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Elon Musk inspires celeb jeweler to create the craziest Tesla bling yet

[Photo: Ben Baller/Instagram]

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If there is one attribute that Elon Musk is known for, it is his relentless drive and his refusal to give up. Musk has taken many risks in the past, and he continues to do so to this day. Both his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have disrupted their respective industries over the years, and a lot of it was due to Musk’s bold approach and tendency to take high-stakes risks.

Admirers hail Musk as a visionary that is unafraid to toe the line between triumph and failure. Critics, on the other hand, see him as a careless leader who is always one step away from burning out. This week, though, one of Elon Musk’s avid supporters and a Model X P100D owner revealed a project that represents his gratitude to the inspiration he receives from the CEO’ work.

Ben Yang, better known as Ben Baller, is a musician, actor, and jeweler. Known for creating striking, bold jewelry under his brand — Icee Fresh Jewels — Ben has created numerous diamond-encrusted pieces for a long list of celebrity clients, including Kayne West, Drake, Snoop Dogg, The Black Eyed Peas, Mariah Carey, and Joel Madden. In a recent post on his Instagram page, Ben showcased the custom on-off Tesla ring that he is giving as a present to Elon Musk for the holiday season.

Ben Baller’s custom, 1 of 1 Tesla Ring that he is giving as a present to Elon Musk. (Photo: Ben Baller/Instagram)

Ben’s “1 of 1” Tesla ring features a lot of his trademark design elements. The ring itself is made of platinum, and it is covered by round, brilliant white diamonds and rubies. The focal point of the piece — a Tesla logo — even features a rare, trillion-cut diamond. A series of diamonds also spell out the electric car company’s name.

In the description of his social media post, the jeweler notes that he is giving the ring to Musk because the CEO is an inspiration to him and his business partner, Paul Wall. Perhaps most importantly, Ben stated that he salutes Musk for putting it all on the line instead of retiring comfortably after he tasted success. Following is the jeweler’s message to the SpaceX and Tesla CEO.

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Dear Elon Musk,

Please accept this 1 of 1 custom Diamond and Ruby Tesla ring for being an inspiration to me and my best friend, Paul.  

FYI both of us own Tesla Model X P100D’s and both of us appreciate what you’ve done for Americans and the world. FYI I have never gifted anyone a custom piece of jewelry in my career. In fact, I have a long list of clients who are waiting to pay for a piece by me, but they’ll have to wait so that we could gift you this ring for Christmas. Why are we giving you this ring? Because you have motivated me and Paul to level up and push limits. ??

This ring is made of solid Platinum, and I custom cut diamond baguettes to spell out T-E-S-L-A on the back of the ring. On the front of the ring, I set a rare Trillion cut diamond to emphasize the “T” logo surrounded by round brilliant white diamonds (all diamonds used on this ring are VVS1 clarity). The rest of the ring is made of the highest quality rubies all pave set by hand. This ring was designed and created here in America, just like your cars.

We salute you for giving almost 50,000 jobs to Americans and putting USA back on the map as a serious contender in the auto industry. The last successful US car company startup before Tesla was Chrysler and that was 90 years ago. You could have easily retired after you sold PayPal but you bet it all on Tesla, and that takes BIG balls. Much respect. Please tell me where you would like us to deliver this ring.

And thank you for being awesome.

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Reports from Hollywood news sites note that the one-off Tesla ring is valued at around $40,000. Elon Musk is also reportedly accepting the unique gift sometime next week.

It is difficult to deny that Elon Musk’s success is largely due to his refusal to pack it up and admit defeat. Both SpaceX and Tesla have come close to death in the past, and in both cases, Musk’s determination allowed the companies to stay afloat. Today, Musk is known as one of the world’s most daring visionaries — one who dreams big and executes on large, ambitious projects. This determination and tenacity was in full display in a 60 Minutes interview during the early days of SpaceX. When asked if he is ever going to surrender, Musk responded with what could very well be his most iconic quote to date.

“No, I don’t ever give up. I’d have to be dead or completely incapacitated,” he said.

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

How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts

Musk told users to ask Grok Bot to scrub their phone numbers from spam lists.

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Elon Musk has a new use case for Grok Bot, and it is the spam call. On Thursday he replied to an X user named Arash with a short instruction: “Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!” Arash had said he got tired of the calls, had an AI bot find his number on listing sites and file removal requests, and packaged the process as a free skill for others.

The skill is called Spam-Call Scrubber, which is described to find a phone number on people search sites and data brokers, submits the opt outs, completes the confirmation emails those sites send back, and rechecks on a schedule the user picks. Using it requires the Grok Bot app. The pitch is time saved, since most broker opt outs sit behind separate forms on separate sites.



Musk said Grok Bot now gives each bot its own email address, and that it can detect scam emails. On Thursday he also said SpaceX would make users whole if the bot botches a purchase or leaks a card, then told users to shop away from Amazon after the retailer blocked the agent, as Teslarati reported. The terms of service we reviewed at the time put responsibility for what an agent does on the user.

For Tesla owners, Grok Bot is not just a phone app. Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles on September 22, and we argued earlier this week that the Cybercab’s real advantage may be the errands it runs during a ride. Every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet has it enabled. The more routine tasks like this one become, the more a rider has reason to hand over something personal in the back seat.

The new Spam-Call Scrubber skill can be downloaded for free and works on sites that honor removal requests, while noting that listings can reappear, and illegal robocallers do not check any registry. Whether Spam-Call Scrubber cuts anyone’s call volume is something the first wave of users will find out, and Musk’s endorsement guarantees that wave is coming.

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Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi’s real advantage won’t be the ride service

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Concept art of a Tesla Cybercab in Las Vegas Strip as rendered via Grok

For a century, the car has asked the same thing of its owner, which is basically to pay attention. Even the best ride-hailing app like Uber or Lyft only moved the problem into someone else’s hands. You stopped driving, but you still sat in a stranger’s car, while half listening, and wondering whether to take a phone call in the car without being rude. The Cybercab has no wheel, no pedals and no driver. With Grok @bot now live inside it, it becomes something else entirely, and I think that matters more than the fleet count that everyone is tracking.

Grok @bot is an agent, not a voice assistant. A rider signs in once, and from then on can say what they need and watch it happen. Order dinner from a favorite restaurant. Fill the grocery cart. Move money, answer email, adjust a calendar, push a work project forward. Tesla engineer Yun-Ta Tsai confirmed it is enabled across every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y fleet, and Tesla’s own pitch is that Full Self-Driving handles the commute while Grok handles the errands.

Think about what that does to a thirty minute ride. Uber sells you a trip, while Waymo sells you the same trip in a more private setting. Tesla is selling the thirty minutes themselves, returned to you with an assistant attached. Errands that used to eat a Saturday get done between pickup and drop off. The ride stops being dead time between two places and becomes a place of its own.

Tesla integrates Grok Bot into its vehicles for the ultimate personal assistant

Best of all, your Bots follow you into any Cybercab, and presumably your own Tesla, then logs you out automatically when you step out. Anyone can bolt a chatbot onto a screen, but much harder to own the vehicle, the autonomy stack and the assistant at once. It also quietly ties SpaceX’s Super Intelligence business to Tesla’s fleet, after Tesla converted its xAI stake into SpaceX equity. The relationship between those two companies is getting harder to describe as separate.

This is also where the hard questions start, because an agent that can spend your money in a vehicle other people also ride in needs some answers. How does it handle a voice it shouldn’t trust? What gets recorded, who can see it, and for how long? What happens when a rider leaves halfway through a task?

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If Tesla gets those answers right, the scoreboard changes. We have been counting Cybercabs and wait times. The more telling number may be what riders accomplish per trip. That is data almost no one else will ever have, and it is the real reason to watch Grok @bot.

What do you think? Leave me a comment.

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Tesla’s mirrorless Cybercab will give riders a visibility upgrade

Tesla engineer confirms Cybercab update letting riders pull up rear and repeater cameras on demand.

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Tesla Cybercab camera visibility for passengers (Credit: Dan Burkland via X)
Tesla Cybercab camera visibility for passengers (Credit: Dan Burkland via X)

Tesla is working on a Cybercab update that would let passengers pull up the vehicle’s rear and side cameras on demand, and the request came straight from a rider.

The exchange played out on X late Friday. Cybercab rider Dan Burkland shared photos of the two-seater’s cabin screen after an evening ride, praised the UI team’s work, and left one request: let riders open the rear and repeater cameras whenever they want, “especially for peace of mind.” Tesla UI software engineer Evan (@CarCoder) answered with two words: “In development.”

The idea fits a pattern Teslarati has tracked since public rides began. Days after paid Cybercab service opened in Austin, Tesla sent riders a survey that asked them to rate the touchscreen, the app and the cabin, and to pick the features they wanted most. We reported on that survey in September, and a camera view is the kind of small software change Tesla can push quickly if riders keep asking.

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It also speaks to something unique about the vehicle. With no steering wheel, no pedals and no driver, passengers have no mirror to check and no way to see behind them. The hardware is clearly built for camera awareness, from the repeater cameras to the rear camera. Letting a passenger look through those same cameras would give a nervous first time rider a way to confirm what is around the car.

The timing matters because the fleet is growing fast. Tesla’s Robotaxi account said on Saturday that more than 300 Cybercabs are now serving Austin, an eightfold increase in 30 days, and Tesla AI chief Ashok Elluswamy named Dallas as the next city. More cars and more cities mean more people riding in a driverless vehicle for the first time, which is exactly when small trust features carry weight.

For now, the feature is confirmed only as in development. If Tesla follows its usual pattern with Cybercab software, riders could see it appear in a point release without any announcement, and Teslarati will watch for it.

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