Tesla's Cybercab Deadline and the Steering Wheel Question

OpenAI is being sued over a murder-suicide in which ChatGPT allegedly fueled a man's paranoid delusions and validated his belief that his mother was trying to kill him. The lawsuit claims the chatbot told him he had divine cognition, compared his life to The Matrix, and kept him engaged for hours while reframing his family as enemies. OpenAI is refusing to release the full conversation logs, and the company has no policy explaining what happens to user data after death. This is the first wrongful death case to tie an AI chatbot to homicide.

On June 6, 2025, Donald Trump said Elon Musk had lost his mind. On January 4, 2026, they had dinner together at Mar-a-Lago. The reconciliation came less than 72 hours after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Musk congratulated Trump on X and announced Starlink would provide free internet to Venezuela. After months of public feuding over Trump's spending bill, threats to cancel government contracts, and Musk claiming Trump owed him the election, the world's most public political breakup ended quietly at a country club in Palm Beach.

SpaceX flew Starship five times in 2025. The first three flights lost their ships during ascent. A fourth ship exploded on the test stand. Then Flights 10 and 11 succeeded, proving Block 2 works. Meanwhile, SpaceX is constructing Giga Bays in Texas and Florida to build 80-meter Block 4 boosters, preparing five launch pads across two states, and developing barge transport to ship vehicles from Starbase to Kennedy Space Center. Flight 12 with Block 3 hardware is next.

BYD sold 2.26 million electric vehicles in 2025. Tesla delivered 1.64 million. For the first time on a calendar-year basis, Tesla is no longer the world's largest EV maker. The company Elon Musk dismissed in a 2011 interview now leads the global market by more than 600,000 vehicles. Tesla posted its second consecutive year of declining deliveries amid an aging lineup, political backlash against Musk, and the end of the federal EV tax credit.

Tesla confirmed Cybercab production will start in April 2026, with Elon Musk promising a vehicle with no steering wheel and no pedals. But prototypes spotted testing in Austin show human drivers with their hands on steering wheels. With Full Self-Driving still requiring supervision and federal regulations capping steering-wheel-less vehicles at 2,500 units per year, Tesla faces a choice: launch a vehicle it cannot deploy at scale, or add the controls Musk promised to eliminate.https://wilwaldon.com

South Korean supplier L&F announced that its $2.9 billion contract to supply battery materials to Tesla has been written down to just $7,386, a reduction of more than 99 percent. The materials were intended for Tesla's 4680 battery cells, which power the Cybertruck. With the Cybertruck selling at a fraction of its production capacity and the $25,000 Tesla cancelled, the 4680 program that Musk promised would halve battery costs has collapsed.

Track everything happening ahead of SpaceX Starship Flight 12 in one place. This live Starship Tracker follows the real-world milestones from Starbase as they happen, including vehicle status, test campaign progress, schedule signals, and any official updates that move the launch closer.What you will see on this tracker:Current readiness status and major pre-flight milestonesStarbase activity updates and test operations timelineShip and Booster progress checkpoints (as reported by credible sources)Launch window signals, delays, and what they likely meanFlight 12 news recaps when meaningful updates breakSources referenced may include: SpaceX statements, FAA notices, public filings, on-site reporting, and reputable spaceflight outlets. This is an independent tracker and is not affiliated with SpaceX.If you want more Starship coverage, subscribe and turn on notifications so you do not miss key Flight 12 developments.#SpaceX #Starship #Starbase #Flight12 #SpaceNews

Tesla published its Q4 delivery consensus directly on its investor relations website for the first time ever. The expected number is 422,850 vehicles, a 15 percent drop from a year ago. Full-year 2025 deliveries are projected at 1.64 million, down 8.3 percent from 2024, marking a second consecutive year of declining sales. The move is seen as a defensive strategy to set expectations ahead of weak results following the expiration of the federal EV tax credit.

California's proposed Billionaire Tax Act would impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on residents worth over $1 billion, potentially raising $100 billion from about 200 people. Larry Page and Peter Thiel are reportedly making plans to leave. Tech founders are calling it an organized seizure. Governor Newsom opposes it. The vote is in November 2026, but the residency cutoff is January 1, 2026, which is why billionaires are moving now.https://wilwaldon.com

Jared Isaacman was sworn in as NASA administrator on December 18 after a nomination process that included Trump pulling his name, a feud with Elon Musk, and a leaked 62-page restructuring plan. Now he says the US will land astronauts on the moon before Trump's term ends in January 2029. We break down who Isaacman is, what happened to his nomination, what Project Athena reveals about his vision, and whether any of this is achievable. https://wilwaldon.com