Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to
clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
show notes NASA has recently addressed claims about SpaceX
CEO Elon Musk's alleged illegal drug use, stating that they have
no evidence of non compliance regarding drug and alcohol free
workplace regulations. Now, this statement was a direct
response to inquiries about Elon Musk's behavior, which has been
under scrutiny, especially following his on air weed use in
2018 and his public endorsements of substances like ketamine and
psychedelics for public mental health treatments are the
allegations against Musk include unverified insider claims of his
use of substances ranging from cocaine to LSD.
Now, these reports have raised concerns about his leadership
and behavior, and in response, NASA, which has significant
contracts with his rocket company SpaceX, has had to
examine these allegations closely due to federal
government standards regarding drug use, and according to NASA,
it's contracted companies like SpaceX are responsible for
ensuring their employees comply with drug free workplace
regulations. This includes employees in
sensitive positions, which would presumably include Musk given
his high profile role and influence within SpaceX.
Now there's speculation about the process SpaceX uses to
collect and test Musk drug samples, though the speculation
includes questions about the reliability and the integrity of
the testing processes, essentially considering Musk's
high status within the company. Now, Business Insider had a
report last month, and a further investigation revealed that NASA
has been somewhat secretive about the findings of their drug
use probe as SpaceX. This secrecy has led to more
speculation that if Musk is using drugs, he's managing to do
so without detection by government authorities.
Now, NASA spent three months reviewing Spacex's adherence to
a drug free workplace following Musk's appearance on Joe Rogan's
podcast in 2018, where he is seen smoking marijuana.
Results of this investigation, obtained by Business Insider
through the Freedom of Information Act, were heavily
redacted, leaving the findings very unclear.
The Organizational Safety Assessment by NASA was initiated
after reports surfaced that Musk was micro dosing ketamine, and
the Wall Street Journal's report in this matter prompted new
questions about Musk's drug use. NASA initially denied having
records of the assessment's results.
However, after Business Insider pointed out the $5,000,000
taxpayer funded probe, NASA released some documents related
to the investigation, but they were heavily censored and the
probe, which included interviews with 296 SpaceX employees,
covered SpaceX facilities across the United States.
Despite its extensive nature and the high cost, the results were
kept confidential with NASA concerns over harming Spacex's
competitive posture or business interests.
Now William Gerstenmeyer, the NASA administrator who requested
the review, emphasized the importance of safety in the
United States based program and the need for SpaceX to maintain
a drug free workplace. Now, Gerstenmeyer later joined
SpaceX as the Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability,
and Elon has publicly responded to allegations of drug use,
particularly in light of the Wall Street Journal report.
He stated that three years of random testing found no traces
of drug use in his system. Musk criticize the Wall Street
Journal report, dismissing it as very inaccurate, and concerns
over Musk's drug use are not just limited to external
reports. Senior figures within Musk's own
companies have expressed worries, with a Tesla board
director reportedly stepping down due to these concerns, and
incidents like Musk's tweet about taking Tesla private have
also raised questions about his state of mind during significant
business decisions. Musk's appearance on Joe Rogan's
podcast where he smoked weed led to a $5,000,000 NASA
investigation at a drug use at SpaceX in the results, and the
implications of the investigation remain largely
unknown to the public. And following the Rogan
incident, Musk and SpaceX employees were now subject to
random drug tests for a year. This was in compliance with
federal requirements for companies working with the
government, highlighting the strict, very strict standards
that federal contractors must adhere to.
And Musk has maintained that he does not engage in illegal drug
use, emphasizing his dislike for such substances.
This claim stands in contrast to the various reports and
allegations that have surfaced over the years, creating a
dichotomy between Musk's public persona and the rumors
surrounding his personal life. The controversy surrounding
Musk's alleged drug use and NASA's response illustrates the
complex relationship between high profile individuals, their
personal conduct, and their professional responsibilities,
especially when government contracts and public safety are
involved in the on growing scrutiny of Musk's behavior in
NASA's investigation into Spacex's drug free workplace
compliance continue to be subjects of interest both within
the space industry and among the general public and reporters as
well. And the outcome of these
investigations and Musk's responses will likely have
significant effects on Spacex's future operations and its
relationships with NASA. As of right now, Elon and the
rest of the SpaceX crew are free and cleared to continue doing
what they do now. While NASA's statement and the
subsequent investigations have not definitively resolved
questions about Elon Musk's alleged drug use, they've
highlighted the importance of maintaining stringent standards
and high stakes industries like space exploration.
The issue remains a topic of public and professional debate,
reflecting the challenges of balancing personal freedoms with
professional responsibilities in highly regulated sectors.
So SpaceX had a recent Starship System test and it marks an
important, albeit very complex point in its development
journey. Despite the loss of the Super
heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft during the IFT 2
flight, SpaceX remains optimistic, viewing the event as
a valuable learning opportunity for advancing its multi
planetary ambitions. Now SpaceX in a statement
emphasizes the significance of the test for gaining crucial
data to enhance starships reliability.
This incident underscores the challenges of SpaceX faces and
perfecting the technology needed for future space missions,
including colonization of other planets like Mars and beyond.
Now the Starship system is not only a key player in Spacex's
grand vision for space travel, but also a critical component in
NASA's Artemis program. This program aims to return US
astronauts to the moon, a feat not achieved in over 50 years or
five decades. And this one's different.
They're going to establish permanent lunar outpost, the
Artemis 3 mission scheduled for late 2025 but possibly being
pushed on even further Plans to utilize the Starship spacecraft
and the recent test flight failure has raised concerns
about meeting this deadline, although the NASA officials
maintained an optimistic outlook, valuing the lessons
learned from each one of these tests.
IFT 1, IFT 2 and soon, probably February of 2024 IFT 3.
Let's go back to the second test flight of the Starship.
The system demonstrated significant improvements over
its first attempt. The successful ignition of all
33 engine and the survival of the launchpad against immense
thrust are notable achievements. However, this mission also faced
critical failures that hindered its full execution.
Now the Super heavy booster is unexpected explosion after
detaching from the Starship and the subsequent loss of signal
from the Starship capsule highlight key areas for
improvement. These events prevented SpaceX
from testing vital landing and reusability maneuvers.
Now Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, has acknowledged the complexity
of ensuring safe re entry and landing for the Starship.
This aspect remains one of the most challenging hurdles in the
vehicle's development. Reusability is a cornerstone of
all of Spacex's strategy, but essentially the Starship system
needs this in order to complete the goal to get to the lunar
surface. Now successfully recovering and
reusing both the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy
booster is crucial for frequent and cost effective lunar
missions. The orbital refueling of
Starship is also a critical step for lunar missions.
Given the immense fuel consumption during loss, over a
dozen tanker missions may be required to refuel a single
Starship for its lunar journey. Just recently, in a talk with
NASA, a SpaceX representative said it would take about 10
refuels for the Starship and the lunar mission.
Now, achieving a moon landing with Starship involves multiple
development milestones, including hundreds of satellite
missions, tanker version testing, and an uncrewed lunar
landing. Spacex's approach to edit this
out, Spacex's approach to development embraces the risk of
explosive failures as a path to rapid learning and also
improvement of the Starship system.
Comparatively, NASA's traditional development
approach, characterized by extensive ground testing,
contrasts with Spacex's more experimental and cost effective
method. The difference in approach
reflects the varying priorities and methodologies of government
and now private sector space exploration with SpaceX now in
the broader context of lunar Landers, SpaceX Starship
competes with Blue Origins Blue Moon, another contender for
future Artemis missions. Each company faces unique
challenges in the respective designs and strategies for Moon
landings. Now, the current initiatives to
send humans back to the moon through programs like Artemis
mark a shift from NASA's historic Apollo missions.
Unlike Apollo, which was primarily focused on achieving
the first lunar landing and established American dominance
in space during the Cold War, the Artemis program aims for a
sustainable and long term presence on the moon.
This new era in lunar exploration is not about
repeating the past, but about laying the new groundwork for
future space endeavors, including potential missions to
Mars. And a key difference between the
Apollo program and current lunar missions is the emphasis on
sustainability and also reusability in space travel.
While Apollo missions were essentially one off ventures,
the Artemis program, with the help of technologies like
Spacex's Starship, seeks to establish a continuous human
presence on the Moon. This approach involves
developing infrastructure for repeated trips, permanent lunar
bases, and technologies that can be adapted for future Mars
missions, representing a significant advancement from the
Apollo era. Apollo basically sent humans to
the moon and brought them back to Earth.
We're going to set up an infrastructure for future
generations with the Artemis program, and the Artemis
missions also differ in their collaborative nature.
The Apollo program was a largely national effort, driven by the
geopolitical context of the 1960s, the Cold War, and in
contrast, Artemis is more international and commercial,
involving partnerships with various countries and also
various private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
This collaborative approach not only spreads the financial
burden, but also brings together a diverse range of expertise in
technology, making the mission more robust and inclusive.
The technological advancement since the Apollo era also play a
critical role in shaping the Artemis missions.
Today's spacecraft, lunar Landers, and other space
technologies benefit from decades of innovation in
material science, computing, and engineering.
These advancements enable more ambitious missions, such as
establishing a permanent base on the Moon and eventually sending
humans to Mars, which were beyond the scope of the Apollo
program. The Artemis missions therefore
stand as an important milestone in the ongoing evolution of
space exploration. Now, looking ahead, SpaceX plans
to ready the Starship system for another test flight within
weeks, should be about mid January, late January.
For this, however, the timeline is uncertain given the need for
a thorough analysis of the recent test data and regulatory
approvals from the FAA and the FAAA Involvement in
investigating the recent test flight and its role in approving
future launches adds another layer of complexity to Spacex's
timeline. The duration of these regulatory
processes remains unclear, but SpaceX is hoping to get FAA
clearance by February. Spacex's recent Starship test
represents a significant but mixed step in the journey
towards advanced space exploration.
The successes and setbacks of this test provide vital insights
for SpaceX as it continues to develop technology that could
shape our approach to exploring and inhabiting space from the
Moon to Mars and beyond. So Elon Musk recently shared
insights into the second full scale Starship test flight,
which ended unexpectedly, and the starship's upper stage
exploded due to a fire ignited during the venting of liquid
oxygen propellant. Musk clarified this.
He said the reason that it actually didn't quite make it to
orbit was we vented the liquid oxygen and the liquid oxygen
ultimately led to a fire and an explosion.
Now looking ahead, SpaceX has set very ambitious targets for
the next Starship test. Objectives include reactivating
the Raptor engines in space, conducting an in flight
propellant transfer and also operating the payload Bay door
potentially as early as February of 2024.
Now the in flight propellant transfer is possibly for an
upcoming NASA Artemis mission. The payload door is for Starlink
satellite deployment and reigniting.
The Raptor engines in space propels the Starship spacecraft
all the way to Kauai near Hawaii and that's where it will splash
down in the ocean now. Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 and the
Falcon Heavy rockets remain in Spacex's operations and these
rockets will continue their service into the late twenty 20s
and possibly beyond 20-30 carrying satellites, cargo and
also astronauts. Now significant enhancements are
planned for the Falcon series. Musk aims to certify Falcon
first stage boosters for up to 40 flights and reduce turn
around times for launchpads to under 24 hours.
And a key event for SpaceX has the launch of the private
mission to the International Space Station.
With four individuals on board, this mission, facilitated in
collaboration with Axiom Space, is a huge step for commercial
Space Flight. Now funded by Axiom Space
itself. This mission represents the
third group of paying passengers to the International Space
Station. Axiom Space, aspiring to build
its own space station similar to the International Space Station,
is using these missions as fundamental experiences now.
The mission faced A slight delay for additional pre launch
checks, particularly focusing on the Parachute Systems Energy
Modulator. Once resolved, SpaceX confirmed
readiness for the rescheduled launch and during their two week
stay at the ISS, the crew will engage in around 30 experiments
encompassing microgravity research, technological
administrations and educational activities.
The mission, dubbed AX3, saw the crew Dragon spacecraft freedom
making its third journey to space.
Leading the crew was Axiom's Chief astronaut, Michael Locev
Allegra, accompanied by three international astronauts.
Now there's a Turkish astronaut on board, and this mission
represents the commencement of an expansive space exploration
journey, he said. This Space Flight is not a
destination, but it's a journey. This is just the beginning of
our journey for a long growing space journey in our future.
And Spacex's collaboration with Axiom Space led to the
successful launch of the AX 3 mission to the International
Space Station. The Falcon 9's rocket launch
from Kennedy Space Center was a key moment in this partnership
and the missions delay was partly attributed to issues with
parachute strap known as Energy Modulators detected during the
CRS 29 Cargo Dragon mission. These were rectified in time for
the AX3 launch. Now following a smooth docking
process, the AX3 crew commenced their scientific and technical
word inside of the International Space Station and their two week
tenure will contribute significantly to ongoing Space
Research. AX3 plays a vital role in Axiom
Space's long term vision of establishing commercial modules
on the ISS, eventually transitioning into a stand alone
commercial space station post ISS retirement.
The diverse crew of AXE 3, representing various European
governments, highlights the increased international
collaboration in space missions as well.
This includes astronauts from Italy, Turkey, and Sweden.
In alignment with NASA's broader strategy, Private astronauts
missions like AX3 are instrumental in the development
of commercial space habitats, which is a key focus of NASA as
they pivot to lunar and eventually to Mars missions.
The repeated use of these Falcon 9 boosters and the Crew Dragon
spacecraft in the AX 3 mission shows that SpaceX is committed
to sustainability and reusability in space travel.
That's their mantra. They have to reuse every single
booster and possibly every single upper stage, and that's
what they're working for with the Starship system now.
All of the Axiom 3 astronauts successfully docked at the ISS
at 5:42 AM Eastern Time on January 20th, 2024.
This is achieved as Dragon seamlessly docked to the space
station orbiting approximately 262 miles above the Pacific
Ocean West of South Africa, or, sorry, South America.
Now this successful docking is a significant achievement for both
SpaceX Axiom Space and for the International Space flight
community. The precision and the
coordination demonstrating this operation show the advanced in
capabilities of Spacex's technology and the growing
potential of commercial space missions.
Spacex's Starlink has recently conducted its first successful
live test of the new global direct to sell or the DTC mobile
roaming service. This is a huge test.
It's conducted with standard, unmodified smartphones comes
just days after the launch of the first batch of DTC capable
satellites on top of a Falcon 9 rocket.
Currently the service is limited to sending and receiving texts
only, but in the future they want to do phone calls and send
data too. Now the Starlink network with
approximately 5311 low Earth orbit satellites, or Leo, is set
to expand by roughly 7500 by the end of 2027.
Now in the UK, Starlink offers packages starting at about
$75.00 a month, and in the US it's about the same.
And that's you also have to buy the equipment as well for the
ground services. Now the service promises fast
Internet with low latency times and considerable download and
upload speeds in rural areas. Globally, Starlink boasts 2.3
million customers with 42,000 of them in the UK and more in the
US, primarily in rural areas. In the addition of 4G mobile
capability to the satellite constellation aims to enable
global roaming communications with regular smartphones, a
significant step beyond traditional satellite phone
services. Now Starlink's DTC satellites
feature in advance E node B modem functioning like a cell
phone tower in space. Now this innovation allows for
network integration akin to standard roaming services in the
first technological test of this capability.
Was conducted in the USA in partnership with T-Mobile.
The test demonstrated the capability of these satellites
to facilitate the sending and receiving of text messages via
an unspecified smartphone. This marks a huge achievement in
satellite based communication technologies and Starlight's
statement highlighted the challenges and breakthroughs of
this tech. They noted the difficulties of
connecting cell phones to moving satellites and the innovative
solutions involving custom silicone phased array antennas
and advanced software algorithms to overcome those challenges.
And SpaceX plans to launch additional DTC capable
satellites to introduce a basic text service by 2024, and with
the aim to expand to voice data and IoT services by 2025.
Now currently in the UK, they lack a mobile operator partner
for the service, but in the US they have T-Mobile and pricing
details for global roaming plans are yet to be disclosed.
Elon Musk has stated that the first DTC capable satellites
offer limited data speeds, suggesting that while beneficial
for areas without cell connectivity, they're not
competitive with terrestrial networks.
Yet. System aims to provide basic
communication needs, particularly in remote areas,
say if you're hiking in the woods, or if you're up on a
mountain, or if you're skiing someplace where there's no cell
service. Well, this could possibly be at
least a lifeline with a text service and possible data in the
near future. Now, a recent update from
Starlink revealed their successful test with T-Mobile
using network spectrum to send and receive text messages
through their new satellites. And this is a major advancement
in integrating satellite and cell communications because
currently we have cell towers and the service described as
cell phone towers in space plans to offer text messages later
this year for T-Mobile customers in the US in a broader range
with voice and data services expected to commence in 2025.
And the connectivity of these cell phones to satellites was
also outlined by SpaceX. And they said that the
challenges of terrestrial stationary networks versus fast
moving satellites is remarkable. The company showed that
technological advancements enabled standard LTE services to
cell phones on the ground. T-mobile's collaboration with
Spacex's Starlink is a huge advancement in the cellular
coverage for space tech now, particularly in areas
traditionally underserved by conventional network
infrastructure. Its partnership is not just
about enhancing existing services, but also moving
forward with a novel approach to connectivity.
The field test plans with Starlink satellites show a
crucial step in this joint adventure.
Now these tests aim to demonstrate the practicality and
effectiveness of using satellites to bridge coverage
gaps in regions where geographical challenges such as
rugged terrain or stringent land use restrictions impede the
establishment of ground based cellular towers.
Now this network could provide a much needed solution.
This approach promises to extend T-mobile's reach, offering
connectivity to customers in even the most remote locations.
Now the significance of this development lies in its
potential to redefine the scope of mobile network coverage.
By integrating satellite technology into their network,
T-mobile's not only looking to enhance their service in remote
areas, but also to ensure reliability and continuous
connectivity in emergency situations where terrestrial
networks might fail. This initiative could transform
the way we think about mobile coverage, especially in disaster
prone regions where communication is critical.
The collaboration is poised to offer a unique combination of
terrestrial and extraterrestrial network capabilities, creating a
more robust and versatile communication network.
The anticipation around the field testing phase reflects the
industry's growing recognition of the need for more innovative
solutions to address connectivity challenges in
diverse environments. This T-Mobile and Spacex's
startling venture into this new territory.
They're setting the stage for more connected future.
The success of this partnership could encourage other mobile
operators to explore similar satellite based solutions,
potentially leading to a more interconnected and accessible
world. A Starling satellites, once
fully operational, could provide a more complementary layer to
existing cell networks, ensuring that people stay connected all
the time regardless of the location.
Now, it's not just a technological leap though.
It's a commitment to bridging the digital divide between land
based and space based Internet and all corners of the globe.
The plan is to launch D2D text service this year and expand to
include voice data in Internet of Things services by 2025.
The expansion of the Starlink Internet service to a network of
over 5000 satellites serving more than 2.3 million customers
worldwide shows that they want to scale this.
And in the broader context, several smartphone
manufacturers, service providers, and satellite
companies are collaborating to roll out direct to device
services. Apple, for instance, has
launched its Emergency SOS with satellite service in partnership
with Global Star, while Iridium recently introduced Project
Stardust, aiming to test its D2D service in 2025.
Now, Qualcomm's dissolved partnership with Iridium and the
latter's new initiative highlight the dynamic nature of
collaborations in the sector. Iridium planned to begin rolling
out its D2D service by 2026 adds another layer to the landscape
of satellite based communication services.
The series of developments underscores the technological
strides being made by satellite companies and the ability to
connect regular smartphones directly to satellites open up
some new possibilities for global connectivity,
particularly in these remote and underserved areas that we were
talking about earlier. This is a huge, huge
development, especially for regions lacking traditional
cellular network infrastructure, and as this technology evolves,
we'll be here to let you know about everything that happens.
Tesla Inc has witnessed a sharp decline in market value, losing
over $94 billion in the early weeks of 2024.
Now this downturn marks a stark contrast to the company's
success in 2023, where its stock value more than doubled.
Now the slump is attributed to a series of adverse developments,
including reduced demand for E VS in the United States, price
cuts in China, and increasing labor costs.
Now, the electric vehicle industry is currently
experiencing A slowdown altogether, particularly in the
US market. Investors main concern on Tesla
is stagnating growth, said Jeffrey Osborne, an analyst from
Cohen, highlighting concerns about Tesla's performance,
especially in light of the price reductions in the competitive
Chinese market. Now these factors have fueled
investor apprehension, contributing to the company's
recent financial setbacks. Tesla's recent market
capitalization loss is unprecedented.
Since its public debut in 2010, the company's stock has plunged
by 12% since January 2024, the most significant drop since a
14% decline over the first nine trading days of 2016.
The outlook for a rapid recovery seems bleak given the current
market conditions, and the company has been aggressively
cutting prices since early of 2023 to stimulate demand.
But this strategy has led to a substantial erosion of profit
margins. The third quarter of the
previous year saw Tesla's automotive gross margin excluded
regulatory credits fall to 16.3% from 27.9% a year earlier.
And additionally, Tesla is facing increased financial
pressure due to pay raises for production workers at its US
plants. We are going through a cyclical
downturn for EVs, but competitive dynamics are
exacerbating the cyclical pressures, said Ivana Deleskva,
senior chief investment officer at Spear Invest.
She noted that the combination of price cuts and shrinking
margins are consequences of these challenging market
conditions now adding to Tesla's challenges.
The company has had to redirect shipments intended for its
Berlin plant and suspend most production there from January
29th to February 11th due to security concerns and Western
military actions in the red scene.
This disruption further complicates the company's
operational landscape. Tesla first raised alarms about
slow EV demand during its third quarter earnings report in
October. Following this, several
automakers and suppliers worldwide expressed similar
concerns, leading to a scaling back of expansion plans across
the industry in recent development.
Tesla's fourth quarter delivery numbers, though better than
expected, positioned the company behind China's BYD company in
global electric car sales. This shift has been a wake up
call for investors, particularly after Tesla's stock was among
the top performance in the S&P 500 last year.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest person as of last year,
has seen a significant decrease in his net worth by $23 billion
in the early part of 2024. His wealth, primarily derived
from his stakes and Tesla and SpaceX, has been affected by the
recent downturn in Tesla's market value.
And despite these setbacks, Tesla remains A crucial player
in the global shift towards electric vehicles.
While China's BYD has surpassed Tesla in unit sales, Tesla still
leads in revenue and profits, particularly in the US market.
However, Tesla's past success and inflated market
capitalization have made its stock particularly sensitive to
negative news. A major point of contention of
Tesla is its unfulfilled promise to fully autonomous driving and
AI advancements. Being simply another automotive
manufacturer is not going to cut it for a $750 billion valuation,
said to Levskip, emphasizing that Tesla's high valuation
hinges on these future technologies and the company's
failure to deliver on them. Thus far, in response to
industry trends, Tesla has announced pay increases for
workers at its US factories. This move follows similar
actions by non union automakers like Toyota, Volkswagen and
Hyundai coming in the wake of historic labor contracts
securing the United Auto Workers or UAW for employees at Ford,
General Motors and Solantis. Now the pay raises at Tesla,
which were not detailed in terms of amounts, apply to all US
production associates, material handlers and quality inspectors.
This decision aligns with broader industry trends where
automakers are increasing wages to remain competitive and
respond to unitization efforts. So Tesla's not doing anything
really out of the ordinary here. UAW President Sean Fain has
identified Tesla as a key target in the union's expansion efforts
following successful wage negotiations with the Big Three
automakers. And Fain attributed past
unization failures to internal corruption and unfavorable
contracts, or remains optimistic about UA WS future prospects.
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, has historically been critical of
unions. He's emphasized cost cutting
measures in response to economic pressures and the need to make
Tesla's electric vehicles more affordable.
The increased wages for production workers, however, may
complicate these cost reduction efforts.
Tesla's Fremont factory, which employs over 20,000 workers, has
seen the formation of a UAW organizing committee.
The National Labor Relations Board previously ruled that
Tesla violated labor laws during past unionization efforts.
Tesla denies these allegation and is appealing the ruling in
federal court. The pay increases at Tesla's US
plans reflect A broader industry trend now following the UAW
successful strikes against the Big Three automakers.
Other major car companies including Hyundai, Honda, and
Toyota have also raised wages at their US factories in response
to the unions. Now, the wage hikes at Tesla and
other automakers show a significant shift in the
automotive industry's labor dynamics.
While these increases are a step toward addressing worker
demands, they also reflect the changing economic landscape and
the growing influence of Labor unions like the UAW.
Now, Tesla's substantial market value loss marks a challenging
start to 2024, contrasting sharply with its previous year's
huge success. And the company faces multiple
hurdles, including slowing EV demand, competitive market
dynamics and increased labor costs.
And despite these challenges, Tesla is a juggernaut in the EV
industry, and now it's under new pressures.
And the recent wage increases across the industry, including
at Tesla, could mean a significant shift in Tesla's
business. Elon Musk's X, previously known
as Twitter, is taking a significant step to enhance
brand safety for advertisers. Starting in February, the
company will offer US advertisers more control over
the vertical video ad placements through an expanded partnership
with Integral Ad Services. Now this move comes after the
platform faced criticism for its content moderation policies and
impact on its ad revenue and brand partnerships.
Now X collaboration with IAS involves classifying all
vertical video ad adjacencies to ensure they align with the
Global Alliance for Responsible Media Framework, or GARM.
The company aims to reassure advertisers that their vertical
video ads won't be placed next to harmful or offensive content.
Now this effort is a part of X's strategy to rebuild trust with
its advertising partners. The company's recent challenges
with brand safety and content moderation have led to a
significant loss in advertising revenue.
Major advertisers have reduced their spending on X and shifted
to other social media platforms and XS value has plummeted over
71% since Musk's takeover in April of 2022, as estimated by
Fidelity. And in an attempt to regain its
footing in social media arena and attract advertisers, X is
now positioning itself as a video first platform.
And the company claims that video content is integral to the
majority of user sessions, noting a nearly 30% year over
year increase in video views. However, it remains unclear if
this includes all video views or average video views.
A vertical video is reportedly the fastest growing feature on X
with over 100 million daily viewers and significant user
engagement. And despite these claims, there
are concerns about the accuracy of these numbers, especially
considering the platform's recent changes in content
moderation and leadership. X is actively expanding its
brand safety and content moderation teams too, which
reverses the downsizing trend initiated by Elon Musk in 2022.
This expansion aims to address ongoing concerns about the
platform's approach to managing harmful content and maintaining
a safe environment for advertisers and users alike.
And despite these efforts, experts remain skeptical about
X's ability to attract advertisers back.
The company's recent emphasis on video content, including new
formats like immersive video and enhanced video Calling Features,
is part of its strategy to become an Everything app.
And the platform's claims about user engagement with video
content, such as the high rate of video watching in user
sessions, are met with scepticism.
Analysts and industry experts question the clarity and
validity of these statistics, especially given the past
discrepancy and data released by Axe and Musk.
The expansion of video content on X is also seen as an attempt
to win backed advertisers who distance themselves following
must controversial actions and its statements.
Now. This shift in content strategy
reflects the broader effort to diversify the platform's appeal
and its revenue sources. Now, XS blog post highlighted a
22% increase in total ad engagements, suggesting that its
efforts to make advertising more relevant and impactful are
bearing fruit. However, there's criticism about
the decline quality of ads on the platform, with some users
noticing an influx of lower quality clickbait type ads.
Now, the company has established new partnerships with ad
verification and brand safety measurement firms, including
Double Verify and IAS, and these collaborations aim to reassure
advertisers that the platform's commitment to brand safety
following concerns about ads appearing next to inappropriate
content. Now there's a bit of report from
Media Matters which revealed inconsistencies in XS brand
safety measures with ads from major brands appearing next to
controversial content, and X challenged these findings and
responded with legal action against Media Matters.
The company's expanded partnership with IAS is a part
of its effort to bolster brand safety, particularly for its
growing vertical, video content. Now, despite these initiatives,
there's continuous skepticism about X's potential gain of lost
advertising revenue. And experts highlight that while
the focus on video content might appeal to advertisers, the
overarching issue related to content moderation and Elon
Musk's management style remained deterrent to those advertisers.
And industry leaders believe that the root of X's advertising
challenges lies in his leadership.
And Musk's actions and statements played a significant
role in this. And the platform's struggle to
retain and attract advertisers is compounded by the
availability of alternative social media platforms like
Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
That are all perceived as safer and more reliable by marketers
now. X's recent efforts to promote
it's vertical video capabilities are part of a broader strategy
to compete directly with popular social media apps like TikTok.
A pitched act obtained by Ad Age reveals the platform's focus on
brand safety tools and efforts to combat misinformation.
Alongside initiatives to boost user engagement and AD revenue,
The platform claims a significant increase in monthly
active users and user engagement, particularly among
Gen. Z users.
And X's pitch deck highlights its new immersive media viewer
and various features designed to enhance user interaction with
video content and attract more advertisers.
One of their newest strategies includes a focus on major events
cultural movements. Leveraging these to appeal to
advertisers, the platform is reportedly offering significant
discounts to entice advertisers amidst efforts to broaden its
content offerings, including long form video and also live
streaming. Advertisers, however, remain
cautious about X's brand safety measures, especially given the
platform's recent challenges with misinformation and
controversial content. X emphasizes its commitment to
providing a safe and trusted environment for conversation,
advertising and also content. Elon Musk's X, previously known
as Twitter, is taking a significant step to enhance
brand safety for advertisers. Starting in February, the
company will offer US advertisers more control over
the vertical video ad placements through an expanded partnership
with Integral Ad Services. Now this move comes after the
platform faced criticism for its content moderation policies and
the impact on its ad revenue and brand partnerships.
Now, X collaboration with IAS involves classifying all
vertical video ad adjacencies to ensure they align with the
Global Alliance for Responsible Media Framework, or GARM.
The company aims to reassure advertisers that their vertical
video ads won't be placed next to harmful or offensive content.
Now this effort is a part of X's strategy to rebuild trust with
its advertising partners and the company's recent challenges with
brand safety and content moderation have led to a
significant loss in advertising revenue.
Major advertisers have reduced their spending on X and shifted
to other social media platforms and XS value has plummeted over
71% since Musk's takeover in April of 2022, as estimated by
Fidelity. And in an attempt to regain its
footing in social media arena and attract advertisers, X is
now positioning itself as a video first platform.
And the company claims that video content is integral to the
majority of user sessions, noting a nearly 30% year over
year increase in video views. However, it remains unclear if
this includes all video views or average video views.
Now. Vertical video is reportedly the
fastest growing feature on X, with over 100 million daily
viewers and significant user engagement.
And despite these claims, there are concerns about the accuracy
of these numbers, especially considering the platform's
recent changes in content moderation and leadership.
X is actively expanding its brand safety and content
moderation teams too, which reverses the downsizing trend
initiated by Elon Musk in 2022. This expansion aims to address
ongoing concerns about the platform's approach to managing
harmful content and maintaining a safe environment for
advertisers and users alike. And despite these efforts,
experts remain skeptical about X's ability to attract
advertisers back. The company's recent emphasis on
video content, including new formats like immersive video and
enhanced video Calling Features, is part of its strategy to
become an Everything app. And the platform's claims about
user engagement with video content, such as the high rate
of video watching in user sessions, are met with
skepticism. Analysts and industry experts
question the clarity and validity of these statistics,
especially given the past discrepancy in data released by
Axe and Musk. The expansion of video content
on X is also seen as an attempt to win backed advertisers who
distance themselves following must controversial actions and
his statements. Now this shift in content
strategy reflects A broader effort to diversify the
platform's appeal and its revenue sources.
Now, XS blog post highlighted a 22% increase in total ad
engagements, suggesting that its efforts to make advertising more
relevant and impactful are bearing fruit.
However, there's criticism about the decline quality of ads on
the platform, with some users noticing an influx of lower
quality clickbait type ads. Now, the company has established
new partnerships with ad verification and brand safety
measurement firms, including Double Verify and IAS, and these
collaborations aim to reassure advertisers of the platform's
commitment to brand safety following concerns about ads
appearing next to inappropriate content.
Now there's a bit of report from Media Matters which revealed
inconsistencies in XS brand safety measures with ads from
major brands appearing next to controversial content, and X
challenged these findings and responded with legal action
against Media Matters. The company's expanded
partnership with IAS is a part of its effort to bolster brand
safety, particularly for its growing vertical, video content.
Now, despite these initiatives, there's continuous skepticism
about X's potential gain of lost advertising revenue.
And experts highlight that while the focus on video content might
appeal to advertisers, the overarching issue related to
content moderation and Elon Musk's management style remained
deterrent to those advertisers. And industry leaders believe
that the root of X's advertising challenges lies in his
leadership. Then Musk's actions and
statements played a significant role in this.
And the platform's struggle to retain and attract advertisers
is compounded by the availability of alternative
social media platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook,
etcetera, that are all perceived as safer and more reliable by
marketers. Now, X's recent efforts to
promote its vertical video capabilities are part of a
broader strategy to compete directly with popular social
media apps like Tiktok. A pitch deck obtained by Ad Age
reveals the platform's focus on brand safety tools and efforts
to combat misinformation, alongside initiatives to boost
user engagement and AD revenue. The platform claims a
significant increase in monthly active users and user
engagement, particularly among Gen.
Z users. And X's pitch deck highlights
its new immersive media viewer and various features designed to
enhance user interaction with video content and attract more
advertisers. Now the strategy for the
upcoming holiday season, one of their newest strategies includes
a focus on major events, cultural movements.
Leveraging these to appeal to advertisers, the platform is
reportedly offering significant discounts to entice advertisers
amidst efforts to broaden its content offerings, including
long form video and also live streaming.
Advertisers, however, remain cautious about X's brand safety
measures, especially given the platform's recent challenges
with misinformation and controversial content.
X emphasizes its commitment to provide having a safe and
trusted environment for conversation, advertising, and
also content. Hey, thank you so much for
listening today. I really do appreciate your
support. If you could take a second and
hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
platform that you're listening on right now, I'd greatly
appreciate it. It helps out the show
tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
And each episode is about 10 minutes or less.
Get you caught U quickly and please if you want to support
the show even more, go to Patreon stage Zero and please
take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.