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Kimbal Musk trolls Fox with ‘Plant a Seed Day’ in exchange about Tesla’s new chair

[Credit: Fox Business Network/YouTube]

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It appears that the art of trolling runs deep between the Musk brothers. While Elon Musk is known to troll on Twitter from time to time, the trolling chops of Kimbal Musk have mostly been untapped. That is, of course, until recently, when Kimbal ended up aggravating Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney by trolling him with a barrage of plugs for “Plant a Seed Day,” an initiative from his nonprofit, Big Green, that aims to encourage American families to plant a seed on March 20, 2019.

During the amusing segment, the Fox Business host attempted to ask Kimbal about Robyn Denholm’s activities as Tesla’s new chair. Denholm, who has been with the board since 2014, and who has experience in both tech and auto companies as a finance executive, was named earlier this month as a replacement for the outgoing Elon Musk, who was forced to vacate his Chairman post as part of his settlement with the SEC. Denholm’s appointment was widely supported by Elon Musk and Tesla’s supporters, who noted that he was looking forward to working closely with the finance veteran.

It did not take long before Denholm’s appointment attracted some creative speculations among Tesla’s critics. Headlines such as “Tesla’s New Chair Is Part of the Furniture,” “Tesla’s New Chair Won’t Do Much to Rein In Elon Musk,” and “Taming Elon Musk: New Tesla chair, board members face a tough job” have been prevalent since Denholm’s appointment, suggesting that there might be a certain degree of conflict between Musk and the new chair as she attempts to keep the CEO in line.

Varney’s questions towards Kimbal Musk during the short-lived interview suggest that he was traversing a similar line. “Look, Kimbal, you are on the board at Tesla. And you’ve got a new chair. Have you heard anything from her? You’ve got to tell me, is she laying down the law? Have you had contact with her? What’s she saying? What’s she doing on the board?” the Fox Business host asked.

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Kimbal Musk, for his part, proved immovable, simply stating that he was “so happy for the future of Tesla.” He also mentioned Plant a Seed Day on March 20, 2019, where his nonprofit, Big Green, aims to get a million American families to plant a seed in their backyards. During the course of the brief interview, Kimbal plugged Plant a Seed Day five times, much to the chagrin of the Fox Business host.

A visibly upset Varney eventually decided to throw in the towel, saying “You think my viewers want to learn about plant a seed day? Do you really? They don’t care, Kimbal. They don’t care!” Kimbal, for his part, continued plugging Plant a Seed Day, stating that the event is “going to be awesome.” At that point, Varney opted to cut the interview.

“Okay, okay. I’m wrapping it up, I’m sorry. Wait a minute, I am responsible to my audience. I’m sorry it’s over. I will not be used,” Varney said, visibly aggravated.

Plant a Seed Day is being coordinated by Big Green, Kimbal Musk’s nonprofit whose mission is to promote and foster a healthy food lifestyle for America’s schoolchildren. A centerpiece of Big Green’s initiatives is the Learning Garden, which are modular gardens that are set up in schools where children could plant and harvest crops. In a blog post on Medium, Kimbal noted that Plant a Seed Day is working with “national and international distribution, brand, and sponsorship partners” to get over 1 million seeds to families for March 20, 2019.

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“At Big Green, when my team works with a new Learning Garden school, we encourage teachers to have their students draw out their dream garden. It’s one of my favorite activities because this is when the magic begins. Kids will draw unicorns watering tomato plants, banana trees growing next to their school, or plants that talk, walk, and water themselves. The creativity and energy put toward creating a dream garden is endless. Soon the children realize the real magic of a garden is in planting a seed, watering it, caring for it, and watching it grow.

“Planting a seed is the first and powerful step to making a big change in food education. We have seen this critical step taken thousands of times in the schools we work with through Big Green. On March 20, 2019 we will bring those magical moments to millions of children.”

To learn more about Plant a Seed Day, click here.

Watch Kimbal Musk’s short-lived interview with Fox Business below.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Roadster unveiling gets pushed again, but new event details emerge

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Credit: Dan Burkland

Tesla has reportedly pushed the unveiling of the Roadster once again, but there are also evidently new details about the event that the company plans to show off.

The Information reported this morning that Tesla will now unveil, for the second time, the next-generation Roadster in August, a further delay from the multiple timeline that the company had previously stated.

The report has not been confirmed or denied by Tesla at any capacity.

It also states the unveiling event will take place in Texas, the same place that Tesla executives revealed in May would be the place of manufacture for the company’s highly-anticipated supercar, which boasts a top speed of over 250 MPH and 650 miles of range, according to its website.

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Tesla is also expected to showcase the SpaceX package, which will be used for faster acceleration and potentially hovering capabilities, at the unveiling event, the report states. Musk has always planned for this to happen, but now it seems it is more realistic than ever

The Roadster has had its unveiling date and manufacturing date pushed back on many occasions. It was set to start production in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic crippled supply chain operations, forcing Tesla to push its timeline back considerably.

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However, COVID has been over for some time, and Tesla has still not managed to successfully schedule and execute an unveiling event, which is something fans and enthusiasts, as well as those who have put down a $50,000 deposit, have been waiting for.

The vehicle was close to completion last year, but Musk truly wanted Lars Moravy and Franz von Holzhausen to push the limits of the Roadster. In July of last year, Moravy said:

“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind-blowing; We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.”

It is important to note two things: Tesla has not confirmed these details, and the company has regularly pushed these dates back. Until Tesla sends out formal invitations with a concrete date, taking any unveiling event reports with a grain of salt is a good idea.

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Tesla Model 3 has a tasty Supercharging incentive, but it’s ending soon

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is offering a tasty Supercharging incentive on certain Model 3 trims, but the company has officially put a concrete end date on it, so those interested should act fast.

Tesla is offering Free Supercharging for One Year on the Model 3 Premium and Performance trims, the top two offerings of the all-electric sedan. There are three trims of the Model 3 that will have the Free Supercharging offer attached:

  • Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive – $42,490
  • Premium All-Wheel-Drive – $47,490
  • Performance – $54,990

Tesla has now announced that this offer will expire on June 15, giving potential buyers about ten days to take advantage of the incentive.

This could be an additional incentive for car buyers to transition to electric vehicles. Many states are showing gas prices well over $4 per gallon, with the national average currently sitting at $4.22, according to AAA.

Tesla Model 3 wins Edmunds’ Best EV of 2026 award

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A free year of Supercharging miles would allow people to charge and travel for free, other than routine maintenance, which is already incredibly cheap compared to a gas car.

At Tesla Superchargers, peak rates, meaning prices between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., average between $0.45 and $0.60. One year of driving at an average of 12,000 miles would cost between $1,000 and $1,500 at $0.50 per kWh. It’s a pretty good deal.

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Supercharging prices have also increased recently:

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Tesla has used Free Supercharging to move units in the past, and it’s a great strategy for those who plan to use the car for longer commutes, cross-country drives, or do not have reliable access to home charging.

It should be noted that Tesla recommends that Supercharging be used at a minimum to preserve the life of the battery, as fast-charging is more stressful on the cells.

However, some people might not have an option, so the Free Supercharging incentive could truly be a great reason for many people to charge their cars.

The Supercharging incentive is short-term, and it is pretty rare that Tesla utilizes it, so once this offer is gone, we probably will not see it on the Model 3 for some time.

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Ferrari CEO’s self-driving stance echoes Elon Musk’s — sort of

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Credit: Tesla | Ferrari

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna revealed that the Italian automaker’s future will not involve self-driving, a point that echoes that of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s — sort of.

You might be thinking, “Are you insane? Musk has been so incredibly hellbent on delivering self-driving vehicles to the public, so much so that he has even hinted that Tesla won’t need the ever-popular and widely-requested Model Y L in the U.S.

However, when it comes to electric supercars with high-performance specs and lofty price tags, Vigna’s stance is exactly what Musk wants for Tesla’s own hypercar project, the Tesla Roadster.

In a new interview with Australian media outlet Drive, Vigna made it clear that Ferrari’s ambitions for the future do not involve autonomy, simply because the company’s cars are not designed for anything but manual, spirited driving.

He said:

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“We will not make fully autonomous cars — loud and clear. We want the people to have fun, not the [computer] chips. We want to have a steering wheel and a man or a woman behind the steering wheel. Otherwise, why do you buy a Ferrari?”

This seems to be a reasonable assertion. Ferraris are not made for daily commutes, cross-country road trips, or bumper-to-bumper traffic. They’re made for fast, spirited driving, and many of their buyers will only put a few thousand miles on them throughout their lifetime. True, exciting, fun driving is meant to be done manually.

That is not to say Full Self-Driving or other semi-autonomous suites are not “fun,” but they are meant to take the stress out of driving. They are made for the daily commutes, the rush hour traffic, and the parking lots and garages. It’s made to take the stress out of driving.

Tesla Full Self-Driving attempts 150-mile stress test: the good and the bad

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Musk had stated in an interview in early 2026 that the Roadster would also be geared toward fun, manually-controlled driving. On the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis, Musk said about the Roadster:

“This is not a…safety is not the main goal. If you buy a Ferrari, safety is not the number one goal. I say, if safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster…We’ll aspire not to kill anyone in this car. It’ll be the best of the last of the human-driven cars. The best of the last.”

There are cars out there that simply are meant to be driven by humans, and Ferraris and Roadsters are a few of them. Ferrari has no true advantage in developing self-driving; their cars sell at low volumes with high price tags, and their performance specs and engineering are all geared toward spirited driving.

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