I noted (here on the blog and also here) that I didn't think predictions about inflation acceleration and a recession as a result of a a second Trump presidency seemed probable. Yes, he would cut social spending, but would likely expand defense spending, and the tariffs would have a level effect on prices, but not a persistent one on the rate of change (inflation). This was before the rant by Elon Musk on spending cuts and the need for real hardship. Elon suggested cuts of 2 trillion dollars...
Read More »Elon Musk can’t do arithmetic
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Kevin Drum over at jabberwocking.com watched the Trump spectacle over at Madison Square Garden so we didn’t have to. He zeros in on Elon Musk: “Elon used to be smart enough to do simple addition, but he thinks we can cut “at least” $2 trillion from federal spending—which amounted to $6.1 trillion last year, not […] The post Elon Musk can’t do arithmetic appeared first on Angry Bear.
Read More »California dreaming
I’ve been to California a few times, for scientific meetings, for vacation and once for a friend’s wedding. I’ve had a good experience each time. It has always struck me as an expensive place to live, though, and I’m definitely not a beach person.Elon Musk is warning us that the nation will become “Californicated” if Harris is elected. Considering that California’s per capita GDP has grown faster than the nation’s per capita GDP since at least 2011,...
Read More »My new podcast episode is out
Has Elon Musk Damaged His Portfolio By Buying Bitcoin?
Has Elon Musk Damaged His Portfolio By Buying Bitcoin? After tweeting repeatedly for some time about bitcoin and the originally satirical degecoin, both of which have gone up massively in the past year, on Feb. 8 Elon Musk put his money where his mouth had been and had his Tesla EV company buy about $1.5 billion in bitcoin. The immediate aftermath of this was a substantial surge of the crypto from somewhat over $40,000 to somewhat over...
Read More »My new podcast episode is out.
Asia Times — China to follow Elon Musk, build a global Wi-Fi network
More than 300 satellites will be put into orbit as China, inspired by US billionaire Elon Musk’s plan to get the entire world online, aims to establish a global Wi-Fi network of its own. Musk’s Starlink initiative reportedly consists of more than 12,000 interlinked satellites. The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has been tasked with developing and launching such satellites, the Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily reports.... Asia TimesChina to follow...
Read More »Elon Musk auto-magically extends the battery life of Teslas in Florida to help drivers evacuate
price discrimination: n. the action of selling the same product at different prices to different buyers in order to maximize profits. This is, of course, the definition of price discrimination that I give to my classes. In practice, however, this notion of “same product” isn’t quite as simple as us instructors would have you believe. (Is anything ever, really?) We know that early-bird discounts at restaurants are generally considered price discrimination, as are higher prices for airline...
Read More »Tesla & The New Economics Of The Coming Renewable Energy Boom
I don’t need to tell anyone of the importance of Tesla’s expansion into home battery technology. A home battery lets you store solar energy to use when the sun isn’t shining, which is a really, really major thing in terms of power distribution. As I’ve been pointing out for years, this is the crucial missing link between photovoltaic cells being a rapidly, rapidly cheapening technology with a lot of rollout potential, and photovoltaic cells being the major source for the world’s power. As I...
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