(Includes a preview)
gettingstoned.substack.com
Hopefully she won't mind - saving you all a few clicks - and saving /archiving just in case
... <snip> (Please do click the URL link to her Substack if you can, fun side details about that interview )
...
Elon opened the fudge I'd brought him from Bucc-ees, and a few horns honked in the background as we were in a factory. So I apologize in advance for those minor glitches. Note to self, air, and paper can be very loud.
What We Talked About
I had a lot of questions and although we didn’t get through them all, he invited me back to finish asking him at another time so there will eventually be a part 2. Here’s what we talked about in this episode:
What the light of consciousness itself meant to him. He always talks about it but what
is it to him?
His thoughts on what would happen to the light of consciousness if/when humanity goes extinct. What he's looking for in the first few people who go to Mars. The role Starlink has played and will continue to play in disaster relief. The Musk Foundation and its role in disaster relief, XPRIZE, and carbon capture (here I brought up Project Vesta, peridot, and other companies using lab-grown diamonds as a form of carbon capture.)
We also talked about his favorite accomplishment of the Musk Foundation so far although he emphasized that there is a lot of work to be done and that it's hard to spend the money in a way that is well spent--that has the highest impact.
Other topics we spoke about included the declining birthrate, poverty as a cause (we differed in opinion on that), and one key solution to solving poverty and I agreed with him on that. That solution is literacy. I am very fortunate that my mother taught me how to read at a young age. The library was my safe place as a child and I love to read. However, I know people who don't know how to read or write and they are in my age group.
The education system has failed so many here. I remember being in a class where impatient teachers would force students to struggle to read out loud. And she would impatiently correct them if they couldn't read the word fast enough. Many of my classmates hated books and reading. I hated math and sciences--we hate what we don't understand and find confusing especially if we are being taught these subjects by someone who isn't passionate about their job.
I digress. Elon also shared some updates for Tesla’s legal and justice department (good news for Tesla) and we spoke of Tesla Insurance, my hope that it will come to Louisiana soon since we have
the highest average cost of insurance in the nation, mining, Tesla Energy's impact with ERCOT and the Texas grid (I got tongue-tied. Texla.) And we briefly touched upon AI and general intelligence.
Elon emphasized that he has no desire for Tesla to go into the mining industry. He made that super clear to me and I just wanted to emphasize that for anyone curious or even hopeful.
Meeting Him and the Adventures I Experienced Along the Journey
Boy, was this trip an adventure? Already my flight home is delayed by a day. But at least, for now, I am not stranded in Dallas again. Fortunately, I used to live in Dallas. I was married there and this was my first time back since the hell I went thru (the hell that eventually let me to Elon, oddly) and it was surreal. I have friends and family there and one of them picked me up from the airport and drove me to Austin.
And since this was Elon’s birthday weekend, I wanted to get him something nice. I had already gotten him some Cafe du Monde from the Baton Rouge Airport (they have a cute little Louisiana grocery section in their store). I picked up some fudge from Bucc-ees along the way and made a stop at Nature’s Treasures.
I got him a couple of nice things from there and one of the clerks also bought him a small gift (a small pyrite specimen) and gave me a discount when I told them who I was interviewing. So, shout out to Nature’s Treasures in Austin for the love. Gail’s daughter designed a cute tee shirt and they also gave him some goodies.
Meeting Elon Musk and experiencing his kindness in person made the flight adventures worth it. Despite the audio glitches, I hope you all enjoy the podcast.
And thank you, Elon Musk, for joining me. For part two, I’m going to ask you about your favorite mineral, pyrite—among other things.
The interview drops July 1, 2022.
The interview will be available on my website,
www.gettingstoned.online, and will also be available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Here’s a quick preview with Elon talking about Tesla’s Master Plan Part 3.
