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<Elon Musk Frantically Warns Employees of Potential SpaceX Bankruptcy Musk advised employees to work over the weekend after reading Raptor engine production issues were far worse than previously thought. Image: Win McNamee (Getty Images) SpaceX employees received a nightmare email over the holiday weekend from CEO Elon Musk, warning them of a brewing crisis with its Raptor engine production that, if unsolved, could result in the company’s bankruptcy. The email, obtained by SpaceExplored, CNBC, and The Verge, urged employees to work over the weekend in a desperate attempt to increase production of the engine meant to power its next-generation Starship launch vehicle. “Unfortunately, the Raptor production crisis is much worse than it seemed a few weeks ago,” Musk reportedly wrote. “As we have dug into the issues following exiting prior senior management, they have unfortunately turned out to be far more severe than was reported. There is no way to sugarcoat this.” SpaceX did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment but Musk did Tweet about the report Tuesday afternoon. “The magnitude of the Starship program is not widely appreciated” Musk tweeted. “It is designed to extend life to Mars (and the moon), which requires ~1000 times more payload to orbit than all current Earth rockets combined.” Though Musk did not confirm or deny the email’s veracity he spoke to its content saying that, while he did not believe bankruptcy was likely, it wasn’t impossible either. The CEO went on to apparently quote Intel founder and former CEO Andrew Grove, writing “only the paranoid survive.” In his email, Musk advised workers to cut their holiday weekend short and called for an “all hands on deck to recover from what is, quite frankly, a disaster.” Summing up the problem, Musk warned the company could face bankruptcy if it could not get Starship flights running once every two weeks in 2022. If all of this sounds familiar, that’s because Musk has previously spoken publicly about times where both SpaceX and Tesla were on the verge of bankruptcy in their early years. More recently Musk claimed Tesla came within “single digits” of bankruptcy as recent as 2018. Raptor’s engine is a critical component of Starship, which SpaceX hopes will one-day transport cargo and people to the moon and Mars. Starship’s ability to meet these ambitious goals is critical to SpaceX’s long-term success which is built upon Elon Musk’s promise of multi-planetary human exploration. According to Musk’s email, Starship will also play a critical role in launching Starlink’s next-generation satellites into orbit. Musk’s stressed-out email follows a tweet earlier this month where the CEO admitted the Raptor 2 would need a “complete design overhaul” to make multi-planetary life possible. Not long after that, two SpaceX vice presidents abruptly left the company according to CNBC. One of those executives, Will Heltsley, who had been at the company since 2009, was working on the Raptor project but was taken off due to a lack of progress. The alarming news comes near the close of what’s been an otherwise stellar year for SpaceX. In 11 months SpaceX managed to launch 25 successful Falcon 9 missions, sent a dozen astronauts to space and drew a roadmap to mass commercialization with its Starlink satellite internet service. You can read the full email over at The Verge.>

Is the price SGD 1K for brand new 17" Taiwan Rim with Falcon 326 215/45 reasonable?

http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=2003_ford_falcon_xr8-1.jpg http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=2003_ford_falcon_xr8-2.jpg http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=2003_ford_falcon_xr8-3.jpg The Falcon XR8, with its distinctive power bulge in the bonnet, delivers a new level of responsiveness and refinement to the Australian performance car market. The latest edition to Ford's rich performance car heritage is powered by a 5.4-litre V8 boasting quad camshafts, four valves per cylinder, high flow cylinder heads and stainless steel extractors. The Boss 260 engine, which develops 260kW of power at 5250rpm and 500Nm of torque at 4250rpm, is produced on the only V8 engine assembly line in Australia. Ford Performance Vehicles builds each Boss engine from bare blocks and heads, adding a wide range of local upgrades and internals on a new $1.5 million assembly track. The Boss 260 is mated to a Tremec T3650 five-speed manual gearbox designed to handle high torque applications, linked to a 3.23 axle ratio. The XR8 package also includes sports suspension, unique front-end styling with a distinctive power bulge, a bodykit, fog lamps, dual horns and a unique chrome-tipped exhaust outlet. It also has, as standard, 17-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels shod with Dunlop SP3000 235/45 ZR17 tyres. An optional 18-inch, five-spoke alloy with Dunlop SP9000 245/40 ZR18 tyres is also available. Inside, the Falcon XR8 comes complete with sports seats, a sports instrument cluster with blue backlighting and a leather steering wheel. The Falcon XR8 also features a number of standard safety features including traction control, ABS and limited slip differential. Side airbags are a $500 option, while a $2950 premium brake package is also available. The premium brake package includes unique discs and callipers. The front discs are 325mm in diameter and 32mm thick, compared to 298mm and 28mm on the standard Falcon. Both front and rear discs are grooved.

http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=2003_ford_falcon_gt-2.jpg http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=2003_ford_falcon_gt-3.jpg http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=2003_ford_falcon_gt-1.jpg Based on the new BA Falcon, the GT will draw on a heritage dating back to the 1967 XR GT. The Falcon GT is the next step above the XR8 for the performance buyer who wants the definitive expression of Ford performance. It is a limited production Supercar made specifically for the Australian market. A new BOSS 302 The first Boss 302 V8 engine was born in 1969 by combining the latest and proven cast-iron Windsor 302 block with the larger, deeper-breathing Cleveland heads to generate a new Mustang legend in Trans-Am racing. It was a legend that had an unforgettable Australian chapter starring Allan Moffat and his factory Trans-Am Mustang Boss 302. The original Trans-Am race-bred Boss 302 featured an aluminium high-rise manifold, four barrel carburettor, 4-bolt centre main bearing caps, forged crankshaft and special pistons. It delivered 290 bhp@5800 rpm on a compression ratio of 10.5:1. The 390hp version of the new Boss engine starts with the rigid cast-iron block and high torque of Ford's proven 5.4-litre V8, with forged steel crankshaft and cross-bolted main bearing caps as manufactured by Ford in Windsor, Ontario. The block is from the same all new V8 engine family introduced across the Falcon range. The very latest development of the Cobra R alloy cylinder heads, with twin overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and high performance alloy inlet manifold, are the 21st century equivalent of the Cleveland heads. They are added to the latest version of the 5.4-litre block to create a new Boss that is even more formidable than the original. The new Boss 390hp@5500 rpm, the same icon power figure in kilowatts (290kw) as the brake horsepower figures for the original Mustang Boss 302 and the first Falcon GT 351 on their 1969 release. It also shares its 10.5:1 compression ratio with the original Boss 302 while the 520Nm@4500 rpm torque figure launches the new GT, GT-P and Pursuit ute into a class of their own. Recognising the GT heritage Butterworth said there was considerable pressure from Ford fans to revive signature design features of the original Falcon GTs. ' design of the GT had to recognise the rich heritage that comes with the GT brand, without compromising on the integrity of the design. If the signature design features of the early GTs were reduced to gimmicks that didn't work, the design would lose its honesty.' 'The power bulge in FPV bonnets is a modern interpretation of the shaker, and a functional element designed to meet the engineering needs of today's Boss engine. The bulge is not dressed up because there is no functional reason to do that.' 'The lights in the front spoiler are another example. When auxiliary lights were first fitted to a GT in 1968, they were a separate accessory item fitted as standard in the original Falcon grille to go with the GT's extra performance. The new lights have the detail of a traditional accessory auxiliary light. It looks as if they have been added later for high performance road use, which is exactly why we added them, Butterworth said. It has a strong Ford DNA performance signature, with the trapezoidal grille at the top and the large inverted grille below it. We have achieved this through increasing the volume and widening the lower regions, which are actually much wider than other Falcon models. Butterworth on the Exterior 'Ford in the US had just revived the GT stripe on its new GT40 concept in a simple twin parallel stripe format with the model name in the graphics. We had already established that they suited the Ford Special Vehicles (FPV) GT perfectly. Sydney Motor Show feedback confirmed that the time was right for a revival of this iconic GT feature.' says Ford Design Director, Simon Butterworth 'The new stripes add a fun, performance element to the GT. They also make the car look meaner and more aggressive by adding a stronger horizontal aspect. The stripes extend around the front corners to the lower lights to continue this more aggressive stance. As with early GT models, owners can order their GT without the stripes, in which case we add a separate GT badge to the rear doors,' Butterworth said. 'To complement the race car appearance given by the stripes and the other performance elements of the concept car, we added an additional tri-slot intake in the front bumper splitter. Both the upper and lower grilles are filled with matt black mesh for a competition look. The lower mesh grille carries FPV lettering as a reminder of the GT's performance engineering.' 'At the rear, we added a stronger more structural look to the large rear spoiler by adding a centre support spar. The GT is a strong, powerful car and the rear spoiler now reinforces that impression,' he said. The GT is fitted with an enhanced version of the open five-spoke wheel design revealed on the Motor Show concept. Transmission The 290 kilowatts and 520 Newton metres of torque generated by the Boss 290 V8 engine place the Ford Performance Vehicles GT in rarified road-going performance company. It's not surprising that FPV sought out a company with a history of building gearboxes for drag and track racing to source the manual transmission for the GT. The TR3650 is Tremec's first gearbox designed for road cars from the ground-up and has been specifically retooled for the GT. There wasn't an automatic transmission in Australia that could take the Boss 290's 520 Newton metres of torque. So FPV collaborated with local automatic transmission manufacturer BTR to build one that would cope with it along with Australia's high ambient temperatures and heavy towing loads. BTR's M97-019 is the first automatic to offer a console-mounted sequential shift with full manual override in a premium V8 performance model in Australia. In manual override mode, it won't change up, unless the driver wants it to. Suspension To fine-tune the GT's suspension, Ford Performance Vehicles knew exactly the man to call: Ford V8 Supercar champion and Bathurst winner, John Bowe. As a result of his painstaking testing, the work of FPV's suspension engineers and the already highly effective BA Falcon chassis, the new Ford Performance Vehicles GT offers an unprecedented combination of high-performance handling and a startlingly compliant ride. It is a true Grand Tourer for the driver and passengers alike. Ford Performance Vehicles' engineers have tuned the front of the car's handling with Performance independent double-wishbone suspension. The FPV GT has constant-rate front coil springs twice as stiff as the standard BA Falcon XT. Together, the more rigid platform, stiffer springs and a 24-millimetre anti-roll bar deliver firmer handling which is offset for ride comfort by more compliant damper tuning. The new Control Blade independent rear suspension introduced with the BA Falcon sets a new benchmark for Australian premium performance cars. It is a genuine multi-link, independent rear suspension similar to that developed by Ford subsidiary Jaguar for its X-Type. Brakes Apart from possessing outstanding performance, the GT had to deliver it predictably and instill confidence in its driver. So when the FPV Boss 290 V8 engine set a new benchmark combination of power and torque, it required a similar advance in braking. FPV offers two specification levels on the GT: the standard Performance brakes package or the optional Brembos. Conclusion The GT will lives up to the GT legend by combining exceptional power with total handling, an exceptional safety package, and aggressive aesthetics. GT represents a performance sports car that goes beyond the standard Australian-built sports car. Its aggressive looks and powerful engine will be balanced by developments to the chassis, improvements to the driveline, and bigger brakes. The combination of all these elements will give the driver a true sense of what high-performance cars are all about - power, handling, braking, looks, masculinity, and status. Story by Ford Performance Vehicles Pty Ltd, edited by Supercars.net

http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=1967_ford_falcon_gt-1.jpg This was the car that started the Australian Falcon GT legend! Developed from the special Police Interceptor Pack Falcon, the GT was the brainchild of dynamic Ford Australia Managing Director, Bill Bourke. The experts told Ford that a GT came only with 2 doors but Ford went ahead anyway with the definitive Aussie 4-door GT based on the XR series, resplendent in its own exclusive colour, GT Gold. Its unique charcoal interior featured the sportier ZA Fairlane bucket seats, wood-grained steering wheel, dash and matching gear knob and special Stewart-Warner full instrumentation. Appointments were a cut above the XR Fairmont. The new GT was also the first full-size Australian family car variation to offer a total performance and appearance package with extra safety including the Mustang 289 V8 with Australias first four barrel carburettor, 4-speed manual gearbox, sports suspension with radial tyres on 5.5 inch rims and steering wheel impact pad, all standard. Its GT stripes down the sides and across the boot, distinctive GT medallions and grille blackouts caused a sensation when the first GT was released in May 1967 as a limited edition model late in the XR series. In October, the real reason for its creation became apparent as the new GT Falcon took the 'King of the Mountain' title at Bathurst thereby establishing the foundations for V8 Supercars into the 21st Century.

http://www.supercars.net/PicFetch?pic=1997_ford_falcon_gt-1.jpg Probably the most aggressive-looking GT ever launched by Ford Australia, the EL 30th Anniversary model's in-your-face styling polarised enthusiasts but in true GT tradition, it proved to be ahead of its time and still looks fresher than most 1997 releases. The motoring press dubbed it 'Darth Vader On Wheels', which neatly summed-up Ford's 1997 interpretation of how a GT should look. Developed and hand-assembled by Tickford, the EL GT continued the Grand Tourer concept by going beyond the top Fairmont Ghia's luxury interior with Momo sports steering wheel, leather and suede sports seats, wood grain cabin highlights and matching it with improved suspension and performance. Ford's bold new look, which again was fully integrated with the original EL styling, featured a smooth new front bumper with built-in driving lights, deep front spoiler, integrated wheel arch flares and side skirts, sculptured twin vent bonnet scoop, and a wild rear spoiler. Champion Ford race driver John Bowe was responsible for much of the hands-on fine tuning and testing of the EL GT. Refinement and performance went up another notch after Tickford added a carbon-fibre wrapped tail shaft and reworked the engine for punchier mid-range response. The production run was just 270 and, like the EBII five years before, it was another quick sell-out for Ford and just enough to keep Ford enthusiasts asking for more.