Tesla's Gigafactory Begins Battery Production

The theory that he is insane has taken yet another hit.

His lithium supply might take a hit from a prospective trade war with China.

I think his is principally sourced from South America though, but I hear ya, Trump could screw up a lot of things very quickly.

It's all good brother, Odin is waiting for us all.

Why does Capt. Obvious, look like Blasto ?

Are they related ?

IF that were in China it would employ 6.5 million Chinese.

Who said the factory was in China?

Did you not see the word IF?

I know it is in Nevada, I can read, at least sometimes I can, unlike some of us here.

I am in pain (10/10) with my feet today, so please just take the brunt of my foul language and go on. I hurt, so you hurt too?

Yes, I wonder about this too. It's such a quick ramp up in production it doesn't really give the mines time to up their production. I wonder how much Lithium could be recycled from old batteries? Not the cheapest way to get Li, but the more batteries out there and the tighter the Lithium supply, the more cost effective recycling might become.

Maybe E.M. has been secretly stockpiling all the world lithium supply he can get out of the market. Another thing is maybe they aren't telling you everything they know, and they have a totally new battery that is completely safe, never catches on fire, and is made from a way more abundant source.

Maybe all those manic-depressed folks could go off their meds for a week.

There's a lot of lithium ore in western California. And, that's not very far from his plant. Maybe he plans on getting it there.

Have some fun today,

PAPADOC

Cheers co-old fart!

Careful Roger some of the old fogeys that live on the forum are likely to protest if you post too many threads regarding one Mr Musk.

How is it that Bayes is titled, the Engineer, can he drive a train?

You Betcha

I cannot drive a train , but man would it be cool if someone would let me do it for a week or two (with some training). Hey, I hope you feel better man!

Which is probably a Good Thing. This is what happened the last time they let a Presbyterian minister with a penchant for sadistics statistics drive a train :

James you can't train a rattlesnake to be docile

That Congress was/is a dysfunctional bunch of obstructionists, who swore to block Obama's every move and tried their best to do so while enriching themselves!

Trump is a treasonist dictator who solicited Russia to discredit Clinton and, even you, have to admit that.

Putin Led a Complex Cyberattack Scheme to Aid Trump, Report Finds

If the truth hurts, it should!

Well, if as has been claimed, Putin did manipulate Trumps vote, you really have to admit that he deserves credit for controlling 315m people, the CIA, the NSA, FBI etc.

He did a fantastic job. But so far, no one has come out and accused the Chinese as yet, (they do get mentioned on occasions).

How dare the rest of the world consider the USA would ever manipulated democracy/voting/economics in other countries. They would never do this! Of course not!

Just as in Brexit, the people voted, and low and behold, the government and the EU puppets got a shock.

Smoke and mirrors and diverting the gaze from the actual slight of hand tat the governments are up to.

If you are going to spy on others, they will spy on you too, so don't complain.

Maybe so. But to have the dictator who will be directing these unfortunate agencies soon, publicly insult them is inexcusable.

Our soon to be traitor-in-chief is nothing but a spoiled psychopath with money who, like Putin, believes he can do whatever he pleases just as dictators and despots have always done.

He's just another Hitler/Stalin/Pol Pot/Idi Amin/Putin, etc. etc.

Blah blah blah. Same old scratchy record.

Don't kid yourself. All nations enter into all manner of espionage against their neighbors. It is like having a neighbor with a hot tub, loud parties, and a tall fence.

The attraction to find a way to peer over the fence is irresistible. Also, no one (not even the lame CIA director) has stated that they found where the Ruskies were able to move the needle even one vote. It could just be that Americans finally caught onto Hillary, and rejected what she represents. But in politics, the left never accepts the answer right in front of them, when some complicated conspiracy theory can be ginned up to supposedly make their arguments more palatable.

Lyn, take off the liberal sun shades, they are changing into blinders. You have tunnel vision, and broken record inflammation of the mind, it is starting to make you bleed out the arse.

Trump did invite "Putin" to have a look at Hillary's emails, after all a fourth grader could have hacked into that. Podesta's password was "password", really.

If you want liberals in office, get used to amateur hour BS, incompetent boobs, and various other malaise and disease in high places. I applaud the efforts of the Russians to keep the truth about Hillary coming out. They are more our friends than we even know, apparently, in spite of our foolishness here in the States.

Last time I checked it was not Russia vowing to kill every American, it was Iran, ISIS, and any number of other fanatic middle-eastern islamist terrorist organizations that only have hate as a motive for anything. Those people are like rabid dogs, and there is only one way to treat a rabid dog. You figure it out sooner or later.

Americans should wake up and smell the coffee, and realize what a favor Vladimir has done us. We should join with Russia in killing off the ISIS.

Anonymous posters are not taken seriously.

Come back with an identity.

lol, they're probably right to protest. I'm on the Elon bandwagon for sure, but even I get worried with all the gambles he seems to be taking. I've never been a big fan of all or nothing risks like the Gigafactory. That's probably why I'm "The Engineer" instead of "The CEO" or "The Millionaire" lol.

One of these guys, ay?

Same concept works with internet trolls too! Don't defend when attacked by idiots. Put them on the run with their own logic!

I wouldn't ever sell the guy rocket insurance

In some other places, they made batteries out of coconuts. No kidding.

Your brain is on coconut, sort of hollow inside.

No kidding you. Really. One and a half year, I'll finish the paper.

I vaguely remember an article a while ago where coconut fibre (I think) was being tested as a sustainable alternative for one of the battery materials (I cannot remember which, a electrolyte filler I think).

It can be a good source of carbon to make calcined carbon electrodes from, for one example, and can be a battery separator due to the porosity, although, I suspect there are better performing engineered plastic membranes for that job.

Yea, the article never said it was a better performing alternative, only that it was a more renewable (and biodegradable I think) alternative to plastic or other mined materials.

Heck, in this present day, anything just about beats asbestos.

It's amazing what person can accomplish these days when they don't tie their own hands and company down with unreasonable and irrational concerns over 'what if and 'I may be liable if XYZ 1 in a billion odds play out' like the vast majority of people and companies in general seem to do now when it comes to actually doing any form of innovative or useful work.

I say build batteries and build them like a friggin mad man! Go man! Go!

Sounds like there is a lot of resentment for a South African to be making it big in the US. Maybe you should thank Mr. Musk for employing so many people and reviving your past presidents failures of a crappy economy.

Give Musk and Trump credit for doing something positive. After all, you would not have a space programme if it had not been for the 'nasty' Germans, and you would not have efficient rocket engines if it had not been for the terrible Russians and their RD180 rocket engines.

I don't think I'll give Trump any credit just yet. He hasn't done anything to warrant it.

Musk, on the other hand.....

The current "buzzword" is Disruptive technology. Musk is one of the few outside of China proper to understand the size, scope, and infrastructure investment it will take to disrupt a global industry like cars. This is a definite go big or go home play. Unlike a "normal" car, Tesla has had to start from scratch both mechanically, technologically and infrastructurally. That includes establishing charging stations, and making his own "fuel" (batteries) and building a way to sell and service the number of vehicles he is planning on making. These are all things that do not challenge the normal automaker and have killed off many. (Saturn) But really, when you think about it, the last successful (mostly) car company to start up in America was Chrysler in 1925.

To attempt to enter this industry is daunting. To go for global distribution right of the bat, unbelievable. To attempt to do it with an electric car and all that it entails..... balls baby!

You want to know who had balls? It was Henry J Ford. It also the gent from Peoria that took on the Benz in the first American Road Race and he beat the entire field! That car is also on display in Dearborn.

Henry Ford, my hero, a # 1 hole that he was.

Actually, I hate to admit it, but I sort of like the way you think! Good answer.

Americans need to get over their snobbery with respect to the rest of the world, as they really have nothing to brag about except Texas women!

Right on dude!! So what is wrong with the Texas women? Do they have funny eyes or did your wife tell you to state that? New York women are cold and Raleigh, N Carolina, I don't recall seeing any that impressed me. Then I was there with a crew from Sweden and they are like the Swedish weather, cold and miserable.

No, I am saying that Texas women are something worthy of bragging about, strong, (smelling good), like men (some of them), good mothers (more than a few), strong business women, and definitely good sites for sore old eyes, nearly every day. I admit to being an old lecher, but I cannot help it if the menu is open right there in front of me. However, just because I read the menu, does not mean I took from it. My bread, my life, and my honey are at home, under the shadow of the sword, in God's Happy Paradise. By the way, the real saying should read this way: "Where is God's Paradise?"

"It is under the shadow of the sword", states Mohammed.

However, God is Light, and there is no shadow of turning with Him. God's Paradise is where you are right now, this instant. Be at Peace, and know that He is God.

That is why we have beer, it is proof God loves us, and desires our happiness.

Tsk Tsk! And you being a wine drinker and all should know the actual passage was in reference to the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana.

" Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy!”

The quote is misattributed to Ben Franklin and is actually written by Abbe Morellet in a letter to him.

You, being from Texas, may remember a singer, name of Tom T. Hall, who hailed from Kentucky. He wrote the beer drinker's song, "I Like Beer".

It goes something like this,

"I like beer, it makes me a jolly good fellow

I like beer, it helps me unwind and sometimes it makes me feel mellow".

Speaking of country music, I'm a distant cousin of Sonny Curtis who was born in Meadow.

One of my brother-in-laws was, I think, good friends with someone whose last name was Curtis. He is gone now, so I cannot ask him (directly). I did see him welcoming my sister into Elysian fields with open arms, right after she passed, and I looked into my power. Note that he was young and healthy again, and she was as she was the day she graduated from high school, perfect.

The love of God is without limit. The power of God is from horizon to horizon and beyond. The throne of God is above His handiwork, and no ill may enter there. In the light of God, all ill melts away, and all things become new once again.

Well Mr. J Stewart, if you have a spare Texas woman going, let me know.

You can have my sister (seven years older than me), if you can put up with her. She wore the last one out after about 35 years.

your president is taking it a bit far, ,

Community organizer hardly meets the necessary requirements.