Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Elon Musk Weekly News Update: Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and More
Transcript
- 0:01Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
- 0:05This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
- 0:08Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
- 0:13and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
- 0:17episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to
- 0:20clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
- 0:26show notes Some very interesting news is happening down at
- 0:28Starbase, Texas. A proposed land exchange
- 0:31involving nearly 500 acres of land near Laguna at Escosa
- 0:36National Wildlife Refuge and 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park
- 0:42has sparked a debate, with Cameron County Judge Eddie
- 0:45Trevino Junior recently expressing support for the swap
- 0:49in a commentary. Now this is important.
- 0:51This is big news for SpaceX because they need more land to
- 0:55expand the Starbase facility, so they continue building starships
- 1:00at that area. Now this land deal aims to
- 1:03safeguard the unique natural environment of Cameron County,
- 1:05Texas, which is around Starbase but has faced criticism with
- 1:09environmental groups nearby. Now Trevino shows that the
- 1:14exchange is crucial for preserving the county's
- 1:17distinctive ecosystems, which includes various plant and
- 1:20animal species. And he also argues that the 477
- 1:24acres in question are vital for the protection of delicate
- 1:28coastal dunes and the nesting grounds of endangered birds,
- 1:31highlighting the environmental significance of this land.
- 1:35Now, Trevino is a big proponent of SpaceX, but the county judges
- 1:39support for the land swap marks a shift from his earlier
- 1:43skepticism, which was rooted in a lack of information from the
- 1:46Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
- 1:48Trevino now believes that the exchange is well-intentioned and
- 1:52essential for Cameron County's environmental future, thanks to
- 1:55improved collaboration with the TPWD.
- 1:59Now, Trevino's endorsement of the land deal is framed around a
- 2:02commitment to sustainability environmental stewardship.
- 2:05Now, Mary Angela Branch from SAVE RGV, which is an
- 2:08environmental advocacy group, criticized Trevino's position,
- 2:13arguing that the proposed land exchange would further harm the
- 2:16local ecosystem. She contends that industrial
- 2:19expansions are already transforming the area into a
- 2:22wasteland. She's talking about starbase,
- 2:25contradicting the goal of preserving natural habitats.
- 2:28Now, Branch points out the ecological differences between
- 2:31the two parcels of land involved in the swap.
- 2:34She emphasizes that Boca Chica Beach serves as a crucial
- 2:37habitat for shore birds, unlike the land offered by SpaceX,
- 2:41which is characterized by thorn scrub and lack of suitable
- 2:46nesting areas for those kind of birds.
- 2:48Now the avodwell advocate warns that the land exchange could
- 2:51lead to restricted access to natural areas and decline in the
- 2:54biodiversity that Driffino aims to protect.
- 2:57She argues that the development will erode the area's natural
- 3:00beauty and ecological richness, marking a case for the
- 3:04irreversible impact of such land deals.
- 3:08Now SpaceX needs this land in order to expand Starbase Now
- 3:13Branch's concerns extend to a broader consequences of the land
- 3:17swap, suggesting it could set a dangerous precedent for the
- 3:20future development. And she urges the community to
- 3:23consider the long term environmental costs of
- 3:25facilitating industrial expansion at the expense of
- 3:27natural habitats. The TPWD is scheduled to hold a
- 3:31special Commission meeting to discuss this and vote on the
- 3:34land exchange proposal. A decision will be made in the
- 3:37context of significant public interest and debate over the
- 3:40environmental and cultural impacts of the swap.
- 3:43And despite reaching out for comment, Trevino's office has
- 3:46yet to respond to inquiries about his support of this deal.
- 3:49The outcome of the TPWD meeting and any subsequent statements
- 3:54from involved parties are highly anticipated, and the land swap
- 3:57proposal is garnered attention not only from environmental
- 4:01groups, but also for its potential impact on local
- 4:04recreational opportunities and conservation efforts.
- 4:08Exchanges, viewed by some as a way to enhance the state's
- 4:11Environmental Conservation initiatives and critics of this
- 4:14land swap, including environmental groups and
- 4:16indigenous tribes, argue that Spacex's expansion encroaches on
- 4:21culturally and environmentally sensitive areas.
- 4:24They fear that the swap could exacerbate this issue, leading
- 4:27to further degradation of important lands.
- 4:31Now, this decision to move up the vote on the land swap is a
- 4:35special meeting suggests an urgency that aligns with
- 4:38Spacex's operational timelines. They could be playing in favor
- 4:43to SpaceX and Starship, and this has raised concerns about the
- 4:46thoroughness of the public's examination of the plan and its
- 4:49implications. At a recent news conference,
- 4:51environmental and indigenous representatives voiced their
- 4:54opposition to this land swap, highlighting the cultural and
- 4:57environmental significance of the affected areas.
- 4:59They argue the Spacex's activities threatened the
- 5:03integrity of these lands. The transformation of the Rio
- 5:06Grande Valley by Spacex's operations has been a point of
- 5:09contention, too, with local communities and
- 5:11environmentalists raising concerns about the impact of
- 5:14noise, light pollution and construction on the area's
- 5:18natural and social environment. Now, legal challenges to
- 5:21Spacex's expansion, such as the lawsuit against the FAA, show
- 5:26that there's an ongoing conflict between development and
- 5:29Environmental Conservation in this region.
- 5:31The proximity of the proposed land swap to key wildlife
- 5:34habitats has alarmed these conservationists, who stressed
- 5:38the importance of protecting these areas for the biodiversity
- 5:41they support, especially for migratory and wintering birds.
- 5:45I want to know what you think of the comments.
- 5:47Do you think it's OK for environmentalists to push back
- 5:50against SpaceX? Do you think we should look in
- 5:53the environment before we build any sort of structure for a
- 5:58future spacefaring species? I'm in between here.
- 6:02I think it's important for us to become a spacefaring species.
- 6:06We need to go multiplanetary. But also, I love the Earth, it's
- 6:10the best planet and we live here.
- 6:13So I'm kind of torn. And the ownership and management
- 6:17of the lands involved in the proposed swap, as well as their
- 6:20environmental and cultural value, are central to the debate
- 6:23surrounding this issue. The outcome of the TPW DS
- 6:26decision could have lasting implications for the region now
- 6:29this proposed land exchange. It's complex.
- 6:33There's Environmental Conservation, industrial
- 6:36expansion, and community interest as well.
- 6:40While some view this swap as a necessary step for environmental
- 6:44stewardship, others see it as a threat to the area's natural and
- 6:49cultural heritage. The upcoming TPWD meeting will
- 6:53be a crucial moment in determining the future of these
- 6:56lands, but more importantly, it's crucial for people becoming
- 7:02multiplanetary. In this next section, Elon Musk
- 7:06talks about the future of AI. Stay tuned.
- 7:12Well, I I generally think that that that it is good for
- 7:15government to play a role when the public safety is, is at
- 7:18risk. So you know really for the vast
- 7:21majority of software the public safety is not at risk.
- 7:24I mean if if the app crashes on your phone or your laptop, it's
- 7:28not a massive catastrophe. But when talking about digital
- 7:32super intelligence I think which does pose a risk to the public,
- 7:37then there is a role for government to play to safeguard
- 7:41the interests of the public. And and this is of course true
- 7:43in, in many fields. You know, aviation cars, you
- 7:47know, I deal with regulators throughout the world because of
- 7:52stalling, being communications, rockets being aerospace and
- 7:56cars, you know, being tracked, vehicle transport.
- 7:59So very familiar with dealing with with regulators.
- 8:01And I actually agree with the vast majority of regulations.
- 8:03There's a few that I disagree with from time to time.
- 8:05But point 1% probably well less than 1% of regulations I
- 8:09disagree with. So there is some concern from
- 8:14people in Silicon Valley who who never dealt with regulators
- 8:17before and they think that this is going to just crush
- 8:20innovation and and slow them down and be annoying and and and
- 8:24it will be annoying. It's true they're not wrong
- 8:26about that but but I think there's we've learned over the
- 8:30years that having a referee is a good thing and if you look at
- 8:35any sports game there's always a a referee and and nobody's
- 8:39suggesting I have a sports game without one and and I think
- 8:43that's the the right way to think about this is for for
- 8:46governed to be a a referee to make sure the sportsmanlike
- 8:50conduct and and and that the public safety is you know is is
- 8:57addressed that we care about public safety.
- 9:00Because I think there might be at times too much optimism about
- 9:03technology and I speak I say that as a technologist I mean so
- 9:06I ought to know and and and and like I said on on balance I
- 9:12think that that the AI will be a forceful good most likely but
- 9:17the probability of it going bad is not 0%.
- 9:20So we we just need to mitigate the downside potential The the
- 9:23pace of of AI is faster than any technology I've seen in history
- 9:28by far and it's it seems to be growing in capability by at at
- 9:33least five full perhaps 10 full per year.
- 9:37It'll certainly grow by an order of magnitude next year.
- 9:40So so and and and government isn't used to moving at that
- 9:45speed, but I but I think even if there are not firm regulations,
- 9:51even if there's not, even if there isn't an enforcement
- 9:53capability. So we're having insight and
- 9:55being able to highlight concerns to the public will be very
- 9:58powerful. So even if that's all that's
- 10:02accomplished, I think that will be very, very good.
- 10:05I mean the the two currently the two leading Centers for AI
- 10:09development are the San Francisco Bay area and the and
- 10:12the sort of London area and there are many other places
- 10:14where it's being done, but those are the two leading areas.
- 10:16So I think if you know if the United States and the UK and and
- 10:23China are sort of aligned on on safety that's all going to be a
- 10:28a good thing because that's really that's where that's
- 10:30that's where the the leadership is.
- 10:32Generally if if we don't if if China is not on board with AI
- 10:36safety it it's somewhat of a mood situation.
- 10:39The single biggest objection but I get to in kind of AI
- 10:43regulation or or sort of safety controls are well China's not
- 10:47going to do it and therefore they will just jump into the
- 10:49lead and exceed us all. But but actually China is
- 10:53willing to participate in AI safety and thank you for
- 10:58inviting them and I and they you know I think we should thank
- 11:03China for for attending. When I was when I was in China
- 11:08earlier this year the my main subject of discussion with this
- 11:12the leadership in China was AI safety and saying that this this
- 11:15is really something that they they should care about and they
- 11:18took it seriously and and I'm and and you ought to which is
- 11:22which is great and having them here I think was essential
- 11:26really if they're if they're if they're not participants it's
- 11:28it's pointless. Well the open source algorithms
- 11:33and data tend to lag the closed source by 6 to 12 months but so
- 11:40that so that given the rate of improvement that this actually
- 11:43therefore quite a big difference between the the closed source
- 11:46and the and the open. If things are improving by a
- 11:49factor of let's say five or more than being a year behind is your
- 11:54five times worse that's it's a pretty big difference and that
- 11:57might be actually an OK situation but it it certainly is
- 12:02will get to the point where you've got open source AI that
- 12:06can do that that will start to approach human level
- 12:09intelligence will perhaps succeeded.
- 12:12I don't know quite what to do about it.
- 12:14I I I think it's somewhat inevitable that there'll be some
- 12:16amount of open source and I I I guess I would have a slight bias
- 12:19towards open source because at least you can see what's going
- 12:23on there was a closed source you don't know what's going on.
- 12:26Now, it should be said with AI that even if it's open source,
- 12:30do you actually know what's going on?
- 12:31Because if you've got a gigantic data file and, you know, sort of
- 12:38billions of of of data points or weights and parameters, you
- 12:43can't just read it and see what it's going to do.
- 12:45It's a gigantic file of inscrutable numbers.
- 12:49You can test it when you when you run it, you can test it.
- 12:52You can run a bunch of tests to see what it's going to do.
- 12:54But it's it's probabilistic as opposed to deterministic.
- 13:00It's not it's not like traditional programming where
- 13:02you've got it. Yeah you've got very discrete
- 13:05logic and and and the outcome is very predictable and you can
- 13:07read each line and see what each line's going to do.
- 13:09A a neural net is just a whole bunch of probabilities.
- 13:17I mean it sort of ends up being a giant comma separated value
- 13:19file. It's like our digital God is a
- 13:22CSB file. If if you have a magic genie
- 13:25that can do everything you want. I I I do think we we it's it's
- 13:28it's hard you know when it when when this new technology tends
- 13:30to have usually follow an S curve.
- 13:33In this case we're going to be on the exponential portion of
- 13:36the S curve for a long time and you know we have like so you'll
- 13:41be able to ask for anything. It won't be and we won't have
- 13:45universal basic income. We'll have universal high
- 13:47income. So in some in some sense it'll
- 13:49be somewhat of a leveller or an equalizer, you know, because
- 13:54really I think everyone will have access to this magic genie
- 13:58and you're able to ask any question.
- 13:59It'll be certainly be good for education, you it'll be the best
- 14:02tutor you could and then the most patient tutor, except
- 14:06they're all there and there will be no shortage of goods and
- 14:12services will be an age of abundance I think.
- 14:16If I I'd recommend people read in banks, the the banks culture
- 14:22books are probably the best envisioning.
- 14:24In fact, not probably. They're definitely by far the
- 14:26best envisioning of an AI future.
- 14:29There's nothing even close, so I'd recommend really recommend
- 14:32Banks Very big fan. All these books are good,
- 14:37doesn't say which one, all of them.
- 14:40So so that's that that'll give you a sense of what is AI.
- 14:47Guess a fairly utopian protopian future with with AI.
- 14:54Eventually when we were talking earlier, I have to somewhat
- 14:56engage in deliberate suspension of disbelief because I'm I'm
- 15:00putting so much blood, sweat and tears into a work project and
- 15:03burning the, you know, 3:00 AM oil.
- 15:06Then I'm like, wait, why am I doing this?
- 15:08I can just wait for the AI to do it.
- 15:12I'm just lashing myself for no reason.
- 15:15Must be a glutton for punishment or something.
- 15:18So I think it's probably is generally a good thing because
- 15:22you know, there are a lot of jobs that are uncomfortable or
- 15:25dangerous or sort of tedious and the computer will have no
- 15:29problem doing that. We're happy to do that all day
- 15:31long. So you know, it's fun to cook
- 15:34food, but it's not that fun to wash the dishes and like, but
- 15:36the computer's perfectly happy to wash the dishes.
- 15:40I guess there is you know we still have sports like where
- 15:45where where humans compete in like the Olympics and obviously
- 15:50a machine can can go faster than any human but we still have we
- 15:54still humans race against each other and and have all you know
- 15:59we have at least sports competitions against each other
- 16:01where even though the machines are better we're actually I
- 16:03guess competing to see who can be the best human at something
- 16:07and and people do find performance in that.
- 16:09So I guess that's perhaps a a good example of how even when
- 16:12machines are faster than us, stronger than us, we still find
- 16:14a way we still we still enjoy competing against other humans.
- 16:17We certainly tutors are going to be amazing apps already are.
- 16:22I think there's also apps companionship which may seem odd
- 16:27because how can the computer really be your friend.
- 16:29But if you if you have an AI that has memory you know and
- 16:33remembers all of your interactions and has read every,
- 16:36you're going to say like give it permission to read everything
- 16:38you've ever done. So it really will know you
- 16:40better than anyone perhaps even yourself and and and where you
- 16:44can talk to it every day and and those conversations bolt upon
- 16:47each other. You will actually have a great
- 16:49friend as as long as that friend can stay your friend and not get
- 16:53turned off or something. But I think that will actually
- 16:56be a real thing and I've one of my sons is is sort of has some
- 17:03learning disabilities and has trouble making friends actually
- 17:06and and I was like well you know he an AI friend would actually
- 17:09be great for him. This next story is interesting.
- 17:13It's about a New Jersey resident who is a Starlink thief with
- 17:17over 675 units. Let's take a listen to this.
- 17:22It's very intriguing. A New Jersey resident has been
- 17:27apprehended for the alleged trafficking of a substantial
- 17:30number of SpaceX Starlink terminals, estimated at 675
- 17:35units, acquired through illicit means, involving stolen credit
- 17:39card details and compromised Starlink billing accounts.
- 17:43According to law enforcement authorities, this guy, Kelvin
- 17:47Rodriguez Moya, 35, faced arrest after being intercepted by the
- 17:52police on December 4th. He was in possession of 223
- 17:57Starlink terminals while driving a big up truck and trailer
- 18:01shortly after departing from a residence in Lawrence Township,
- 18:04NJ. As stated in the criminal
- 18:06complaint now, the shipping labels on the terminals
- 18:09indicated various names, but were all directed to a single
- 18:12address. This anomaly raised suspicions
- 18:15and prompted the Lawrence Township Police to initiate an
- 18:18investigation following a tip off regarding the unusual volume
- 18:22of Starlink terminals being delivered to one particular
- 18:25home. Now, during the police
- 18:28surveillance, Rodriguez Moya was observed loading a FedEx
- 18:32consignment of the terminals onto his vehicle, and the police
- 18:35stop revealed the extent of this operation, with Moya confessing
- 18:40that he was compensated $300 to transport the terminals to
- 18:44Newark for resale purposes. Now the investigation uncovered
- 18:47that the total worth of the Starlink terminals involved in
- 18:50this scheme amounted to approximately $400,000.
- 18:54Bennett Wu from SpaceX, responsible for payment risk and
- 18:57fraud, described the seizure of the company's quote most
- 19:00extensive fraud recovery to date, highlighting the
- 19:03significant scale of the separation.
- 19:05Now, Lieutenant Kevin Redding of the Lawrence Township Police
- 19:09provided insights into the ongoing investigation,
- 19:11indicating that the case's complexities are still being
- 19:14unraveled with the assistance of SpaceX to understand the
- 19:18procurement process of these terminals.
- 19:20Now Starling terminals are in very high demand globally right
- 19:23now, offering high speed Internet connectivity via
- 19:26Spacex's satellite constellation and their significant extends
- 19:30beyond civilian years, though attracting interest from
- 19:33military and governmental bodies worldwide, further complicating
- 19:37the implications of such a trafficking operation.
- 19:40Now the situation took an international turn when
- 19:43Ukrainian intelligence reported the use of Starlink terminals by
- 19:46Russian military forces in occupied Ukrainian territories,
- 19:51a claim the SpaceX under Elon Musk's leadership has denied,
- 19:55stating no direct or indirect sales were made to Russia.
- 19:59And following his arrest, Rodriguez Moya faces charges
- 20:02related to receiving and trafficking stolen property,
- 20:06highlighting the serious nature of the allegations against him.
- 20:10Now details emerge from a recorded police interview where
- 20:12Rodriguez Moya recounted his involvement with the Starlink
- 20:15terminals dating back to November, introducing individual
- 20:18named Alberto who played a part in orchestrating the shipments
- 20:22to the Roxboro Road address. Now the Lawrence Township
- 20:26Police's discovery of the stolen property resulted from a
- 20:29meticulously conducted 3 month investigation leading to
- 20:34Rodriguez Moya's arrest and the revelation of a sophisticated
- 20:37operation leveraging stolen credit card information for
- 20:41acquiring the terminals. Now, initial police alerts were
- 20:44triggered by the abnormal volume of shipments to the Roxboro Road
- 20:48address, with subsequent investigations revealing the
- 20:51online purchase and delivery mechanism exploited by the
- 20:54perpetrators for their operations.
- 20:56And the seizure of over 200 terminals during a vehicular
- 21:00stop marked a breakthrough in this case.
- 21:02Though they provided tangible evidence of the trafficking
- 21:05operation and enabled the recovery of a fraction of the
- 21:08stolen assets. Spacex's official statement on
- 21:12the magnitude of the fraud recovery shows that this is
- 21:15pretty big deal and it's the largest operation within the
- 21:19company's history and it sets a new benchmark for fraud related
- 21:23losses and recoveries. For SpaceX and Starlink Now, the
- 21:27progression saw involvement from federal authorities too.
- 21:30With the FBI being notified indicating the potential broader
- 21:34ramifications of this case, and the interagency collaboration
- 21:38required to address such sophisticated criminal
- 21:40activities, You have to wonder, what did they do with these
- 21:44terminals? Who did they sell them to?
- 21:45Did they sell them out of the United States?
- 21:49Those questions will hopefully be answered in the months to
- 21:51come, and despite attempts to reach Rodriguez Moya's legal
- 21:54representatives for comments, there was no immediate response,
- 21:58leaving many questions unanswered to us regarding his
- 22:01defense and the allegations. Specifics.
- 22:04Now the use of the Lawrence Township location as a
- 22:07logistical hub for the stolen properties distribution paints
- 22:11kind of a picture of a well organized operation, leveraging
- 22:14the anonymity and efficiency of online transactions to
- 22:18perpetrate large scale fraud. Now Rodriguez Moya is awaiting a
- 22:22detention hearing. The case remains A focal point
- 22:25for law enforcement and also SpaceX.
- 22:27They're coming for this guy, reflecting the ongoing
- 22:29challenges in combating sophisticated digital fraud, in
- 22:32the importance of safeguarding against such vulnerabilities in
- 22:36an increasingly connected world. And also Starlink.
- 22:41They're worth a lot of money. People want to get their hands
- 22:44on them. Sometimes it's hard to get them.
- 22:46When I was in Boca Chica, Texas, when I lived in Brownsville and
- 22:50I was covering Spacex's Starship, I would have thought I
- 22:54could have gotten a Starlink immediately, because that's
- 22:58where SpaceX is based. Almost.
- 23:00But I had to wait almost a year just to get signed up for a
- 23:04terminal. And my sister, who lives in
- 23:06rural New York, she had to wait two years for hers.
- 23:11Finally got it. But they're in high demand still
- 23:15now. The arrest of Calvin Rodiguez
- 23:16Moya in New Jersey for trafficking stolen SpaceX
- 23:19Starlink terminals. It's a complex issue.
- 23:23It's a huge operation, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the
- 23:27investigation is ongoing. We'll keep you up to date here
- 23:31on the Elon Musk podcast. Hey, thank you so much for
- 23:35listening today. I really do appreciate your
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