Why Elon Musk Is Meeting With Ukrainian President Zelensky
On today’s post we’ve got Elon Musk working with the Ukrainian government as they resist Russian invasion, Giga Berlin approved for production of 500,000 vehicles, Panasonic will open a new US battery plant to make 4680s for Tesla and Elon Musk invites the auto unions to hold a vote in Fremont. So let’s get going.
Elon Musk Supporting Ukraine in “Words and Deeds”
Elon musk has been steadily ramping up his personal involvement in the fight between the people of Ukraine and the Russian military. It started off with Elon sending a few Starlink terminals, then he started providing direct technical support, diverted SpaceX resources into maintaining connectivity through Russia’s attempts to block the network, and now Elon is having personal meetings with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Earlier this week, the Ukrainian leader wrote on Twitter, “Talked to Elon Musk. I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds. Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities. Discussed possible space projects. But I’ll talk about this after the war.”
That was accompanied by an Instagram video from Zelensky’s account showing him talking to Elon on Zoom and extending an invitation to Ukraine. Elon replies that he’s looking forward to visiting.
It’s hard to say what’s more impressive at this point, the sheer weight of Zelensky’s massive balls, or his extraordinary confidence that he himself and the nation of Ukraine will survive this horror. Either way, he’s one hell of a leader.
This meeting comes shortly after Elon announced that SpaceX will reprioritize resources towards cyber defense and overcoming signal jamming. He added that this will cause slight delays in Starship and Starlink V2 satellites, implying that resources are being diverted away from new product development and their focus put on maintaining Starlink service over Ukraine. Elon has said that all Viasat terminals in Ukraine were rendered permanently unusable by Russian cyberattacks.
Elon followed up by tweeting, “Some Starlink terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time. Our latest software update bypasses the jamming.”
This story goes back to what feels like forever ago on February 28th, when Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister tweeted at Elon, asking him personally to provide Starlink stations. Within hours Elon had responded, “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”
Just 48 hours later, the Vice Prime Minister tweeted again, this time showing a military truck full of Starlink boxes. He wrote, “Starlink is here. Thanks Elon Musk.”
The United States government has denied assisting SpaceX or Elon Musk with making that delivery. And no one seems to have any idea how he got them there so fast. But he did it.
After the delivery, Elon went into full tech support mode using his Twitter account. On March 3rd, after the Vice Prime Minister asked about better ways to power the terminals in locations where the grid had been destroyed, Elon wrote, “Updating software to reduce peak power consumption, so Starlink can be powered from car cigarette lighter. Mobile roaming enabled, so phased array antenna can maintain signal while on moving vehicle.”
On the same day Elon also wrote, “Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution.”
He clarified that by saying, “Turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna as far away from people as possible.” Adding, “Place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection.” And then answered a question that the dishes can be painted as long as the paint contains no metal particles.
The last update that we’ve seen from Elon on the matter is his response to calls that Starlink should block Russian news sources from their network. He says that Ukraine has not made that request but some governments have. In another Tweet, Musk said that Starlink would not block Russian news sources from its network “unless at gunpoint.” Adding that he was “Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.”
Giga Berlin is Approved
OK, we can finally say it for sure this week, Tesla's GigaFactory near Berlin Germany has been granted final environmental approval by the local government. An official document confirming the update was published by the State of Brandenburg, outlining the next steps that Tesla needs to take to start vehicle production in the factory.
The State of Brandenburg says in their release, “The project, which was approved with the 536-page decision, includes the plant for the production of up to 500,000 vehicles per year, aluminum smelting plants and an aluminum foundry, plants for surface treatment, heat generation, and storage. The facility also includes battery cell production, an operational wastewater treatment plant, a fire brigade equipment house, a high-bay warehouse, as well as laboratories and workshops.”
So there we have it, after two years of navigating the German bureaucracy, Tesla is ready to go with production. And as baffling as this whole production may have been for us to watch, by German standards this approval was completed in a very fast manner. So, count ourselves lucky.
However. While Giga Berlin’s final environment approval has been secured, Tesla still has to ensure that it meets the state’s requirements for operation. These are highlighted by the mammoth size of its approval documents, which comprise over 23,700 pages in 66 files. These identified more than 400 provisions that Tesla must abide by, involving topics such as requirements for groundwater protection as well as water-saving and wastewater-reducing measures, species protection measures, limit values for air pollutants and regulations on their measurement as well as occupational safety requirements. Other specific rules on the plant’s operations, particularly with regards to how it affects the area’s groundwater, were also highlighted in the press release.
The state noted that Tesla may now start or continue with the further construction of Giga Berlin and that objections to the project now have “no suspensive effect.” Which is good news, because as part of the approval process, the notice of approval must be published and posted for local residents to inspect. And of course, because this is Germany, that will open up yet another window for objections to be filed. After two weeks with the notice of approval on exhibit at public locations, there will be a period of one month in which objections to the approval can be raised.
But if the German officials aren’t worried about that, then we probably shouldn’t be worried either. Tesla has posted over 50 new job openings in Berlin since the approval notice. Smooth sailing ahead to the official grand opening and first delivery party at Giga Berlin later this month.
Panasonic to Build US Battery Plant
Panasonic is reportedly planning to build a large battery cell factory in the United States to supply Tesla, according to a new report from Japan.
We know that Tesla and Panasonic have a long history of working together on cell design and manufacturing. The two companies partnered on the first Tesla GigaFactory in Nevada to mass produce battery packs for Tesla vehicles.
It appears like the new cell facility will be a standalone Panasonic factory but will be dedicated to producing Tesla’s 4680 battery design. Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, “Panasonic Corp is looking to purchase land in the United States for a mega-factory to make a new type of electric vehicle battery for Tesla Inc.” They also write that, “Panasonic is looking at building the factory, to cost several billion dollars, in either Oklahoma or Kansas for their proximity to Texas, where Tesla is preparing a new EV plant.”
Prior to this report, Panasonic had confirmed that they would start mass production of the Tesla 4680 cell by March 2024.
This new factory in combination with Tesla’s existing 4680 pilot plant in California and the cell production line under construction at Giga Texas will lead to a massive availability for battery cells in the coming years.
And as Elon has said before, the more batteries they can produce, the cheaper they become, and since the battery pack accounts for about half the cost of an EV, cheaper batteries translate directly to cheaper cars.
Elon Musk Invites UAW to Hold a Union Vote
After a long history of being labeled anti-union and even accusations of union busting, Elon Musk invited the United Auto Workers Union to his plant in Fremont California where they can allow workers to vote on union membership. Elon says that UAW can hold the vote at their convenience and that Tesla would do nothing to stop it.
This comment actually came from Elon in response to Gene Simmons - yeah, that Gene Simmons, the one from Kiss with the giant tongue. It’s a weird reality we live in. Anyway - The former bassist from Kiss urged US President Joe Biden to recognize Tesla even if its workers are non-union. And Elon Musk later highlighted that ultimately, the real challenge for Tesla is that the Bay Area has negative unemployment. This meant that if Tesla didn't treat its workers well, its employees would simply leave for better jobs.
This is a definite power move from Elon, because he’s developed a reputation of being anti-union - even if that’s not actually the truth, that’s how people see him. I think the most anti-union thing Elon has ever said was something along the lines of, ‘why pay union dues when Tesla already offers high wages, stock options and health insurance.’ If workers choose to unionize they would lose access to lucrative stock options that have already made some Tesla production line workers into millionaires. And that’s not a threat from Elon Musk taking away the options, it is UAW policy that no union member can receive stock options from their employer.
Even putting that aside, securing a successful union vote among Tesla’s Fremont Factory employees might be quite tricky. The UAW has a long history in the Fremont plant, having represented employees in the factory from its days as a GM plant all the way to its days as NUMMI, which was a joint venture of GM and Toyota. Of course, membership in the UAW did nothing to protect worker’s jobs after Toyota pulled out of the facility and GM chose to shut it down. During a meeting between UAW officials and Fremont workers, discussions became so heated that a fight nearly broke out.
Many of those same workers who lost their jobs with GM and Toyota were given positions with Tesla when they took over the abandoned factory. Tesla pays a higher average wage to their production staff than any other major automaker.
So this should be an interesting development. More than likely the UAW will ignore Elon completely. But if they do bring it to a vote, then we should get some very interesting results.
