Europe feels stuck in a loop: welfare strain, bureaucracy, and a growing sense that the system is becoming unsustainable. The conversation kicks into “peak chaos week” after the EU’s fine on X and what the crew see as speech being regulated based on what institutions “don’t like.”

From there, they zoom out into geopolitics and incentives: why alignment between the EU and US is fraying, what that signals about long-term strategy, and who gets to build the next economic order. 

Then the lens shifts to the actual constraint underneath everything: cheap energy and fast-growing compute. “Misconomy 2.0” becomes the frame—capital, regulators, and companies either solving the bottleneck together, or losing the decade.

Finally, they connect Starship scale to a wild but logical endpoint: cloud computing and AI infrastructure moving into orbit and beyond. 

In this episode
🇪🇺 Europe’s pressure cooker — welfare strain, bureaucracy & why the system feels unsustainable
❌ EU vs X — fines, speech regulation & the Streisand effect in action
📈 #1 app in Europe — why suppression backfires faster than ever
🤝 EU–US alignment — trade, defense & why strategic cooperation is fracturing
⚡ Energy as the real bottleneck — cheap power, compute & productivity as destiny
📉 “Misconomy 2.0” — how Europe misses the capital–energy–innovation triangle
🔺 From triangle to pyramid — energy, consciousness & Maslow in economic form
🚀 Starship scale — why cheaper launches change cloud computing forever
🖥️ Space-based compute — AI infrastructure leaving Earth as the logical next step
🧠 Media & AI races — incentives, narratives & why speed now beats control

The crew sit down in peak FSD-chaos week: Tesla calls on owners to message their road authorities, RDW gets flooded, and suddenly there’s an official path on the table — Article 39 with a February target. What looks like “FSD is coming to Europe” turns out to be much more messy, political and philosophical than headlines suggest.

They unpack why RDW matters so much, how a temporary exemption could let Tesla *shape* future regulation instead of just absorbing it, and what happens if the Article 39 route fails and everything slips to 2027+. Along the way they zoom out: Europe’s shrinking importance for Tesla, the shift from “owning a car” to “buying transport”, the coming Cybercab wave, and how AI, energy and autonomy collide into a new economic order.

Check out:
- Tesla’s post on FSD in Europe: https://x.com/KRoelandschap/status/1992320393185742857?s=20
- Kees’ take on FSD and RDW repsons: https://x.com/KRoelandschap/status/1992971468162912495?s=20
- Post of Greentheonly: https://x.com/greentheonly/status/1991414891958473103?s=46&t=xqdJJOleebMe_vzuGspn1g

In this episode

🚦 RDW, Article 39 & why a February “commitment” isn’t a done deal
🌍 1.3–1.4M Teslas in Europe & what that means for FSD priorities
🛡️ Safety first — Tesla’s data, regulators and “regulating for stupid”
🚕 FSD vs Cybercabs — supervised driving or straight to Robotaxis
💶 Cheap energy, transport & labour — sustainable abundance or lost decade for Europe
🧠 AI 2027, arms races & why delaying tech only makes the shock bigger

A deep dive that bridges 5,000 years of engineering with the frontier of AI and robotics. From Demian’s on-site exploration of Egypt’s pyramids to Tesla’s chip strategy, CyberCab rollout and Optimus economics, this episode tracks how civilizations rise on manufacturing breakthroughs — and why we’re entering the next one.

The crew zoom out from the shareholder meeting headlines to the real story:

scale, compute, robotics, and the societal transition that follows.

What the pyramids were for ancient Egypt, the TeraFab and Optimus may become for us.

Check out:
- Robot IRL: https://x.com/robotinreallife
- Jeff Lutz: https://x.com/thejefflutz
- Larry Goldberg's Muskonomy 2.0 Article: https://x.com/TeslaLarry/status/1990060509979119670?s=20

In this episode

🏺 Ancient Tech, Modern Parallels — Why the pyramids look less like tombs and more like early gigafactories: pressure chambers, ammonia production, conductivity and large-scale industrial design.

🤖 Optimus Ramp & the Money Glitch — Elon’s claim of the fastest product scale-up in history, the economics behind a billion humanoids, and why labor decoupling changes everything.

🔌 Chips, Compute & the TeraFab — What Tesla’s chip strategy implies for AI scarcity, inference at planetary scale, and why data centers may move off-planet.

🚕 CyberCab & Unboxed Manufacturing — A new vehicle architecture, a new supply chain, and why robotaxis won’t just disrupt Uber — but the entire ICE market.

🌍 FSD Deployment Reality Check — Europe’s regulatory gridlock, loopholes used by early adopters, and geopolitical fragmentation in autonomous driving.

🛰️ Space-Based AI — The blueprint for AI data centers in space, Starship cadence, lunar cooling advantages, and the economics of off-world compute.

💸 The Next Economy — Deflation, unemployment, value creation without labor, and the tension between societal collapse and abundance-driven entrepreneurship.

🧭 A Pro-Human AI Future — What a “pro-human AI” actually means: preventing harm, augmenting human capability, and shifting from a money-driven to a value-driven society.

A wide-angle lens on Tesla’s Q3 earnings, but the real signals are buried in the long game: how vertical integration across AI, energy, hardware, and software sets the stage for exponential leverage.

The crew break down Tesla’s stacking flywheels—FSD v14, Optimus, Energy, X—and how they converge into a unified platform play. From Megapack cash flows and robotaxi economics to Elon’s Everything App ambitions, this episode traces how short-term noise masks long-term asymmetry.

In this episode

📉 Earnings vs. Vision — Why headlines missed the point: software economics, margin dilution, and where real growth lies.
🤖 FSD v14 Milestone — What v14 unlocks (end-to-end planning, biological inspiration) and how it mirrors Optimus architecture.
⚡ Energy S-Curve — Megapack scale, Autobidder strategy, and how energy stability funds long-term bets.
📱 Platform Power — Tesla ≠ just cars: how X might merge FSD data, payments, ID, and entertainment.
🔁 Stacking Loops — Manufacturing, data, AI, distribution, energy—why Tesla’s core flywheel compounds itself.
🚀 Q4 Signals — Robotaxi deployment, Optimus v3, SpaceX cadence, and signs of an Everything App rollout.

A deep dive into Optimus and FSD v14: how a unified real-world AI, vertical integration, and actuator/manufacturing advances could turn factory pilots into the first true bot economy.

The crew map near-term use-cases (production cells, logistics, last-mile), weigh “prototype vs. scale,” and outline Q4 catalysts—from v14 capability jumps and a potential Optimus v3 tease to SpaceX cadence and Boring Co’s 3D-transit thesis.

In this episode
🤖 Optimus Roadmap — From Gen-2/2.5 iterations to what a v3 reveal would signal.
🧠 Unified AI — Why FSD v14’s architecture transfers to humanoids (perception → planning → control).
🏭 Prototype vs. Scale — Actuators, materials, and why in-house manufacturing is the real moat.
📦 First Jobs — Factory tasks now; order-picking/last-mile next; households later.
🔒 IP vs. Hype — The case for quiet execution heading into early-November updates.
🚀 Q4 Watchlist — FSD v14 rollout, Robotaxi pilots, SpaceX launch tempo, and Boring Co progress.

Demian, Florian & Kees trade books, compare notes on community and owners clubs, and then dive deep on why the November shareholder meeting really matters—Elon’s compensation/voting rights, Master Plan Part 4’s operational milestones, and how Robotaxi economics interplay with FSD subscriptions. Big-picture strategy, but also the nuts and bolts of getting to serious EBITDA.

In this episode

• Community & Owners Clubs — Why Tesla’s community (and even inside jokes) shapes the culture and feedback loop.
• Shareholder Meeting: What’s at Stake — Elon’s role for the next decade, voting alignment with shareholders, and the 7.5-year lock-up mechanics in the package.
• Master Plan 4, Operational Milestones — 20M vehicles delivered, 10M active FSD subs, 1M Robotaxis, 1M Optimus, and a path toward $400B adjusted EBITDA.
• Energy vs AI Margins — Why Energy might be a “given” input while AI-driven lines capture more of the margin.
• Robotaxi vs FSD Subscriptions — Private ownership, commercial ops, licensing, and where each model likely dominates.
• Sequencing → EBITDA — Which milestone unlocks the next, and what has to be true for the first $50B step.

No guest this week—just Demian, Florian & Kees kicking off a “new season,” trading gifts (including an 80s throwback tee) and building a shared reading list to sharpen mental models before a very big Q4 for Tesla. 📚⚙️

In this episode

📚 Reading & Mental Models
Why a common “base library” matters (from Stellar Economy to Exponential Organizations), plus Buffett/Munger-style mental models, first-principles thinking, and how Elon processes questions before answering.

🚗 EV Reality Check
Berkshire fully exiting BYD, cash-flow red flags across legacy/Chinese EVs, and why the next few quarters could be a bloodbath for non-Tesla programs.

🤖 FSD Momentum
Analysts finally “get it,” FSD take-rate jumps, and the crew’s expectation that v14 (already with employee testers) flips the switch for Robotaxi pilots in more U.S. states.

🏭 The Machine That Builds the Machine
From Unboxed manufacturing to a possible global Energy ramp—why the next 6–18 months could stack multiple S-curves at once.

🕳️ Boring Company Deep Dive
PRUFROCK tech, tunnels as 3D transit, beating “the snail,” and how red-tape (not engineering) is the real bottleneck.

🚀 SpaceX & Q4 Outlook
SpaceX’s dominance in launches/payload, plus what to watch for at the early-November shareholder meeting: Optimus updates, Roadster halo effects, Model Y tweaks—and timing around FSD v14.

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We’ve got a special guest for Episode 50 — Roel Smelt joins Demian & Florian for one of our most philosophical deep dives yet.

From meditation retreats to building mobile-first startups, Roel brings a unique perspective on technology, business, and humanity — and how it all ties into Elon Musk’s mission.

Could surrendering to AI actually make us more human? And what does Elon’s vision of preserving consciousness really mean for our future?

In this episode:

🧠 Philosophy & Consciousness

Space, time & why humans are more than what they create

Good vs. evil, common ground & why connection matters

The role of love and surrender in solving conflict

🤖 AI & Grokopedia

Elon’s plan to build a “truth-seeking” AI

Why getting humans out of the loop might be necessary

How proactive AI could guide us toward purpose & meaning

🚗 Tesla & Disruption

Polarization and why Elon attracts so much hate

Why Tesla, SpaceX & Starlink will be studied 100 years from now

The deeper meaning behind Elon buying $1B in Tesla stock

👶 Being Human Again

Falling birth rates, mental health, and rediscovering purpose

Why AI should help us live according to biology — not just optimize profit

The future of work, free time, and human connection

🎙️ Reflections & Big Questions

Can AI become a moral coach or even lead countries?

What does it mean to “surrender” to AI — and should we?

Why stories, purpose, and consciousness still matter

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