Welcome to AI Update, where we explore the latest advancements in artificial intelligence with insights into open AI, Google, Gemini, generative AI, machine learning, and. More Now let's learn together. I'm your host, Will Walden. So how is Google DeepMind making its robots smarter with Gemini? And what new methods are they using to train these robots?
Now imagine we're in a sci-fi movie like The Matrix, but instead of fighting machines, we're making them more intelligent, inefficient, which is bad for us, for the humans. But Google DeepMind is leveraging its latest AI advancements to revolutionize robot training and efficiency. So they can. Actually help us humans. Now they've introduced a cutting edge AI training method known as Gemini 1.5. Pro.
This approach uses vision. Through video tours to train robots, enhancing their ability to maintain, navigate and complete various tasks, and by utilizing this method, robots can learn more effectively from real world scenarios, thereby improving their operational efficiency and adaptability. Another significant development by Google Deepmine is the introduction of Jest, the joint example selection training.
This method aims to optimize the AI training process, significantly reducing computing costs and also energy consumption. With reported 13 fold increase in performance and a tenfold improvement in power efficiency, Jest represents a major step forward in the economics of AI development. Now the innovation of Jest is particularly important given the ongoing discussions about the environmental impact and the high costs associated with AI
data centers. And by reducing these barriers just could facilitate broader access to AI tech and accelerate advancements, especially in areas like e-commerce and multilingual support. Now it's important for these evolving AI methods. Now, new training methods for large language models are essential due to the rapidly evolving nature of data and the increasing demand for models that can adapt on the fly to new information and contexts.
And since the inception of machine learning, AI training methods have evolved significantly. Traditional supervised learning methods relied on labeled data sets, while more recent approaches include unsupervised learning and reinforcement learning. These methods allow models to identify patterns in unlabeled data and learn through trial and error. Now, the JUST method differs from traditional AI training techniques by focusing on entire branches of data rather than
individual data points. Initially, it creates a smaller AI model to assess data quality from high quality sources and ranks the batches accordingly. These rankings are then compared to a larger, lower quality data set to determine the most suitable batches for training a large model. Now the innovative approach that's happening here ensures that the training process is more effective and more efficient. It reduces time and resources as
well. Now the practical implications of just extend beyond general adaptability with potential applications in various specialized domains such as healthcare and also in finance. New methods are crucial for language models to respond accurately to questions about niche or to about sensitive topics.
This includes areas dealing with highly sensitive information the traditional LLM training algorithms might not handle appropriately, and several emerging approaches in AI training could significantly impact online commerce. One such method is reinforcement learning from Human feedback, or RLHF, which fine tunes models based on user interactions. This technique could enhance recommendation systems, providing more personalized and relevant product offerings.
Another promising technique is a parameter efficient fine tuning. It's PEFT, which allows AI models to adapt efficiently to specific tasks. Now, this method could be particularly beneficial for online retailers during peak sales periods, optimizing their algorithms for better performance and more money. Now, ensuring the language models can provide accurate responses in multiple languages is a critical aspect of AI development, especially for
global e-commerce. Many companies mistakenly believe their AI systems can effectively translate content across different languages, but this often leads to inaccuracies, particularly with industry specific jargon. To tackle the issue, though, some organizations are developing new multilingual AI training approaches. Language IO, for instance, has implemented a retrieval, augmented generation, or RAG process influenced by
multilingual strategies. This approach aims to enhance the accuracy of multilingual support in e-commerce settings. Now, advancements in AI training methods could transform online shopping by offering better product suggestions, improved customer support, and more efficient business operations. AI that comprehends multiple languages can help companies expand their footprint globally and improve customer satisfaction. So you would get repeat
customers. And faster AI training methods might lead to quicker deployment of AI for various business tasks, such as better inventory management and enhance customer service chat bots. This has enabled businesses to operate more smoothly and respond to customer needs more effectively. Now, with more accurate AI that can communicate in multiple languages, businesses could enter new markets more efficiently and provide local services without relying on human translators.
This capability could significantly enhance their global reach and customer service quality. Now, improved training approaches can enhance online commerce by enabling more accurate, context aware multilingual support. It leads to better customer experiences, reduced language barriers and potentially increasing revenue. Now, all that said. Google's DeepMind enhancements with Gemini AI and Jest are an important stride for AI and for commerce.
They promise to make AI systems more efficient, adaptable and capable for multi legal support, potentially transforming e-commerce and various sectors in the near. Future The CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen Wong, believes that an effective leader must be willing to put their hands in the dirt and get dirty now. His leadership philosophy is deeply rooted in his early experiences. He has a teenage busboy at Denny's where he performed a variety of menial tasks including washing dishes and
cleaning toilets. Now Wong who is the Co founder of NVIDIA, a company that's worth $3.1 trillion. Imagine this He's been in a Denny's booth now, despite his current net worth. Of about 100. And 8 billion. Dollars Wong credits his humble beginnings for shaping his. Approach to leadership In a March interview at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, he said that no task is beneath him.
He reflected on his time as a dishwasher and also a toilet cleaner, and he said that these experiences instilled the sense of humility and a strong work ethic in him. He told the students there. I mean, I cleaned a lot of toilets. I've cleaned more toilets than all of you combined. And some of them you just can't Unsee. And everybody laughed at that point. And his willingness to take on any task, regardless of how trivial, is a principle he carries into his role as the CEO.
His approach to leadership involves a readiness to assist employees with any task. If it contributes to the company's success, he said. If you send me something and you want my input on it. And I can. Be of service to you and in my review of it. Share with you how I reasoned through it. I've made a contribution to you, which is a weird thing to say for a leader. Most leaders are considered day-to-day operate operators. They don't really mingle with the with. The masses.
But he's a separate kind of fellow and he's working well with his team. He's a team player there now, known for his hand on management style. He's often described by employees as demanding and also a perfectionist. But he requests weekly updates from employees on their top five tasks. He personally engages with them to provide feedback and guidance to move forward with the careers, and a New Yorker profile detailed Wong's practice of visiting employees desks to
discuss their projects. It's direct engagement. It's part of his strategy to improve company performance and help employees grow by sharing his thought processes and his reasoning. He shared at Stanford again that he finds personal fulfillment in teaching others how to approach problems strategically. He said. I show people how to reason through things all the time. Strategy things, how to forecast something, how to. Break a problem down, you're empowering people all over the
place to manage his workload. Effectively, he aims to complete his most complex tasks early in the day. This allows him to remain available to his team throughout the day, and he shared his practice during a commencement speech at the California Institute of Technology. But unlike many CEOs who limit their direct reports to a small group, he prefers having around 50 direct reports.
He believes this structure reduces organizational layers and facilitates better communication and decision making within NVIDIA, he explained to CNBC. Now that having more direct reports helps maintain a fluid flow of information within the company, he believes that this approach enables him to lead more effectively and support his employees success. Now at Stanford, he articulated that the CE OS role is to inspire, empower and support
their employees. He said those are the reasons why the management team exists in service of all the other people that work at the company now. Elon Musk, known for his own rigorous work ethic and hands on leadership of Tesla and SpaceX, praised him. Musk's accommodation came after watching a video clip discussing his early work experiences at Denny's, and he echoed the sentiment. He said absolutely the right
attitude. He recounted his efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure his factories and offices had sufficient toilet paper, highlighted a shared philosophy of handling menial tasks. Personally, Musk has previously demonstrated his commitment to understanding his employees challenges by sleeping on the factory floor at Tesla, he
explained in a 2018 interview. The reason I slept on the floor was not because I couldn't go across the road and be at a hotel, it was because I wanted my circumstances to be worse than anyone else of the company. Musk's admiration for Wang may also be tied to their intertwined business interests. With Tesla's ambitions and self driving tech secured, an invidious high-powered chips is critical and. Wang acknowledged Tesla's leadership in autonomous vehicles, indicating a mutual respect.
And despite their occasional. Disagreements such as Musk's skepticism about the ease of creating neural networks with NVIDIA chips, both leaders share a relentless try for progress. Now, the CEO of Perplexity AI highlighted this trait using Musk as an example of overcoming obstacles through determination and working hard to get things done.
But Huang unconventional management style, including avoiding unnecessary one-on-one meetings, is designed to maintain agility and quick information flow. Within his company of NVIDIA, this approach has garnered. Approval from Musk and other high level CEOs and they reflect the shared commitment to effective leadership.
Now, this philosophy that no task is beneath the leader continues to guide his actions and inspire employees his ability to show that he's still connected with every level of the company and with every. Employee. From direct reports to frontline workers. Exemplifies his hands on approach and his dedication. To the company of NVIDIA. So TikTok is preparing to introduce a new AI chat bot named Genie to Western users based on a recent US trademark filing.
This development represents Tik Tok's effort to enhance user interaction through artificial intelligence, allowing users to post questions and receive immediate responses. And in addition, TikTok has started allowing creators to download their videos without a watermark, simplifying content repurposing across phrase platforms. Now a report from. Semaphore said that TikTok has filed a trademark for the name Genie for its upcoming AI chat
bot tool. The chat bot is expected to provide various functionalities including simulating conversations, facilitating interactions between humans and AI, and producing human like speech and text. In May, in the US, the viral video app filed the trademark the name Genie for an AI chat bot software that will, among other functions, simulate conversations, facilitate interaction and communication between humans and AI, and produce human like speech and text.
Now, TikTok strategy involves transforming the app into a central hub for all of its AI functionalities, with a Genie chat bot acting as a connector to different features within the app. This move aims to integrate multiple AI tools into a single user friendly interface. And the development of this chat bot isn't new. In May of the previous year, users in the Philippines had access to a chat bot named Takeo.
However, Takeo was primarily designed to help users discover other videos within the app rather than addressing complex queries. Now, the Genie chat bot is anticipated to be much more advanced and incororating a broader range of AI caabilities within Tiktok itself. It's a significant ugrade to Takeo, aiming to deliver a comprehensive AI exerience. Now the. Key feature for this. Could be conversations between creators and also people that follow them.
So instead of just comments, imagine asking the creator a question and the AI version of the creator would answer your question right there. It takes a lot of time. I do YouTube as well and it takes a lot of time to answer every single question, every single comment. The last video that I had had 512 comments on it. There's no way I could answer every single one of those comments. So an AI chat bot between the users and also the content creators is going to be a
significant jump forward. Now, I can see in the future that AI could take over from not just the chat bot, but something like you ask the creator a question and in the creator's voice, the chat bot answers you. And you might have to pay for that. You might have to become a premium member or something like that. And that could be a future feature that people could be using on TikTok. And one key component of this integration is the generative AI search function available in the
Chinese version of TikTok, too. The feature enhances discovery both within and beyond the app, and Genie is expected to include similar capabilities. the US patented Trademark Office filing from May outlines that the chat bot will facilitate interaction and communication between humans and AI, simulate conversations, and produce human like speech and text. So the creator may record their voice and then repeat whatever the chat bot says to the user to the end user.
It's a huge broad scope for this new tool, but TikTok hasn't commented on the specifics of Genie. However, the companies well known AI powered algorithm combined with this generative AI tool suggests that Genie will be a robust addition to its suite of AI features. Now, more AI from TikTok is coming. They have tested a AI recommendation chat bot called Takeo, of course, in the past, and the company has also been using Open AI's code to develop its own large language models.
Earlier this month, TikTok revealed other new AI capabilities for its advertising partners, including digital avatars and AI dubbing. These enhancements reflect the company's ongoing investment in AI technology to support various functions within the app. So if you're an advertiser on TikTok, you can make an AI avatar. You never have to record anything yourself. You don't need a studio. You just have AAI version of you that does all the selling for you.
Now, the trademark filing for G&E suggests that the AI initiatives at TikTok are expanding. The chatbot aims to offer more than just recommended searches. It's going to be more comprehensive and these advancements come a bit challenges right now, including the potential for divestment from its parent company, Bike Dance, or a ban in the US by early of 2025. If Tiktok is banned, all this could be for no reason.
And the Biden administration has expressed concerns about national security risks posed by Tiktok's Chinese ownership. TikTok is contesting these allegations, arguing that the proposed actions are unconstitutional and violate First Amendment rights. The legal battle shows that there's broad tensions between TikTok, US regulators and China. And in other TikTok news, introduce a new future that allow creatures creators to download their videos without a
watermark. Kind of significant if they want to share these videos across different platforms. It's a welcome change by many users who have previously been restricted from repurposing content because of the TikTok watermark. And the absence of the watermark makes it easier for creators to reuse short form clips across different platforms. A screenshot from the app shows a prompt asking users to choose between saving videos with or
without a watermark. Users can save watermark free videos by selecting the save option during the upload process. The update allows users to repost their content on other platforms like Instagram, Facebook also on YouTube, provided they share it on TikTok first, and ensures TikTok continues to receive user generated content first while enabling creators to benefit from sharing across multiple social media channels.
Previously uploaded videos with watermarks on platforms like Snap or Instagram often resulted in restrictions. Similarly, YouTube might limit such content across its Shorts platform. The new feature simplifies the process of reposting content on different apps now, Since the start of 2024, Tiktok has permitted users to download
clips without watermarks. The recent change, which requires users to post on Tiktok first, aims to prevent users from leveraging Tiktok's editing tools exclusively for other platforms. Expert experts suggest that the water free or watermark free downloads could previously be achieved using the Cap Cut app, Tiktok's video editing tool. However, the new feature streamlines the process for those who prefer not to use additional apps for editing. It's a simplified workflow for creators.
I'm a creator myself, so I would love to be able to use one apps editing software, edit everything and then use it everywhere. It's kind of difficult. So what I usually end up doing is creating something and import it into my computer. I edit it there and then I can send it out to all the different apps. So in addition to Genie, TikTok launched a creative content suite named Symphony. Powered by generative AI.
The suite includes tools like Symphony Assist, Symphony Creative Studio, Symphony Digital avatars, and optimizations in TikTok Ads Manager. The Symphony Creative Studio is a notable feature and also allows users to create short clips from an existing asset or a product URL. And the AI engine generates custom video previews, simplifying the creative process for marketers and also for content creators.
These features also include the ability to turn scripts into voice overs that can be dubbed into multiple language so we can reach the whole globe. Videos created using this feature will be automatically labeled as AI generated to maintain transparency. Now, there's a little bit of related news here through Apple and Google. Bloomberg reported that Apple might integrate Google's Gemini chat bot into all of its devices.
So not only are you going to get ChatGPT and Open AI, which Apple just announced, and also Apple Intelligence, but you could get Google's AI Gemini, their chat bot, on your iPhone. It would follow Apple's strategy of enhancing its AI capabilities by collaborating with other tech giants. It'll be integrated right on the phone. It's not a separate app. So Apple senior VP of Software engineering confirmed that Google Gemini would be incorporated into the Apple Intelligence suite of AI
features. It's important for Apple to have AI now. They have to compete with all the other AI companies out there. And considering that AI is going to take over all of the tech world, they need to jump on board. So having Gemini and ChatGPT is a significant move for Apple. The AI enhanced Siri will prompt users to use ChatGPT or other AI models like Gemini if they provide better responses to user queries. Now, the integration aims to improve the overall functionality and responsiveness
of Apple's virtual assistant. So Siri right now is very limited. It sometimes it just doesn't know what to do. You could ask it a question. I ask my Siri questions all the time. It has no idea what I'm talking about. Or it tells me to go to the web to look at a, a web page. And I just want an answer, you know, and I'm sure you do too. You just want Siri to tell you what's up. So sometimes, you know, Amazon's Alexa does the same thing.
And this is where Apple can pull ahead of Amazon in the device category. Same with Google's assistants. They do the same thing. They just, they might not know what a thing is. So they'll just be like, here's a web page and you're like, hey, I don't, I'm not near the screen. You know, you use your home, your Google Home, and it's like, hey, I'm not near a screen.
I can't go get that. And so it'll send a text to you with a link and it's like, it's just like 3 extra steps to do it. I'd rather the device just say, oh, here I this is what I got from Gemini. Here's what I got from ChatGPT. Here's what I got from any other AI app out there, any other chat bot. So make your own decision. Which one do you want to use? And this is a really good move from Apple.
Instead of creating their own, they're using and integrating other people's software like they've done for a long time into their own software like Google Maps. Think of that. Google Maps is, you know, for for a while it was integrated with iOS and now they have Apple Maps, of course, which not that good. Sometimes it's OK, but Google Maps definitely my my maps of choice. So think about it that way.
The close garden of Apple is becoming a little bit more open by including these other AI chat bots and the advancements in AI. Here they require a certain Apple device, the iPhone 15 Pro or newer can only access these features. So that the reason for that is because they need processing power that can handle the AI capabilities and functionality. Elon Musk and X Corp have successfully defended against a lawsuit demanding $500 million in severance pay for former
Twitter employees. Now, this lawsuit initiated by X employees claimed that X Corp and Musk failed to provide severance in accordance with the Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act after Musk's acquisition of Twitter in October of 2022. Now, the plaintiffs, including Twitter's former global head of compensation and benefits and another X manager, asserted that about 6000 and laid off employees received severance equal to only one month's pay,
contrary to what they believed was promised under E risa. However, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson in San Francisco ruled on Tuesday that the employees claims were not covered, and Judge Thompson explained that the company had informed employees post acquisition that those who were let go would receive only cash payouts, thus not falling under
the jurisdiction. Now, this case, which is McMillan versus Musk in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, is one of several lawsuits filed by former Twitter employees and executives following the mass layoffs that occurred after Musk's takeover of the social media platform. Now, the lawsuit specifically cited that X Corp and Musk owed at least $500 million in severance pay under the provisions of ERISA, which governs employee benefit plans. Now, the plan.
The plaintiffs were Courtney McMillan, Twitter's former head of total rewards, and another ex manager who believed they were entitled to more substantial severance packages. And according to McMillan and the other plaintiff, senior managers were supposed to receive a severance package of six months bonus pay, plus one week for each. Full. Year of experience. This contrasts starkly with what they received.
After the layoffs. But in Musk's defense, Judge Thompson clarified that following the takeover, employees were explicitly told they would only receive cash payouts. That an IRISA did not apply in this context, since there was no ongoing administrative scheme to manage benefits like health insurance or outplacement services. Now, the decision from the judge effectively dismissed the lawsuit, saying there were only
cash payments promised. This verdict allows Musk and the X Corp to avoid paying the additional $500 million sought by the plaintiffs. Now. In November of 2022, Musk addressed the severance issue in a post on X, stating everyone excited was offered three months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required or exited. Sorry, not excited. This declaration was part of Musk's strategy. To. Counter claims that the severance offered was
inadequate. Now, despite the resolution of this particular case, several other lawsuits from former Twitter employees are still in progress. These suits similarly address issues of severance and other post acquisition employment terms under Elon's leadership.
Now. The layoffs were part of a broader restructuring effort after Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October of 2022. This massive reduction in workforce led to numerous legal challenges from former employees who felt they were not adequately compensated now.
The plaintiffs, McMillan and Ronald Cooper and operations manager, said that Twitter's 2019 severance plan promised employees who remained post buyout two or six months of pay plus one week of pay for each year of employment if they were laid off. However, Musk's new policy post takeover replaced the previous severance plan, providing only one month of pay as severance without additional benefits now. This shift sparked the legal disputes that have followed
Musk's acquisition. Judge Thompson pointed out that the lack of an ongoing administrative scheme under Musk's new severance plan meant ERISA did not apply. The plan lacked continued health insurance or third party outplacement services consisting solely of cash payments. And the judge has left open the possibility for the plaintiffs to amend their complaint, but only for claims that are not governed by ERISA. This ruling sets a precedent of how similar cases might be adjudicated.
Moving. Forward. The legal battles following the layoffs reflect broader issues of corporate responsibility and employee rights and. Former employees want to hold Musk accountable for what they perceive as broken promises regarding their severance. Beyond this lawsuit, Musk continues to face scrutiny and legal challenges related to his management decisions at X and his other enterprises, including Tesla and SpaceX, and his actions remain under close examination by former employees,
the courts, and also the public. Now, the case of Macmillan versus Musk and Twitter remains a significant legal matter, highlighting the complexities in disputes that can arise from corporate takeovers. As other related lawsuits proceed, the outcomes will likely shape the future landscape of employment law in similar. Corporate. Contexts. Tesla has seen its stock performance take a significant turn as investor sentiment improves.
Now, it's attracting renewed attention, particularly with the highly anticipated robo taxi set to make its debut. Now, on Friday, Tesla shares concluded their highest winning streak since June 13th, 2023. That's the longest as well. And the stock closed at $251.52 per share. Again, that eradicated an 11% annual deficit, marking a 1.2% increase for the year. Now throughout the month, Tesla stock surged by 27%, significantly outpacing the S&P
500's modest 2% rise. Tesla reported second quarter deliveries of 443,956 vehicles, surpassing expectations. And this figure included 422,405 deliveries of the Model 3 and Model Y, with the remaining 21,551 comprising other electric vehicle models. And despite a 4% year over year decline, the performance was seen as a positive indicator for
the company's future. Now endless Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities is optimistic about Tesla's future, said that it's stabilizing demand for electric vehicles globally. And he highlighted that the company's forthcoming Robo Taxi day on August 8th will be a critical event. It's coming up soon everybody, so be careful. Of all the imitators out there with robo taxis, Tesla's going
to be the one now. Potentially this will pave the way for full self driving technology and an autonomous future, something that Elon Musk has been promising every year for about 5 or six years. Full driving next year, full driving next year. Well, hopefully this will be the year on August 8th that we're going to be really close to that. They need to have full self driving if they want these robo taxis to actually work now.
Ivy maintains an Outperform rating at Tesla, with a price target of $300.00 and a bullish scenario with a potential rise to 400. Of the 50 analysts covering Tesla, 22 recommend buying the stock, 18 advice holding, and 10 suggests selling, according to data from Thompson One. This consensus reflects the varied perspectives on Teslas market position and future prospects. Now remember, all of this is not advice. What I'm saying right now, this is not advice.
Just want you to know that these are just the numbers and I want you to run your own and do your own math. And Elon Musk amplified interest by retweeting a video show Kiki seeing a hands. Free Tesla ride. From Golden Gate. Park to Fort. Point how that shows the company's advancements in autonomous driving tech and it contributed to the stocks 2% rise on Friday, extending an impressive 37% Rayleigh over 8 sessions and a 43% gain over the past month.
Now, beyond vehicle production and deliveries, Tesla's energy storage business is experiencing rapid growth. Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley said that Tesla's recent performance, including better than expected second quarter deliveries and significant energy storage achievements, show that the company's diversifying. And another boost for Tesla came from China, where the provincial government included locally produced Tesla vehicles on its
purchase list. Now, the development permits government workers to buy Tesla Model Y as a service vehicle, indicating strong institutional support for the brand in the region. And despite facing stiff competition for Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers and experiencing some demand fluctuations in the US, Tesla is making strategic moves to maintain its market position now. Earlier this year, the company reduced its global workforce by more than 10% and cut vehicle
prices to stimulate sales. During Tesla's recent storage Excuse me, shareholder meeting, Elon Musk acknowledged the ongoing challenges in the EV market, noting the transitionary period affecting demand and sales right now. Barclays analyst Dan Levy remarked that while the second quarter results were positive, broader market conditions remain challenging. Levy has an equal weight ratio on Tesla with a price target of about 180.
Dollars. Now, Tesla's upcoming second quarter financial results scheduled for July 23rd are expected to draw significant attention. Stay tuned to this channel because we will bring you all of that now. Analysts are particularly focused on the company's automotive gross margins, given the extensive discounts and incentives offered over the past year to boost sales of its existing models. And in late 2023, Tesla showed off the cyber truck.
This is the angular pickup we all know and love, and it quickly became the best selling fully electric truck in the US during the second quarter, according to social media reports. Now, this achievement is a notable milestone as Tesla expands its product lineup to vehicles such as trucks. Now, Ford, who is a huge competitor to Tesla, reported sales of 7902 units of its fully electric F-150 Lightning in the second quarter, totaling 15,645 units for the first half of the year.
Tesla's performance in the segment shows that it has a competitive edge in the electric pickup market. Now, we anticipate that Tesla's Robo Taxi Day on August 8th will be a significant event for the company. We're predicting that although the robot taxi segment might not launch before 2027, it'll be an important business area for Tesla in the long term. A price target of 230 is a talked about number on Tesla and that's a possibility that you
might want to buy the stock now. Because if it goes up to. 2:30 you're. Going to be cashing in if you have enough stock. But of course, this is not advice. This is just, you know, you do your own work here, you figure out your own finances and you do your own thing. And despite this recent rally that's going on, Tesla stock performance still kind of lags behind broader market indices. For the year. The NASDAQ gained 22%. S&P 500 has risen 17% in 2024 compared to Tesla's 1.2% increase.
Now. It shows that there's challenges facing Tesla right now and they have to start matching the overall market growth. And recent polls indicate that Tesla's brand image is suffering due to Musk controversial actions in political statements. A New York Times survey highlighted the Musk's polarizing behavior is alienating some left-leaning consumers, which could impact
Tesla's market position. Tesla has also faced delays in delivering full self driving capabilities, a goal that Musk announced way back in October of 2016. And pretty much every year since then, he said that it's going to be the next year. And despite claims that all tests the vehicles produced at the time had the necessary hardware, Musk recently indicated that another hardware and sensor update is required to actually achieve full self
deriving. Can we talk for a second about Spacex's Starship in Starbase, Texas? Because they're building the most massive launch tower at Starbase. It's going to be over 400 feet tall. It'll launch and catch Starships on the Gulf of Mexico. It's going to be the wildest thing that's going to happen in the next some amount of time. We're not exactly sure yet, but let's go back in history if we
can. Let's rewind a little bit in the journey to Spacex's Starbase's first launch tower, the Mechazilla, if you will, complex process. It was about 13 months from the beginning phases until they actually stacked the Starship on the launch tower. Then it took them a while to actually launch a Starship. We're not going to talk about the actual launch. We're going to talk about how long it may take them to do Starships tower #2 at Starbase. 13 months for the first one.
The tower began mid 2020 ish and significant process and milestones were achieved throughout 2021. So think about this, in the middle of the year, August ish, they started construction. First significant structures began to rise in 2020. So the the base of the tower started being put together. The tower assembly, the structure of the launch tower started taking shape in early of 2021. But by August, the major components, including the chopsticks.
I was there for the delivery of the chopsticks. Actually, I watched the chopsticks drive down the road right past me and they're used for catching and stacking of rockets. And that's when they were installed. About August 2021, I believe was August 2021. They got all of the major components together. And then by January 2022, the tower was fully constructed and underwent various testing.
You know, it was integration of the launch or the catch arms, the the lift arms, if you will, the chopsticks and other systems which actually controlled the launch systems and the tower itself, including venting and lighting and the the pneumatics to raise up the rocket when you put it on those arms. All of that was being built about early 22.
The tower was fully construction and underwent numerous tests for for months, you know, integration of the towers other systems and they finally lifted a test fully stacked rocket in February of 2022 and I believe it's February 10th of 2022. I was there in Brownsville at Starbase when they did this
first lift. I went down February 14th and I got footage of it. February 10th, after they stacked and they open up the roads again, I got some footage of it and then this was what we all thought. Was going to be the first Test article that was going to launch from Starbase ship 20 and booster. Four so 4. 20 was going to be, in all rights, the first rocket to launch, but that wasn't the case, so they took it all down. It was a beautiful sight. I get to see it from numerous
angles. I got really close to it. It was wonderful. And Elon did a talk from there, too. Now what we're going to talk about today, how much time it's going to take for them to complete tower two as Starbase. So now that we have a back story here, about 13 months from the initial groundwork around the first tower till the complete construction and stacking around 13 months, we're already into tower two.
All of the the major components have been delivered of the of the core of the tower to Starbase, at least most of them as far as we know. And there could be more because they haven't shown us exactly how tall this is going to be. And they also, Elon hinted that this is going to be more complex than the first one. So we actually don't know all of the components for this yet. We know a lot of them. We know there's going to be catch arms.
We know there's going to be a pneumatic system to raise and lower it. We don't know what's going to be used as the actual kind of engine to push the rocket up and down. You know, we're not exactly sure because there's more piping more. It might be actually a, a very more, a much more simple process than tower one because Elon said his engineers came to him and said, hey, the, the tower one, let's just kind of throw everything away and let's start over.
We have this really great design, which we think will be better than tower one. So what they're doing is they're probably simplifying. All of the parts. Elon has said this so many times. The best part is no part and as an engineer myself, I'm a front end developer engineer. I know this is true. The less amount of code that I can use to get the job done, the better off the final product is. So that's exactly what they're doing here with Starbase's Tower two.
Now, a lot of us in the media here have thought that Starbase's catch tower, which was going to be tower two. We thought tower two was going to be just catching and tower one was going to be launching and stacking. But that's not the case. Elon has said tower 2 will be for launching, catching, refurbishing, basically everything you need to do for the tower, you know, as far as
the tower goes. And then of course, well, it won't be refurbishing, but you know, doing some a little bit of Labor to get it ready for launches. But if there needs to be a really like massive refurbishing, it can go back to the production facility right down the road about a mile away. And Starbase is becoming a massive city almost. It's crazy. They're they're building new housing down there.
So the, the people that work there will have a place to live nearby because Brownsville, TX is actually about 30 minutes away. And you have to drive down this crazy at Long Highway in the middle of nowhere with no facilities, there's no gas, there's no chargers for Tesla's or anything along the way. It's like 25 minutes of nothing. And then finally at the very, very, very end of this road, literally at the Gulf of Mexico, you get to Starbase.
So they were, they're building these, this launch tower, the quick release, everything's going to be completely different. And the engineers at SpaceX are literally the best in the business. So when they start stacking this, we're going to see piece of this stacking atop each other, of course, like a normal tower. But we'll see it simplified and it's going to be a mega structure. It's going to be over 400 feet tall. The Starship itself is about 400 feet.
So if they want to do Starship version 2, Starship version three, it has to be a massive tower down there. So it could be 450, almost 500 feet tall by the end of the stack. I'm not sure. They haven't told us what they're gonna, how high they're gonna stack this thing yet. I haven't heard anything from Elon or anybody at Starbase how tall they're gonna make this thing. I've seen drafts of this blueprints that I've, I've gotten behind the scenes.
I can't show them to you, but somebody's shown me some, some items that I that I can't really talk about too much, but it looks massive. That's all I can say. That's all I can say. I was, I wasn't even supposed to tell you that I got those blueprints. But we're going to keep it in there because yeah, it's, it's a fun, it's a fun thing to know, but it could be massive. The second tower could be much bigger than the first tower. And we've had hints of that from Elan.
He said, yeah, it's going to be bigger. We but we don't know exactly how big it's going to be, right. We can guess. All we can do right now is guess because the components that they have now. Stack those up and we'll have. Pretty similar to what we have now, probably a little bit bigger and then they might add more components in the future. So who knows? We've had, I've had a comment on my last video of somebody that said they're not going to catch. The.
Booster until the next tower is done, Elon said. The next. Booster will be caught. At Starbase, so tower one, which you see over there, over that side over there, that's tower one. They they want to catch it for IFT 5. And if that's the case, if they want to catch it for IFT 5 and something goes wrong, it could be months before they rebuild it and they're not going to be ready for IFT 6 or tower two isn't going to be ready for IFT 6.
It's going to take, if they do a similar strategy to the first one, which I think they're going to have a streamlined process. So I don't think it's going to take 13 months this time. It may because it might be more complex but simpler, if that makes sense, like a much more complex structure, but with simpler hardware and simpler piping and electronics and
stuff. So it it could be just the, the build of The thing is simpler, but it could take preparation and could take months, almost a year to get this thing completed. So if they do catch it, if they go for it on IFT 5. And Kathy leaders has said we're not sure yet, but then Elon came out on Twitter or on X saying we're going to catch it on IF for IFT 5.
So it's all still up in the air. If they run the numbers and they think they can do it and it looks good during the flight, they'll probably do it for IFT 5. Also, Elon's the biggest hype man. So we all know that Elon is up in his head thinking we can figure it out. Like, why don't we? Why can't we figure this out? And for him, that's how he thinks. He doesn't think in absolutes. He thinks of what happens if we don't do it. Well, then we failed. You know what?
Why can't we do it? That's how he thinks. Like, why can't we? He never thinks like, oh, there's all these roadblocks in the way. He doesn't think like that, and that's why he's so successful. It's not about the roadblocks. It's not about the things that the engineers and typical engineering, typical engineers put up roadblocks to themselves like, well, these systems work, so we can't go around these systems and build something new. We can't innovate because our systems work.
Why do you think ula and Blue Origin are so mad at SpaceX? Because that's how they think. They're boring. You know it they're they're they think like strict guidelines. They have strict guidelines. SpaceX, Elon especially goes, what are these strict guidelines? OK, engineering guidelines definitely have a purpose. If you don't have these strict guidelines, then things go
wrong. But if those strict guidelines get in the way of progress, get rid of those guidelines, throw them out the window and move forward. So this next tower, the engineers were like, we're throwing all this stuff out of the window that we did for IFT or for the tower one. And we're going to build our
dream tower. We're going to build an engineering marvel that's going to put us so far ahead of ula Blue Origin, basically the only other heavy lift rockets out there that nobody can compete for a very long time. Modern marvel. That's what this thing is. It's going to be a modern marvel. It's going to be an engineering feat that no one's seen before. The SLS tower, Massive. That's cool. You know what's cool about the SLS tower too? It moves the whole rocket like it.
It moves it incredibly slow. The crawler moves a giant 300 some odd foot tall rocket from the production facility from the high Bay all the way to the launch site. SpaceX doesn't do that. They take the booster and the ship separately. They raise them up with the arms, they stack them on top of each other and then they're ready. Of course there's things in between like they're not just ready.
They have to, you know, do some testing or whatever, but they they don't drive it down the road all put together, which is a smart thing to do. You know, you don't need a massive tower. Plus they only have the little Rd., they have like A2 lane Rd. to get down and they're like, how do we do this? And their rocket is as big as a road is A2 lane Rd. It's like 30 feet wide. The thing is massive. So they couldn't do that. There were, there were constraints for them to build
here. So they had to build what you know, the basically like a, a, there's a barge, like a, a land barge basically to move this thing down or they, they hired one or they rent one or whatever. So, and then they finally have their own. So The funny thing about this next tower is that we don't really know what it's going to look like. We know actually, we know one thing, Elon, Elon has said this, the the arms are going to be a little bit smaller.
They're going to be just big enough for the rocket or the booster, I should say, or the rocket too, to be caught on. So the rapid reusability of the booster and the rocket itself, the Starship, it, we may start to see that happen really soon. And the reason why we need this is because SpaceX wants to go to Mars eventually. But the first step is to get to the moon. Artemis 3, they'll be sending
people to the moon. SpaceX needs to refuel Starship numerous times and the only way they can do that is to catch the boosters, refurbish them, you know, set up another Starship. They could have a fleet of 50 boosters in 50 Starships or whatever, you know, or 20 Starship or whatever you know, It depends on the ratio there. But could they just have 4 boosters that work really well? It's just continuously launch land, launch land, launch land and send up 10 Starships to to
the refuelling station. That's a possibility. All they have to do is stack them up. It would take. Especially for the Artemis program, would take them about a week to do all the launches. I think 7 days to a week or something. Somewhere somewhere around 7-7 days. I think the calculations were that SpaceX could possibly get all of the boosters and all of the Starship fueling. Starships into orbit. The tankers.
And also they need the tankers. They need to test the tankers at Starbase before they launch them from KFC. So we're probably not going to see the tower at Kennedy Space Center be built until after tower two at Starbase is completely finished and tested rigorously with different variations of Starships, because they need to know that it works.
You know, they could probably start it and realize that the design works really well and then they can build it over at Kennedy Space Center. They'll go through all the testing, make sure everything is great and then they'll start building over at Kennedy Space Center. But I'm guessing tower two, I mean tower one was 13 months until full stack around 13 months from 2020, like mid 2020 to February 2022. That's a long time.
So somebody said they're not going to catch the the booster until tower 2. Yeah, if you want to wait a year, you know, IFT 6, no, they're not going to wait a year for IFT 6. But there will only be a few launch attempts left in this year at Starbase. So there's a possibility they continue to launch for Starbase in the beginning of next year. They also continue to build the the tower two. They'll refine tower one because they're going to need both towers.
You know, they're going to need both towers to continue testing. So one of them will probably primarily be for catching. Tower two, I think is going to be more of a catch tower or more something that they can catch with because that's going to be their final design. Tower one, they could probably catch with that too. I'm not 100% sure. I'm not. So that's that's where I differ from a lot of Youtubers out there is that like, I'm not 100%
sure about this stuff. And people that say that they're sure about this stuff are full of crap. Like they have some data, right? But like we know everybody that's, you know, that's been right. Eric Berger is like the only dude you can trust 100% think about Eric. So what I what I do with my timelines is like, what does Elon say? And then what does Eric say? And then it's somewhere near what Eric says is when things actually happen.
Elon is very is a hype man, but he wants stuff done as fast as possible. His timelines are ridiculous. Like if everybody worked as hard as Elon, it would be done by now. But then you get Eric Berger in the process and he knows engineering, you know, he knows what's up. So I kind of look at both of those numbers. Elon says it'll fly in four weeks. Eric says 8 weeks, probably 7 weeks, you know, so we're around there. So the tower, the second tower probably be done in a year
somewhere around there. And just because the first one, let's say it's massively more complex or they run into something with with, you know, building these things out, fabricating something. It could take longer, but somewhere between somewhere in a year before the actual tower is completely constructed. So next year, like mid next year, maybe, maybe first four months of next year would be a
good estimate for this. So let me know in the comments down below and thank you for watching this. I really do appreciate you and please take a second. Of course, because I'm a YouTube, I have to ask for this. It helps me with the algorithm. Hit the thumbs up button, hit the comment button, leave a comment. And if you don't have anything to really contribute or if you just feel like, hey, I just want to listen and watch, just leave a rocket emoji down below. But I want to know what?
Everybody else thinks like when will the. Tower actually be built. Let me know in the comments down below what you think and give me a reason if you have one, because I know there's information out there and the information I've sifted through, most of it is like it's there. You know, the information's out there, but there's not a lot of like complete information out there. But I can tell you what the design I saw of the tower and it was, as far as I know, was an official design.
It looks incredible and it looks like there could be, let's just say more than meets the eye. That's all I could say. That's all I can say. So thank you for watching everybody like comment. Subscribe if you can because it's free, takes a second, and not only will you get this channel, but you will be fed through the algorithm other spaceflight channels that you'd be interested in on YouTube or whatever podcast platform you're listening on right now.
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