Elon Musk lost $12 billion 📉

Plus: A new upgrade could unlock greater amounts of fusion power May 19, 2022 [View in browser]( Sometimes it’s best to read the room by hearing what isn’t said. It’s a quiet way of taking in a situation without changing circumstances that might already be in your favor. But Elon Musk took a different tack on Wednesday by rapid-tweeting controversial takes about “social justice warriors” as Tesla stock tanked. And he lost $12 billion in personal worth. It happened after Tesla was cut from the S&P 500 ESG Index, a swanky list of firms ranked by their social, environmental, and governance (ESG) policies. This is baffling because the EV maker brands itself as central to sustainable transportation. But it’s important to remember that much of the world is a zero-sum game, and Musk’s pending purchase of Twitter doesn’t have to be politically charged to bother others with deep pockets. Good morning. I’m Brad, the senior editor of IE. This is The Blueprint. The rest is up to you. CULTURE [Elon Musk's personal worth drops by $12 billion in a single day]( [Elon Musk in his conventional pose.]( Elon Musk, the “Technoking” of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and Twitter CEO-hopeful, [lost $12 billion of his personal worth]( in one day. Holy cow. - Musk has shared broad ideas about changes he wants for Twitter. But on Wednesday, the Tesla CEO vented his frustration with the economic situation, and even posted some tell-all tweets on his politics. As the day went on, Tesla's stock price sank to the lowest level in 2022, wiping out $12.3 of Elon Musk's wealth, according to [a Bloomberg report](. Losing friends in high places. Musk's mad rant began when the exclusion of Tesla from the S&P 500 ESG, a list of companies ranked by their social, environmental, and governance (ESG) policies. Companies that make the list are thought to be key in protecting the environment and [helping society go green](. Using this metric, Tesla seems like a good fit, and it was. But the EV maker was shunted off of the list, clearly irking Musk, [who tweeted]( “Exxon is rated top ten best in world for environment, social & governance (ESG) by S&P 500, while Tesla didn’t make the list! ESG is a scam. It has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors.” [Read More]( INNOVATION [A new theoretical upgrade could unlock vastly greater amounts of fusion power]( [The tokamak reactor at Swiss Plasma Center.]( The world's largest fusion experiment, ITER, may [unleash more power than previously thought](. That's because a team of scientists from the Swiss Plasma Center, one of the world's leading nuclear fusion research institutes, released [a study]( updating a foundational principle of plasma generation. - The team’s research shows that the upcoming ITER tokamak can operate using twice the amount of hydrogen that was believed to be its full capacity, meaning it could generate vastly greater amounts of nuclear fusion energy. "Since the early days of fusion, we've known that if you try to increase the fuel density, at some point there would be what we call a 'disruption' — basically you totally lose the confinement, and plasma goes wherever," Ricci said in [a press statement](. Double the fun. Ricci and his team derived a new equation for the fuel limit in a tokamak based on their simulations. And it satisfies Greenwald's limit while also providing a substantial update. Crucially, the new equation posits that the Greenwald limit can nearly double using the fuel used in ITER, meaning it can use almost [twice the fuel]( without disruption. [Read More]( SCIENCE [Moon volcanoes may have spewed 18 quadrillion pounds of volcanic water]( [An image of the moon's surface.]( A new paper from researchers at CU Boulder predicts that ancient volcanoes on the moon [may have left ice sheets behind]( that may measure up to hundreds of feet thick in parts. Thirsty? - The researchers used advanced computer simulations and models to recreate the conditions of the moon during and after its volatile volcanic past. Their simulations showed that the ancient lunar volcanoes threw out a lot of water vapor, which came down to settle on the surface, forming ice sheets. "We envision it as a frost on the moon that built up over time," Andrew Wilcoski, lead author of the new study and a graduate student at CU Boulder, explained in [a press release](. If early humans were alive at that point, they may have even seen light reflecting off the ice from Earth. Imagine the carnage! Drink to the moon. Increasingly, scientists and engineers are developing mining tools for future Moon missions to help them extract ice from under the lunar surface. This can be used for drinking water and also be converted into oxygen for rocket propellant. The Rocket M, [a mining rover built by Masten Space Systems]( for example, is designed to reach lunar ice via controlled rocket blasts. [Read More]( MAIL & MUSINGS If we’re going to live on the moon, we need to develop technology to employ local, lunar resources. Do you think a moon base could truly become self-sustainable, resource-wise? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [Totally! We’re just spoiled, on Earth.]( [Let’s put some undesirables on the surface, and find out.]( [Cuckoo, you’re living in a dream world.]( [I’m ready. Bring it on! Let me at ‘em!! (a fight ensues)]( Yesterday’s Results Yesterday we asked if you believe in UFOs. One-third of you think it's just secret military tech. Bizarrely, more than one-quarter of you are, in fact, Special Agent Fox Mulder. But 15 percent of you are ready to join the Men in Black. It’s just military aircraft we don’t know about. 33% I want to believe… 27% Yes! Bring in the cornfields. 25% Little green men — they are already among us. 15% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Technology is not neutral. We're inside of what we make, and it's inside of us. We're living in a world of connections — and it matters which ones get made and unmade. ” Donna J. Haraway in her book, “A Cyborg Manifesto” (1985) [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [A jet suit makes a record-breaking ascent to 3,100 feet in just three minutes]( This could be the difference between life and death for many critical cases. [A jet suit makes a record-breaking ascent to 3,100 feet in just three minutes]( AND ANOTHER THING... - Can we really stop an alien invasion? Let’s [assume we have a shot](. - Boeing is playing “catch-up” with SpaceX. But [is it working]( (CNN Business) - The U.N. chief says [the world’s energy system is “broken”]( and warns us of a “climate catastrophe”. - For many, mental health is a luxury. Here’s why [it shouldn’t be that way](. (Scientific American) - The James Webb Space Telescope will "profoundly change" how you see the universe. [Here’s why](. - The U.S. Panel formed to “combat disinformation” [might not be what it appears to be]( after all. (The New York Times $) - A new hybrid luxury yacht actually lands on dry ground, after [it’s hoisted around in the air](. Prepared by Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe [here.]( © Copyright 2022 | The Blueprint is by Interesting Engineering, Inc. 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105 | All Rights Reserved [Interesting Engineering]