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Change.org Petition Promotes Nobel Prize for Elon Musk

Edward Tanas of Calgary, Canada has begun a Change.org campaign to nominate Elon Musk for a Nobel Prize in Economic Science. The petition has already been signed by 374 supporters.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk

 

Following the unveiling of the Tesla Model 3 on March 31, Edward Tanas of Calgary, Canada, began to petition the Swedish Nobel Prize Committee to award Elon Musk with a prize in Economic Science.

There is no question Elon is one of the most gifted and creative thinkers of our time. If you would like to support Tanas’ petition, you may do so at Change.org.  Here is the text of the petition.

We, the signed, would like you, the Swedish Nobel Committee, to award Mr. Elon Musk, a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Mr. Musk has spent most of his life helping not only to help the economics of transportation flourish with technological breakthroughs but has done so in a manner that addresses climate change.

His ventures into the production of electric cars. most recently the more affordable Tesla Model 3, which at the time of writing this petition has over 253,000 orders, has helped to reduce the impact on the environment by replacing internal combustion engine vehicles.

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Biography

Elon Reeve Musk is an American entrepreneur, inventor and investor. He is best known for his role as CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors, and as co-founder of online money transfer system PayPal, and of commercial space program SpaceX.

Elon was born in South Africa, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. He was raised primarily by his father, who was an engineer. Elon became interested in computers at a young age and began programming in his teens. After high school, Elon emigrated to Canada, where he attended college, and later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.

In 1995, Musk started a PhD in applied physics at Stanford University in California, but quickly dropped out to start his own company. He would go on to sell that company, called Zip2, to Compaq, for more than $300 million in 1999, of which he received $22 million. With that capital, Musk started X.com in 1999. It was an online banking site that later changed its name to PayPal. EBay purchased the company in 2002 for $1.5 billion in stock, of which $165 million went to Musk. That same year, he became an American citizen. (See also: Three Steps Elon Musk Took To Become Successful.)

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Flush from the PayPal sale, Musk looked to the heavens, and began SpaceX, a private, for profit space program. After a few false starts, the company began developing its own rockets. The company launched a landmark commercial spacecraft in 2009 and again in 2012.

While planning his assault upon the heavens, Musk took an interest in more terrestrial matters, specifically the way people get across the surface of the earth. After a major investment in 2004, Musk joined the board of Tesla Motors as its chairman. Also contributing as a product architect, he played a role in the designs of the cars Tesla was building. Following the 2008 financial crisis, Musk assumed the mantle of Tesla Motors CEO, a position he still holds today. (For more, see: Is Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Economically Feasible?)

Beyond Tesla and SpaceX, Musk remains involved in a number of futuristic projects. He is connected with a high-speed transportation system called the Hyperloop. He has also been a proponent of a VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) supersonic jet aircraft.

We thank you for your patience in reading about his past accomplishments and various ventures which have benefited society and will continue to do so.

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Photo credit: Change.org

"I write about technology and the coming zero emissions revolution."

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Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

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Tesla has officially launched the Model Y L in the United States and Puerto Rico for $61,990. It is the longer-wheelbase version of the Model Y, and has been available in China since last year.

Tesla brings the Model Y L to the U.S. just months after it phased out the only pure SUV in its lineup, the Model X. It is slightly longer than the Model Y configurations that are already available in the U.S., and features a three-row, six-seat setup with Captain’s Chairs being among the many features that make this a truly fantastic offering.

The Model Y L is priced competitively at $61,990, and features 325 miles of range and a 0-60 MPH in just 4.4 seconds.

Tesla also added a handful of new features that are not available in even the Premium Model Y. Here’s a full list of its features:

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  • Heated/Ventilated Front Seats with Powered Thigh Cushion
  • Heated/Ventilated Captain’s Seats in Second Row with Powered Armrests & One-Touch Fold
  • Heated Third-Row Seats with Power Recline, One-Touch Fold & Child Seat Anchors
  • Improved Airflow, Increased Efficiency, More Range
  • 89 cubic feet of trunk space
  • Upgraded Acoustic Glass and Suspension to Minimize Road Noise
  • Adaptive Damping for a Smooth, Stable Ride
  • Staggered Tires for Enhanced Grip
  • Larger Tailgate for Better Rear Visibility and Bigger Windows Overall
  • 16″ First Row and 8″ Second Row Touchscreens
  • 19-Speaker Immersive Tesla Audio
  • 50W Wireless Charging Pads with Active Cooling and Charging Ports for All Other Seats
  • FSD Supervised and Integrated Grok AI

Tesla is also delivering these first units as a “Launch Series,” which comes with additional features, such as:

  • Door Trim Puddle Lights
  • Suede Dashboard Wing
  • Exterior and Interior Badging
  • Floor Mats
  • Sill Plates

The launch of the Model Y L in the U.S. marks a huge offering from Tesla to U.S. consumers. People have been calling for Tesla to bring a larger car to the U.S., and it needed it more than ever now that the Model X is gone.

It is a huge accomplishment for Tesla to get the Model Y L to the U.S., and after reporting strong deliveries today, it will be interesting to see how this car impacts future quarterly delivery reports.

Deliveries for the Model Y L “Launch Series” are slated for September or October of this year.

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Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.

The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.

The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”

Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.

With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.

However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.

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Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:

This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.

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Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.

Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.

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Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.

It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.

As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.

The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.

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It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.

Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements

While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.

This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.

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Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.

The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:

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