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HBO’s VICE Interviews Elon Musk on “The Future of Energy”

Elon Musk will be featured April 15 on HBO’s weekly program VICE. The topic this week is “The Future of Energy”.

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Elon Musk with Shane Smith on VICEElon Musk (left) with Shane Smith (right) discussing “The Future of Energy”. Property of HBO. Used with permission.

VICE founder Shane Smith sits down with Tesla CEO Elon Musk to discuss the future of energy in HBO’s compelling documentary-TV series, VICE. The interview — set to air tomorrow night on HBO at 11 pm eastern time — was filmed in November of last year at Tesla’s Design Center in Hawthorne, CA, recent home to the Model 3 unveiling.

Musk takes Smith for a ride in the Model S before discussing Tesla’s journey to changing the world’s perception on electric vehicles. He tells Smith, “If you had a car that was long range but it didn’t look good and it wasn’t fun and it didn’t handle properly and it didn’t have great electronics and all these important attributes that people value…..we had to change the perception of an electric car. We wanted an electric car to be something that was fun and sexy, not something that was dull and boring like a golf cart.”

Renaissance man that he is, Musk is involved with more than just automobiles. Tesla is also building batteries to store electrical power. Some will be used to balance the electrical grid while others will be used to replace the grid all together. The basic storage unit in the Tesla Powerpack is 100 kWh — slightly larger than the size of the current 90 kWh battery found in the top-of-the-line Model S and Model X. Each Powerpack cabinet contains 5 storage units making for a total capacity of 500 kWh.

“The Future of Energy” airs April 15 at 11pm ET on HBO 

 

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Musk tells Smith that it will take about one billion Powerpacks to store all the power the world needs. While that may seem like a staggering number to most people, Elon says it is only equivalent to how many vehicles there are in the world today. Given 15 or 20 years, he thinks Tesla could build enough Powerpacks to meet that need.

Along with his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive, Musk also found SolarCity in 1993. Today, the company is the largest installer of residential and commercial rooftop solar systems. Just last week, Elon tweeted that the combined output of all SolarCity installations is enough to recharge every Tesla automobile made to date.

Musk summed up his dedication to zero emissions cars and renewable energy by telling Smith the future is his future as well. He has no interest in being the captain of a sinking ship.

Tune in Friday at 11 pm eastern to see the entire “The Future of Energy” episode with Elon Musk on VICE on HBO.

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

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Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature

The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Cybercab manufacturing is strikingly close, as the company is still aiming for an April start date. But small and significant features are still being identified for the first time as production units appear all over the country for testing and for regulatory events, like one yesterday in Washington, D.C.

The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.

This was for everyone, including the disabled, who are widely reliant on ride-sharing platforms, family members, and medical shuttles for transportation of any kind. Cybercab aims to change that, and Tesla evidently put a focus on those riders while developing the vehicle, evident in a small but significant feature revealed during its appearance in the Nation’s Capital.

Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

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Tesla has implemented Braille within the Cybercab to make it easier for blind passengers to utilize the vehicle. On both the ‘Stop/Hazard Lights’ button and the Door Releases, Tesla has placed Braille so that blind passengers can navigate their way through the vehicle:

This is a great addition to the Cybercab, especially as Full Self-Driving has been partially pointed at as a solution for those with disabilities that would keep them from driving themselves from place to place.

It truly is a great addition and just another way that Tesla is showing they are making this massive product inclusive for everyone out there, including those who have not been able to drive due to not having vision.

The Cybercab is set to enter mass production sometime in April, and it will be responsible for launching Tesla’s massive plans for an autonomous ride-sharing program.

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Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project

It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.

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Credit: Grok

Elon Musk teased a massive new project, to be developed jointly by Tesla and xAI, called “Digital Optimus” or “Macrohard,” the first development under Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.

Musk announced on X that Digital Optimus will “be capable of emulating the function of entire companies.”

It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.

Essentially, it will be an AI version of a desk worker in many capacities, including accounting, HR tasks, and others.

Musk said:

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“Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software. You can think of it as Digital Optimus AI being System 1 (instinctive part of the mind) and Grok being System 2. (thinking part of the mind).”

Its key applications would be used for enterprise automation, simulating entire companies, high-volume repetitive tasks, and potentially, future hybrid use with the Optimus robot, which would handle physical tasks, while Digital Optimus would handle the clerical work.

Tesla announces massive investment into xAI

The creation of a digital AI suite like Digital Optimus would help companies save time and money, as well as become more efficient in their operations through massive scalability. However, there will undoubtedly be concerns from people who are skeptical of a fully-integrated AI workhorse like this one.

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From an energy consumption perspective and just a general concern for the human workforce, these types of AI projects are polarizing in nature.

However, Digital Optimus would be a great digital counterpart to Tesla’s physical Optimus robot, as it would be a hyper-efficient addition to any company that is looking for more production for less cost.

Musk maintains that there is no other company on Earth that will be able to do this.

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Tesla China posts strong February wholesale growth at Gigafactory Shanghai

The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.

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Credit: Grace Tao/Weibo

Tesla China sold 58,599 vehicles wholesale in February, reflecting strong year-over-year growth. The figure includes both domestic deliveries in China and vehicles exported to international markets.

The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.

Tesla’s February wholesale result represents a 91% increase year over year, compared with 30,688 vehicles in February 2025. Month over month, the result was down 15.2% from January, when Tesla China recorded 69,129 wholesale units.

The February total reflects combined sales of the Model 3 and Model Y produced at Gigafactory Shanghai. The facility produces the two vehicles for both domestic sales and exports.

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Gigafactory Shanghai continues to serve as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, supplying vehicles to markets across Asia and Europe. Data compiled by Tesla watchers shows that 18,485 vehicles were sold domestically in China in January 2026, while exports accounted for 50,644 units during the same period.

Tesla has also been extending financing programs in China as it pushes to strengthen domestic demand. The company recently extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing programs through March 31, marking the second extension of the promotion this year.

The financing initiative was first introduced on January 6 as a strategy aimed at offsetting higher ownership costs ahead of China’s planned 5% NEV purchase tax in 2026. The promotion was originally scheduled to expire at the end of January before being extended to February and then again through the end of the first quarter.

Tesla’s efforts come amid growing competition in China’s EV market. According to data compiled by CNEV Post, Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China reached 625,698 vehicles, representing a 4.78% year-over-year decline. Part of that decline was linked to the Model Y changeover to its updated variant in early 2025, which temporarily reduced deliveries during the transition period.

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