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Starbase, LA

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Re: Starbase, LA

#311

Post by wjessup »

phlakaton wrote: post #251
tristanj wrote: post #200

So this is official after months of speculation. Local realtors called this back in May https://x.com/SERobinsonJr/status/2051440979878559829 , and Ars Technica covered these rumors earlier this month https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/spacex-is-set-to-acqui... . The Louisiana location has two major benefits: Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) Access : Launches into SSO have a launch angle of ~98° relative to the equator…

I think you mean the Gulf of Mexico. It's poor form to let a crybaby bully have his way.

[flagged]

Re: Starbase, LA

#312

Post by WalterBright »

gchamonlive wrote: post #268
WalterBright wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Inflation is caused by deficit money creation. It is not caused by taxes, tariffs, corporate greed, union greed, oligarchs, or anything else.

That's a very narrow view of inflation. If you increase wages, there's more demand for goods, more demand means higher prices which means higher inflation. Same with tariffs, they are paid when importing goods, which is passed onto the consumer, resulting in higher prices and thus inflation.

> That's a very narrow view of inflation.

It's the only correct one. For proof, consider the inflation that happened when Spain looted gold from S. America, then during the California Gold Rush, then the Yukon Gold Rush.

All driven by an increase in the supply of money.

Re: Starbase, LA

#313

Post by consensus1 »

rurp wrote: post #143
adamtaylor_13 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're being down-voted (and so shall I) but I think you're right. Despite all the animosity towards him, Musk is doing things that are economically meaningful for our nation. We'll need a few more of "him" to dig us out of this situation I reckon, but overall I still hope it's possible. (Anyone asking antagonistic questions can go ahead and save their fingers, I won't respond to the petty comments.)

Few Americans have done more than musk to destroy state capacity and to enable corruption on a massive scale, all while enriching himself to an unprecedented degree. That's great for him and his cronies that he has gotten so wealthy doing it, but he's been a huge net-negative to most humans. I get that rockets are cool and a lot of people in the tech bubble think that starlink is the greatest thing ever, but most peo…

So where is the guy who is respectful to the government and compliant with regulations that is out there building millions of EVs, rockets, and massive satellite constellations? If he existed I could respect your argument. But in reality the only guy who seems to be able to build a modern mass manufacturing company in the US is the trillionaire who runs roughshod over all forms of government oversight that gets in his way. That should tell you something about where the problem lies here.

Elon Musk isn't the problem, he is the symptom. The problem is that it is basically required to be ruthless and corrupt to get anything done in this country at the scale, price, and timeline needed to be commercially viable. The solution is less regulation and bureaucracy, not more.

Re: Starbase, LA

#314

Post by WalterBright »

dgellow wrote: post #276
WalterBright wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm skeptical that Optimus can be productive at anything other than picking up boxes, moving them around, then stacking them.

Won’t stop him from advertising them

Nope, it won't. Won't stop the government from advertising the failed California high speed rail, either. But I think Musk is more likely to deliver on Optimus.

Re: Starbase, LA

#315

Post by SmirkingRevenge »

WalterBright wrote: post #261
mthoms wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3) Elon Musk has fascist leanings and many people don't want to live in a world where such a person has ever increasing wealth, influence and power. Especially since he has no qualms about using that same wealth and influence to subvert and distort elections, both domestic and foreign.

[flagged]

They're pretty well known for lawlessly purging bureaucracies of experienced, civil servants loyal to the rule of law, to make way for cronies and regime loyalists.

They're pretty well known for scapegoating and persecuting immigrants and minorities and "enemies within" - and engaging in political projects to imprison and/or eject them from the nation.

Musk didn't cut government spending. Legally, only congress can do that. They increased spending. 10s of billions of that spending has gone to towards a mass build out of prison camps where many people, citizens included, are being held in horrid conditions indefinitely without due process and without being charged with any crime. This seems to be a project that Musk supports.

Re: Starbase, LA

#316

Post by torginus »

decimalenough wrote: post #248
bigyabai wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's only mass-market in the US because of subsidies and tariffs. Chinese EVs change the equation entirely. Outside the US protectionist bubble, Tesla is seen as a luxury brand and their inability to deliver a $25,000 EV doesn't help.

As of March 2026, the Model Y is the best selling car in China . https://teslamagz.com/tesla/model-y/tesla-model-y-becomes-ch... Also South Korea, Australia, the EU, etc.

I guess it's to Tesla's advantage that unlike most manufacturers, they don't make a million different models which end up dividing sales.

Re: Starbase, LA

#317

Post by maxlin »

mcmcmc wrote: post #304
leoh wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also the benefit of marginal environmental regulations...

Don’t forget the corruption and low income locals who won’t be able to provide any meaningful pushback

Pushback? Anyone wishes they lived there now. SpaceX bought out stragglers off Boca Chica for multiple times the value of their homes

Re: Starbase, LA

#318

Post by maxlin »

utopiah wrote: post #108
chasd00 wrote: post #2

Man if this actually starts to happen it's a good time to be a welder, concrete worker, or any general contractor or tradesman in Louisiana. Coastal Louisiana is some of the poorest areas in the US even more so than the valley in Texas where Starbase Texas is located. Probably 10-20 years worth of solid work building out that site.

Hmmm is it though? Quite a few articles like https://futurism.com/future-society/elon-musk-stiffing-contr... make me think they better ask to be paid upfront.

"Quite a few" while you're the woman from if Google Was A Guy with literally one result against an avalanche.

SpaceX makes plumbers millionaires. It's the employer of dreams

Re: Starbase, LA

#319

Post by ggreer »

jubilanti wrote: post #228
ggreer wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whether they make economic sense or not depends on launch costs. With current operational rockets (such as Falcon 9), the launch costs are too high for space compute to be profitable. All these projects depend on Starship succeeding. If you read Starcloud's white paper[1], they make the case that space data centers can be cheaper than terrestrial ones because of access to 24/7 solar power. I think failure is more lik…

And whether you can radiate all that heat in the vacuum of space

If orbital compute fails, it won't be due to heat issues. Current radiators are around 8kg per square meter, and each square meter can radiate close to 1kW. So a 1 megawatt satellite would need less than 40 square meters of radiators weighing around 300kg. And that assumes there won't be any improvements in radiator efficiency.

The outcome is almost entirely determined by launch costs.

Re: Starbase, LA

#320

Post by maxlin »

ryandvm wrote: post #78
sigmoid10 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the figures in this announcement hold up, they're gonna spend like $20k per resident of LA. That's insane.

Lol. I can't imaging the figures from a Musk venture not holding up.

Many said that about Starlink too. Impossible to send so many rockets up. Till it isn't.
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