Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a renowned sense of humor. Any person who is a follower of Musk’s Twitter account knows that the South African-born entrepreneur brings a lighthearted approach to business and his world-saving mission, outlined in Tesla’s “Master Plan” back in 2003.
But what is interesting about Musk’s jokes is the fact that he can maintain a kind-hearted and comedic response to Tesla’s “competitors.” The observation that Musk dropped the Model S price to his notoriously favorite numbers of $69,420 yesterday was perhaps a response to Lucid listing its base model of the Air to the point that was less expensive than Tesla’s flagship sedan.
The gauntlet has been thrown down!
The prophecy will be fulfilled.
Model S price changes to $69,420 tonight!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2020
In light of all of the funny business moves Musk has made over the years, including $69.420 short shorts, Tesla’s “big picture” mission is anything but comedic. The Master Plan describes the urgency that is needed in terms of adopting electric vehicles. Additionally, Musk’s other notable entity, SpaceX, is preparing for Mars’ inhabitance in case his Earth-saving strategy does not work out the way that he plans.
Tesla’s mission statement is to “accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.” Simply put, it means: get off of the dependence on fossil fuels in favor of clean, renewable energy that can increase the quality of life and add years to the Earth’s lifespan. Simply enough, stop using dirty sources of power.
The sustainable energy transition is important enough that over 1 million people have bought Tesla electric vehicles. Some may have bought them for the environmental effects, and some may have purchased a Tesla because of performance specifications. Regardless, a Tesla purchased is one less gas-powered car on the road, which is ultimately the company’s goal.
Nevertheless, it is interesting that Musk’s very serious mission is complemented by a less-serious source of humor. The two attitudes counteract each other and make Musk the ideal candidate to run a company that plans to change the world in more than one way.
Whether Musk’s instant discount of the Model S was a jab at Lucid or simply an attempt at lightening the mood in 2020, we may never know for certain. However, the slightly lower price could invoke some more competition between the two companies. Perhaps Lucid will also introduce a price reduction, which will only benefit the EV consumer base as a whole. The only difference is that Tesla is producing the Model S currently. Lucid Air reservation holders will have to wait another year.
Musk is certainly a one-of-a-kind boss that many enthusiasts would love to spend some time with. However, his sense of humor really makes Tesla one of the most interesting companies on Earth simply because of the counterintuitiveness that comes with the dire mission the automaker represents.
As Elbert Hubbard once said, “Don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out alive.”
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
