Network Archives

Tesla’s Elon Musk Is No Dummy

"You have to be pretty smart to create an online payment company, an electric car company and a space exploration company in quick succession. Indeed, Elon Musk, who founded or co-founded PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, has degrees in economics and physics. He started a PhD at Stanford in applied physics and materials science, but dropped out to become an entrepreneur. Smart move. Today, Musk is worth an estimated $4.3 billion after strong gains in Tesla shares, along with Solar City, where he is chairman and owns 28 percent. Proceeds from share sales will be used to pay off Tesla’s taxpayer loan under a Department of Energy program." Continue reading →

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BitPremier Sells Luxury Goods For Bitcoin

"We've found a guy who claims to be putting his Trump Soho condo up for sale. And he will only take payment in Bitcoin. Later today, he will advertise the property exclusively on BitPremier, the first-ever online Bitcoin exchange exclusively for luxury goods. The site launches today. We recently spoke by phone with BitPremier founder Alan Silbert, who also serves as a VP for GE Capital, about the goals for BitPremier. He said purchasing options for people who own lots of Bitcoin have thus far been limited. Along with the choice condo, the site will also launch with a Bahamas villa, a Leroy Neiman artwork, and a high-end watch. A Ferrari and Mercedes are also imminent." Continue reading →

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Luxury Living: Wiesmann Cars Have It All

"Wiesmann is the leading manufacturer of puristic sports cars. The name is well established in the luxury market and there are more than a thousand good reasons for that: Until today more than 1,500 handcrafteded cars left the Wiesmann factory. The company currently utilises dealership bases in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. With a bit of luck you might not only spot a Wiesmann in the Münsterland but also on the Champs Elysées in Paris or in front of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Those fortunate enough to hear, see or even drive a Wiesmann sports car will soon realise that there are more powers involved than just a strong engine." Continue reading →

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Tesla Motors now more valuable than Italian auto giant Fiat

"The rocketing stock price of electric sports car maker Tesla made it more valuable than Fiat Tuesday — even though the Italian auto giant produces 200 times more cars than the American upstart. After a more than 50 percent gain in the past week, Tesla’s market value topped $10 billion, compared to the Turin giant’s $8 billion, as investors reacted to the company turning a profit in the first quarter and analysts boosting their forecasts. The shares were up 55 percent in one week and 150 percent since the beginning of the year, after struggling through 2012 on production delays and questions about whether it could turn a profit." Continue reading →

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Car Seats Only One: The Lamborghini Egoista

"Italian sports-car maker Automobili Lamborghini SpA unveiled a new vehicle called the Egoista, which is meant to mark its 50th anniversary, reports WSJ. The car, which seats one and has the look of a space ship (or a 17-year cicada), is powered by a 5.2-liter V-10 engine that puts out 600 horsepower. The company described its interior as a 'cockpit, designed like a tailor-made suit for the driver.' The driver’s compartment is built separately from the rest of the car to act as a 'survival cell,' inspired by the design of the Apache attack helicopter, the company said." Continue reading →

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Reporting from Bitcoin Conference 2013

"All attending the first Bitcoin 2013 conference in Silicon Valley are considering it a success. There are more than 1,000 attendees and the entrance fee to the event is $350.00. At one booth, Bitcoins were being sold for cash with no ID checks. Walk up to the booth lay down your money and buy your bitcoins. The money was piling up. The less 'corporate,' the more renegade seemed to be the operators and the more willing these operators seemed to be willing to challenge the government. One corporate type said to me that virtual currencies are in their infancy and that lawsuits, fighting and jail time for some will occur before the crypto-currency world becomes more defined." Continue reading →

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Does This Make America Less Free Than Slovakia?

"Would your grandparents have ever said that Slovakia is freer than America? Most likely not, but today the story is a little different. Decent Americans have their lives ruined, their business closed, their property confiscated, and often wind up in jail simply because they want to produce clean milk for people who realize what a load of rubbish pasteurized 'milk' is. In Slovakia, a country that has been little more than two decades out of authoritarian rule, we see a very different picture and boy does that make me scratch my head, because the country I grew up considering the freest country in the world really doesn’t sound like it in this example." Continue reading →

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The Blank Slate State

"It is easy to take one look at Honduras and write it off as an irredeemable mess. But a few dreamers see hope for an experiment that may upend our notions of what a state can accomplish. For the last few years, libertarians and other futurists have gazed upon this misgoverned mess of mountainous jungle and imagined a clean slate for innovations in political and economic growth. Honduras, they believe, can become a laboratory for creating wealth-producing institutions that can then be replicated worldwide. The only catch: To become a 21st-century trailblazer, Honduras—or at least a small territory within it—must become, well, not Honduras." Continue reading →

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Google CEO wants to ‘set aside a part of the world’ for unregulated experimentation

"'There are many exciting things you could do that are illegal or not allowed by regulation,' Page said. 'And that's good, we don't want to change the world. But maybe we can set aside a part of the world.' He likened this potential free-experimentation zone to Burning Man and said that we need 'some safe places where we can try things and not have to deploy to the entire world.' Google is already well-known for coming up with some pretty interesting ideas — the idea of seeing what Page could come up with in this lawless beta-test country is simultaneously exciting and a bit terrifying." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle CEO wants to ‘set aside a part of the world’ for unregulated experimentation

David Galland: The Other Side of the Wall

"When we arrived in Cafayate, it was with some entirely natural trepidation. After all, not only were we going to be living in a remote corner of Argentina, we were bringing along our teenage kids with all that that implies. We pondered all manner of questions and concerns. Would our stumbling knowledge of the local lingo prove a hamper? Would the highly dysfunctional government hereabouts be an impediment at every turn, the bureaucracy frustrating? Would the kids adapt to the new environment and be able to get a good education? Yet, never ones to worry ourselves into inaction, we plowed ahead and on October 22 set down our bags in Cafayate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: The Other Side of the Wall