SPACEX launches….Musk a trillionaire

Bill Gates has you fooled ...evil one that.

Research done with help from AI.

So the claim that Musk has done wonders for battery technology is a contradiction to actual reality. A cheap statement when you look at the actual facts and real life experiences that I have actually had with his products.

The Powerwall solar battery with 13.5kWh capacity and 5kw peak constant output is sold with a warranty of 90% capacity over 10 to 15 years. But the warranty has fine print. It's actually 70% at 10 years. 70% of 13.5kWh is 9.45kWh usable. That is a big drop.

The data reveals a batch of Powerwall 2 units made in late 2018 through 2019 that are failing much faster. Same outcome with a batch of Powerwall 3 units made in late 2025 and early 2026.

Owners on alternative energy forums like GIGAZINE and netzero.energy report these units started at only 12.75kWh usable capacity, not 13.5kWh, and have degraded significantly faster, below 9.45kWh within the first 7 years. Tesla refuses to release the full degradation graphs for these units.

A Powerwall 3, the latest model, has a recommended retail price of R160,195 for the unit itself, plus R21,678 for the Tesla Gateway smart hub, bringing the total to R181,873 excluding installation.

Some suppliers list it between R195,000 and R295,000 including installation. For installation, you can expect to add another R20,000 for a certified Tesla partner.

Now compare that to the Chinese battery company BYD and their BYD LVL 15.4kWh lithium battery. It has less degradation over the first 7 years, only 10%, with a cost of R120,025 installed and a 10 year warranty. It's much better value for money and has a proven longer lifespan.

Starlink is supposed to help poor areas and disaster zones. Starlink works in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Kenya. But he charges these people.

In Zimbabwe and Kenya, it will cost a household $10 for 50GB of data. That sounds good, but these households are dirt poor. $10 is around R180 and that is a week's food for these households. Also after the first 20GB are used, the satellite internet speed drops very low, until it's basically useless.

The same results also show Musk has refused to activate Starlink in Ukraine for an attack in Crimea. Trump has threatened to switch it off to force Ukraine to make peace concessions. The numbers show that him helping is just marketing so he can look like a savior or saint.

Starlink has half a million subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa. That sounds big. But the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is over 1.2 billion people. Half a million is 0.04%. The vast majority cannot afford it.

The entry-level $30 to $50 per month is more than most households can pay for internet. Even the $10 plan in Kenya and Zimbabwe, the cheapest in Africa, is still not free.

And the ecological cost? 10,000 satellites burning up in the atmosphere, releasing aluminum oxide that damages the ozone layer. So who decides when Starlink helps and when it doesn't? Elon Musk decides. That's not a saint. That's a gatekeeper.

Neuralink. The medical journal article says the Blindsight device could restore vision. There are 21 patients in trials now. But the GitHub roadmap says consumer devices for "super vision" and "perfect memory" won't be ready until 2040. This is not a miracle happening now. This is long-term research.

Musk spent at least $290 million in the 2024 presidential election to help Trump and other Republicans. That's a political operator using his wealth to influence elections.

And the conflict of interest is real. Musk is a Special Government Employee running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which oversees cuts at the Pentagon and NASA.

At the same time, SpaceX is a major contractor for both agencies. Democratic members of Congress wrote a letter saying Musk's dual role creates an inherent conflict of interest and threatens to undermine the integrity of acquisition processes.

The problem with most of the posts is everything inconvenient gets ignored.

You don't mention Musk's conflicts of interest with the Pentagon. You don't mention the political donations. You don't mention the environmental damage from satellites. You don't mention that Starlink is not free for poor people. You don't mention that his overpriced lithium Batteries is not worth the price you pay for them.

You just list the good things and call anyone who questions it lazy thinkers, lost, or fooled.

Elon Musk is a clever businessman. But he is also a shrewd operator. For him, it's all about money and monopolizing business.

You're missing the point... he's not in it for the money...he's in it for the achievement and he uses his success to finance more achievement... there's nothing obscene about that...

You say I'm missing the point?! But you haven't engaged with one point I brought up.

You ignored all of it. You picked one word I didn't even say : "obscene" and argued against that. That's not engaging. That's ignorant. Do better.

Your post is biased. Who is actually missing the point?

And another thing. You say he's not in it for the money. Really DB? Are you really this Boobish ? He's a trillionaire but he's not after money. Are you actually reading what you write?

"Research, writing and reasoning done with help from AI."

There we go. Fixed!

Ah, again Plum. You're not engaging in good faith with any points I've made.

I wrote this by myself but used AI to do the research. So what? You and others on this forum do exactly the same and more.

You say people must mention when they use AI. I mentioned it. And you still try to discredit me. So what's the point of mentioning it? You're going to lie either way.

You're just trying to discredit me the whole time saying I'm some AI ghostwriter. I've proven you wrong. AI has actually proven you wrong.

So every time I want to join a discussion on Mikes Gripes, you want to discredit me.

Now you're going as far as saying even my reasoning is done by the AI.

Honestly now you're acting like a child that's bored and predictable. So what's up, Plum? What do you want to reach with these continuous accusations?

Ah, again Plum. You're not engaging in good faith with any points I've made

What is your point? That Musk shouldn’t be a capitalist? That somehow he should prevent China for copying his ideas with slave labor and producing a cheaper product? That anybody had a better solar solution in 2018?

That the former South African who built 3 Fortune 500 companies from scratch….who revolutionized payments, upended the car industry and made space innovations that China couldn’t is somehow ….what?

Moz, if you can't read what I wrote, that's not my problem. I laid it out clearly. But you ignore my points, just like DbDraad. You deflect instead of engaging.

You ask if I said Musk shouldn't be a capitalist? I never said that. My exact words was: He is a clever, but shrewd businessman who puts money and monopoly first. That's not anti-capitalism. That's reality.

That somehow he should prevent China for copying his ideas with slave labor and producing a cheaper product?

First, Elon Musk was not the first person to invent the lithium battery. China didn't copy anything from him.

A BYD Chinese battery is much cheaper and lasts longer, and less degradation over the first 7 years. I've installed Powerwall myself.

Why the fuck should I spend R295,000 on a lithium battery from Elon Musk that doesn't last as long as a Chinese battery? Only a stupid person would do that. That's my point.

For your info: BYD batteries started in 1995. Tesla Powerwall started in 2015. That means BYD has been designing Lithium batteries for 21 years longer than Powerwall has existed.

So yet again, Moz, stick to the facts. Don't just spew out nonsense that you make up in your own head, to support your own bias.

That anybody had a better solar solution in 2018?

In actual fact, people were making better solar battery solutions in 2018 and they're making better solutions now than Elon Musk and Powerwall.

Besides BYD, take Freedom Won, for example. Locally manufactured Lithuim Battery in a 48,000 square metre factory in Edenvale, Johannesburg.

They have had better solutions than Elon Musk for years. A battery that actually lasts longer. I've given you all the stats. You just keep deflecting.

That the former South African who built 3 Fortune 500 companies from scratch….who revolutionized payments, upended the car industry and made space innovations that China couldn’t is somehow ….what?

Moz no-one is denying that he made those achievements. I'm not doubting that. But you guys don't make a balanced statement.

I'm just bringing up the other side of the equation. And it Doesn't look like you can handle that. That's not my problem.

I never claimed that China is better in space research than him. I never said that once in my initial posting.

Yet again, I'm telling you to go and read properly. Open your eyes. Stop deflecting and shifting the goalpost to suit your argument and narratives. That's just dishonest debate.

M your post was a total trashing of Musk….not one positive. In the last sentence you say he is a shrewd businessman, but quickly negate that by claiming he is all about money, when he is also committed to human progress. His whole suit against Open AI had to do with free access:

‘Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its leadership, claiming they betrayed the company's original non-profit, open-source mission to benefit humanity. He alleged that OpenAI morphed into a profit-driven enterprise heavily backed by Microsoft.’

I don’t blame you for buying the product that works for you….but for heaven sake man, get out of the weeds. This man came from Pretoria and changed the world, have a little respect.

Moz, you say I trashed Musk and didn't say one positive thing. I said he's a clever businessman. That's positive. You just ignored it.

I didn't trash Powerwall completely. But look at the price. Besides, it's not better than the cheaper variants.

You say he's committed to human progress. Then explain the Open AI lawsuit. He demanded 90% of the company.

They said no, then he sued and lost. That's not a man fighting for humanity, but rather the characteristics of a self-serving man.

You say I should respect him because he's from Pretoria. I don't deny what he built.

What is real respect, Moz? I think it's seeing both sides. Not only hero worship.

That's not being in the "weeds" as you call it. That's being honest.

"Moz, if you can't read what I wrote, that's not my problem. I laid it out clearly. But you ignore my points, just like DbDraad. You deflect instead of engaging."

Because you ad points to the discussion as we progress...and you deliberately change the topic to what you want to discuss opposed to what was said ..and misconstrue what was said,and in a very arrogant and condescending way... throwing in a few smilies...as if that changes anything .....and fck ..there is no way in hell that I have the time to get into an argument with a robot ..when I see a wall of AI generated text, I skip over it...so, yes, I don't answer all of your points...and hell no, I don't have the time to justify every post I make...go Google INTP...I trust my gut...it hasn't failed me yet...and no Moz, I'm not talking about my beer gut Moz, which has considerably shrunk the last 6 months ...

Db, you had time to write that long post. Or time to always chirp in with your snide comments. But you don't have time to answer my points. That doesn't make sense.

You trust your gut. I trust facts.

You say I deliberately change the topic and added points. Ok, prove it. I've stayed on the same points the whole time.

Show me one smiley I used today. You're making things up.

Just because an AI researched points about Musk and his doings doesn't make it incorrect. Good luck researching anything nowadays on Google without AI input from Gemini.

The Battery knowledge I added from my own experience. If you had the common decency you would've read my post properly. But that's not how you operate. You just make it up as you go.

Or are you telling me that you research nothing?

Calling yourself INTP doesn't mean you get to ignore evidence. That's not a personality type. That's an excuse for ignorance and laziness.

In a 21 paragraph post this is the positive bit:

Elon Musk is a clever businessman. But he is also a shrewd operator. For him, it's all about money and monopolizing business.

He is a clever businessman…..and then you trash him for being all about money and monopolizing business. There are laws in the States about monopolies, he operates within those laws. And no businessman who is going to survive is going to help his opposition.

You call him a clever businessman. Faint, faint praise…I had thousands of clever businessmen working for me at one time. Musk is not just a clever businessman, in America he is a legend, compared to the likes of Henry Ford

I respect your knowledge in the power installation business, and your judgement about the Power Wall. But the market also makes a judgement and this is what I find:

1. Global Residential Market

1. Overall Position: Tesla generally holds the number one spot for residential storage market share in North America, often capturing 39% to 47% of the US market. [1, 2, 3]
2. Global Standing: On a worldwide scale, Tesla Powerwall competes closely with firms like FoxESS, Sungrow, BYD, and Enphase. In certain capacity-based MWh metrics, manufacturers like FoxESShave overtaken Tesla globally. [1, 2, 3]

2. Global Megapack & Utility Market

1. Overall Position: When including utility-scale batteries (like the Tesla Megapack), Tesla Energyfrequently ranks as the #1 overall BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) integrator in the world, holding a commanding 15% of the total global battery storage market. [1]

……..

And this is probably his least significant accomplishment. There are millions of aggressive, smart people in the States….you don’t get to the position Musk has reached without being exceptional. Why don’t you just leave it at that.

"You trust your gut. I trust facts."

The ones you like and slant to your purpose.

"Show me one smiley I used today. You're making things up."

I wasn't talking about today...I don't have to make things up ...

"Calling yourself INTP doesn't mean you get to ignore evidence. That's not a personality type. That's an excuse for ignorance and laziness."

I don't ignore any evidence...neither context...

"The Battery knowledge I added from my own experience. If you had the common decency you would've read my post properly. But that's not how you operate. You just make it up as you go."

I don't have the time to figure out what's yours and what's AI jargon...common decency my arse...sweep before your own door.

"Really DB? Are you really this Boobish ? He's a trillionaire but he's not after money. Are you actually reading what you write?"

I didn't say he's not after the money...I said the money isn't his main focus ...he only use the money as a vehicle to achieve his goals ...he learned rocket science to put his starlink satellites in space, not to make money...he bought twitter for the AI tech, not for the social media platform...the money is secondary... it's the vehicle to the purpose, not the purpose at all...and that's true for most billionaires...the money is there as a result of them following their passion... but money is almost never the passion.

"Db, you had time to write that long post.

It's short compared to most of yours

Or time to always chirp in with your snide comments.

Lol...hoor wie praat...

But you don't have time to answer my points. That doesn't make sense.

Too many points about the same thing is a waste of time.

Moz, you call Musk exceptional, and nobody doubts he is. But you never ask at what cost. You never mention the price.

You only see the success, but not the side effects.

You say there are laws against monopolies that Musk must follow. Honestly Moz, don't you think $290 million in campaign donations makes those laws disappear? Are you not being a bit too naive here?

I never said I completely trash Powerwall. And i will acknowledge the North-American and global BESS stats, that Tesla are up there with Frontrunners BYD, Sungrow.

But my first-hand experience in the South-African Market, is that cheaper brands like BYD and Freedom Won last just as long and longer.

So why does he charge so much for his batteries? For what other reason can it be than greed?

Why does he charge for Starlink in war-stricken areas and in Africa, where those people are dirt poor? It won't make him poorer. So what other reason is there than greed?

A trillionaire could put a serious dent in poverty and still have enough left to have more than everyone else. He could fund clean water.

He could rebuild Gaza. But he doesn't. Because that's not how you become a trillionaire.

Hence me saying he is a clever businessman and a shrewd operator. That's not an insult, it's a description.

To become a trillionaire, you have to put money and profit first. That's just reality. You act like I called him a monster. I just stated the obvious.

You can honour and idolize Musk if you want. I'll stick to both sides of the equation.