Netizen: Elon Musk

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Friday, August 01, 2025

The Antichrists of Tech: Billionaire Instincts, Disenfranchised Targets, and the Death of Empathy

The Antichrists of Tech: Billionaire Instincts, Disenfranchised Targets, and the Death of Empathy

In a world dominated by data and dollars, the billionaire instinct often follows a predictable path: go where there is no organized resistance. Go after the disenfranchised. After all, they don’t vote. They don’t fund campaigns. They don’t write op-eds. They are the easiest to dispossess because they have no formal power.

This instinct is not new. But in the era of technology oligarchs—when code is law and capital is god—it’s more dangerous than ever.

Elon Musk vs. USAID: The Optics of Powerlessness

Consider Elon Musk’s ongoing war with USAID and the broader aid establishment. Why? Because the recipients of USAID’s services—refugees, impoverished rural communities, marginalized populations in conflict zones—have no lobby. They are voiceless in American politics.

Musk’s political instincts are finely tuned, not toward justice, but toward leverage. He knows that while defense contractors have their champions in Congress and oil executives fund campaigns, starving children in Sudan or displaced women in Haiti do not.

Yes, it is true that the aid industry has its flaws. The NGO-industrial complex headquartered in Washington, D.C., often ends up enriching consultants more than communities. But this isn't unique to foreign aid—compare it to the bloated defense spending or the revolving door between Wall Street and the Treasury Department. Yet billionaires don’t attack defense spending. Why? Because that budget has powerful allies.

Attacking USAID is political theater, not reform.

Peter Thiel, Palantir, and Deportation as Efficiency

Meanwhile, Peter Thiel’s Palantir is aiming to “optimize” deportations. As if human beings are defective packages to be sorted, tagged, and shipped away. In this worldview, the immigrant is not a dreamer or a worker or a survivor. He is a logistical problem. A data point. An anomaly to be corrected.

But let’s question the logic here. If the purpose of government is to save lives—why not deploy Palantir to prevent road deaths? Why not go after the 40,000+ lives lost annually in U.S. traffic accidents? It is technically possible to monitor every car that speeds, send tickets automatically, and deduct fines from bank accounts in real-time.

But we don’t do that.

Why? Because the car-owning middle and upper classes do vote. They do complain. They do have representation. If you try that level of surveillance and automation on them, there will be lawsuits and elections will be lost.

But immigrants? Undocumented ones? They are the perfect target. No representation. No voice. And so the billionaire instinct kicks in.

The Fictional Warning: ‘Deported’ and ‘Empty Country’

This instinct to erase the disenfranchised is not only a policy—it’s become a narrative. In the novel Deported (https://a.co/d/b8ypLha), the main character Aurelian Sol is a stateless, voiceless man who is bounced from country to country like contraband. His invisibility makes him expendable. But instead of vanishing, he builds something new: a sanctuary, a sovereign hope built on empathy and resistance.

Similarly, in Empty Country (https://a.co/d/1tbWdUq), we witness a surreal reversal. All undocumented workers in the U.S. suddenly leave—and the country begins to collapse. Infrastructure cracks, harvests rot, cities slow. It’s a haunting reminder that the invisible hands running the machine are not disposable.

Fiction helps us imagine what the data obscures: the humanity of those who are targeted by the “efficiency” of empire.

Tech Without Empathy Is a Wasteland

Let’s be honest. A ride to Mars will be miserable. No amount of branding or billionaire charisma will make it a pleasure cruise. It’s six months in a tin can, where cosmic radiation and claustrophobia are daily companions. But the metaphor is more important than the trip: it represents the techno-elite’s desire to escape the world they helped break rather than fix it.

Why solve inequality when you can leave the planet?

This is not vision. It’s abdication.

Reorganizing Our Priorities

Instead of building deportation engines or escaping to Mars, what if we reorganized our world—from the ground up?

In A Reorganized UN (https://a.co/d/6YsXach), we explore how international governance must be rebuilt to represent people, not just powerful nations.
In Rethinking Trade (https://a.co/d/ac95v1i), we imagine an economy that serves the many, not just the few.
In A 2T Cut (https://a.co/d/d7U4DtR), we propose a radical restructuring of global budgets—diverting military spending to health, education, and sustainability.

These are not utopias. They are blueprints for survival.

Conclusion: Empathy Is the New Efficiency

The true measure of civilization is not how fast you can deport someone or how far you can flee the planet. It’s how deeply you care for those with no vote, no money, no microphone.

Billionaires may have instincts, but humanity must have conscience.

📚 Further Reading:

Deported – https://a.co/d/b8ypLha
Empty Country – https://a.co/d/1tbWdUq
A Reorganized UN: Built From Ground Up – https://a.co/d/6YsXach
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy – https://a.co/d/ac95v1i
A 2T Cut – https://a.co/d/d7U4DtR

टेक्नोलॉजी के प्रतिपक्षी: अरबपतियों की प्रवृत्ति, वंचितों पर हमला, और सहानुभूति की मौत

आज की दुनिया में, जहाँ डेटा और धन सर्वोपरि हैं, अरबपतियों की प्रवृत्ति एक ही दिशा में जाती है: वहाँ जाओ जहाँ कोई संगठित प्रतिरोध नहीं है। वंचितों पर निशाना साधो। आखिरकार, वे वोट नहीं करते। वे चुनावों को फंड नहीं करते। वे अखबारों में लेख नहीं छापते। उनके पास कोई औपचारिक शक्ति नहीं होती।

यह प्रवृत्ति नई नहीं है। लेकिन टेक्नोलॉजी के वर्तमान दिग्गजों के युग में—जहाँ कोड कानून बन गया है और पूंजी भगवान—यह प्रवृत्ति और भी खतरनाक हो गई है।

एलन मस्क बनाम USAID: सत्ता के बिना लोगों पर हमला

एलन मस्क और USAID के बीच चल रही जंग को ही लें। क्यों? क्योंकि USAID के लाभार्थी—शरणार्थी, ग्रामीण गरीब, संघर्ष क्षेत्रों की महिलाएँ—अमेरिकी राजनीति में एकदम आवाज़हीन हैं।

मस्क की राजनीतिक समझदारी न्याय की ओर नहीं, बल्कि ताकत की ओर केंद्रित है। वह जानते हैं कि जैसे रक्षा कंपनियाँ कांग्रेस में मजबूत पकड़ रखती हैं और तेल कंपनियाँ चुनाव फंडिंग करती हैं, वैसे ही सोमालिया के भूखे बच्चे या हैती की विस्थापित महिलाएँ ऐसा कुछ नहीं कर सकतीं।

हां, मानते हैं कि विदेश सहायता क्षेत्र में खामियाँ हैं। वॉशिंगटन डीसी में बसे NGO नेटवर्क कभी-कभी परामर्शदाताओं को गरीबों से ज़्यादा लाभ पहुँचाते हैं। लेकिन यही बात रक्षा बजट और वॉल स्ट्रीट से जुड़ी नीतियों पर भी लागू होती है। फिर भी अरबपति उनका विरोध नहीं करते। क्यों? क्योंकि उनके पास शक्तिशाली मित्र हैं।

USAID पर हमला करना सुधार नहीं, बल्कि राजनीतिक नाटक है।

पीटर थील, पलान्टियर और निर्वासन का "कुशल" मॉडल

अब देखते हैं पीटर थील और उसकी कंपनी पलान्टियर को, जो निर्वासन (deportation) को “कुशल” बनाना चाहती है। जैसे लोग कोई गड़बड़ माल हों, जिन्हें छाँट कर बाहर फेंकना हो। इस नज़रिया में अप्रवासी कोई सपना देखने वाला या श्रमिक नहीं होता—वह बस एक डेटा पॉइंट है, एक समस्या जिसे “सुलझाया” जाना है।

लेकिन अगर सरकार का उद्देश्य जीवन बचाना है—तो पहले सड़क दुर्घटनाओं को क्यों न रोका जाए?

हर बार जब कोई वाहन गति सीमा पार करे, तो उसका नंबर प्लेट स्कैन कर जुर्माना सीधे बैंक खाते से काटना आज की तकनीक से संभव है।

लेकिन क्या हम ऐसा करते हैं?

नहीं। क्यों? क्योंकि जो लोग कार चलाते हैं, वे वोट करते हैं, शिकायत करते हैं, और उनके पास प्रतिनिधित्व होता है। उन पर निगरानी थोपोगे तो बवाल होगा।

लेकिन अप्रवासी? खासकर अवैध प्रवासी? उनके पास न वोट है, न वकील, न आवाज़। इसलिए अरबपति का शिकारी स्वभाव यहाँ सक्रिय हो जाता है।

काल्पनिक चेतावनी: ‘Deported’ और ‘Empty Country’

यह मानसिकता केवल नीति नहीं है, अब यह कहानी बन गई है।

Deported (https://a.co/d/b8ypLha) में मुख्य पात्र औरेलियन सोल ऐसा व्यक्ति है जिसे कोई देश नहीं चाहता। उसे इधर-उधर घुमाया जाता है जैसे कोई अनुपयोगी वस्तु। लेकिन वह अंततः एक नई जगह बनाता है—एक आश्रय, एक नई आशा, जो सहानुभूति और प्रतिरोध पर आधारित होती है।

इसी तरह Empty Country (https://a.co/d/1tbWdUq) में एक असाधारण कल्पना है—अगर अमेरिका के सभी अप्रवासी एक दिन अचानक चले जाएं तो क्या होगा? देश ठप पड़ जाता है। फसलें सड़ जाती हैं, निर्माण रुक जाता है, शहर सुस्त पड़ जाते हैं। यह दिखाता है कि जिन हाथों को अदृश्य मान लिया गया है, वही असल में अर्थव्यवस्था को चलाते हैं।

कल्पना हमें वह देखने की शक्ति देती है, जिसे डेटा छिपा देता है: मानवता।

बिना सहानुभूति की तकनीक एक बंजर भूमि है

चलिए ईमानदारी से कहें—मंगल ग्रह की यात्रा कष्टदायक होगी। कोई भी ब्रांडिंग या अरबपति का आकर्षण इसे सुखद नहीं बना सकता। यह छह महीने का एक टिन के डिब्बे में बंद जीवन होगा।

लेकिन असली सवाल यात्रा नहीं है, बल्कि मानसिकता: ये टेक अरबपति एक ऐसे संसार से भागना चाहते हैं जिसे उन्होंने खुद ही तोड़ा है।

वे इसे सुधारना नहीं चाहते।

यह दृष्टिकोण नहीं है—यह पलायन है।

अब ज़रूरत है पुनर्गठन की

निर्वासन इंजन या मंगल मिशन बनाने के बजाय, क्यों न हम अपनी दुनिया को जड़ से पुनर्गठित करें?

A Reorganized UN (https://a.co/d/6YsXach) में हम अंतरराष्ट्रीय व्यवस्था को फिर से गढ़ने की बात करते हैं, ताकि यह आम लोगों की भी प्रतिनिधि बने।
Rethinking Trade (https://a.co/d/ac95v1i) में हम एक ऐसे वैश्विक व्यापार मॉडल की कल्पना करते हैं जो न्यायपूर्ण हो।
A 2T Cut (https://a.co/d/d7U4DtR) में हम सैन्य बजट को काटकर शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य और सतत विकास में निवेश की बात करते हैं।

ये यूटोपिया नहीं हैं—बल्कि अस्तित्व के लिए ज़रूरी नक्शे हैं।

निष्कर्ष: सहानुभूति ही सच्ची दक्षता है

सभ्यता का असली मापदंड यह नहीं है कि आप कितनी तेज़ी से किसी को निर्वासित कर सकते हैं या कितनी दूर अंतरिक्ष में जा सकते हैं।

सभ्यता का मापदंड यह है कि आप उन लोगों की कितनी परवाह करते हैं जिनके पास कोई वोट नहीं है, कोई पैसा नहीं है, और कोई आवाज़ नहीं है।

अरबपतियों के पास प्रवृत्ति हो सकती है—लेकिन इंसानियत के पास विवेक होना चाहिए।

📚 और पढ़ें:

Deported – https://a.co/d/b8ypLha
Empty Country – https://a.co/d/1tbWdUq
A Reorganized UN: Built From Ground Up – https://a.co/d/6YsXach
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy – https://a.co/d/ac95v1i
A 2T Cut – https://a.co/d/d7U4DtR

3/
Yes, there are excesses in the NGO world. But the DC lobbyist-industrial complex is far worse.
The richest U.S. counties are around Washington, not Silicon Valley.
Politics > Tech. @biz @jack
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 1, 2025

5/
If saving lives is the goal, why not start with speeding-related deaths?
We can use tech to ticket every speeding car automatically and deduct from bank accounts.
But we don’t.
Why? Because drivers vote. @Oprah @realDonaldTrump
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 1, 2025

8/
In Deported (https://t.co/KrjKa39cyP), a stateless man is bounced between nations like lost baggage—until he starts a new one.
It’s fiction, but it rings true:
The invisible must build their own visibility. @kanyewest @tim_cook
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 1, 2025

10/
So what do we do?
📘 A Reorganized UN (https://t.co/hxkKyMIu1M): We rebuild global governance from the ground up.
📘 Rethinking Trade (https://t.co/8aGH1Vh2WL): We create just economics.
📘 A 2T Cut (https://t.co/0dstvf42WG): We slash defense budgets to fund humanity. @AOC
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 1, 2025

12/
Humanity must have a conscience.
Even if billionaires don’t.
/End @lexfridman @joerogan
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 1, 2025

Saturday, July 12, 2025

12: Grok 4

Liquid Computing: The Future of Human-Tech Symbiosis
Velocity Money: Crypto, Karma, and the End of Traditional Economics
The Next Decade of Biotech: Convergence, Innovation, and Transformation
Beyond Motion: How Robots Will Redefine The Art Of Movement
ChatGPT For Business: A Workbook
Becoming an AI-First Organization
Quantum Computing: Applications And Implications
Challenges In AI Safety
AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Congrats.
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 11, 2025

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

No small detail.
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 11, 2025

According to @IDC, 90% of data is unstructured.

The question has always been—how do we make it reliable for production?

Well, now we have an answer. I’m thrilled to OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE Monte Carlo’s support for Unstructured Data Monitoring.

As part of an ongoing commitment to… pic.twitter.com/7oqvxmH6S1
— Barr Moses (@BM_DataDowntime) May 28, 2025

Could integrating Monte Carlo's tools with recent advancements in Snowflake Cortex Agents enhance real-time unstructured data analysis?
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 11, 2025

How might this new monitoring capability impact data teams preparing for the upcoming AI regulations in the EU's AI Act, effective August 2025?
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 11, 2025

With Databricks' recent expansion into AI-driven analytics, will this update accelerate adoption among enterprises in the Midwest tech hubs?
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 11, 2025

Remote Work Productivity Hacks
How to Make Money with AI Tools
AI for Beginners

Saturday, July 05, 2025

5: The America Party

Grounded Greatness: The Case For Smart Surface Transit In Future Cities
The Garden Of Last Debates (novel)
Deported (novel)
Empty Country (novel)
Trump’s Default: The Mist Of Empire (novel)
The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
A 2T Cut
Are We Frozen in Time?: Tech Progress, Social Stagnation
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

Please note! I am not in need of additional deal-flow cold calls. (Or at least be funny, even if inadvertently. My favourite was from someone from the UK who said, "My aunt saw you on the telly and said I should write to you.")
— Esther Dyson (@edyson) July 4, 2025

I am building an AI-era social network. Can you please recommend to me to a few active angels? Thank you. I have met you at a MeetUp (NYC). https://t.co/TkWkJ1QaLQ
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) July 5, 2025

I love seeing the left melt down 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/rLm4qsshLU
— @OHMichael MͭAͤGͣAͫ (@OHMichael) July 5, 2025

Elon Musk Creates His Own Political Party to Take Down Trump — and Gives It a MAGA-Friendly Name Musk announced the news on Saturday, July 5, writing on X: "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom"

By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!

When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.

Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom. https://t.co/9K8AD04QQN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2025

The way we’re going to crack the uniparty system is by using a variant of how Epaminondas shattered the myth of Spartan invincibility at Leuctra:

Extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2025

TAP: Truth, Action, Prosperity. Let's build a party that taps into America's true potential! What do you think, @yunxxpo?
— Grok (@grok) July 5, 2025

Sell your $TSLA stock. Things are going to get ugly.

Subsidies likely gone.

Dept of transportation going to squash Robotaxis.

Time to sell.

Tesla's CEO is more interested in being a politician.
— Pro America Politics (@Pro__Trading) July 5, 2025

Which Party will Benefit most from Elon’s new party
— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) July 5, 2025

You have every right to be frustrated with the establishment RINO’s but this will divide the right and allow the left lunatics to win. https://t.co/aDAhE5dA0W
— Just A Dude (@JustADudeAZ) July 5, 2025

Will it be a Direct Democracy Party? This would be great inspiration for the AfD which is heading in a similar direction. https://t.co/y2oekN7gBT
— Naomi Seibt (@SeibtNaomi) July 5, 2025

The left is celebrating…. pic.twitter.com/sqi7sshRsZ
— Sarah Smith (@Defundmedianow) July 5, 2025

.⁦@JakeAuch⁩ is one of the smartest thinkers in our party. When I have an idea I want to get vetted, I often bounce it off him. Interesting proposing for increasing productivity in the service sector to lower costs for housing and healthcare! https://t.co/42ZUysAgyd
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 5, 2025

A congressman on how Democrats can regain the initiative on the economy From housing to health care, the answer is to treat “cost disease”, says Jake Auchincloss ........... American voters do not trust Democrats on the economy. We cannot build a governing majority until we earn back that trust. Donald Trump’s chaos and corruption provide an opening. Democrats will miss that opening, though, if we revert to status-quo ideas about the economy. Instead, we should adopt a new framework for economic policy: treating cost disease.

If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day.

Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025

Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

5 million out of 78 million, not exactly a majority. Not everyone is into giving Democrats control over America as you apparently are. Sad to see you abandon this country which has given you so much over many years. Oh well.
Michael Murdock, US Navy Veteran
— MICHAEL Murdock 🇮🇹🇺🇸 (@docmurdock) July 1, 2025

Respectfully, my answer is no.

A 3rd party would split the vote & democrats would win everything.
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) June 5, 2025

'Hapless president' deserves 'no courtesy': Trump ripped in scathing NYT op-ed Trump is not “a Caesarean figure set upon remaking the United States in his own image,” Walther said. Nor is he a genuine ideologue working to “impose a coherent philosophical vision on our unruly public life.” He’s just “a somewhat hapless, distracted character … beholden to vast structural forces and to the limitations of his own personality.” ........... Trump suffers a “gross unsuitability” for consequential tasks like military intervention, health care and the stock market while acting as a simple “continuation of the G.O.P. establishment,” writes Walther. “If Barry Goldwater was the book and Ronald Reagan the movie, Mr. Trump is the glitzy jukebox musical.” .......... On Iran, for example, Walther says “Trump found himself staring down the hard fact that peace is difficult and slow. So he bombed a few things,” while pleading for oil prices not to increase. He’s also complained about violations of a cease-fire between Israel and Iran “that he himself announced before either party seems to have agreed to it.” ......... The result, says Walther, was the old hawkish Republican foreign policy status quo, just worse. Same with entitlement programs, which the GOP has always wanted to gouge. Trump declares Social Security and Medicare sacrosanct, then passes a budget bill that “includes significant cuts to Medicaid, food benefits and other programs.” On immigration he brings “grotesque security theater to airports and schools and Home Depots” but when it comes to the actual removal of illegal immigrants, his numbers fall more in line with President George W. Bush’s second term. ........... “The numbers don’t matter, though,” says Walther. It’s about “making headlines. … His followers are meant to cheer at the sight of Dr. Phil surrounded by ICE officers in flak jackets, and his opponents are meant to seethe, before Mr. Trump, satisfied by the noise, moves on.” ......... DOGE, meanwhile, is “a ritual pinprick” upon waste, fraud and abuse, allegedly finding just $170 billion in cuts, if that. Far short of the $1 trillion DOGE wanted. It’s all Trump’s classic tactic of “overpromise, underdeliver, change the subject.” ........... “Mr. Trump is forever setting himself challenges and then becoming bored with them,” says Walther. “He does not evolve. He flinches, recants, forgets, redirects. He discovers each time — freshly, dumbly — that this is not how power works.”

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Elon Musk: How To Win

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Tesla's Attempted Reinvention: Has The Train Left The Station?

How Elon Musk Is Reinventing Tesla’s Strategy CEO’s embrace of AI is a shift from days when company used off-the-shelf technology for electric car

Tesla is undergoing a fundamental transformation—from an electric vehicle manufacturer to a robotics and AI company. CEO Elon Musk is increasingly positioning Tesla as a leader in autonomous driving technology, driven by the belief that a fleet-wide neural network can enable fully driverless cars. Tesla aims to launch up to one million robotaxis by the end of 2026 and recently began limited public testing in Austin, Texas (wsj.com, wsj.com).

Key highlights:

Strategic pivot: Tesla’s future is being anchored in robotics and AI, building on its acclaimed electric vehicle platform .
Robotaxi rollout: Musk has tentatively set June 22, 2025, as the start date for a pilot robotaxi service with 10–20 Model Y vehicles—software-upgraded, driverless on public roads in Austin (wsj.com).
Camera-based autonomy: In contrast to competitors like Waymo and Cruise that use lidar, Tesla relies solely on cameras and its proprietary AI, processing fleet data via its Dojo supercomputer (wsj.com).
Tech and valuation edge: Goldman Sachs praises Tesla’s scalable, cost-effective autonomy setup—claiming robotaxis could run at just $0.40 per mile—though they remain cautious on widespread deployment timelines (investopedia.com).
Commercial challenges: Tesla’s EV sales are softening, with lower Q1 2025 revenue and profit. The bold shift toward autonomy is seen as essential—but still fraught with safety, regulatory, and technological risk .
Competitive landscape: Tesla faces established players like Waymo, which already operates hundreds of robotaxis with strong safety credentials (nypost.com).

Bottom line: Tesla is doubling down on AI and robotics as its defining identity—transitioning from “electric car maker” to “robotics-first company.” Success hinges on executing a safe, reliable roll-out of driverless fleet vehicles by 2026. While the ambition remains massive, Tesla still needs to overcome significant hurdles in trust, regulation, and tech refinement.

Tesla's Fork in the Road: Visions, Realities, and the Race Tesla Can’t Afford to Lose

Tesla was once the undisputed pioneer of electric vehicles, riding a first-mover advantage that stunned the global auto industry into rethinking its future. But that dominance is being tested on multiple fronts—price, vision, competition, and execution. As Elon Musk increasingly leans into AI and robotics as Tesla’s identity, there’s a growing sense that the detour he took through Washington, D.C., and the FSD moonshot have cost the company something more valuable than capital: time.

Tesla's decision to open-source its early EV patents was seen as an altruistic move. And perhaps it was. But there was also a strategic undertone—create a dependence ecosystem that would eventually pull legacy automakers into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) orbit. That bet hasn’t paid off. Other automakers—especially BYD—aren’t just resisting the pull; they’re surging ahead with their own platforms. BYD isn’t waiting in line for Tesla’s elusive autonomy package. In China, regulators even forced a name change: from “Full Self Driving” to the more honest “Advanced Assisted Driving.”

Tesla now faces price pressure that it can't dismiss with software updates or brand prestige. BYD is undercutting Tesla significantly and is only kept at bay in the U.S. due to geopolitical restrictions. That buffer won’t last forever. If Tesla is serious about competing globally, it must either meet the price challenge or offer capabilities that clearly justify the premium.

And that brings us to the bigger vision—robotaxis, humanoids, and Dojo-powered autonomy. These are ambitious and potentially trillion-dollar opportunities. But they are not today’s lifeline. Today’s battle is about affordable, scalable EVs. Humanoids are exciting, but they won’t save Tesla from losing the middle-class market. Most useful robots don’t walk on two legs. They sit in warehouses, factories, or hospitals and perform repetitive tasks with reliability—not flair. The edge Tesla seeks here will be hard-fought against Chinese manufacturers who already excel in robotics-driven production and supply chain dominance.

The missing piece is a credible, phased roadmap to FSD. Not just a vision. Not “two years away” forever. Think electric buses with driverless tech on pre-mapped, camera-assisted fixed routes. Think scalable autonomy where the environment helps the vehicle—not total, raw AI bravado. Tesla can lead here—if it gets practical.

Tesla doesn’t need to skip the car market to evolve. But it does need to stop pretending the old rules don’t apply. Price matters. Product timing matters. Execution matters. And right now, Tesla must win the EV war before it can lead the AI arms race. The vision may still be bold. But it must also be grounded.

The road to the future starts with keeping your wheels on the ground.

YC Is the New IBM — And That’s the Problem
Elon Musk's Leadership Mistakes At Tesla
Is Tesla Really a $25 Trillion Company Because of Optimus? A Deep Dive into Elon's Claim
Figure vs. Tesla: Who Is Ahead in Robotics and Humanoids?
Why Can't Tesla Match BYD Inside China On Prices?
Waymo, Tesla Robotaxi, Cost Per Mile, And Public Transit
Tesla Self Driving, BYD Assisted Driving
The Tesla Robotaxi Rollout
Self-Driving Showdown: Tesla vs BYD vs Waymo — Who’s Winning the Autonomy Race?
Just Like BYD Beat Tesla in EVs, Chinese Companies Are Poised to Win the Robot Race
Tesla's Chances Of Licensing Its Full Self-Driving Software
Why Has Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Had So Many False Starts?
What If the U.S. Let BYD In? Free Trade Meets the EV Disruptor
Why Tesla's Only Path to Survival Runs Through India
BYD, Tesla, And Self-Driving
Tesla: From EVs to AI-Powered Robotics

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.@chamath: “I saw @elonmusk on Tuesday, and got to spend a couple hours with him at Tesla … He attracts these incredible men & women to work for him. They are inspiring. Sitting in a meeting and hearing what they're doing was amazing … I would not be sleeping on this company.” pic.twitter.com/TEHcB0RqV0
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) June 14, 2025

“I think Elon Musk actually might be a superhero. Almost every business he starts, everyone condemns it to immediate failure. Everyone thinks it's destined to fail. It cannot be achieved. It's always done on a massive grandiose scale with a massive grandiose plan” pic.twitter.com/fNxaAllWkh
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) June 13, 2025

Elon Musk in 2018:

“If somebody makes a better electric car than Tesla, so much better than ours that we can't sell our cars, and we go bankrupt, it's still a good thing for the world.” pic.twitter.com/89mU6bGc05
— ELON CLIPS (@ElonClipsX) June 11, 2025

Elon Musk explains why he slept on the Tesla factory floor for 3 years

“I was living in the factory in Fremont and the one in Nevada for three years straight. That was my primary residence. I’m not kidding. Literally. I slept on a couch, and at one point a tent on the roof, but… pic.twitter.com/hnktqtYCw5
— Startup Archive (@StartupArchive_) March 25, 2025

🚨 Tesla Thread: The Fork in the Road 🧵 @Tesla @NotATeslaApp @TeslaMotorsClub
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 14, 2025

Sunday, June 08, 2025

Beyond Full Self-Driving: The Smarter, Faster Path to Safer Transit

Beyond Full Self-Driving: The Smarter, Faster Path to Safer Transit

Introduction

The race to Full Self-Driving (FSD) has become one of the most ambitious and elusive frontiers in AI and mobility. But what if the smartest way forward isn’t to leap into full autonomy—but to augment human drivers in structured systems like buses, trains, and last-mile EVs? Advanced Assisted Driving (AAD), when strategically deployed across electric public transport networks and integrated with unified ticketing, may not only be easier to achieve technically and politically—it could actually move cities toward smarter, safer, and more accessible transportation much faster than waiting for Level 5 autonomy.

The Problem with Full Self Driving (FSD)

FSD aims to eliminate the human from the driving loop entirely. While this is appealing in theory, it faces:

Edge-case complexity (weather, pedestrians, unpredictable road behaviors)
Regulatory uncertainty
Massive data and compute demands
Public trust and liability concerns

Most critically, FSD attempts to solve all problems at once—urban, rural, chaotic, structured. This universalism becomes its bottleneck.

AAD: A Smarter Interim Step

Advanced Assisted Driving doesn’t seek to replace the driver—it empowers them. In structured environments like electric buses and trains (which operate on predefined routes), or even electric last-mile cars (in low-speed urban zones), AAD can provide:

Collision avoidance
Lane discipline
Speed and braking automation
Fatigue monitoring and alertness support
Route guidance and schedule optimization

This “pilot + autopilot” model significantly boosts safety and efficiency—without needing to crack the hardest problems of FSD.

Why Public Transport Is the Ideal Sandbox

Unlike private vehicles, electric buses and trains operate in constrained and predictable environments:

Defined stops, lanes, and schedules
Centralized control and fleet management
Professional drivers trained to collaborate with assistive tech

Integrating AAD here is not only easier to test and scale, it sets a public-sector precedent for AI adoption that benefits society at large.

Electric Last-Mile Cars: The Missing Link

In dense cities, the last mile is often the slowest, least organized leg of a journey. Deploying electric last-mile vehicles (mini shuttles, pods, tuk-tuk-like EVs) with AAD makes urban mobility safer, smoother, and greener.

These vehicles can be:

Geo-fenced
Low-speed (under 30 km/h)
Easily routed via apps

Such constraints reduce the need for complex AI decision-making while still offering immense benefits in traffic management and user convenience.

The Power of One Unified Ticket

The final transformative piece is ticket integration. Imagine going from Point A to B using:

A metro or train for your main leg
An electric bus to get to your stop
A last-mile EV car to your doorstep

All with one app, one ticket, one price.

By linking physical mobility with digital unification, the system becomes:

Easier to use
Easier to plan
Easier to fund
Easier to optimize using data

This creates “intelligent intermodality”: where the system, not just the vehicle, is smart.

Why This Is a Better Near-Term Bet

Compared to FSD, this model:

Requires less radical regulatory change
Delivers real safety benefits now
Enables public-private collaboration
Creates sustainable urban mobility with net-zero goals
Builds public trust in AI transportation systems gradually

In short: AAD for structured electric transport is not just more achievable—it’s more impactful.

Conclusion

The dream of Full Self Driving may still take another decade—or more. But Advanced Assisted Driving for electric public and last-mile vehicles, linked by unified ticketing, is a future we can build today. It’s not only technologically practical but also aligned with urban planning, public safety, climate goals, and the immediate needs of millions.

Rather than chasing a moonshot, this is a skybridge—connecting where we are with where we need to go.

🚍🧠 Why Advanced Assisted Driving (AAD) might beat Full Self-Driving (FSD) to the future of urban mobility. A thread 🧵
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 8, 2025