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Tesla Cybertruck gets seal of approval from tough 'Shark Tank' judge Mr. Wonderful

(Credit: Kevin O'Leary/YouTube)

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The Tesla Cybertruck continues to grow on more and more people. Since its unveiling, auto experts and actual truck owners have come to defend the vehicle, dubbing the all-electric pickup as a bold move in function and form. The Cybertruck has indeed impressed its own fair share of Tesla critics, including, as it turned out, Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary, better known by his tongue-in-cheek nickname Mr. Wonderful. 

Kevin O’Leary has not always been a fan of Tesla, particularly its stock, at one point even admitting that he hated TSLA. He has since changed his stance on the electric car maker, even investing in Tesla himself after seeing the capability of the company to attract the best and most driven talents available. Yet, despite this, O’Leary is still as sharp and critical as ever. In true Mr. Wonderful style, O’Leary is never one to hesitate when calling out something he deems as a failure. 

One could recall a Shark Tank episode from 2016 involving aspiring entrepreneur Allison DeVane, whose idea for her business, Teaspressa, failed to get a positive response from any of the sharks. Shark Tank judge Lori Greiner was quick to console the contestant, saying “Don’t look at this as a failure.” O’Leary promptly countered, saying “Look at this as a failure.” His statement was met with much disdain from fellow Shark Tank judges and viewers alike, with fellow shark Mark Cuban telling O’Leary to “shut up.” Fans of the show also stated that it seemed all too easy for Mr. Wonderful to kick someone that was already down. 

Tesla Cybertruck unveiled in Los Angeles, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Arash Malek)
Tesla Cybertruck unveiled in Los Angeles, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Arash Malek)

O’Leary has always been a direct and somewhat brash critic. In the case of the Tesla Cybertruck, Mr. Wonderful will likely be one of the first to say that the vehicle has no chance in the market. Yet, in a recent conversation with noted YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, O’Leary admitted that he actually placed a reservation for the upcoming all-electric pickup. He is even getting the tri-motor AWD variant so that he gets maximum range and power for long trips. Discussing his reservation, O’Leary stated that the Cybertruck is not really a pickup truck in the traditional sense of the word. 

“It’s not a pickup truck. It’s some kind of other thing, but it’s grown on me. That Elon guy, he kind of steps ahead. He kind of reminds me of Steve Jobs in a way. I used to work for Steve in educational software and I’d always say to him ‘Steve, what about the research.’ He said ‘Screw the research.’ People don’t know what they want until I tell them.’ And I said, ‘You arrogant prick. How can you say that?’ And he was 100% right. That was it. He was not an easy guy to work for, I gotta tell you. And I’m trying to be nice,” O’Leary said. 

O’Leary’s statements about market research are true. Tesla and Elon Musk did not do traditional market research for the Cybertruck, which is among the reasons why the vehicle in itself is so radical. Despite this, the vehicle is also a culmination of exchanges between Elon Musk and the online community, with both parties brainstorming features and capabilities that are most important in an all-electric pickup. As Mr. Wonderful said, people like the legendary Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are steps ahead. For visionaries such as these, market research may not be a very useful tool at all.  

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Watch Mr. Wonderful and MKBHD’s conversation in the video below. 

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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Elon Musk: Self-sustaining city on Mars is plausible in 25-30 years

Musk noted that true self-sufficiency requires Mars to develop “all the ingredients of civilization.”

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

Elon Musk has stated that a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars could be established in 25-30 years, provided launch capacity increases dramatically in the coming decades. 

Speaking at the All-In Summit, the SpaceX CEO said building a self-sufficient colony depends on exponential growth in “tonnage to Mars” with each launch window, highlighting Starship’s role as the company’s pathway to interplanetary initiatives.

Mars settlement goals

Musk noted that true self-sufficiency requires Mars to develop “all the ingredients of civilization,” from food production to microchip manufacturing. Starship Version 3 is expected to support the first uncrewed Mars test flights, while future iterations could reach 466 feet in height and deliver larger payloads critical for settlement. Ultimately, Musk stated that an aggressive timeline for a city on Mars could be as short as 30 years, as noted in a Space.com report.

“I think it can be done in 30 years, provided there’s an exponential increase in the tonnage to Mars with each successive Mars transfer window, which is every two years. Every two years, the planets align and you can transfer to Mars. 

“I think in roughly 15, but maybe as few as 10, but 10-15-ish Mars transfer windows. If you’re seeing exponential increases in the tonnage to Mars with each Mars transfer window, then it should be possible to make Mars self-sustaining in about call it roughly 25 years,” Musk said. 

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Starship’s role

Starship has flown in a fully stacked configuration ten times, most recently in August when it completed its first payload deployment in orbit. The next flight will close out the Version 2 program before transitioning to Starship Version 3, featuring Raptor 3 engines and a redesigned structure capable of lifting over 100 tons to orbit.

While SpaceX has demonstrated Super Heavy booster reuse, Ship reusability remains in development. Musk noted that the heat shield is still the biggest technical hurdle, as no orbital vehicle has yet achieved rapid, full reuse.

“For full reusability of the Ship, there’s still a lot of work that remains on the heat shield. No one’s ever made a fully reusable orbital heat shield. The shuttle heat shield had to go through nine months of repair after every flight,” he said. 

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Tesla Model Y may gain an extra 90 miles of range with Panasonic’s next-gen battery

The Japanese company is pursuing an anode-free design.

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

Panasonic is developing a new high-capacity EV battery that could potentially extend the range of a Tesla Model Y by 90 miles. 

The Japanese company, one of Tesla’s key battery suppliers, is pursuing an anode-free design that it says could deliver a “world-leading” level of capacity by the end of 2027.

Panasonic’s anode-free design

The technology Panasonic is pursuing would eliminate the anode during the manufacturing process, as noted in a Reuters report. By freeing up space for more active cathode materials such as nickel, cobalt, and aluminum, the Japanese company expects a 25% increase in capacity without expanding battery size. 

That could allow Tesla’s Model Y to gain an estimated 145 kilometers (90 miles) of additional range if equipped with a battery that matches its current pack’s size. At the same time, Panasonic could use smaller, lighter batteries to achieve the Model Y’s current range. 

Panasonic also aims to reduce reliance on nickel, which remains one of the more costly raw materials. A senior executive previewed the initiative to reporters ahead of a scheduled presentation by Panasonic Energy’s technology chief, Shoichiro Watanabe.

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Tesla implications

The breakthrough, if achieved, could strengthen Panasonic’s position as Tesla’s longest-standing battery partner at a time when the automaker is preparing to enter an era of extreme scale driven by high-volume products like the Cybercab and Optimus.

Elon Musk has stated that products like Optimus would be manufactured at very high scale, so it would likely be an all-hands-on-deck situation for the company’s suppliers.

Panasonic did not share details on production costs or how quickly the new batteries might scale for commercial applications. That being said, the Japanese supplier has long been a partner of Tesla, so it makes sense for the company to also push for the next generation of battery innovation while the EV maker pursues even more lofty ambitions.

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Tesla called ‘biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen’ by Yale associate dean

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is being called “the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen” by Yale School of Management Senior Associate Dean Jeff Sonnenfeld, who made the comments in a recent interview with CNBC.

Sonnenfeld’s comments echo those of many of the company’s skeptics, who argue that its price-to-earnings ratio is far too high when compared to other companies also in the tech industry. Tesla is often compared to companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft when these types of discussions come up.

Fundamentally, yes, Tesla does trade at a P/E level that is significantly above that of any comparable company.

However, it is worth mentioning that Tesla is not traded like a typical company, either.

Here’s what Sonnenfeld said regarding Tesla:

“This is the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen. Even at its peak, Amazon was nowhere near this level. The PE on this, well above 200, is just crazy. When you’ve got stocks like Nvidia, the price-earnings ratio is around 25 or 30, and Apple is maybe 35 or 36, Microsoft around the same. I mean, this is way out of line to be at a 220 PE. It’s crazy, and they’ve, I think, put a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”

Many analysts have admitted in the past that they believe Tesla is an untraditional stock in the sense that many analysts trade it based on narrative and not fundamentals. Ryan Brinkman of J.P. Morgan once said:

“Tesla shares continue to strike us as having become completely divorced from the fundamentals.”

Dan Nathan, another notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, recently turned bullish on the stock because of “technicals and sentiment.” He said just last week:

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting.”

Nathan said Tesla shares show signs of strength moving forward, including holding its 200-day moving average and holding against current resistance levels.

Sonnenfeld’s synopsis of Tesla shares points out that there might be “a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

This could refer to different things: perhaps his recent $1 billion stock buy, which sent the stock skyrocketing, or the fact that many Tesla investors are fans and owners who do not buy and sell on numbers, but rather on news that Musk might report himself.

Tesla is trading around $423.76 at the time of publication, as of 3:25 p.m. on the East Coast.

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