Elon Musk Podcast

NASA's Artemis 2 prepares for February launch to the Moon

Elon Musk's xAI closed a $20 billion funding round at a $230 billion valuation, but internal documents reveal the company is burning $1 billion per month with mounting losses. Bloomberg reports xAI told investors it will build the AI for Tesla's Optimus robot, raising fiduciary duty questions. Meanwhile, Grok triggered investigations in six countries after generating explicit deepfakes of minors, and Musk promised to open source X's algorithm in seven days amid regulatory pressure. We break down the financial picture, the regulatory risks, and what it all means for Musk's AI ambitions.

San Francisco is about to become the only city where four robotaxi companies compete for riders. Waymo has 1,000 vehicles and freeway access. Tesla still needs safety drivers and faces a $240 million legal judgment. Zoox plans paid rides in the second half of 2026. Uber is partnering with Lucid on $100,000 luxury vehicles. I break down each company's technology, timeline, and chances of success.

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 12, the maiden flight of Block 3 vehicles. Booster 19 and Ship 39 will fly with Raptor 3 engines for the first time, generating 19 to 22 percent more thrust than Block 2. The launch window opens in late February or March 2026 from Pad 2 at Starbase. SpaceX will not attempt a booster catch on this flight. Ship 39 will attempt a controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean. The orbital refueling demonstration planned for June 2026 depends on Flight 12 succeeding, and NASA's Artemis program has no backup plan. We talk about Starship Flight 12 Technical Report, SpaceX production timeline and testing milestones, FCC communications window filing and NASA Artemis program dependencies.The Starship system is a fully reusable, two‑stage‑to‑orbit super heavy‑lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX. The system is composed of a booster stage named Super Heavy and a second stage, also called "Starship" and is being built at Starbase, Texas.00:00:00 - SpaceX Starship Flight 12 update00:01:48 - Raptor 3 Engine00:02:38 - Ship 39 Design00:03:20 - COPV Failure Investigation00:04:45 - Starbase Pad 200:05:36 - Flight Profile00:07:05 - Testing Timeline00:07:57 - NASA Artemis Impact00:08:33 - 2026 Roadmap00:09:15 - What's next for flight 12?

Tesla delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9 percent from the year before. BYD sold 2.26 million. For the first time in a full calendar year, Tesla is no longer the world's largest electric vehicle maker. The $7,500 federal tax credit expired, European sales collapsed, and Musk's political activity alienated customers in key markets. But the stock finished the year up 11 percent, energy storage deployments hit records, and Cybercab production is starting in April. This is the full breakdown of what happened and what comes next.