News
Terraforming Mars may still be possible after NASA concludes otherwise, scientists say
SpaceX’s Elon Musk may imagine a nuclear device acting as an artificial sun on Mars for his long-term terraforming plans, but NASA has ultimately disagreed with his and others’ proposals thus far for the planet. With this in mind, Harvard University scientists have conducted a study using silica aerogel to create regionally terraformed parts of the planet instead. Their results were recently published in Nature Astronomy.
NASA’s message is clear: The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that would be required to warm Mars enough to provide the required atmospheric pressure for human survival is not present on the red planet.
“Transforming the inhospitable Martian environment into a place astronauts could explore without life support is not possible without technology well beyond today’s capabilities,” NASA concluded in a press release last year on the topic of making our neighbor into the next Earth. “Our results suggest that there is not enough CO2 (carbon dioxide) remaining on Mars to provide significant greenhouse warming were the gas to be put into the atmosphere; in addition, most of the CO2 gas is not accessible and could not be readily mobilized. As a result, terraforming Mars is not possible using present-day technology.”
The Harvard scientists who published the recent study have instead proposed a way around this problem by exchanging a planet-wide terraforming strategy for a local one. By covering certain areas of the Martian surface with a thin layer of silica aerogel, namely areas with large amounts of water ice, enough sunlight will come through for warming and combine with natural heating processes beneath the surface to create a potentially habitable environment.
“Specifically, we demonstrate via experiments and modelling that under Martian environmental conditions, a 2–3 cm-thick layer of silica aerogel will simultaneously transmit sufficient visible light for photosynthesis, block hazardous ultraviolet radiation and raise temperatures underneath it permanently to above the melting point of water, without the need for any internal heat source,” the study’s abstract detailed.
Once temperatures were adequate, the gases released from the ice in the lakes and regolith (soil) would build up to form a pressurized atmosphere under the aerogel layer. If successful up to that point, microbes and plant life could theoretically survive. “Placing silica aerogel shields over sufficiently ice-rich regions of the Martian surface could therefore allow photosynthetic life to survive there with minimal subsequent intervention,” the scientists suggested. This photosynthetic life would go on to produce oxygen for pickier Earth dwellers to utilize.
In addition to proposing the utilization of silica aerogel’s heat trapping properties, the research team also conducted tests using environmental factors that mimicked those on Mars. Their results thus far indicate that warming beyond the required temperature for liquid water would be readily available to implement as needed under the aerogel. These results are promising, but many more tests and in-situ research will also be necessary to prove the concept further.
While NASA’s findings published last year seem to dash SpaceX’s dream of eventually terraforming Mars (for the full picture, see their transforming coffee mug), this latest effort demonstrates that all options are not yet off the table. Perhaps if the Harvard team’s further studies and tests positively demonstrate the potential of their silica aerogel habitat idea, small regions throughout the planet could resemble Earth’s most ideal places – very similar to Earth itself.
Would these areas be akin to bubble cities and bubble parks? Would the aerogel cover geodesic structures, as is seen in many other Martian colony concepts? Even if all the answers aren’t in yet, the enthusiasm for finding answers is exciting.
News
Ford CEO favors Waymo’s LiDAR approach over Tesla’s vision-only self-driving
Farley stated that Waymo’s LiDAR-based approach made “more sense.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley shared some skepticism about Tesla’s camera-only approach to self-driving during a recent appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival. When asked to compare Waymo and Tesla’s autonomous driving systems, Farley stated that Waymo’s LiDAR-based approach made “more sense,” citing safety, consumer trust, and the limitations of camera-based models.
Waymo’s LiDAR vs. Tesla’s Vision-Only Approach
Farley was speaking with author Walter Isaacson when he made his comments about Tesla and Waymo’s self-driving systems. As they were conversing about autonomous cars, Isaacson asked Farley which approach to self-driving he preferred.
“To us, Waymo,” Farley said, though he also stated that both Tesla and Waymo have “ made a lot of of progress” on self-driving, as noted in a Fortune report. He also confirmed that he has had conversations about the matter with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Despite this, he said that Ford still considers LiDAR as a pivotal part of autonomous driving.
“When you have a brand like Ford, when there’s a new technology, you have to be really careful. We really believe that LiDAR is mission critical… Where the camera will be completely blinded, the LiDAR system will see exactly what’s in front of you,” the Ford CEO stated.
Tesla and Ford’s self-driving plans
Tesla recently launched a limited Robotaxi service in Austin, which uses autonomous cars with safety monitors in the front passenger seat. While controversial, Musk has maintained that Tesla’s vision-only approach will ultimately prove safer and more cost-effective in the long term. Tesla seems to be making headway towards this goal, with Musk stating recently that the first Model Y has been delivered autonomously to a customer in Austin.
Ford, for his part, is not pursuing its own fully autonomous, urban-driving system anymore. Instead, the company is focusing on “high-speed, eyes-off” experiences like BlueCruise. Ford does plan to partner with a company that has achieved true autonomous driving in the future, as soon as the technology is available.
Elon Musk
A Tesla just delivered itself to a customer autonomously, Elon Musk confirms
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the first self-delivery occurred today, one day ahead of schedule.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that a vehicle has, for the first time ever, delivered itself to a customer autonomously, one day ahead of the company’s original schedule.
To date, this is the first car to ever roll off a production line at a factory and transport itself to a customer for delivery.
Late last month, Musk announced that the first-ever fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla would take place on June 28. The plan was to have the car roll off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas and drive to a local customer without the assistance of anyone on board or remotely controlling the car through teleoperation.
Teslas will self-deliver to customers, Elon Musk says: here’s when
Musk said on Friday that it has officially happened:
🚨 Elon Musk confirms the first Tesla to self-deliver to a customer has happened, one day ahead of schedule! https://t.co/Zvb9y4m0uu
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 27, 2025
The vehicle traveled as fast as 72 miles per hour, according to Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Head of AI and Autopilot.
Musk continued on X:
“There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous! To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fully autonomous drive with no people in the car or remotely operating the car on a public highway.”
He said a video of the delivery would be uploaded soon.
We have seen cars autonomously transport themselves from production line to logistics lot at Gigafactory Texas, but this is a whole new level.
Tesla’s Giga Texas vehicles now drive themselves to outbound lot
Tesla just recently launched its Robotaxi for the first time in Austin on Sunday. Opened to a limited number of people, the company rolled out an Early Access Riders Program, but has been expanding it to more people in recent days. These cars featured a Safety Monitor in the passenger’s seat to ensure safety.
This seems to be something Tesla would like to perform more frequently in the coming months, especially locally. Eventually, it seems that Tesla will plan to have every vehicle it manufactures self-deliver, as a hauler would transport it to local delivery centers, then the car would drive itself to the customer’s house.
This is likely a few years off, but Tesla has already completed one self-delivery, which is an incredible accomplishment.
Yesterday, I wrote about Tesla’s two big milestones that are still planned for launch before the end of Q2. This was one of them. One to go: unveiling of the affordable models.
News
Tesla dispels reports that it hired ex-Cruise Autonomy head Henry Kuang
Tesla has denied reports that it hired former head of GM’s Cruise Henry Kuang.
Tesla has dispelled reports that it has hired ex-Cruise Head of Autonomy Henry Kuang.
This morning, several media outlets reported that Tesla had filled the position of Director of AI and Deep Learning for Autonomous Driving with Kuang, who was the Head of Autonomy at General Motors’ failed autonomous vehicle company, Cruise.
The rumor then circulated to X, but Tesla has now denied that those reports are true.
Tesla’s Head of Autopilot and AI, Ashok Elluswamy, revealed that the reports are false:
fake news
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) June 27, 2025
It would be easy to see how the hire might have been construed as real. Someone appears to have created a fake LinkedIn profile for Kuang, listing the new role at Tesla as their latest career move. The account appeared legitimate and bore all the hallmarks of a genuine page for Kuang, but it has since been removed from the site.
Additionally, there has been some rather high-level turnover at Tesla in recent days. The company recently let go of Omead Afshar, who was widely recognized as CEO Elon Musk’s right-hand man. Afshar assumed the role of North American sales head and European operations head late last year. He has been relieved of his duties, according to a Bloomberg report.
Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports
Alongside the loss of Afshar, Tesla’s Human Resources Head in Austin, Jenna Ferrua, also left the company this week.
This past week, Tesla launched its Robotaxi platform to a handful of people, marking the first time the company has given driverless rides to members of the public.
Ford CEO favors Waymo’s LiDAR approach over Tesla’s vision-only self-driving
A Tesla just delivered itself to a customer autonomously, Elon Musk confirms
Tesla dispels reports that it hired ex-Cruise Autonomy head Henry Kuang
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