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On Wednesday evening, Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk released his “Master Plan 2,” detailing the ways in which he hopes to have Tesla contribute to making the energy economy sustainable. The plan would see consumers handle their own energy via a solar/battery combination, and provide electric vehicles for every market segment.

The radical part of the plan, however, would see improved self-driving capabilities allowing people to turn their Tesla into a taxi while they're not using it, potentially offsetting the entire cost of ownership.

The blog post introduces the plan as being all about energy:

Gorilla Glass is great at resisting scratches, but it's prone to shattering when dropped. With Gorilla Glass 5, Corning claims the glass is now able to survive more drops than ever. The official claim is that the new stuff survives "1.6-meter, shoulder-height drops onto hard, rough surfaces up to 80% of the time."

Corning claims this is "up to 4X better in drop failure height than competitive glasses" but we're struggling to name a single competitive glass. (Samsung might have made one once on the Galaxy Nexus? Maybe Apple?) As usual Apple suppliers aren't allowed to mention their involvement, but other than iOS devices, Gorilla Glass has a near monopoly in smartphones.

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area tonight, July 27, join Ars editor Annalee Newitz and writer Tiffany Kelly for the filming of our fourth episode of Ars Technica Live, a monthly interview series with fascinating people who work at the intersection of tech, science, and culture. Our guest next week is science fiction author Hannu Rajaniemi, who will discuss how we imagine the future of technology. Doors open at 7pm, and the discussion starts at 7:30.

Filmed before a live audience at Oakland's legendary Longitude tiki bar, each episode of Ars Live is a speculative, informal conversation between Ars Technica hosts and an invited guest. The audience, drawn from Ars Technica’s readers, is also invited to join the conversation and ask questions. These aren’t soundbyte setups; they are deep cuts from the frontiers of research and creativity.

Doors open at 7pm, and the live filming is from 7:30 to 8:00pm (be sure to get there early if you want a seat). Then you can stick around for informal discussion at the bar, along with delicious tiki drinks and snacks. Can't make it out to Oakland? Never fear! Episodes will be posted to Ars Technica the week after the live events.