Cybertruck Update
Elon Musk grabbed the stage at the recent launch of Tesla's Giga Texas factory to unveil the production model of the Cybertruck. The Cybertruck was first announced in 2019 and was supposed to be released in 2021, however due to a delay, it will now be released in 2023. Musk also apologised for the long wait for the much-anticipated Cybertruck. Much of the car's design has been kept in the actual vehicle, however the handles have been eliminated in favour of an automatic opening system.
The Tesla Cybertruck will be built at the Texas Gigafactory, which is on track to become America's "highest volume" automotive plant. Musk went on to say that the business aims to build more Gigafactories across the world in order to scale up production to a level that "no company has ever achieved in the history of humanity" and ensuring that its vehicles are shipped in an environmentally benign manner. Tesla will be releasing a huge wave of new products soon, he teased towards the end of his presentation.
Click here to watch the Cybertruck 2023 launch date announcement.
Tesla to Power a Bitcoin Mine
Blockstream and Jack Dorsey's Block have broken ground in Texas on a solar- and battery-powered bitcoin mine that will leverage Tesla's solar and storage technology. The facility will be powered by Tesla's 3.8 megawatt solar PV array and 12 megawatt-hour Megapack.
The mining operation is designed to be a proof of concept for 100 percent renewable energy bitcoin mining at scale, according to Blockstream co-founder and CEO Adam Back, a British cryptographer and part of the "cypherpunk" team. "People like to argue about the many aspects of bitcoin mining," Back remarked.
A Solar Plant
When energy consumers co-locate with renewables, it generates a financial incentive for expansion and improves the basic economics of renewable power production, which have been volatile in the past. Miners offer demand for these semi-stranded assets, allowing renewables to thrive in Texas.
West Texas has about 34 gigawatts of electricity, five gigawatts of demand, and only 12 gigawatts of transmission capacity. Bitcoin miners can be thought of as temporary customers who keep energy assets running until the grid can absorb them completely.
The off-grid mine, which is slated to be finished later this year, exemplifies another essential concept of the bitcoin network: miners are location agnostic and may work from anywhere without access to local infrastructure. If the project proves lucrative during its pilot phase, the businesses plan to add wind power to the mix and grow the project as a whole.
There are 3.8 megawatts of solar and one megawatt of mining, so you'll need to overprovision because peak solar input varies throughout the day and isn't available at night. Adding wind to the mix, on the other hand, would lower total expenses and assist to balance out the solar downtime. Blockstream's ultimate goal is to enhance the bitcoin network by diversifying the cryptocurrency's energy sources.
