Considering that there are five states competing to host this factory - including California, which is quietly trying to put together a package that would fast-track environmental study requirements and provide tax incentives - and that the competition hasn't even heated up yet, it seems unlikely that this is the gigafactory.

Tesla and Panasonic need to keep everyone guessing, as that's the very best way to secure more tax benefits and incentives.

You say that, but I live in Colorado and looked into it and I'd have to be an idiot to buy solar panels for my house. The earn-back is 18-frickin- years. 18!! I highly doubt I'll live in my house for 18 more years.

Part of problem is that I only pay 6 or 7 cents per kWh, and my house is relatively energy efficient. We don't use the A/C much, and all of our appliances are energy star, flourescent, etc.

So, NO. I could absolutely get screwed on solar. I'd be much better off putting my cash in the market and waiting for either a) energy costs to increase or b) solar costs to fall by 75%.

Automakers have been researching facial recognition and eye tracking systems for years, mostly because they can be used to reduce distracted driving. An audible warning whenever drivers take their eyes off the road for more than a few seconds, followed by a steering wheel shudder, taking off the throttle, etc. These systems can also detect drivers who are drunk/under the influence by measuring reaction times (assuming the system is mounted in a vehicle with some sort of collision avoidance radar, which is a system most cars will have in a few years).

Facial recognition is just the first step - once automakers nail that down, they'll be able to do quite a bit just be measuring where the driver is looking. Upgrade the camera system and you've got eye tracking.

There's a lot of debate in certain circles about what a car should do whenever this behavior is detected...Shut a car that suspects a drunk driver shut down at the next complete stop? Should it "taddle" to authorities? Should a log of this driver's behavior be kept, so the authorities can use it later to convict a suspected drunk driver? Obviously there's a hornet's nest of privacy concerns here too...imagine getting into an accident and having some attorney subpeona your vehicle's log file. Or an insurance company that wants to mount a tracking tool to your car to see if you ever drive drunk? This is big, scary stuff for a lot of people, especially people who drink and drive, get high and drive, take prescription drugs and drive, etc.

In any case, the lead has been buried here. Facial recognition to prevent theft and personalize is just a gimmick. This technology has a much taller ceiling.