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Elon Musk is trying to help solve the Flint Water Crisis
After building a mini-submarine to aid in the rescue attempt of the members of the Wild Boar soccer team in Thailand, Elon Musk is now flexing his philanthropic muscles towards a long-standing issue in the United States — the Flint Water Crisis.
Musk previously noted on Twitter that he has already been helping out the citizens of Flint. Spurred on by some Flint residents and activists for the city, however, Musk opted to take a more hands-on approach. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO promptly coordinated with individuals testing the contamination levels of the city’s water system, and by Wednesday, Musk has provided an email address, flint@x.com, where residents can send the results of their water’s ppm (parts per million) and ppb (parts per billion) levels.
Musk’s pledge to help the people of Flint has mostly been met positively by the online community, with several of his followers even offering to lend a hand to a “barnstorming weekend” aimed at installing water filters in the homes of the city’s residents. Musk also reacted favorably to the idea of utilizing Flint’s local plumbers to help in the initiative. Despite being in China to discuss Tesla’s plans of building Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, Musk further stated that he would call Flint Mayor Karen Weaver about plans to address the city’s water problems.
Gathering input this week, will begin taking action next week and let people know how they can help
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2018
Just like his efforts to help in the Thailand cave rescue operations, Musk’s pledge to help the city of Flint became a target for his staunch critics online. Key Flint activist Mari Copeny, better known as Little Miss Flint due to her letter to then-president Barack Obama about the ongoing water crisis, clarified Musk’s involvement, however, stating that the city is appreciative of the serial tech entrepreneur’s efforts to help.
Hey world. Let’s set the record straight. My team has been working with @elonmusk and his team for over a week to figure out the best solution to help #Flint with the #FlintwaterCrisis
Extremely grateful for him and all he has done so far.— Mari Copeny (@LittleMissFlint) July 12, 2018
The Flint Water Crisis started in April 2014, after the city’s drinking water source was changed from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the much cheaper Flint River. Insufficient water treatment caused lead to be leached from lead water pipes into the residents’ drinking water. Lead pipes are viable pipes for water systems, provided that corrosion inhibitors are used to prevent lead from contaminating the water. A common corrosion inhibitor is orthophosphate, which forms low-solubility complexes with the lead in the pipes. Orthophosphates were used in Flint’s systems when the drinking water was coming from Detroit, but when the shift to the Flint River was conducted, no orthophosphate or any other anti-corrosion inhibitors were used. The absence of these inhibitors is behind the harrowing images of rust-colored water coming from Flint’s water supply.
The lead-contaminated water caused several grave problems for Flint’s residents. Between 6,000 to 12,000 children from Flint have been exposed to drinking water with high levels of lead, which could result to serious health problems. The percentage of Flint children with elevated blood-lead levels is estimated to have risen from about 2.5% in 2013 to as much as 5% in 2015 as well. An outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease, a form of atypical pneumonia with no known vaccine, also resulted in 10 fatalities. The Legionnaires’ outbreak is linked to Flint’s contaminated water supply.
A comparison between Flint’s water coming from the Flint River and the Detroit River. [Credit: Occupy]
The Flint Water Crisis has resulted in several lawsuits being filed against government officials, many of which were accused of mismanaging the situation. Since the water crisis’ peak, however, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has stated that the lead content of Flint’s water has fallen below the federal limit. As of April 2018, the MDEQ issued a statement assuring Flint’s residents that the city’s water quality “has been restored.” Regardless of this, however, many Flint residents remain skeptical that their water is now safe, especially considering that the replacement of the contaminated lead pipes is still ongoing. In this sense, Musk noted on Twitter that the planned “barnstorming” weekend in Flint would not only aim to give residents water filters for their homes; it would also attempt to fix residents’ perception of the city’s water supply.
You’re right on both counts. Most houses in Flint have safe water, but they’ve lost faith in govt test results. Some houses are still outliers. Will organize a weekend in Flint to add filters to those houses with issues & hopefully fix perception of those that are actually good.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2018
While Elon Musk’s recent philanthropic ventures are attracting more attention than usual, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO’s humanitarian efforts have actually been going on for some time. It should be noted that Tesla’s big battery in South Australia was started after Musk became aware of the power crisis in the region. After Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, Musk also promptly sent a team to help the island nation get back on its feet. As of Musk’s latest update, he noted that there are currently 11,000 projects underway in Puerto Rico.
News
Tesla is already expanding its Rental program aggressively
The program has already launched in a handful of locations, specifically, it has been confined to California for now. However, it does not seem like Tesla has any interest in keeping it restricted to the Golden State.
Tesla is looking to expand its Rental Program aggressively, just weeks after the program was first spotted on its Careers website.
Earlier this month, we reported on Tesla’s intention to launch a crazy new Rental program with cheap daily rates, which would give people in various locations the opportunity to borrow a vehicle in the company’s lineup with some outrageous perks.
Along with the cheap rates that start at about $60 per day, Tesla also provides free Full Self-Driving operation and free Supercharging for the duration of the rental. There are also no limits on mileage or charging, but the terms do not allow the renter to leave the state from which they are renting.
🚨🚨 If you look up details on the Tesla Rental program on Google, you’ll see a bunch of sites saying it’s because of decreasing demand 🤣 pic.twitter.com/WlSQrDJhMg
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2025
The program has already launched in a handful of locations, specifically, it has been confined to California for now. However, it does not seem like Tesla has any interest in keeping it restricted to the Golden State.
Job postings from Tesla now show it is planning to launch the Rental program in at least three new states: Texas, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.
The jobs specifically are listed as a Rental Readiness Specialist, which lists the following job description:
“The Tesla Rental Program is looking for a Rental Readiness Specialist to work on one of the most progressive vehicle brands in the world. The Rental Readiness Specialist is a key contributor to the Tesla experience by coordinating the receipt of incoming new and used vehicle inventory. This position is responsible for fleet/lot management, movement of vehicles, vehicle readiness, rental invoicing, and customer hand-off. Candidates must have a high level of accountability, and personal satisfaction in doing a great job.”
It also says that those who take the position will have to charge and clean the cars, work with clients on scheduling pickups and drop-offs, and prepare the paperwork necessary to initiate the rental.
The establishment of a Rental program is big for Tesla because it not only gives people the opportunity to experience the vehicles, but it is also a new way to rent a car.
Just as the Tesla purchasing process is more streamlined and more efficient than the traditional car-buying experience, it seems this could be less painful and a new way to borrow a car for a trip instead of using your own.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI gains first access to Saudi supercluster with 600k Nvidia GPUs
The facility will deploy roughly 600,000 Nvidia GPUs, making it one of the world’s most notable superclusters.
A Saudi-backed developer is moving forward with one of the world’s largest AI data centers, and Elon Musk’s xAI will be its first customer. The project, unveiled at the U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., is being built by Humain, a company supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The facility will deploy roughly 600,000 Nvidia GPUs, making it one of the world’s most notable superclusters.
xAI secures priority access
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that the planned data center marks a major leap not just for the region but for the global AI ecosystem as a whole. Huang joked about the sheer capacity of the build, emphasizing how unusual it is for a startup to receive infrastructure of such magnitude. The facility is designed to deliver 500 megawatts of Nvidia GPU power, placing it among the world’s largest AI-focused installations, as noted in a Benzinga report.
“We worked together to get this company started and off the ground and just got an incredible customer with Elon. Could you imagine a startup company, approximately $0 billion in revenues, now going to build a data center for Elon? 500 megawatts is gigantic. This company is off the charts right away,” Huang said.
Global Chipmakers Join Multi-Vendor Buildout To Enhance Compute Diversity
While Nvidia GPUs serve as the backbone of the first phase, Humain is preparing a diversified hardware stack. AMD will supply its Instinct MI450 accelerators, which could draw up to 1 gigawatt of power by 2030 as deployments ramp. Qualcomm will also contribute AI200 and AI250 data center processors, accounting for an additional 200 megawatts of compute capacity. Cisco will support the networking and infrastructure layer, helping knit the multi-chip architecture together.
Apart from confirming that xAI will be the upcoming supercluster’s first customer, Musk also joked about the rapid scaling needed to train increasingly large AI models. He joked that a theoretical expansion one thousand times larger of the upcoming supercluster “would be 8 bazillion, trillion dollars,” highlighting the playful exaggeration he often brings to discussions around extreme compute demand.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk debunks pay package and lip reader claims in double takedown
Musk’s quick debunks highlighted once more that X is an ideal platform for directly countering misinformation.
Elon Musk recently took to X to debunk some misinformation about his 2025 CEO performance award, as well as some comments he made during Donald Trump’s banquet in honor of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Musk’s quick debunks highlighted once more that X is an ideal platform for directly countering misinformation.
Musk’s pay package
Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO performance award was created as a path for him to gain a 25% stake in Tesla. It would also make him a trillionaire, provided that he manages to meet all of the performance award’s aggressive targets. This has not stopped critics from running with the apparent narrative that Musk will be getting the $1 trillion with utmost certainty, however.
This included the More Perfect Union account on X, which noted that “Elon Musk is set to make more than every U.S. elementary school teacher combined, according to the Washington Post.”
Musk responded to the pro-union amount’s post, highlighting that he has not earned any of his $2025 performance award so far. Musk also noted that those who believe he will be getting $1 trillion should invest in TSLA stock, as his compensation is tied to the company’s performance and growth. Investors who hold their TSLA until Musk achieves his full pay package would likely get notable returns.
Lip reader fail
Musk also debunked claims from the Daily Mail, which claimed that he made an “explosive” remark at Trump’s banquet for Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Citing observations from lip reader Nicola Hickling, the Mail claimed that Musk asked Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, “What is your opinion, is he a terrorist?” The publication also posted a video of Musk allegedly making the risqué comment on X.
Musk proceeded to correct the publication, stating that the lip reader’s observations were fake. Instead of asking the Pfizer CEO if the Saudi Prince was a terrorist, Musk noted that he was asking the executive about cancer medicine. “False, I was asking about upcoming cancer drugs,” Musk wrote in a response on X.
Musk’s comments resulted in numerous critical responses to the Mail’s video, with some X users joking that the lip reader who analyzed the clip should probably get a visual acuity test, or a better training course on lip reading at least.
Tesla is already expanding its Rental program aggressively
Elon Musk’s xAI gains first access to Saudi supercluster with 600k Nvidia GPUs
