Tesla Tidbits: Musk walks on flying plane plus Tesla Robosnake video

Tesla Tidbits is a roundup of news about the electric car and battery company. Follow Tesla reporter Jason Hidalgo on Twitter @jasonhidalgo

So, what did ya' do during summer vacation?

When it comes to vacationing with your significant other during the summer, most folks probably do stuff like going to the beach or camping — maybe even going on a long drive.

Then you've got folks who decide to take a walk. On top of a moving plane. At least that's what Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and wife Talulah Riley did on their vacation as they caught some thrills with the UK-based Breitling Wingwalkers.

Musk and Riley shared their wing-and-a-prayer hijinks via their Instagram accounts.

"Went for a nice wing walk," Musk posted. "What could possibly go wrong?"

I'm sure you already know the answer to that, Elon. (I mean, the guy runs a rocket company, too, after all.)

Anyway, with snakes on a plane jumping the shark a long time ago, maybe CEOs on a plane will be the next big thing. All of a sudden, my summer trip to Monterey doesn't look quite as exciting. I wonder if it's possible to walk on whales?

TESLA ROBOSNAKE

Speaking of snakes on a plane, how about snakes on a car?

Tesla Motors also showed off video on social media of its latest contraption, a snakelike prototype designed to charge its electric cars.

Musk, who also shared the video on his Instagram account, called it the "Tesla Robosnake," adding that it has "a wide range of applications." I could certainly see the Robosnake pulling double duty by serving hors d'oeuvres at the grand opening of Tesla Gigafactory 1 east of Reno-Sparks, which you can get into for free, by the way, if you've got some rich buddies.

The caterpillar-like machine continues Tesla's ongoing love affair with robots.

Last year, for example, Tesla named its robots after X-Men characters following a retooling of its Fremont factory.

GIGAFACTORY Q2 UPDATE

As the business adage goes, it takes money to make money.

That adage holds true for Tesla as well, with spending on the gigafactory now reaching $180 million during the second quarter of this year. That's a 28 percent jump from the previous quarter. The company also finalized its $1.3 billion incentive deal with the state of Nevada, allowing it to start submitting refund claims on local sales and use taxes collected for the gigafactory. The factory is expected to start battery production in 2016.

HACKATHON

With great technology comes, well, great responsibility.

Tesla takes pride in the technological chops of its electric cars. In addition to its electric motors, the entire Model S is an unabashed display of technology from its door locks to its fancy dashboard.

At the same time, reliance on technology also can make a platform more susceptible to shenanigans from tech-savvy evildoers. Two security firm workers Kevin Mahaffey and Marc Rogers, for example, recently demonstrated how they were able to use vulnerabilities to hack a Tesla Model S at the Def Con 23 hacking conference in Las Vegas. This allowed them to unlock doors, adjust the suspension and start the car, for example.

Granted, the hack required initial access to the car for it to work. Tesla also already delivered a fix to the issues that were identified. To help identify any other potential issues, the company offers a $10,000 bounty to anyone who can find vulnerabilities and hack its cars.