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SpaceX @Spacex 9m ago

Falcon 9 and weather are looking good ahead of tonight's launch. Webcast will go live ~15 minutes before liftoff → SpaceX


EDIT:

Successful orbital insertion for Stage 2 / Starlink mission, however the Stage 1 booster was not recovered with a successful landing on the drone ship. 23:10 EST

This was the 6th launch and 5th reuse of this booster, which has certainly proved it's worth.

Again, the Primary Mission was a success (launch of 60 Starlink satellites).
 
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If it's going to cost them $75 million per day in lost revenues they'd work through the nights and pay overtime for the next few weeks to get back on track. My guess though is that the limiting factor to getting to production isn't construction of the factory shell, it's figuring out how to build Cybertrucks - and that work continues uninterrupted somewhere else.

I'm quoting this as I can't find the original note about some severe weather in Austin.

It is worth noting that much of this structural steel work is rather impervious to cold weather. While the factory is only currently partially enclosed, I doubt we will see much, if any delay. Some of the work will likely slow and I highly doubt any of the equipment is rated for cold weather use, but consider a few things;

1. Portable heaters/tarps can be trucked to the site in a matter of hours and entire portions of the factory could be walled off and maintained at a certain temperature.
2. All they have to do is keep the equipment running (Sorry, Environment) to prevent anything from freezing up overnight as far as anything that requires the use of a diesel engine to move or lift something.

Cold weather work is nothing special. The official "shutdown" temperature for some sites I've been on in northern Alberta is -40C/-40F. Anything above that, we're building the widget*. It takes some planning of course, but it basically involves some form of the two listed items above. Concrete can and is regularly poured in negative temps, steel, as I mentioned earlier is largely impervious. Very cold or hot temps may impact the ability to establish bolted connections, but this is more problematic for say a, long span bridge connection, and not this simple work.

I'm honestly not worried about Austin slowing down. I'm sure the contractor is sufficiently motivated through damages clauses to figure out how to hold the schedule and will employ any tool or technique they can to deal with a short term chill. I realize the infrastructure in Texas is not the same as Alberta, but Construction in general is good at mobilizing resources quickly.

*Some processes that involve water typically shut down at sustained temps below 0C, but that is more related to road building, not building building.
 
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I'm quoting this as I can't find the original note about some severe weather in Austin.

It is worth noting that much of this structural steel work is rather impervious to cold weather. While the factory is only currently partially enclosed, I doubt we will see much, if any delay. Some of the work will likely slow and I highly doubt any of the equipment is rated for cold weather use, but consider a few things;

1. Portable heaters/tarps can be trucked to the site in a matter of hours and entire portions of the factory could be walled off and maintained at a certain temperature.
2. All they have to do is keep the equipment running (Sorry, Environment) to prevent anything from freezing up overnight as far as anything that requires the use of a diesel engine to move or lift something.

Cold weather work is nothing special. The official "shutdown" temperature for some sites I've been on in northern Alberta is -40C/-40F. Anything above that, we're building the widget*. It takes some planning of course, but it basically involves some form of the two listed items above. Concrete can and is regularly poured in negative temps, steel, as I mentioned earlier is largely impervious. Very cold or hot temps may impact the ability to establish bolted connections, but this is more problematic for say a, long span bridge connection, and not this simple work.

I'm honestly not worried about Austin slowing down. I'm sure the contractor is sufficiently motivated through damages clauses to figure out how to hold the schedule and will employ any tool or technique they can to deal with a short term chill. I realize the infrastructure in Texas is not the same as Alberta, but Construction in general is good at mobilizing resources quickly.

*Some processes that involve water typically shut down at sustained temps below 0C, but that is more related to road building, not building building.
No power slows things down.
Workers unable to drive to the site slows things down.

Just to clarify, there are millions of people without power in Texas in sub-freezing temps. Many power generators are off-line. ERCOT is trying to prioritize residential customers. Construction is not a priority.

Many of the urban roads are completely iced. Driving is highly discouraged. Edit: In addition, no power, no gas pumps, no vehicle fill ups, no travel.
 
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Many of the urban roads are completely iced. Driving is highly discouraged.

Thanks. I wasn't aware of this. The construction is likely to be slowed in this case, although most construction rely on diesel generators for power as there usually is no permanent power until later stages, so if the workers can actually get to site, they may still be able to do some things.
 
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[Chevy Bolt EUV] looks like it’s got a mouth guard and I cannot unsee this.

GM and Ford...

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...are trying to catch up to the 2012 Model S...
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...but of course Tesla has moved on, and doesn't need to imitate the grille of ICE cars anymore.
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Day 1 is not a 500,000+ car/year run rate. At best, it is some fraction of that spread over how many ever quarters it takes to hit the full run rate.
That is not how it works. You’re assuming that if the ramp started one day earlier, there would be two days with the production level of the first day. So, it is indeed more like a full day of production lost.
 
If it's going to cost them $75 million per day in lost revenues they'd work through the nights and pay overtime for the next few weeks to get back on track. My guess though is that the limiting factor to getting to production isn't construction of the factory shell, it's figuring out how to build Cybertrucks - and that work continues uninterrupted somewhere else.
That would actually be worse news.
 
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That is not how it works. You’re assuming that if the ramp started one day earlier, there would be two days with the production level of the first day. So, it is indeed more like a full day of production lost.
Yes every day lost (that can't be made up, and I doubt Elons left many make-up days in the schedule) is at the cost of whatever the full production eventually is. It's partially correct though in that that revenue would be lost spread over all the quarters until they reach that full production.
 
From Teslarati: Tesla accelerates Giga Shanghai's expansion as news of $25k EV heat up

"Amid increasing reports surrounding the impending release of Tesla China’s $25K compact car, drone flyovers of the Gigafactory Shanghai complex have revealed that the electric car maker is now building what appears to be a new stamping area. The site located near the Phase 1 building, where the Model 3 is currently manufactured.

Recent footage from EV advocate Wu Wa, who has been following the Gigafactory Shanghai complex’s development for over two years now, indicates that Tesla has already made considerable progress in the new location. Initially, the drone operator was informed that the site was allotted for a casting workshop. However, the size of the project and the digging involved suggest that the location might be allocated for a stamping area instead."


This article also has a video flyover showing the apparent stamping zone.

Looking more and more likely that Model 2 test batches will start rolling off the line as soon as the second half of this year. Maybe even see customers take possession this year...
 
No power slows things down.
Workers unable to drive to the site slows things down.

Just to clarify, there are millions of people without power in Texas in sub-freezing temps. Many power generators are off-line. ERCOT is trying to prioritize residential customers. Construction is not a priority.

Many of the urban roads are completely iced. Driving is highly discouraged. Edit: In addition, no power, no gas pumps, no vehicle fill ups, no travel.

I’m guessing many Texans (and others) will be looking into solar & powerwall after this extended power outage in freezing temps.
 
Barron's . What Is Berkshire Hathaway’s Mystery Stock? Big Investment by Warren Buffett Could Be Disclosed Tomorrow | 13 hours ago

"What is the Berkshire Hathaway mystery stock?

"Warren Buffett’s conglomerate could reveal that equity holding when it discloses its stock investments as of Dec. 31, 2020 on a securities filing expected late Tuesday.

Speculation is that it could be Walt Disney (ticker: DIS), PayPal Holdings (PYPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Home Depot (HD), Exxon Mobil (XOM), or Chevron (CVX).

"When it released its most recent quarterly filing in mid-November for about $250 billion of equity holdings, Berkshire (BRK.B) said that it had made a confidential filing for unnamed investments, stating “Confidential information has been omitted from the public Form 13F report and filed separately with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.”​

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Cheers!
 
Not sure if solar will help if the panels are covered in snow. Guess one can climb up on the roof and fix the situation and at least provide people with an option.
I'm in Texas, and could have benefited from solar and powerwall backup. Thankfully we did not lose power yet. Most of our driveway that was in sunlight, basically melted away by the morning despite the continued cold temperatures. Very bright day today, and would bet solar option is definitely being considered by many Texans..