Business - page 2

It’s no coincidence that successful companies are led by those with developed leadership skills. Leadership comes from the top and trickles down the chain of command. But what is the recipe for leadership success? When we take a look at international companies that are successful, we can learn from the leadership styles of CEOs to see what qualities and styles are necessary to run a company. While each brings their style and experience, it is easy to see commonalities among leadership styles. We can glean what qualities are required from CEOs of companies like Johnson and Johnson, LinkedIn, and Zappos to learn how successful companies are built and maintained.

Johnson & Johnson is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the consumer division being located in Skillman, New Jersey. Johnson & Johnson creates products like Talcum Powder and other Baby Powder products. The corporation includes some 250 subsidiary companies with operations in 60 countries and products sold in over 175 countries. Chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson, Alex Gorsky says that his leadership success was rooted in his time spent as a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As the chief of a $372 billion company, Gorsky said that corporate success is often driven by three key things: Innovation, execution and hiring the right people. “It’s about great leaders and great people, and I could not be prouder of the 145,000 employees at Johnson & Johnson who bring the credo, the value system every day to work to do their very best,” Grosky stated.

Gorsky added that Johnson & Johnson takes pride in hiring veterans. “How do you have an attitude where, no matter how high that wall, no matter how thick, you’re going to figure out a way to get the mission done? That’s what veterans represent, and that’s what this place is all about,” he said.

It’s no surprise with Grosky’s military background and commitment to hiring veterans that the company has taken on a new campaigned that is set up to help Veterans. To help combat that statistic, Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have joined forces to launch the new #BeThere campaign aimed at supporting active and retired service members in need of help and resources.

“The #BeThere campaign, which highlights the importance of engaging our communities to help support veterans and returning service members who may be struggling with the transition back home,” adds Gorsky. “I’m confident that, together, we can give back to the brave men and women who have given so much to our country.” The first step is learning to recognize and reach out to people who may be suffering silently in communities across the country.” Gorsky is a CEO who walks his talk and is invested in those who work around him and is fully aware where his leadership style comes from. He takes the time to give back to worthy causes and support those who serve the country. His brings a holistic and transparent approach to leading. Gorsky’s main leadership lessons for the West Point cadets are the following, find something to do that you’re passionate about, and take care of yourself. “When you enjoy what you’re doing, you’re going to be better, and your people will know that,” he said. “And what’s key in addition to your leadership is making sure that you’re healthy, that you’re fit, and you need to do that not only in the military but in a civilian career so that you can be your very best.”

Another example of flourishing company culture due to great leadership is LinkedIn. Jeff Weiner, The LinkedIn chief executive, knows there is a difference between leadership and management. He defines a manager as “someone who will tell you what to do, while a leader inspires you to do it. According to Weiner, that inspiration is derived from these three things: the clarity of your vision, the courage of your conviction, and ability to effectively communicate those two things. ”

Weiner has also talked about empowering, listening, appreciating, and inspiring as key components to a successful business. These are easy enough to understand, but to implement a company culture can be a real challenge. Weiner has figured out a way to successfully see these company values play out in his company.

Empowering means the flexibility to work remotely, wherever and whenever they can produce the tools they need to do their best work the freedom and psychological safety required to explore new ideas, to experiment, and to express dissenting opinions. Listening as we all know is an art. Not thinking of your next sentence while someone is talking is challenging. Active listen takes intention and practice. To be appreciated is about more than giving credit where it’s due, or telling someone: “Job well done.” Nor is it about flattery or praise for the sake of praising. “True appreciation is looking for the good in others, getting sincere and specific about what you appreciate, and why. It means seeing their potential. To be inspired take time out of your busy schedule to help them with a problem, remain open-minded, happy to try out new ideas, get down in the trenches and join in the dirty work, show your people you’ve got their backs by staying by them even when they make mistakes, do more than tell people where they should go — set the example and show them the way.” Don’t we wish all managers and CEOs had this mentality. It’s no wonder that people who work there have high job satisfaction. Weiner’s style earns raves from his staff. His Mountain View, Calif.-based company, with more than 3,000 employees and 200 million members, consistently ranks as one of the best places to work, earning a 92 percent employee-approval rating in an anonymous survey last year by Glassdoor.com. The adopted mantra of Weiner is “next play,” a phrase borrowed from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who calls it out after every sequence on offense or defense. Weiner explains it as: “Take a minute to celebrate success or reflect on failure, but then move on.”

Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh takes a different approach to leading than the two CEOs mentioned above. Hsieh’s success came to him in 1999 when his company LinkExchange was acquired by Microsoft in 1999. Hseish takes a little more non-traditional approach to leading and influencing company culture.

Hsieh joined Zappos shortly after the Microsoft buyout. As the company grew and he took over as chief, he worked with his staff to develop the Zappos Family Core Values. They include not only a commitment to customer service, but also the creation of “fun and a little weirdness” and the building of a “positive team and family spirit.”
Jamie Naughton, known around the company as “speaker of the house” at Zappos, says “Our culture was inspired by how he does business and the people he hires and how we all are as a group.” Naughton says Hsieh takes a hands-off approach to leadership that requires effective delegation. “He likes to say that he is more of an architect; he designs the big vision and then gets out of the way so that everyone can make the things happen,” she says.

Although Hsieh brings a more hands-off approach, he is still respected among colleagues. Alex Wilcox is CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based private aviation company JetSuite, in which Hsieh has made a $7 million investment. Even this CEO is learning from the way that Heish leads and works. Hsieh is “an incredible leader,” Wilcox says. “If he is delayed by an external issue or something that we have overlooked, he never raises his voice. He lets us know about the issue and lets us solve it, and is always very receptive to what we have done to solve it. In that way, he has taught me a lot about how to be effective without getting upset, without raising your voice. He’s very quiet, which means that when he does speak, you pay extra attention.”

What we can draw from these CEO’s is a level of investment that is beyond completing a job or keeping a promise. It is about inspiring, reaching, and leading by a dedicated and thoughtful position of power and influence. Creating a company culture where it is okay to make mistakes but to learn and reach higher heights. People in any business need to be encouraged, appreciated, and ultimately nourished to keep the entire engine moving forward. While we can have motivation posters and everyone can repeat the companies’ values, it takes hard work, persistence, and intentionally to put these into action and create a culture that is productive and motivated.

These CEO’ have figured out what makes their people tick, and how to encourage, motivate, and execute. Other company leaders can learn from the words and styles of CEOs like those at Johnson and Johnson, LinkedIn, and Zappos. While these are the framework that the CEOs work from, there is probably so much more going on behind the scenes to put these ideas into action and see them play out in an influential way. And we can also learn that different leadership can still produce impressive results. However, these CEOs know that it is about hiring the right people that they can effectively lead. Because they are aware of their leadership styles, the know how to hire people they can direct, or hire those who are a self-directed, but give them a framework to work within. While these leaders are focused on their business, they are highly invested in the people who work at their companies.

Tesla is going to wrap up the year on a high. Within the past two weeks, the company hit several impressive benchmarks. Not sure about you, but in Seattle, I see Tesla’s everywhere. We’ve put together a charging map for the area below as well for all you local owners. All our tech residents are loving them Tesla’s! Read the story of Elon Musk’s Tesla company and how it all started.

Elon Musk won his bet to help Australia solve its energy crisis, companies have expressed active interest since the revealing of the Tesla semi, and an old Model 3 manual has leaked some new information about what to expect on the manufacturing line model. Tesla is leading the way to sustainable electric energy. With one month left in the year, we watch in anticipation to see if they will throw anymore curve balls. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as everything Elon Musk does is successful.

Australian Energy Crisis

I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d put my money on Elon Musk. After a series of regional blackouts that shook South Australia in September 2016 and February 2017, a severe debate emerged over how to manage the grid. Musk inserted himself into the discussion, saying on Twitter that he could deliver 100 megawatts of storage in 100 days or it would be free. Many were pessimistic about his ability to deliver on his promise. However, Tesla has completed its 100-megawatt Powerpack battery backup system in South Australia within 100 days as Elon Musk had promised. That means the company won’t be on the hook for the entire cost of the project, estimated at $50 million. This also means that about 30,000 homes in South Australia will have a power backup in case there’s no breeze. This backup power will be located at Hornsdale Wind Farm about two hours from Adelaide. Tesla sells the Powerwall system for individual homes, letting users get more out of their solar panels. The Powerpack, however, is aimed at businesses and large power producers.

Tesla teamed up with French renewable energy company Neoen back in July. They had a head start due to ongoing contract negotiations with battery cost. Originally, the goal date was expected to be December 1st. One week after the project became official, Musk announced at an event that the project was halfway completed. Already ahead of schedule.

Nearly two months later, the project has been fully installed at the Hornsdale Wind Farm. Over the next couple days, testing will be done to see if it meets standards from both AEMO and the local government. Tesla’s test with this facility isn’t just about dealing with the immediate solution for the Australian summer. This milestone is a key proof point in helping prove out the long-term viability of renewable energy sources. “An enormous amount of work has gone into delivering this project in such a short time,” said South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill in a statement. “The world’s largest lithium-ion battery will be an important part of our energy mix.”
Musk said he could build the Powerpack-based system in 100 days. Tesla finished an impressive 45 days ahead of schedule, and if you don’t count weekends, Tesla did finish the project precisely 99 days after Musk made the initial bet.

Some are critical of wind and solar energy saying that is not overly dependable. Sometimes the weather does not comply with what we want. However, lithium battery backup systems like Tesla can charge up with power plants are productive, and provide backup energy on days where the sun and wind are not showing up.

With his Twitter, and a bet, Elon has done impressed us with his solutions to electric problems again. The next part to this solution will entail that there is a solution to keep up with the power shortages that Australia will likely continue to face. The future of sustainability needs a sustainable map to follow. And it looks like Tesla will be leading the way with the help of other international companies. South Australia’s population of 1.7 million people suffer regular power cuts and energy shortages. Late last year, much of the state was left without power after a storm damaged crucial transmission lines. Another major blackout occurred in February when a heat wave caused demand to spike.

After a week of testing, with the 100MW system being partially charged for the first time on November 24, the Australian Energy Market Operator and South Australian government has given Tesla’s energy solution the green light for operation.

Tesla’s $50 million battery storage solution is made up of approximately 640 Tesla Powerpacks. The storage system will help solve power shortages and manage summertime peak load to improve the reliability of South Australia’s storm-damaged electrical infrastructure. Elon Musk as very proud of the solution. Tesla Powerpack units will charge using renewable energy from the Hornsdale Wind Farm and then deliver electricity during peak hours to help maintain the reliable operation of South Australia’s grid.

Tesla Semi

The company’s new Tesla Semi has made waves across the trucking world. Two semi-trucks are in the works– a version with 300 miles of range will start at $150,000 and a 500-mile model starting at $200,000. The Tesla Semi is competitively priced. A standard semi-truck can cost anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000. That aside, the draw and buzz around the Tesla Semi is Tesla’s claim that it will be more economical than your typical diesel truck. Looking at the $180,000 model, it’s still around $60,000 more than a diesel-powered semi-truck. However, the Semi could cost around 20 percent less to run, Tesla estimates, putting savings over a million miles at around $250,000. On a large scale, this will change how trucking companies spend money and the speed at which they can accomplish their jobs.

While it remains to be seen when the first Tesla Semi models will hit the roads (Tesla claims production will begin in 2019), it’s hard to ignore that interest in the Tesla Semi has been significant.

Wal-Mart has already pre-ordered the semis. “We believe we can learn how this technology performs within our supply chain, as well as how it could help us meet some of our long-term sustainability goals, such as lowering emissions,” the nationwide retailer said in a statement this month.

Tesla has competition on this front. They aren’t the only company trying to make a name for themselves in electric trucks. Cummins recently announced a 100-mile range electric truck with the option of an additional diesel generator to increase its range. UPS also purchased a number of short-range electric Daimler trucks to make local deliveries. Hydrogen fuel cell startup Nikola Motor Company has also announced a fuel cell-based semi, and at the Port of Long Beach, Siemens is testing out an electric catenary system for trucks to reduce port emissions. The poignant point is that EV are going to be a thing in the near future. As the vehicles becomes streamlined and are in the process of getting all the glitches and kinks worked on, we can expect to see them on the roads within the next five years.

Several other large companies have also placed orders and are interested in the Tesla Semi. J.B. Hunt placed an order for 15 vehicles and the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws placing an order for 25 vehicles. Large companies are not shy about their interest and investment in this vehicle.

Tesla has another major backer for its electric truck. DHL, one of the world’s largest package delivery companies, announced Tuesday that it has ordered 10 Tesla Semi vehicles ahead of its 2019 launch, a signal that companies are warming to the idea of Elon Musk’s newest product. “The trucks will be used for shuttle runs and same-day customer deliveries, and will be tested for fuel efficiency on longer runs from major markets to other DHL operations across the country,” The Tesla Semi will improve the trucker experience. The semi includes an Enhanced Autopilot (automatic emergency braking, automatic lane keeping, and lane departure warning) that will enhance safety for drivers and other vehicles. It’s never a good feeling when you feel a semi drifting into your lane. Panic sets in pretty quickly. It also features jackknife protection, sensors, and cameras meant to reduce blind spots, and have increased acceleration. If these vehicles were more safe and efficient, it, it would change the industry. Anyone who drives on the roads knows that it can feel uneasy to operate near a semi. These safety improvements will improve how we drive with one another on the road.

Tesla Model 3: Manual Leak

A Redditor on /r/Teslamotors going by the username of pn02ner said that he called Tesla’s Roadside Assistance service earlier this month and that they ended up sending him the Model 3’s owner’s manual. This is the moment that the internet can be a friend or enemy, because now the manual is uploaded and available for you viewing pleasure. And there is quite a bit to be learned from the 160-page manual. It’s a close up look at the car, even if you’re not in the market to buy one. That said, it’s worth pointing out that this manual is approximately two months old, so there’s a chance that it’s been revised since this specific version was published. However, it’s a good starting point for those who are curious.

For some prospective owners, this online manual may be the closest they come to a Model 3 for a while. Tesla only recently opened up the ordering process to non-employee reservation holders, and this comes after CEO Elon Musk pushed back a key production target from the end of this year to the end of Q1 2018.

Several sections are copy-pasted from Tesla’s Model S and Model X manuals since the vehicles share a lot of the same features. For example, Autopilot takes up a significant part of the manual. But there are also several new aspects unique to the Model 3 in the manual. One of the most interesting of those new features in terms of user interface is all the new controls associated with Tesla’s new bidirectional scroll buttons on the steering wheel.
With one month left in the year, Tesla is looking like they will end the year with a strong finish. If they can push through their production holds ups on the pre-ordered Model S, that would be ideal for those anxiously awaiting their arrival. However, looking back on the year and what Elon Musk was able to accomplish with this company (not to mention what else he is doing with SpaceX, Hyperloop, etc.), it will have been a year of significant accomplishments for Tesla.

Artificial intelligence has been making significant advances over the last decade. Researchers and scientists have been diligently working on improving and perfectly true AI. There has been a debate raging among some industry leaders, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, on how far artificial intelligence research should go. There has been a lot discussion and theories on the yet to be known consequences of the advancement of AL. There is no clear picture on where this research is leading and there is no way to really predict what AI will be like when it reaches its true and complete form.

Many believe that the rise of AI is inevitable and soon it will encompass all of humanity’s daily activities. AI will become a crutch that mankind uses to perform almost all the tasks needed to survive. Already, technical conveniences like Siri and Alexa, have infiltrated the lives of many.

These intelligent personal assistants have become the go-to accessory to help make people’s lives more streamline and convenient. Slowly but surely, these AI devices have become so ingrained in the daily activities and decisions of most people that very few realize that they have become so dependent on these AI devices. It is so simple and easy to rely on these devices for convenience. On a side note, a robot has been throwing shade at Elon Musk.

There are some people that believe all these extraordinary advancements in AI spells certain doom for the human race. People like tech entrepreneur, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, believe that scientists and researchers should adhere to strict and serious regulations when improving the search for truly independent artificial intelligence. His doomsday predictions sounds like the plot of the famous science fiction movie. He has been scoffed at by some, but others are taking his words seriously.

Elon Musk believes that artificial intelligence poses an existential crisis for humanity. Musk has discussed his thoughts about what he considers the greatest threat to the world at public speaking events in the past and most recently he has gone more in depth about the dangers that he believes that humanity faces in the future.

At the bipartisan National Governors Association in Rhode Island, Musk not only spoke about energy sources, his own electric car company and space travel but also commented on his belief that AI is dangerous. When Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada asked if robots will take everyone’s jobs in the future, Musk responded that “robots will do everything better than us.” He elaborated by stating, “AI is a fundamental existential risk for human civilization, and I don’t think people fully appreciate that.”

This isn’t the first time that Musk has run the alarm about what he believes is the biggest threat to mankind but at this particular event, Elon Musk preached about the need for AI regulation. He has been preaching the need for AI regulation since 2014. During an interview at the AeroAstro Centennial Symposium at MIT, Musk discussed computer science, AI, space exploration and the colonization of Mars but the conversation very quickly turned towards the fear that AI could ultimately become humanity’s overlord.

He said, “I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful,” said Musk. “I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish.”

Even though many have raised doubts about his doomsday predictions, Musk is not just sitting by and doing nothing about what he believes the future will hold for us. He has helped found a company that is currently researching and working on “discovering and enacting the safe path to artificial general intelligence.” Even though this company is in its infancy stages, they currently have over 60 researchers and engineers on staff working full time to research artificial intelligence and its future ramifications.

The company is currently working on problems that require fundamental advances in AI capabilities, publishes at top machine learning conferences, offers open-sources software tools for accelerating AI research, and releases blog posts to communicate research. The company has plans to be as open as possible with its findings are research. They already have published numerous studies on their website.

OpenAI, unveiled last December, has already made a lot of waves in the artificial intelligence community. When the company announced their existence, some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies began offering a lot money to the artificial intelligence researchers that were looking to join OpenAI, scrambling to get those researchers on board with their AI research efforts before they went over to Musk’s company.

These other companies knew that Musk was looking to bring on board the best of the best in the artificial intelligence research field. Open AI didn’t match these offers but instead offered something else. OpenAI offered these researchers the opportunity to conduct their research in the manner that they saw fit instead of worrying about churning out products and quarterly earnings. OpenAI gives these researchers the chance to focus on following their instincts instead of having to follow a production schedule.

Open AI has another unique aspect. The company plans on sharing all of its research and findings away. Musk created the company with the intention of sharing all its findings to the public. One of the biggest surprises about AI researchers is that most of them actually want their findings to be shared with the world. The brightest minds in the field aren’t motivated by lots of money, the next product cycles or profit margins. They genuinely want to research and discover how to make artificial intelligence better and this can only happen is the research is open source and shared with other companies and researchers.

The motivation for Musk to create a company that is not based on a making profits or products is because he believes that research needs to be conducted in a fashion that leads to humans having control over artificial intelligence and not the other way around. Musk believes that the many strides that have been made in the search for artificial intelligence need to be viewed as a cautionary tale instead of a tale of exciting exploration and discovery.

He issued this warning in 2014, “I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I were to guess like what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with the artificial intelligence. Increasingly scientists think there should be some regulatory oversight maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it’s like yeah he’s sure he can control the demon. Didn’t work out. “

Not everyone agrees with Musk and his predictions about the future of artificial intelligence. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has the exact opposite opinion when it comes to “summoning the demon”. Gates believes that Musk is being a little too premature when it comes to his dire warnings about this upcoming evolution in AI. Gates, whose recent thoughts regarding AI were published by the Wall Street Journal, was quick to say that he respected Musk but that he didn’t agree with ringing the doomsday bell when it comes to AI.

In the joint interview with Satya Nadella the third CEO of Microsoft, Gates had this to say about artificial intelligence, “The so-called control problem that Elon is worried about isn’t something that people should feel is imminent,” says Gates, according to a transcript of the interview published by the WSJ Magazine. “We shouldn’t panic about it.”

Gates isn’t the only one tech giant that disagrees with Musk. Mark Zuckerberg believes that AI will ultimately make our lives easier and better. The Facebook founder has been pretty outspoken about his feelings and he whole-heartedly disagrees with Musk. Zuckerberg is not as neutral as Gates when it comes to his feelings about AI and its future.

Zuckerberg decided to conduct a Facebook Live stream from his backyard this last July to answer the questions from fans around the world. As the Facebook founder was smoking meats in his backyard in Palo Alto, he answered a user submitted question about the future of AL. The question was, “”I watched a recent interview with Elon Musk and his largest fear for future was AI. What are your thoughts on AI and how it could affect the world?” Zuckerberg’s response was simple. He believes that Musk is being irresponsible and that, “I have pretty strong opinions on this. I am optimistic,” says Zuckerberg. “I think you can build things and the world gets better. But with AI especially, I am really optimistic.”

Zuckerberg went on to say that AI has already done so much for humanity. He gave the example of artificial intelligence being used to diagnose diseases and that self-driving cars will create less accidents on the road. He also responded to Musk’s calls for the regulation of artificial intelligence research. “Whenever I hear people saying AI is going to hurt people in the future, I think yeah, you know, technology can generally always be used for good and bad, and you need to be careful about how you build it and you need to be careful about what you build and how it is going to be used,” says Zuckerberg.

He does not believe that there should be any regulation over artificial intelligence research. He thinks if anything, there should more invested into AI research and that the research should proceed at full steam ahead. He said, “But people who are arguing for slowing down the process of building AI, I just find that really questionable. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that,” he says.
Recently, Maureen Dowd wrote a very long Vanity Fair article that even went so far as to claim Musk’s ominous warnings are nothing more than a very elaborate sales tactic. In her article she said that, “Critics ‘argue that Musk is interested less in saving the world than in buffing his brand,’ Dowd writes, and that his speeches on the threat of AI are part of a larger sales strategy.”

There seems to be more opposition to Musk’s predictions than support but Musk is not bothered by those that oppose his ideas about artificial intelligence. In fact, despite what others are saying, he has stayed strong in his beliefs. Whether artificial intelligence ends up being humanity’s savior or its overlord is yet to be determined. Since there is so much that is unknown about the exact form that AI will take, Musk is right to at least to raise awareness about the potential risks that could arise from the research that is being conducted.

Implementing some form regulation should be required so that at least the researchers can retain more control over their findings and their possible creations. There is still so much that is unknown about the field of artificial intelligence that adding a few precautionary measures might be more helpful than harmful. Musk is not advocating for stopping all research, he just wants there to be better rules and regulations for safety purposes. Artificial Intelligence could be some thing wonderful but there is no way to actually know. Let’s hope that the future will hold the very best when it comes to AI but in the meantime, maybe being cautious is the best plan of action.

https://www.emeraldcityjournal.com/2017/02/elon-musk-the-21st-century-father-of-invention/

There is not a person on the planet that doesn’t despise having to sit in gridlock traffic. After a long day, heading home and having to sit in traffic is one of the biggest pet peeves for almost everyone who drives a car. A majority of larger cities are growing at an exponential rate and do not have the roadway infrastructure to handle the amount of cars that come along with that type of influx. Even sometimes with construction, roadways and freeways still are unable to deal with the congestion. Cities on the west coast like Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles have tried yet failed at trying to ease the amount of traffic that commuters experience on a daily basis. Even with the addition of commuter systems like trains, buses and ride shares, there is still an alarming amount of gridlock that is a daily frustration for people commuting in and out of a city. While it maybe boring, Elon Musk moves forward with a solution to help eliminate traffic congestion with The Boring Company.

Traffic frustrations don’t just affect the average Joe, even tech billionaires get upset with the amount of time wasted sitting in gridlock. Last December, Elon Musk was sitting a an epic traffic jam when he tweeted out “Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…” He then followed up with another tweet that said, “It shall be called ‘The Boring Company,’?” he wrote. “Boring, it’s what we do.” In case anyone doubted his claim he followed up with a tweet that said, “I am actually going to do this.” Even with this last tweet, people were still hesitant to believe that Musk was even considering such an outrageous venture.

However, for those people who doubted Musk, they should know better by now. The man, now considered one of the most inventive entrepreneurs of this century, has been doubted before and has consistently proven those doubters wrong. His current venture SpaceX received a lot criticism in its infancy and now the company has successfully launched and landed rockets designed in-house by SpaceX. He has also been known to made some pretty outlandish statements to the press in the past so the statement about the Boring Company was another one that the media assumed was designed to troll them. This time Musk was not joking.

Within days of the tweet about the Boring Company, Musk acquired the domain www.boringcompany.com. Even though there is no information on the site yet, Musk has appointed a leader for the project. Steve Davis was personally picked by Musk due to his excellent work on the first SpaceX rocket guidance system. Davis was a senior engineer at SpaceX who was up for the challenge that Musk presented him. There was not a very detailed plan for this tunnel endeavor but it included digging tunnels that could not only accommodate cars but high-speed trains as well. Musk is approaching this his usual way; he was going to wing it. It’s an approach that has worked for Musk in the past so he has no reason to not trust his instincts on his latest project.

Once the domain was purchased and a project leader was assigned, Musk decided it was time to start digging. Most normal companies would have a difficult time securing the type of heavy-duty equipment needed to perform such a monumental task. But as mentioned above, Musk is no ordinary man nor are the companies he runs. Due to the fact that Musk currently is running two very large industrial companies, he was able to secure the proper heavy-duty equipment to create tunnels large enough to accommodate his vision. Then he was able to start digging.

One would never guess that the large pile of dirt sitting next to a pit near the SpaceX Campus is the beginning of Musk’s dream to create the tunnel system that he envisioned when he first thought up of the idea. This last January, the Boring Company’s excavation crew was able to break ground on the beginning of Musk’s tunnel system. Legally it made the most sense to begin the dig at the SpaceX headquarters. The pit is just the beginning of Musk’s tunnel project. He plans on taking the pit and making it wider so it can accommodate a tunnel boring machine. Once the hole is wide enough, the machine can fit down through the pit and begin to grind through the earth horizontally to create a tunnel system that is wide enough to accommodate cars. He ultimately plans on building at least 30 levels of tunnels in the hopes to create a three dimensional concept of an immense and sophisticated travel system. There is no proposed destination yet for the end of the tunnel and Musk is mum on the subject.

Elon Musk
http://www.spacex.com/elon-musk

Another aspect to this project is the fact that Musk also wants to create a better and faster tunnel boring machine. Tunnel boring and building technology has stayed pretty much the same for the last 50 years. There has been very little progress in updating the machines and the time it takes to bore through the earth. The speed at which most of these machines chew through the earth is shockingly slow. Most of these tunnel boring projects take years to complete. Musk is looking to cut that time in half in order to complete tunnel faster than ever before. The Boring Company will make a significant investment in creating tunnel boring machines that are unlike any other heavy-duty earth-moving machine that exists.

The company has yet to employ any full time employees and the business model is not entirely clear. There is speculation that government contracts will be involved based on the Musk’s relationship with the White House. Even though the Boring Company has a long way to go, Musk is determined to make this project a reality.

OpenAI Trained Robot Detects Can of Spam

OpenAI has created the world’s first Spam-detecting AI trained entirely in simulation and deployed on a physical robot. OpenAI posted their success in a blog post titled, “Spam Detection in the Physical World” on April 1, 2017. OpenAI is a non-profit AI research company, discovering and enacting the path to safe artificial general intelligence.

OpenAI’s co-founders are Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman. OpenAI has a full-time staff of 60 researchers and engineers. These individuals are dedicated to working towards their mission regardless of the opportunities for selfish gain which arise along the way. The long-term research, work on problems that require making fundamental advances in AI capabilities. A recent blog post by AI researches displayed an important milestone in AI advancements. The blog post stated, “Our vision system successfully flagging a can of Spam for removal. The vision system is trained entirely in simulation, while the movement policy for grasping and removing the Spam is hard-coded. Our detector is able to avoid other objects, including healthy ones such as fruit and vegetables, which it never saw during training.”

Musk has expressed his reservations towards artificial intelligence, one of the reasons he started OpenAI. He is not shy about expressing his fears and worries about humans becoming the mouse and AI becoming the cat. Musk was quoted in the Guardian saying, “I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So, we need to be very careful,” said Musk. “I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish.”

While this is just the beginning of cracking AI barriers and there is still much to learn, it is an exciting accomplishment for the research team. They will continue to build off these findings to learn more about what the robot is able to differentiate. Read the OpenAI blog to follow their future work.

Since its inception, Tesla Inc. has been changing the face of the car industry. The electric car company that once floundered to even get to market is now one of the most respected car companies in the world. American car companies traditionally have been lacking when it comes to producing eco-friendly cars. Foreign car companies have always led the way when it comes to advancement in electric cars. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla was one of the original architects of the Tesla Model S and has been the driving force behind the success that the company has experienced in the last few years. What started as a dream amongst people who are passionate about saving the environment has blossomed into a full-fledged, American born electric car company that is focused on continuing its meteoric rise to the top.

Even though the Tesla Roadster was the first Tesla car to be put to market, Tesla is best known for its Model S. The Model S is a full sized, all electric, five-door luxury sedan that was introduced in 2012. Since its introduction, the Model S has scored high on consumer surveys and tests. It scored a perfect 5.0 on the NHTSA automobile safety-rating test and in March of 2017 the Model S P100D holds the record for the fastest acceleration of any production vehicle from zero to 60 miles per hour. The EPA rated its energy consumption at 237.5 watt-hours per kilometer (38 kWh/100 mi or 24 kWh/100 km). The Model S also became the first electric car to top monthly new car sale rankings in both domestic and foreign markets. The Model S has won many awards since 2012. In 2013 it won the World Green Car of the Year and the Motor Trend Car of the Year. In 2015, the Model S won Car and Driver magazine’s distinct honor of Car of the Century. With the success of the Model S, car enthusiasts and industry experts have been waiting to see what Tesla unveils next.

So what is next for Elon Musk inventions and Tesla? With the continued success of the Model S, Tesla definitely was looking to expand their offerings to gain a great market share. Tesla currently caters to a niche market and Musk has always wanted to expand. Tesla announced it’s upcoming lineup for the next 5 years and it is ambitious. The first step for Musk and the Tesla Team is to build the Gigafactory. The Gigafactory is a giant battery factory that will be located in Sparks, Nevada and is in the process of being built. The proposed factory is on track to be the second largest building in the world. The factory, according to Musk, will help cut the costs of producing Tesla car batteries hence lowering the price tag of the car. The factory will be able to create more lithium-ion batteries than all other battery makers. The most impressive aspect of this factory is that it will be completely powered by renewable energy with a focus on recycling. The factory will include recycling capability for old battery packs and will be outfitted with solar panels.

The reasoning behind the Gigafactory is the ability to be able to help produce a less expensive battery for the Tesla cars. The Model S starts at $68,000, which is out of the price range for a majority of families. With the ability to be able to lower the price of making the battery, Tesla has plans to create an affordable model for a wider demographic. The Model 3 was unveiled on March 31st 2016 and Tesla began taking reservations for the car that day. The starting price of Model 3 is $35,000. On the morning of March 31st, thousands of people lined up outside of Tesla dealerships to put down a refundable deposit on a car that they had not even seen yet. Reservations for the car began before the unveiling and it was reported that over 115,000 people had reserved the Model 3 in less than 24 hours. One week after the unveiling Tesla reported 325,000 reservations had been made, which was one of the largest single one-week launch of any product ever. Musk stated that the amount of reservations that were made during that week amounted to about $14 billion in potential sales. Currently, the Model 3 is on track to be delivered during the second half of 2017.

Tesla also is rumored to have another car in development. This car is still shrouded in some mystery. Not much is know about the Model Y. Rumors have been circulating that this car will be the crossover version of the Model 3. Currently, Tesla has yet to delve into the SUV demographic and the Model Y is supposed to reach the SUV market. Reports state that the Model Y is in the later stages of development. Currently what is known about the Model Y is that it will include the semi-autonomous autopilot feature that is found on the current Tesla models. The Model Y will also incorporate Tesla’s solar roof technology. When Tesla and Solar City merged, Musk announced that as a by-product, the Tesla cars will feature a special windshield or roof that will be able to melt snow or defrost ice. There is still a question about how much the Model Y will cost consumers but since the Model 3 will start around $35,000, speculation is that the Model Y will start around the same price.

Outside of the Model 3, the Model Y and the Gigafactory Tesla has also announced plans to boost the range of how far their cars can travel on a single charge. Right now, the record for the Model S is about 497 miles per charge. The official range is 265 miles per charge. The plan is to up the mileage range to 621 miles. Another promise made my Musk is that Tesla will make their cars autonomous by 2018. Currently, Tesla offers a semi-autonomous Autopilot system but they are aiming to create “level 4” autonomy in Tesla’s cars by 2018. Musk and Tesla have very ambitious future plans for the company and their cars. The World is looking forward to seeing where Tesla takes the car industry next.

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