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Elon Musk wants to build an Internet in space

The next James Bond film is called Spectre; if the villainous mastermind driving that Jaguar C-X75 isn't named Elon Musk, we'll want to know why not. The real-life Musk isn't evil so far as we can tell, but we gotta say he's just as ambitious as Ernst Blofeld ever was. While opening a SpaceX office in Seattle, the face of Tesla said that the engineers and software programmers in the Pacific Northwest outpost will be working on "a global communications system that would be larger than anything that has been talked about to date" on top of their Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule duties. Musk's idea is that hundreds of satellites in low-Earth orbit would get information around the world much faster, and be provide better Internet service for "people in sparsely populated areas." Once the folks in the terrestrial hinterlands are taken care of, Musk envisions the network providing the foundation for a satellite network that would provide Earth-to-Mars communications to the Mars-based colony that the SpaceX CEO expects will wear company branding. The idea isn't new - one of Musk's peers is working on the same concept, backed by Qualcomm and the Virgin Group. But Musk says that OneWeb, the competitor, has a different concept for the underlying architecture and that his satellites would be "an order of magnitude more sophisticated." If you're trying to figure out what the area code to Mars is, you're way ahead of things: Musk says the terrestrial satellite system won't be ready for at least five years. And since the average distance to Mars is 140 million miles, it'll probably be a few years after that before you can shoot a text to the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancya Green Tesla Technology Mars satellite communications

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Gigafactory gets high-tech neighbors, BMW i8 still comes with a long wait

Switch plans to build a large data center near the site of Tesla's Gigafactory battery production facility in Reno, Nevada. The 3 million square-foot facility in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center will cost $1 billion to build, and eBay is expected to be the main tenant when the first portion is finished in 2016. Apple is also building a data center nearby. One draw for companies like Switch, Apple and Tesla is access to the region's clean power, and the Reno area could become the next big center for high-tech manufacturing. Read more at GigaOm. Daniel Sparks of investing website The Motley Fool has shared his insights after living with the Tesla Model S for four months and 10,000 miles. After driving his 85-kW version through various conditions, including a 2,200-mile road trip, Sparks is optimistic about the car and the company behind it. From his experience, he says that charging is easier than most people believe, and that range anxiety isn't a problem. He calls Tesla's growing Supercharger network a "game changer," citing their quickness, availability and the fact that charging is free for life. He also says that most people seem to know very little about the car. Still, he calls Tesla stock "pricey" with the growth already priced into the shares. Read more at USA Today. The wait for a BMW i8 is about a year, despite efforts to ramp up production. BMW is reducing production of the i3 in order to increase the number of i8s by more than 50 percent for 2015, but the bigger batch won't become available in the US until October. Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW North America, says that he doesn't expect cheap gas to slow sales of the i3. He also denies rumors of an i9 positioned above the i8. The new 7 Series appears to be taking some cues from the i8, though, with carbon fiber, magnesium and aluminum construction, as well as improved connectivity. Read more at Automotive News.

How four states are trying to woo Tesla Motors' gigafactory

And they're off! Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas are all in the running for Tesla Motors' gigafactory, USA Today says. And the politicians are already talking big, which is the operative word for a factory that could cost $5 billion, require 1,000 acres, take up 10 million square feet and support 6,500 jobs. Oh, and build battery packs for a half-million EVs a year. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez earlier this week said the state was considering a special legislative session to work up an economic package for a possible Tesla factory. The governor is playing up how the state recently cut corporate tax rates and says New Mexico's in talks with the electric-vehicle maker, though she's hush-hush about the details, the Albuquerque Journal says. Meanwhile, Arizona this week proposed a bill that would allow Tesla (which has a showroom in Scottsdale) to sell its vehicles in the state without a third-party dealership network. There are politicians claiming such a law wouldn't be a carrot of sorts to lure the company's new battery plant, according to AZ Central, to which we say "yeah, sure." The bill, which would need Arizona Senate approval, would put the state diametrically opposite Texas, which has been the most steadfast about retaining the age-old third-party dealer system that Tesla's been trying to subvert. Taking it one step further, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said the city has identified a suitable site and is willing to pony up tax incentives over and above what the state will offer, according to the Arizona Daily Star. And Nevada? Well, it has Vegas. Of course, Tesla itself has encouraged a bit of March Madness-style guesswork by posting a forum on its website in which readers and writers can hypothesize on where the factory will end up. Stay tuned.