so not 614 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.599 just running the company, but designing the cars. And you're 615 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:32.039 chairman of Solar City. 616 00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:34.920 Right, what is your life like. 617 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:41.680 It's it's very busy, and I'd actually like to take 618 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:46.799 it down just as Scooch, honestly, because there they're always 619 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:50.440 I mean these things that the last few years have 620 00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:53.200 been really really great, but then there were a number 621 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:57.920 of years that saw horribly and I'd like to just 622 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:03.680 not have it be so extreme. And like last year 623 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:06.839 was a year of great achievement, but honestly, I didn't 624 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:07.559 have that much fun. 625 00:34:07.720 --> 00:34:08.280 It sucked. 626 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:11.400 I didn't have that much fun. My US resolution was 627 00:34:11.440 --> 00:34:13.639 to have a little bit more fun this year. So hey, 628 00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:14.840 I'm at south By Southwest. 629 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:23.719 You know, and you have five children? 630 00:34:24.360 --> 00:34:26.800 Do They're awesome? Kids are awesome. By the way, you 631 00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:29.679 guys should all have kids. Kids are great. 632 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:32.920 How much do you see them? 633 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:35.320 I don't see them enough, actually, But. 634 00:34:35.800 --> 00:34:39.760 I what I find is that I'm able to be 635 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.679 with them and still be on email because I don't 636 00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:45.760 need like constant interaction except when we're talking directly. So 637 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:48.400 I find I can be with them and still be 638 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:50.679 you know, working at the same time. 639 00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:53.840 But wait, are you saying you can do email while 640 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:54.599 you're with your children? 641 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:56.519 Yeah? Absolutely sure. 642 00:34:58.519 --> 00:34:58.800 Wow. 643 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:01.440 I mean not all it's time, but a lot of 644 00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:06.199 the time. That's why I tended to have a phone, 645 00:35:06.199 --> 00:35:10.159 and you can sort of you do email in interstitial moments. 646 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:12.519 In the absence of that, I would not be able 647 00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:13.719 to get my job done. 648 00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:17.559 Well, that's impressive. 649 00:35:18.159 --> 00:35:18.880 We are. 650 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:23.519 I have five children. I can't do email wine with 651 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:25.639 my children. It's not good for the children and it's 652 00:35:25.679 --> 00:35:26.599 really not good for the email. 653 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:29.079 Well, I do have to have a nanny there otherwise 654 00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:29.880 they'll kill each other. 655 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:34.039 So yeah, we. 656 00:35:34.159 --> 00:35:36.360 Are going to turn to audience questions at this point. 657 00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:40.320 Just a reminder that if you tweet your questions hashtag 658 00:35:40.480 --> 00:35:42.960 ask musk there's a team in the back that will 659 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:47.079 be selecting the are the ones that we haven't already covered, 660 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:49.440 and it seem interesting, and I get them in front, 661 00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:51.000 maybe you can see them as well. So as the 662 00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:54.480 first one from David Solis. Yes, when it comes to 663 00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:58.440 researching analyzing entrepreneurial opportunity, how do you go about qualifying 664 00:35:58.519 --> 00:36:01.719 or legitimizing presumably the idea? 665 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:09.519 Sure, well, I'm not sure I'm the best guide here 666 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:16.599 because the things that I've chosen have not been I've 667 00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:19.440 not been trying to optimize on a risk adjusted return basis. 668 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:23.599 So there are like I would not say that I 669 00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:26.920 went to the rocker business, of the car business or 670 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:31.079 the solar business thinking that it's a great opportunity. I 671 00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:34.239 just thought that that something needed to be done in 672 00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:39.079 these industries in order to make a difference, and that's 673 00:36:39.079 --> 00:36:44.719 why I did it. So, But in general, I do 674 00:36:44.760 --> 00:36:47.840 think it's worth thinking about, like what whether what you're 675 00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:50.320 doing is going to result in disruptive change or not. 676 00:36:50.760 --> 00:36:55.800 If it's just incremental, it's unlikely to be something major. 677 00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:01.599 It's got to be something that's substanti actually better than 678 00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:03.119 what's gone on before. 679 00:37:04.400 --> 00:37:06.519 That cubes up our next question really Well, this is 680 00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:12.199 from a Craig Lagrese space, automotive, finance, energy disrupted major industries. 681 00:37:12.199 --> 00:37:13.599 What would you do if you had a free reign 682 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:14.480 over education? 683 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:20.519 Well, I think that the way that we current lead 684 00:37:20.519 --> 00:37:22.000 to education is wrong. 685 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:25.880 And when you see something like the Kon Academy and 686 00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:27.840 so for I think that's probably going in the right direction. 687 00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:29.360 I mean, generally, you want. 688 00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:32.480 Education to be like as close to a video game 689 00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:35.400 as possible, like a good video game, Like you do 690 00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:38.679 not need to tell your kid to play video games. 691 00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:42.199 They will play video games on autopilot all day. So 692 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:47.400 if you can make it interactive and engaging, then you can. 693 00:37:47.280 --> 00:37:51.679 Make education far more compelling and a far easier to do. 694 00:37:54.119 --> 00:37:56.519 So I think that's how it should be, and it 695 00:37:56.519 --> 00:37:58.920 shouldn't be that you've got like these grades where people 696 00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:03.199 move in lockstep and so everyone goes through, you know, 697 00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:09.360 goes like normally we'll go through English, math, science and 698 00:38:09.400 --> 00:38:11.239 so forth, from like fifth grade to sixth grade to 699 00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:14.519 seventh grade, like it's an assembly line. But people are 700 00:38:14.559 --> 00:38:18.119 not objects on an assembly line. That's a ridiculous notion. 701 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:23.800 People learn and are interested in different things at different paces. 702 00:38:24.559 --> 00:38:28.280 So you really want to disconnect the whole grade level 703 00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:32.079 three thing from the subjects, allow people to progress at 704 00:38:32.119 --> 00:38:35.920 the fastest pace that they can or interested in each subject. 705 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:41.559 It seems like a really obvious thing. I mean, I 706 00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:44.480 think like most teaching today is a lot like vaudeville, 707 00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:49.800 where and as a result, just not that compelling. It's 708 00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:52.440 like somebody's standing up there and lecturing to you, and 709 00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:53.320 they've done the same. 710 00:38:53.159 --> 00:38:54.239 Lecture several years in a row. 711 00:38:54.280 --> 00:38:57.679 They're not necessarily all that engaged or in doing it. 712 00:38:58.840 --> 00:39:03.880 And you compare that to say, Batman the Dark Knight, Okay, 713 00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:05.960 and then you've got like the world's best special effects, 714 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:10.559 you've got the world's best director, screenwriter, multiple cuts, amazing, 715 00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:15.800 you know, editing and and and and and and that's amazing. 716 00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:18.960 But but like imagine if instead you had like the 717 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:25.320 local town aspiring actor to the one person play version 718 00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:28.039 of that, that would not be compelling. 719 00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:32.599 Do you agree with Peter Tiel about the unnecessaryness of 720 00:39:33.599 --> 00:39:34.960 university higher education? 721 00:39:36.440 --> 00:39:39.039 I don't don't. I definitely I do agree with Peter's 722 00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:45.519 point that a university education is often unnecessary. That's not 723 00:39:45.559 --> 00:39:49.760 to say it's unnecessary for all people, But I think 724 00:39:50.480 --> 00:39:53.519 you've probably learned about as much. For the vast majority 725 00:39:53.519 --> 00:39:55.800 of what you're gonna learn there in the first two years, 726 00:39:56.360 --> 00:39:58.679 and most of it is from your classmates. 727 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:01.760 Because you can always buy the textbooks and just read 728 00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:03.880 them like nobody's stopping you from doing that, or go 729 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:05.119 online or go online. 730 00:40:06.599 --> 00:40:11.199 So now now, for a lot of companies, they do 731 00:40:11.320 --> 00:40:14.280 want to see the completion of the degree because they're 732 00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:17.960 looking for someone who's going to persevere and see it 733 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:22.039 through to the end, and that's actually what's important to them. 734 00:40:22.199 --> 00:40:24.159 So it really depends on what somebody's goal is. 735 00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:26.639 If the goal is to start a company, I would 736 00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:31.360 say no point in finishing college. In my case, I 737 00:40:31.400 --> 00:40:35.199 had to otherwise I get kicked out of the country, So. 738 00:40:36.639 --> 00:40:37.360 That was important. 739 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:40.719 But although you went on and got a master's degree 740 00:40:40.760 --> 00:40:41.039 as well. 741 00:40:41.119 --> 00:40:43.800 Right, I came out to look at value to do 742 00:40:43.840 --> 00:40:46.360 a PhD at Stanford and applied physics and material science 743 00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:49.960 to work on ultra capacitors who use in electric cars, 744 00:40:50.559 --> 00:40:52.480 and that's what I was going to do, and then 745 00:40:52.519 --> 00:40:54.559 I started to put that on hold to start a company. 746 00:40:54.679 --> 00:40:57.280 But since I already had my undergrad I couldn't get 747 00:40:57.280 --> 00:40:59.159 an H one BBSA and that kind of thing. So 748 00:40:59.159 --> 00:41:03.559 if the h one BB's requires a degree, but other 749 00:41:03.599 --> 00:41:06.039 than that, I would have if that wasn't the case, 750 00:41:06.119 --> 00:41:08.559 I probably would have stopped education sooner. 751 00:41:08.599 --> 00:41:10.480 Did you not go to Wharton for Yeah? 752 00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:14.519 They did dual undergrade in physics and business at Wharton. Yeah, 753 00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:16.519 but it was undergrad not not master's understood. 754 00:41:17.400 --> 00:41:19.440 Another question for the audience from Dan Griffiths. 755 00:41:20.280 --> 00:41:22.840 Fill in the blank, you will be disappointed if blank 756 00:41:23.039 --> 00:41:24.480 does not happen in your lifetime. 757 00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:33.599 Well, probably the most thing I've disappointed is if if 758 00:41:34.599 --> 00:41:37.760 humanity doesn't land on Mars in my lifetime, I'd be 759 00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:41.079 really disappointed. That would be you know that that would 760 00:41:41.159 --> 00:41:47.360 probably be my biggest disappointment. And yeah, I think I 761 00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:50.400 think that's the thing I'm most concerned about because because we're. 762 00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:53.199 At this and obviously that's what SpaceX is working on. 763 00:41:54.199 --> 00:41:55.719 So I'm not trying to be self serving here, but 764 00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:59.159 it's just I kind of worry that we've hit this 765 00:41:59.559 --> 00:42:03.880 if I don't know whether technology level will keep going 766 00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:08.599 or subside. And for the first time in four and 767 00:42:08.639 --> 00:42:11.800 a half billion years, the technology level is at the 768 00:42:11.840 --> 00:42:14.440 point where we can extend life to another planet, make 769 00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:19.360 life multiplanetary, and I think it's too easy to take 770 00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:21.400 for granted that it's going to stay above that level. 771 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:25.599 And if it doesn't and it falls blow that will 772 00:42:25.599 --> 00:42:26.079 it return? 773 00:42:27.440 --> 00:42:27.880 Who knows? 774 00:42:29.840 --> 00:42:32.880 You know, the sign is gradually expanding, and in about 775 00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:36.719 you know, roughly five hundred million years, maybe a billion 776 00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:42.679 years of the outside the oceans will boil and there 777 00:42:42.719 --> 00:42:44.840 will be no meaningful life on Earth. I mean it 778 00:42:44.920 --> 00:42:49.159 might be like some you know, chemotrophs or or ultra 779 00:42:49.239 --> 00:42:51.880 high temperature bacteria or something, but nothing that can make 780 00:42:51.880 --> 00:42:58.280 a spaceship. And that's like, if you think it's like, 781 00:42:58.320 --> 00:43:00.480 maybe it's a five hundred million your type, for that's 782 00:43:00.519 --> 00:43:02.400 only a ten percent increase in the. 783 00:43:02.320 --> 00:43:05.840 Life of lifespan of Earth. So if. 784 00:43:07.400 --> 00:43:11.159 If humanity had taken an extra ten percent longer to 785 00:43:11.199 --> 00:43:15.960 get here, it wouldn't have gotten here at all. Yeah, 786 00:43:16.519 --> 00:43:19.639 And so far, we haven't seen any signs of life from. 787 00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:22.159 Other worlds that we have. We haven't detected anything. 788 00:43:22.400 --> 00:43:24.800 I hope, you know, hopefully we do, and hopefully it's 789 00:43:24.800 --> 00:43:31.280 not a warship coming towards us. But I just think 790 00:43:31.480 --> 00:43:35.639 that's the thing that really concerns me. We need to 791 00:43:35.679 --> 00:43:41.320 get this done and then that is the best thing 792 00:43:41.360 --> 00:43:44.760 we can do to ensure the continued existence of humanity. 793 00:43:46.280 --> 00:43:48.679 So that's why I would say that's the most important thing. 794 00:43:49.840 --> 00:43:57.599 Do you personally do you personally want to step foot 795 00:43:57.599 --> 00:43:58.039 on Mars? 796 00:43:59.119 --> 00:44:00.800 I do personally want to have put on Mars. 797 00:44:01.920 --> 00:44:04.000 But honestly, I would be doing this even if there 798 00:44:04.039 --> 00:44:05.519 was no even if I knew there was no chance 799 00:44:05.559 --> 00:44:10.039 of me going to Mars, because I think, like I said, 800 00:44:10.119 --> 00:44:12.000 I think it's just important that we are on a 801 00:44:12.039 --> 00:44:16.679 path to getting there, So I would like to go 802 00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:19.639 at some point. I'll go if I'm certain that SpaceX 803 00:44:19.639 --> 00:44:23.039 will be fine without me and that that path will continue. 804 00:44:24.079 --> 00:44:27.559 Because you may have heard me, some people may have 805 00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:30.199 heard the joke I've made before, which is like, you know, 806 00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:33.360 I would I think I would like to die on Mars, 807 00:44:33.440 --> 00:44:34.639 just not on impact, you know. 808 00:44:36.960 --> 00:44:42.519 So another question from the audience, and we just we 809 00:44:42.599 --> 00:44:44.159 just lost lost that one. There was a I don't 810 00:44:44.199 --> 00:44:49.800 remember who would ask this question, but the question was which, when, 811 00:44:49.840 --> 00:44:51.559 when Which do you think is. 812 00:44:51.559 --> 00:44:54.039 Going to have more impact on the world, SpaceX or Tesla. 813 00:44:56.360 --> 00:45:01.440 Well, I think if we look back, or with historians, 814 00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:06.559 if I would look back on the impact of Tesla 815 00:45:06.880 --> 00:45:07.360 in many. 816 00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:13.119 Years from now, I think it would be that Tesla. 817 00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:19.639 Hopefully that Tesla advanced the advent of sustainable transport by 818 00:45:19.800 --> 00:45:25.280 something like a decade, maybe maybe two decades. But I 819 00:45:25.320 --> 00:45:28.320 do think electric cars are inevitable. In fact, I think 820 00:45:28.400 --> 00:45:30.400 all modes of transport will go fully electric, with the 821 00:45:30.400 --> 00:45:37.400 ironic exception of rockets. So that's uh, that's what I think. 822 00:45:37.760 --> 00:45:42.639 And then for Solo City, perhaps something similar on the 823 00:45:42.760 --> 00:45:48.159 energy production site, sustainable energy production. Then for SpaceX, hopefully 824 00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:51.719 SpaceX developed develops the technology necessary to transport large numbs 825 00:45:51.760 --> 00:45:52.960 of people in cargo to Mars. 826 00:45:54.159 --> 00:46:00.000 And I mean I think that's you know, a big 827 00:46:00.119 --> 00:46:00.599 or impact. 828 00:46:00.840 --> 00:46:04.639 But we're all the the what Solo City and Tesla 829 00:46:04.639 --> 00:46:07.400 are about are solving what I think is the most 830 00:46:07.519 --> 00:46:12.360 pressing terrestrial concern, which is the sustainable production and consumption 831 00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:14.360 of energy. Well helping solve it. I mean, there's many 832 00:46:14.400 --> 00:46:18.199 people solving it. And then what SpaceX is about is 833 00:46:19.159 --> 00:46:22.639 helping solve the biggest non terrestrial problem, which is the 834 00:46:22.639 --> 00:46:23.920 extension of life beyond Earth. 835 00:46:24.599 --> 00:46:26.199 So those are how I see it. 836 00:46:26.960 --> 00:46:29.159 We have two related questions, the one that's no longer 837 00:46:29.159 --> 00:46:32.119 on the screen, but and another one that is that 838 00:46:32.199 --> 00:46:35.000 The first was what was the best advice you ever 839 00:46:35.039 --> 00:46:37.599 got and the second and you maybe can join them 840 00:46:37.800 --> 00:46:39.960 in your answer, is you mentioned working with your friends 841 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:42.800 Peter Teal and RIDRW Branson who influences and inspires you? 842 00:46:44.119 --> 00:46:51.000 Sure, well, I'm inspired by a lot of historical figures. 843 00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:54.119 Like one of my favorite guys is Ben Franklin. You know, 844 00:46:54.199 --> 00:46:57.199 I just think he's you know, he's a really good guy. 845 00:46:57.199 --> 00:46:59.719 I mean, he was a scientist and he also i 846 00:46:59.719 --> 00:47:03.440 mean worked in obviously publishing and the political sphere, but 847 00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:05.360 he kind of like he's just thought about like what 848 00:47:05.400 --> 00:47:06.920 are the what are the problems that need to get 849 00:47:06.960 --> 00:47:10.079 solved and worked on those. I mean, it's just seems 850 00:47:10.119 --> 00:47:14.480 like a good guy around. So I like him and 851 00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:20.079 the like just historical figures like in science and literature, 852 00:47:20.159 --> 00:47:26.920 and I mean huge fan of Churchill and and obviously 853 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:27.800 like Tesla. 854 00:47:27.880 --> 00:47:29.159 We named Tesla after Nikola. 855 00:47:29.239 --> 00:47:34.800 Tesla better than most motors, you know, and I actually 856 00:47:34.840 --> 00:47:36.679 haven't named any product or company. 857 00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:40.159 After myself, but. 858 00:47:39.000 --> 00:47:41.599 Then maybe gives a sense of like I think, like 859 00:47:41.679 --> 00:47:45.559 Tesla is someone who deserves a lot of recognition, and. 860 00:47:48.079 --> 00:47:50.679 They're all dead. 861 00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:54.440 Yeah, I mean I think there's a friend of mine, 862 00:47:55.920 --> 00:47:59.360 like Larry Page. I think what Larry's doing and and 863 00:47:59.519 --> 00:48:06.039 Serge at Google. I'm really admire what they've done. I think, 864 00:48:06.679 --> 00:48:09.239 obviously he's recently dead, but Steve Jobs here doesn't admire 865 00:48:09.320 --> 00:48:10.000 Steve Jobs. 866 00:48:10.679 --> 00:48:13.119 I think Bezlis is doing some great. 867 00:48:12.880 --> 00:48:15.280 Things and among others competing with. 868 00:48:15.239 --> 00:48:18.760 You, yes, but that's a good thing. In fact, every 869 00:48:18.760 --> 00:48:20.599 time I see Jeff Beslis, I say, why aren't you 870 00:48:20.679 --> 00:48:21.480 doing more in space? 871 00:48:25.519 --> 00:48:27.239 The other half the question was the best advice you 872 00:48:27.320 --> 00:48:27.719 ever got? 873 00:48:27.960 --> 00:48:34.800 Best advice I ever got? Well, I think the. 874 00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:40.239 You know, the physics training is a very good training 875 00:48:40.719 --> 00:48:44.639 where it's a good framework for reasoning where you're trained 876 00:48:44.679 --> 00:48:49.119 to think about first principles and reason from there. And 877 00:48:49.159 --> 00:48:52.719 that means boiling things down to the most fundamental truths 878 00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:56.159 and then connecting those truths in a way to try 879 00:48:56.159 --> 00:49:00.159 to understand how reality is. Because you know, physics has 880 00:49:00.199 --> 00:49:01.679 this problem where they're trying to figure out things that 881 00:49:01.719 --> 00:49:04.480 are totally counterintuitive, and so they had to have a 882 00:49:04.519 --> 00:49:07.840 framework for for for getting there, like quantum mechanics is 883 00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:12.519 incredibly counterintuitive, but it's true, and so you had so 884 00:49:12.840 --> 00:49:15.199 physics developed a framework for for figuring. 885 00:49:14.920 --> 00:49:16.960 Out things that aren't obvious. 886 00:49:17.440 --> 00:49:19.719 And that's why I think it's it's not it's it's 887 00:49:19.760 --> 00:49:22.559 a lot of advice, but it's it's it's the right framework. 888 00:49:24.039 --> 00:49:27.679 And then you know, just in general, critical. 889 00:49:27.320 --> 00:49:30.559 Thinking is is good, you know, examining whether you have 890 00:49:30.639 --> 00:49:35.079 the correct axioms, are the most applicable axioms, does the 891 00:49:35.159 --> 00:49:39.400 logic necessarily connect? And then what are the what are 892 00:49:39.400 --> 00:49:43.360 the range of probable outcomes? Outcomes are usually not deterministic, 893 00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:47.599 they're they're they're a range, and so you want to 894 00:49:47.599 --> 00:49:52.199 figure out what those probabilities are and make sure ideally. 895 00:49:51.840 --> 00:49:52.679 That you're the house. 896 00:49:54.360 --> 00:49:56.480 You know, it's it's fine to take, it's fine to 897 00:49:56.800 --> 00:49:58.559 it's fine to gamble, as long as you're the house, 898 00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:06.920 and you know and say that is is to listen 899 00:50:06.960 --> 00:50:10.639 to critical feedback, which you alluded to earlier. Voice solicit 900 00:50:10.679 --> 00:50:14.840 critical feedback, particularly from friends, because generally they will be 901 00:50:14.880 --> 00:50:16.039 thinking it, but they won't tell you. 902 00:50:16.599 --> 00:50:23.400 Yeah, the question here from a Gels chance and you 903 00:50:23.559 --> 00:50:25.360 use the development on your hyper loop idea, and you 904 00:50:25.400 --> 00:50:26.960 might be explain what your hyper loop idea is. 905 00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:32.360 Ha, Well, what I have said is that I'm putting 906 00:50:32.360 --> 00:50:35.199 the hyper loop stuff on hold until I get Tesla 907 00:50:35.239 --> 00:50:40.000 to profitability, because I think if I was an investor 908 00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:42.559 in Tesla, and they heard me sort of spouting off 909 00:50:42.559 --> 00:50:45.559 about the hyperloop before I got the company profitable. They 910 00:50:45.559 --> 00:50:47.840 were like, hey, you know, go do go do your job. 911 00:50:48.679 --> 00:50:49.639 So that's what I'm doing. 912 00:50:50.599 --> 00:50:53.679 I think once Tesla isn't it in a has been profitable, 913 00:50:53.679 --> 00:50:56.159 maybe for at least for a quarter, maybe two quarters, 914 00:50:56.559 --> 00:50:57.840 then i'll I'll. 915 00:50:57.719 --> 00:51:00.280 Talk about the hyper loop. But I think it could 916 00:51:00.280 --> 00:51:01.280 be an interesting way to. 917 00:51:02.760 --> 00:51:05.280 I mean, it would be an interesting way to travel 918 00:51:05.320 --> 00:51:07.360 really quickly from one city to the next. 919 00:51:07.360 --> 00:51:09.079 And quickly explain, just in one sense, what a hyper 920 00:51:09.119 --> 00:51:09.519 loop is. 921 00:51:10.679 --> 00:51:15.880 Well, it would be something that would be i'd say 922 00:51:15.920 --> 00:51:18.400 twice as fast as a plane, at least in terms 923 00:51:18.400 --> 00:51:22.559 of total transit time, maybe a little faster. It would 924 00:51:22.559 --> 00:51:29.719 be immune to whether incapable of crashing pretty much unless 925 00:51:29.719 --> 00:51:35.599 there's like a terrorist attack, and the ticket price would 926 00:51:35.599 --> 00:51:38.159 be like, let's say, half that of a plane, So it. 927 00:51:38.119 --> 00:51:40.800 Would be better in every way the train of some sort, 928 00:51:40.840 --> 00:51:42.840 though it's kind of it's. 929 00:51:44.239 --> 00:51:45.119 Not exactly a train. 930 00:51:45.920 --> 00:51:47.119 It would be a different It would be a new 931 00:51:47.159 --> 00:51:49.119 mode of transportation that doesn't currently exist. 932 00:51:49.400 --> 00:51:52.880 Terrestrial terrestrial, yeah. 933 00:51:52.239 --> 00:51:57.519 Okay, underground, above ground could go either a kind of subway. 934 00:51:57.559 --> 00:52:01.000 Perhaps I think it's I think it's. 935 00:52:01.400 --> 00:52:03.719 The capital costs will be less if it's mostly above ground, 936 00:52:03.880 --> 00:52:05.199 but you can go underground too. 937 00:52:06.880 --> 00:52:08.000 All right. 938 00:52:09.639 --> 00:52:13.039 Maybe last question, what's the biggest mistake you've ever made? 939 00:52:13.079 --> 00:52:15.199 And this is from Lexi Hill. Was the biggest mistake 940 00:52:15.199 --> 00:52:17.599 you've ever made? And how did you move forward looking back? 941 00:52:17.679 --> 00:52:18.719 Was it really that big a deal? 942 00:52:21.960 --> 00:52:22.719 Biggest mistake? 943 00:52:26.239 --> 00:52:29.760 I've made lots of mistakes, some of them some are 944 00:52:29.800 --> 00:52:30.280 pretty big. 945 00:52:39.199 --> 00:52:40.800 I mean, it's hard to say because things have worked 946 00:52:40.800 --> 00:52:41.880 out pretty well in the end. 947 00:52:42.159 --> 00:52:44.239 So how how big of a mistake could it have been? 948 00:52:44.360 --> 00:52:50.480 As the question is really really asking, you know, I 949 00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:52.599 did lots of dumb things at my first company and 950 00:52:52.639 --> 00:53:02.360 at PayPal, and you know, I think, I think sometimes. 951 00:53:03.920 --> 00:53:05.000 Yeah, I don't know. 952 00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:07.119 There's so many I like got I'm hard pressed to 953 00:53:07.119 --> 00:53:09.519 say this is this is the biggest. Thanks for listening. 954 00:53:09.719 --> 00:53:11.159 See you in the next episode.