
Tesla CEO Musk on Battery Factor, Model X, Apple [video] - davidbarker
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/tesla-ceo-musk-on-battery-factor-model-x-apple-LzHPROiTSoCyaQMM5Fg9lQ.html
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modeless
I don't want to watch a 10 minute video. What did he say exactly?

Edit: The title of this story was originally something like "Musk confirms
talks with Apple".

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ahsteele
Agreed, I hate this trend. So many websites are now opting for video over
written content. I can skim an article / blog post and glean most of the
salient points. Video makes that impossible.

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mandeepj
That is the same reason I don't like learning from videos.

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christmasday
Theres a definite difference...Learning step by step to a voice and visual
instructed teacher (in my opinion) is much more clear than having to read
something and reread it to really understand it.

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001sky
This is true <in person>, when you have confidence that the presenter is of
high quality and on target. It's not true generally, because in reality the
needle/haystack problem. Line of sight is better for parralel processing than
serial/ sequential a/v.

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meepmorp
Well, it's not about buying Tesla, because that makes basically no sense for
Apple. It's not about getting him to work for them because what's the appeal
for Musk to take anything short of CEO (and the job is already taken by a
fairly capable man).

So, iOS in vehicle; or possibly some kind of partnership related to battery
technology (research or production).

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protomyth
Given how much GM is pushing Siri Eyes Free Integration, I would imagine it
would not be profitable to buy Tesla. Probably, as you said, iOS in vehicle or
iOS integration.

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randomdata
_> Given how much GM is pushing Siri Eyes Free Integration_

Which is to say not very much? I was aware it was on the horizon through
promotion by Apple, but I only accidentally discovered support in my new GM
vehicle. Its usage is non-obvious and there was nothing I came across in the
promotional materials or indication through the dealer suggesting that it was
available.

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protomyth
GM has been advertising very heavily on the Olympics and other venues. They're
spending cash on it.

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maxerickson
Now that you say that I notice that I have seen the ads.

I wonder how much of that is a response to Ford and their Sync stuff.

(I don't pay attention to the new car market, but I am aware of Ford Sync as a
brand and have no idea what GM had for a comparable feature)

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protomyth
GM has had comparable stuff in their Buick line (very popular in China), Ford
just advertises on more tech sites because of Microsoft. Siri hands free is
also in the some Honda models.

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jonmrodriguez
I think the autopilot stuff is way more interesting than any talks with Apple.
Tesla wants to bring autopilot to market in just a few years, ahead of all
other companies? And Tesla claims to have more autonomous vehicle expertise
than anyone else (including Google)? These are awesome claims, I can't wait to
see them play out!

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untog
They might have just discussed an integration of Apple technology into Tesla
cars. Android manufacturers are already pursuing it, and it would seem like a
logical fit for Apple to partner with a company like Telsa first.

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yelnatz
"Woah, Teslas have big ass iPads in their dashboard."
[http://i.imgur.com/FcJ9hdL.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/FcJ9hdL.jpg)

I said that jokingly when I first saw it, there may be some truth to that now!

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jmspring
The stack is more likely Linux based than ios.

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geetee
The autopilot discussion at the end was more interesting than the Apple part.
Side note: Betty Liu looks stoned.

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yummies
I have a problem with his assertion that Tesla will be the first company to
market with a significant "autopilot". You can go out today and buy a car from
Honda that will autonomously turn the steering wheel to stay within lanes and
adjust the throttle/brake to maintain speeds in traffic. If I read the
(marketing) details correctly, it sounds to me like you could turn the system
on in LA and not touch the wheel/brake/throttle until you have to exit I-5 or
run out of gas. If that's not a significant advance in autopilot technology, I
wonder what Musk is cooking.

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toomuchtodo
> If that's not a significant advance in autopilot technology, I wonder what
> Musk is cooking.

He's probably willing to fork over licensing fees immediately for Google X's
Level 3 [The driver can fully cede control of all safety-critical functions in
certain conditions. The car senses when conditions require the driver to
retake control and provides a "sufficiently comfortable transition time" for
the driver to do so.] automation technology.

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jccooper
Can someone please fix the title? It's a battery _factory_. Tesla plans to
build a "giga battery factory" with one or more of its battery partners in a
three-year timeframe.

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Aqueous
An outright merger would ruin both Tesla and Apple. Tesla needs to focus on
car design and Apple needs to focus on mobile devices and computers. If Tesla
joined Apple the resulting organization would be too large and would ensure
that neither of them could focus.

A software/embedded hardware deal, as the interviewer refers to, would make
much more sense.

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chiph
I was more interested in his comments about the Model X. It _has_ been a while
since the announcement. I'd like to get some pricing info, either to say "Send
me one" or "Uh-oh."

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psbp
Interesting given these statements:

[http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Apple-Google-Smartphone-
Ste...](http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Apple-Google-Smartphone-Steve-
Jobs,19211.html)

[http://www.phonearena.com/news/Elon-Musk-says-Android-
apps-c...](http://www.phonearena.com/news/Elon-Musk-says-Android-apps-could-
come-to-Tesla-cars_id48634)

I wonder if Musk made these statements to coerce Apple into a better deal?

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stretchwithme
I also would not be surprised if Tesla becomes one of the early adopters of
the 'iOS in the car' device.

Other than that, Apple and Elon are focussed on very different markets.

If Musk helped shape the executive team, that would be a boon for Apple. They
need another muti-faceted genius to run the place and apparently they aren't
under every rock.

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beltex
Shortcut for comments regarding Apple -
[http://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/19/tesla-ceo-acquisition-
un...](http://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/19/tesla-ceo-acquisition-unlikely/)

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bsbechtel
Musk vision + Apple's $100B in cash = iOS integrated mass market cars?

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nostromo
Apple question is at 6:24

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ycmike
Elon cannot work for someone else. He is freaking Elon!

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meric
Reverse acquisition?

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ycmike
That would be interesting if Apple didn't have essentially the world's largest
hedge fund. I hope these were only partnership talks as I believe a free Elon
Musk is a net gain for society.

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JetSpiegel
Still not enough to bankroll the Hyperloop.

Right?

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awkwit
Say it ain't so

