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DARPA joins Musk’s Boring Co. initiative to advance tunneling technology
Elon Musk’s tunneling venture, The Boring Company, would not be alone in its underground ventures for very long. Just recently, DARPA launched a competition aimed at creating an efficient, cost-effective and safe way to travel underground. The contest, dubbed by the US Department of Defense branch as the SubT Challenge, is open to interested teams of participants from all over the world, and it has a pretty hefty prize waiting for its lucky winners.
As noted in a DARPA press release, the competition asks its participants to develop effective systems that can aid humans in navigating, mapping and exploring underground locations. Unlike Musk’s The Boring Company, which is primarily geared towards addressing “soul-destroying traffic” in densely populated areas, DARPA’s SubT Challenge is mostly focused on underground life-saving innovations.
Timothy Chung, the program manager for DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO), described one of the most pertinent reasons behind the agency’s initiative. According to Chung, DARPA’s upcoming underground system would provide a massive benefit during emergency situations.
“The DARPA Subterranean or ‘SubT’ Challenge aims to explore new approaches to rapidly map, navigate, and search underground environments. Teams from around the world will be invited to propose novel methods for tackling time-critical scenarios through unknown courses in mapping subsurface networks and unpredictable conditions, which are too hazardous for human first responders.”
The SubT Challenge will involve teams that would be competing side-by-side along two different research tracks. Each team would have the option to pursue the Systems track, which develops actual hardware that would be tested on a physical course, or the Virtual track, which requires teams to come up with software-based systems that would be tested on a simulated course.
Rival teams from both Systems and Virtual tracks will be competing in three preliminary Circuit events, each one addressing different underground environments, as noted in a Live Science report. The first event simulates man-made tunnel systems, the second mass transit and municipal infrastructure, and the third naturally-occurring cave networks.
As noted by DARPA, “One of the main limitations facing warfighters and emergency responders in subterranean environments is a lack of situational awareness; we often don’t know what lies beneath us. The DARPA Subterranean Challenge aims to provide previously unimaginable situational awareness capabilities for operations underground.”
The SubT Challenge Finals, which will be held in 2021, will require competing teams to put their creations to the test using various challenges from all three underground environments. The winning team for the Systems track will receive $2 million, while the team that wins the Virtual track will take home $750,000. Interested groups who would like to take a crack at DARPA’s SubT Challenge can submit their applications by January 18, 2018.
As DARPA starts its underground initiatives through the SubT Challenge, Elon Musk’s Boring Company continues to make significant progress with its operations. Early last month, Musk’s appropriately-named company published the first images of a proposed tunnel map for Los Angeles. The map included a Phase 1 tunnel that connects the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne with Culver City, as well as a proposed Phase 2 route that extends further into the greater LA region.
The Boring Company has seen a significant amount of support from many US cities as well, including Los Angeles, where Mayor Eric Garcetti welcomed the new underground initiative for the city’s transportation system. Furthermore, back in August, Hawthorne’s city council approved Musk’s tunneling project, with Mayor Alex Vargas expressing his full support for the underground initiative.
Tesla has made two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles in its lineup, and the changes come just as the new model year begins production.
Last year, Tesla launched the Model Y Standard, which separated the previous models into the “Premium” category. The Standard vehicles lack several features, including more premium interior materials, acoustic-lined glass, and storage.
@teslarati There are some BIG differences between the Tesla Model Y Standard and Tesla Model Y Premium #tesla #teslamodely ♬ Sia – Xeptemper
The Model Y “Premium” trims are now getting several new upgrades, which come after the company launched a seven-seat configuration of the vehicle last night in the North American market for an upcharge of $2,500.
The new Model Y seven-seat configuration did not come with just an additional row of seating; it also came with a slew of other goodies that now come standard and were previously only available on the Model Y Performance, which was launched late last year.
All Black Headliner
The new Tesla Model Y Premium trims will now come standard with a black headliner, something that many owners have been requesting for some time.
The previous grey headliner and trim within the vehicle is now gone; it will be all black on all of the Premium trims from here on out, a welcome change:
Credit: Tesla
Larger and Higher Resolution Center Touchscreen
The center touchscreen in the new Model Y Premium configuration is now larger and has a higher resolution than the previous version.
In last year’s Model Y configurations (apart from the Performance), the center touchscreen was 15.4″. Now, Tesla has decided to go with the 16″ version across all Premium trims, which is a nice step up. It was nice to see this in the Performance, but it is really great to see Tesla include this in the Model Y’s more Premium trim levels.
Tesla Model Y Seven Seater
Tesla launched the latest iteration of the seven-seater for the Model Y on Monday night. Traditionally, the Model Y seats five passengers in total, but there were calls for a more spacious version several years ago.
Tesla released it, but it was extremely tight in the back, basically reserving those back seats for only small people or children.
Credit: Tesla
The new configuration looks to be slightly more spacious in the third row, but not as much space as most would require or want. Instead,
Elon Musk
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Lufthansa Group has announced a partnership with Starlink that will bring high-speed internet connectivity to every aircraft across all its carriers.
This means that aircraft across the group’s brands, from Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines to Brussels Airlines, would be able to enjoy high-speed internet access using the industry-leading satellite internet solution.
Starlink in-flight internet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Starlink’s low-Earth orbit satellites are expected to provide significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency than traditional in-flight Wi-Fi, which should enable streaming, online work, and other data-intensive applications for passengers during flights.
Starlink-powered internet is expected to be available on the first commercial flights as early as the second half of 2026. The rollout will continue through the decade, with the entire Lufthansa Group fleet scheduled to be fully equipped with Starlink by 2029. Once complete, no other European airline group will operate more Starlink-connected aircraft.
Free high-speed access
As part of the initiative, Lufthansa Group will offer the new high-speed internet free of charge to all status customers and Travel ID users, regardless of cabin class. Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx shared his expectations for the program.
“In our anniversary year, in which we are celebrating Lufthansa’s 100th birthday, we have decided to introduce a new high-speed internet solution from Starlink for all our airlines. The Lufthansa Group is taking the next step and setting an essential milestone for the premium travel experience of our customers.
“Connectivity on board plays an important role today, and with Starlink, we are not only investing in the best product on the market, but also in the satisfaction of our passengers,” Vranckx said.
Elon Musk
Tesla locks in Elon Musk’s top problem solver as it enters its most ambitious era
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla has granted Senior Vice President of Automotive Tom Zhu more than 520,000 stock options, tying a significant portion of his compensation to the company’s long-term performance.
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla secures top talent
According to a Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tom Zhu received 520,021 stock options with an exercise price of $435.80 per share. Since the award will not fully vest until March 5, 2031, Zhu must remain at Tesla for more than five years to realize the award’s full benefit.
Considering that Tesla shares are currently trading at around the $445 to $450 per share level, Zhu will really only see gains in his equity award if Tesla’s stock price sees a notable rise over the years, as noted in a Sina Finance report.
Still, even at today’s prices, Zhu’s stock award is already worth over $230 million. If Tesla reaches the market cap targets set forth in Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, Zhu would become a billionaire from this equity award alone.
Tesla’s problem solver
Zhu joined Tesla in April 2014 and initially led the company’s Supercharger rollout in China. Later that year, he assumed the leadership of Tesla’s China business, where he played a central role in Tesla’s localization efforts, including expanding retail and service networks, and later, overseeing the development of Gigafactory Shanghai.
Zhu’s efforts helped transform China into one of Tesla’s most important markets and production hubs. In 2023, Tesla promoted Zhu to Senior Vice President of Automotive, placing him among the company’s core global executives and expanding his influence beyond China. He has since garnered a reputation as the company’s problem solver, being tapped by Elon Musk to help ramp Giga Texas’s vehicle production.
With this in mind, Tesla’s recent filing seems to suggest that the company is locking in its top talent as it enters its newest, most ambitious era to date. As could be seen in the targets of Elon Musk’s 2025 pay package, Tesla is now aiming to be the world’s largest company by market cap, and it is aiming to achieve production levels that are unheard of. Zhu’s talents would definitely be of use in this stage of the company’s growth.
Tesla makes two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
