What questions would you ask Elon Musk if you had dinner with him?

"Red or White?"

In vino veritas (for those that attended TESLIVE last year).

Will we ever see a battery anode made with some silicon in it?

What's next after gen 3? A pickup truck?

Is there ever going to be a Tesla Marine?

As in making inboard motors for sailboats and motorboats. Maybe also outboards?

There is a huge potential in electric boats, so I hope the answer is "yes, some day when time permits" or similar

Why no random function in the infotainment system?

I would like to know why the large delay in CHAdemO. And why no 80 amp charging at Supercharger sites as back ups for both Model S and Roadsters? They could sell adapters to Roadster owners to cover the costs and show all that older models are fully supported.

What are your ambitions after Tesla Motors success, in automotive industry? Also what defines success in your terms?

I wouldn't ask him any questions about Tesla. In three or four years I believe he will be taking a much less active role in the company, and I'm fine with that. As passionate as I am about my Model S the future of SpaceX interests me more than EVs. Since Elon is "time constrained" (his words) I would focus on the long term goals of that company.

"How soon do you expect the rocket positioning control technology demonstrated in the Grasshopper vehicle to be implemented in the Falcon 9 rocket that is currently launching payloads?"

"What do you think happened during the most recent over water test of the first stage recovery technology, and are you ready yet for the next test to take place on land?" (He may not be able to answer that question right now but probably can in a few weeks)

"Once first stage recovery is implemented and becomes reliable, will second stage recovery present additional challenges because of the higher altitudes involved?"

"Can you conceive of a scenario whereby SpaceX could finance and mount missions to Mars on its own or do you forsee a new company being established for that purpose or do you think it could only be done through a partnership with government?"

"Does the Mars Direct mission scenario as described by Robert Zubrin make sense to you or do you think there are elements of it that are unworkable or can be improved upon?" (I am certain that he is very familiar with Zubrin's work)

"Have you read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy books and do you think that the concept of terraforming Mars is within the realm of possibility and a worthwhile objective?"

"You've stated that humans can become a multi-planet species or we can remain on earth and wait around for the inevitable extinction event that has already happened at least twice in the last 300 million years. How important do you think it is to develop the capability to deflect an asteroid so as to prevent an earth impact or would those resources be better spent on establishing a permanent self-sustaining base on Mars, or should we do both?"

Separate checks?

Do you have any plans to get into multi-headed level 2 chargers for multi-unit housing, hotels and destination charging?

What's with the expanse of Supercharger nothingness in Northern New England (aka Vacation Central)?

You say $35k, Simon Sproule says around $40k, where's it going to end up?

When you said, with regard to reducing battery costs, that the Model 3 (and therefore its battery) will be 20% smaller, what exactly did you mean in terms of the cost implications of size?

So, what's up with that Stage 1 body slam and kaboom? How are you going to control the wave, so you can prove you can land on water, so you can then get permission to land on land where you then won't have to deal with the waves?

Have you considered Tesla disrupting the car industry after Model 4 by making rental not suck?

Do you think that Model 3 will be able to keep the direct model by just having more service center and store space?

When will Model X really be at full production?

How long until Model S/X match typical luxury cars in seat comfort and driver assistance?

Terraforming Mars: how would you do it?

I have some questions about the future of storage technology. Can you ask JB Straubel to have dinner with me?

what is the first thing you would do when you get to mars?

can i get a job at spaceX doing 3d animations for you?

ItsNotAboutTheMoney said:

What's with the expanse of Supercharger nothingness in Northern New England (aka Vacation Central)?

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Ask him that on new years day and his answer would be something like "what, didn't the 12 new superchargers added in the last 4 months in that area address that already?" no that isn't Elon enough. How about "Well, um we added about a dozen superchargers in the upper northeast recently. Some were in Canada but most were in the US. I'm rather pleased with the progress of the supercharger rollout at this point, although it is an ongoing project."

You'd probably counter that some of those 12 aren't in the area you meant but many are and a man like Elon is likely to think bigger picture.

I counted about 12 that I thought would be close to your desired area on the maps. I didn't identify all the dots but I'm pretty confident the majority will be done before end of 2014.

Sagamore, MA is in construction (should be live in July or Aug?)

Coming Soon (as in before the end of 2014):
QC, Drummondville Sign into My Tesla | Tesla Motors Lease finalized, permitting starting as of 6/19/2014
MA, Auburn Auburn Supercharger | Tesla Motors
NH, Portsmouth Portsmouth Supercharger | Tesla Motors
ME, near portland
ME, near bangor
3 others split between VT and NH that I didn't identify
4 or so in NY state that I didn't identify
a few more along the US Canada border but I wasn't sure if those fit your area of concern. These are likely to be completed before the ones in ME/NH/VT.

I'm assuming any route to Niagra Falls to be Vacation material.


So maybe if you asked him today the answer would be "Well, um we are about to add a dozen superchargers in the upper northeast. Some will be in Canada but most will be in the US. I'm rather pleased with the progress of the supercharger rollout at this point, although it is an ongoing project."

1. "Would you be so kind as to pass the salt, please?"
2. "What do I need to do to have the opportunity to discuss a business proposition with your VPofBD, Mr. O'Connell, in the near future?"

AudubonB said:

"What do I need to do to have the opportunity to discuss a business proposition with your VPofBD, Mr. O'Connell, in the near future?"

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My guess he would say "just e-mail him." Mr. O'Connell asked us to do exactly that at TMC Connect yesterday.

dhanson865 said:

Ask him that on new years day and his answer would be something like "what, didn't the 12 new superchargers added in the last 4 months in that area address that already?" no that isn't Elon enough. How about "Well, um we added about a dozen superchargers in the upper northeast recently. Some were in Canada but most were in the US. I'm rather pleased with the progress of the supercharger rollout at this point, although it is an ongoing project."

You'd probably counter that some of those 12 aren't in the area you meant but many are and a man like Elon is likely to think bigger picture.

I counted about 12 that I thought would be close to your desired area on the maps. I didn't identify all the dots but I'm pretty confident the majority will be done before end of 2014...

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Oh, I know it's ongoing, my question would be a "what's up"? Fact is that Northern New England has a large percentage of vacation homes so there are places people with money really want to get to. To give you some idea, by percentage, the top 4 states in the USA for vacation homes are:
1) Maine
2) Vermont
3) New Hampshire
4) Alaska (that one's for AudubonB)
(By percentage Maine and Vermont are way "ahead").
Now, of course the absolute numbers are relatively low, but if you put the upper New England states together, they'd have over 200,000 vacation homes (Maine itself has over 100,000), and only Florida, Michigan, New York and California have more. Small market (I'd expect single figures, double figures if they're lucky), but big destination.

Ooh, ooh ooh! Is that yet another reason we should have a guzzle of SpCs here?!?!?!?

Can I hear more about the electric jet idea that you mentioned to Tony Stark in Iron Man 2? :wink:

Couple of them have already been repeated but here it goes.
1. If spacex's plan is to be the Fed Ex of space, how do you plan on going to mars without first developing a business for going to mars?
2. Will you continue to be able to allocate high R&D funds with your planned level of operational execution? How will this affect your timelines for going to mars.
3. Besides governments planning flag and footprint missions, what business case does public and private entities have in sustaining human mission to mars?
- I understand the "extinction" answer, but money talks when it comes to mars and there has to be another answer for people willing to part with theirs.
4. NTR's and nuclear power... Since these are not being developed by governments, will you be able to work on these initiatives in the future?
5. Zubrin's Mars (semi) direct mission, is this the current plan for SpaceX in getting humans to Mars commercially?, Will you be building the habs, transportatioin, external power or just providing the ship to get you there?

DITB said:

Is there ever going to be a Tesla Marine?

As in making inboard motors for sailboats and motorboats. Maybe also outboards?

There is a huge potential in electric boats, so I hope the answer is "yes, some day when time permits" or similar

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This question was asked in Oslo in February. The answer was pretty clear; no

Thanks Elon,
The dinner is on me. :smile:

I'd ask about what he things are good candidates in the solar system (in addition to Mars) for human colonization in the next 100 years. I'd also ask if he has any thoughts on how humans might colonize other star systems. Getting to other planets and asteroids within a reasonable time is doable with today's propulsion technology, but the vast distances between the stars means that interstellar colonization will be much more challenging.