Overview
Today’s feed was split between power and proof. Government “efficiency” made headlines as DOGE was confirmed dead while posting fresh savings. X’s new account location feature sparked identity rows and official denials. Meanwhile, Tesla and SpaceX pushed on with chips, autonomy, and satellites, Bitcoin’s standard-bearer doubled down, and culture stories ran from stadium angst to a red-carpet ban.
The big picture
First, the DOGE saga - reports of its end collided with the department’s own receipts on contract cuts.
Leading Report: DOGE no longer exists
A crisp bulletin citing Reuters, stating the Department of Government Efficiency has been dissolved.
DOGE: “Contracts Update!” with $335M in savings
The department posted FPDS screenshots and a tally of 78 contracts cut or descoped over nine days, claiming $335 million saved against a $1.9 billion ceiling.
unusual_whales: White House says DOGE is eliminated
A market-watcher account amplified the White House confirmation that DOGE has been wound up months early.
Next, X’s brief account-location rollout lit up the timeline - part product test, part culture war.
Carl Benjamin: “Such a fun feature”
Highlights the “About this account” feature outing a poster’s location, and the irony that followed.
Homeland Security: “This account has only ever been run… from the United States”
DHS rebutted viral claims about foreign control, blaming forged screenshots and a buggy rollout.
Culture Crave: “X now shows locations for accounts”
A meme-filled update on the broader rollout, with examples of foreign-run political accounts posing as American.
On the frontier side, a flurry of posts sketched a long-term playbook - custom AI chips, wider rollouts of supervised autonomy, more satellites, and the Sun’s simple physics lesson.
Yun-Ta Tsai: “Design the robotic brain”
A hiring call tied to Tesla’s in-house accelerator roadmap - AI5 nearing tape-out with big efficiency claims, AI6 already underway, and a push to scale Optimus and FSD.
Sawyer Merritt: FSD (Supervised) reaches South Korea
HW4 owners in Korea join the v14.1.4 rollout list, making it the seventh country to get access.
SpaceX: 28 more Starlink satellites deployed
Another mission, more broadband capacity, and a 2025 tempo that dwarfs last year’s count.
Elon Musk: “The Sun is all that matters long-term”
A reminder that the Sun holds 99.8 percent of the solar system’s mass - a tidy frame for energy reality.
Markets and society pulled the other way - conviction in a volatile asset, and a continent’s demographic headwinds.
Michael Saylor: “I Won’t ₿ack Down”
A defiant nod to Bitcoin strategy amid MSCI index scrutiny and a broader crypto sell-off.
Tesla Owners Silicon Valley: Italy’s birth rate hits a record low
ISTAT data shows 369,944 births in 2024 and fertility at 1.18 - a stark number for Europe’s ageing arc.
Culture and media rounded out the day - security boundaries, fan fury, and a billionaire’s book rec.
Pop Crave: Singapore bans man who grabbed Ariana Grande
After a nine-day jail term for public nuisance, the serial disruptor is barred from re-entering Singapore.
MrBanks: Liverpool gallows humour
An AI-made rant goes viral after a grim run under Arne Slot - catharsis for supporters, ammo for rivals.
Bill Ackman: A fast read on Palantir and Alex Karp
Praise for Michael Steinberger’s book on Palantir’s rise, with familiar privacy versus security debates in the replies.
Why it matters
Statecraft by post is messy. DOGE’s demise arriving alongside fresh savings claims shows how policy, politics, and optics collide. The lesson for readers is simple - watch the receipts, not just the headlines.
Trust on platforms is fragile. X’s attempt to surface account origins can expose sock puppets, yet glitches can torch confidence just as fast. Official clarifications help, but provenance features will need accuracy and context to stick.
On tech’s horizon, custom AI silicon, tighter autonomy rollouts, and a relentless launch cadence point to firms building their own rails - compute, data, and distribution. Progress here compounds, but timelines and regulation still rule the pace.
Markets run on conviction and classification. If MSCI changes how it treats MicroStrategy, passive flows could move, testing how corporate Bitcoin strategies coexist with index rules.
Europe’s demographic maths is unforgiving. Fewer births mean tighter labour markets, pressure on pensions, and a bigger role for automation - from care to logistics - whether voters like it or not.
Culture keeps the feedback loop honest. Security lines at premieres, football fan satire, and debates over Palantir’s place in public life all point to a public that is watching closely and speaking up, in real time.
