Elon Musk shares his life story with Alison van Diggelen at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, January 22, 2013
Alison van Diggelen interviewed Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk at the Computer History Museum as part of its Revolutionaries Series. The conversation aired on KQED radio, January 24 and on KQED TV April 30, through May 5th. Watch video.
Alison contributes to KQED’s California report
From Babel to Star Trek: The Quest for Translation
Conversing with Klingons may be a piece of cake in the Star Trek universe, but here on earth, language translation apps still have a long way to go. Two Silicon Valley teams, at Google and SRI International, are making good progress, but will they ever get close to the holy grail: translations as accurate and reliable as multilingual humans? Reporter: Alison van Diggelen
Inside the Tesla Factory – A Behind the Scenes Look at the Making of the Model S
On Friday, Tesla Motors delivers the first of its all-electric Model S sedan to customers with great fanfare. The California-based carmaker says it has more than 10,000 reservations for the Model S lined up — but will the market is ready to respond full throttle? Reporter: Alison van Diggelen
More on Alison’s Tesla story at KQED blogs
Greenpeace vs Apple: Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of the Cloud
Did the Greenpeace “Clean our Cloud” campaign nudge Apple toward a stronger environmental stance?
Since April, the environmental organization Greenpeace has had a bull’s-eye on Apple in its campaign to clean up the Internet “Cloud” that stores our music, apps, and photos. It’s accused Apple of using high-carbon “dirty fuels” like coal to power its new data center in North Carolina and has used dramatic pranks and slick videos to get consumers involved.
Alison contributes to KQED Science
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Growing Pains for California’s electric vehicle charging network
Imagine pulling up to a gas station and finding out that the pumps aren’t working or that you have to be a subscriber to fill up. Those are just a couple of the challenges that drivers of electric cars face as public charging stations slowly roll out. Alison van Diggelen, herself an early adopter, explores the growing pains of building an electric car charging network and the fledgling new industry rising up to meet the challenge.
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San Jose’s Green Vision Contributes to Economic Growth
Silicon Valley is well known for being the cradle of tech innovation, but its largest city, San Jose, wants to claim the title as the world center of cleantech innovation too. In 2007, the city launched its green vision, a 15 year road map to make San Jose one of the nation’s greenest. City leaders have just released a report card on their ten ambitious goals at the one third marker. Let’s take a look at their green progress; and its impact on the local economy and the environment.
Alison contributes to KQED’s Climate Watch
See Alison’s story archives here
Surge in Battery Research Fuels Hope for Cheaper Electric Cars
Imagine if Tesla, Nissan and GM could cut the price of their electric cars by 25%. That electric dream may be a wee bit closer than you think, thanks to researchers at Stanford University.
Recently a team from Stanford’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory announced a new method to analyze and potentially improve rechargeable battery technology in a radical way. A cheap, reliable rechargeable battery is the holy grail for electric carmakers that rely on costly lithium ion batteries for power. Instead of the usual pairing of a lithium compound with graphite, the study examined lithium-sulfur batteries, which in theory can store five times more energy at a significantly lower cost. Read more here
Tesla and SolarCity Collaborate on Clean Energy Storage
The companies’ founders don’t just share business interests: they’re also family
Elon Musk is well-known in Silicon Valley as the founder of the luxury electric vehicle company Tesla Motors, and of SpaceX, the private space transport company.
What’s less well-known is Musk’s contribution to SolarCity, the solar installer and energy efficiency auditor. Musk inspired–and helped fund–the creation of the San Mateo-based solar company. And Tesla is working closely with SolarCity on a clean energy storage solution that would combine Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries with SolarCity’s rooftop solar arrays. The collaboration makes sense: not only is Musk the chairman of SolarCity, but the founders of the company, brothers Lyndon and Peter Rive, are his first cousins. Read more
