Dustin Walper

Founder of @ValstadShip. We're building the machine that builds the ships.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

Let's build ships in America again.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

Fiiiine we’ll build it.

[Collin Rugg @CollinRugg]

Plans released for a $16 billion mile-long ship capable of carrying 80,000 people.

The 'Freedom Ship' would be home to about 50,000 people, with space for 10,000 tourists and 20,000 crew members.

"The Freedom Ship is envisioned as a permanently mobile city at sea designed for long-term residence rather than short-term travel," the company says.

The ship would be about 8 times the size of the current largest ship in the world, the Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas.

The plans include a 15,000-seat stadium, schools, colleges, shops, clubs, a water park, a music hall, museums, parks, and more.

The ship, which would run on nuclear, would be too large to dock and would remain in international waters.

Freedom Cruise International says it would go around the world every two to three years.

Insane.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@markpinc I had this happen earlier this year. Partner fell asleep on the call. 😂

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@CaitlinCloud9 @Jason_A_Scharf Grackle?

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

Big things happening at @ValstadShip.

Will have some exciting announcements to make soon.

[Blue Water Autonomy @BlueWaterShips]

Last week, we convened leaders from industry and government to showcase something special in South Louisiana.

At Conrad Shipyard, @newindustrials and Blue Water Autonomy Inc. showed off everything from the serial production of the Navy's Yard Repair Berthing and Messing Barges (YRBMs) to innovative programs like our Liberty Class. ogether, these efforts demonstrate how America's next generation of maritime capability is being built with the support of legacy shipyards like Conrad.

These facilities represent not only our maritime heritage, but also the foundation of our maritime future.

As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, it’s encouraging to see renewed investment and focus on strengthening the nation’s shipbuilding industrial base. Building the future fleet will require more capacity, more innovation, and stronger collaboration across the entire ecosystem.

A key part of that future is autonomy—not as a replacement for the workforce, but as a force multiplier.

Technologies like @ValstadShip can weld ship sections at speeds that exceed traditional methods, helping create a steady flow of fabricated components. The result is greater efficiency, less downtime, and more productive shipbuilders who can focus on the high-value work that only people can do.

At the same time, platforms like @tulipinterfaces are helping connect shipyard operations in real time—linking teams, suppliers, inventory, and manufacturing processes into a unified digital ecosystem. Better visibility and communication mean faster decisions and more efficient production.

When these technologies work alongside the expertise of the shipyard workforce, they accelerate the construction of the vessels our nation needs.

Thank you to everyone who joined us. It was an honor to showcase what this means for the future of American shipbuilding and to collaborate with NAIA, Conrad Shipyard, and all of the partners who helped make the event possible.

#Sail250
#Louisiana

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@Jason_A_Scharf That billboard looks drenched.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@TrevorScottReal Hopefully Cybercab ramp will fix this soon!

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@inferredbylisa In the south we prefer the term "agent saddle".

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

Texas GDP is also higher than Canada's, a country with vast natural resources and a population of 41.5M.

[🇺🇸 Kyle Bass 🇹🇼 @Jkylebass]

Texas is the growth engine of the Western world.

With 32 million people, Texas generates nearly $2.9 trillion in GDP. Elon @elonmusk ‘s new Terafab project in Grimes County is projected to add another $1 trillion to the Texas economy over the next decade.

At current pace, Texas will surpass France 🇫🇷 in GDP by 2031.

For comparison: France has 66 million citizens and a GDP of roughly $3.3 trillion. Yet Texas GDP per capita is nearly twice that of France.

President Macron and his government should take a hard look at why a single U.S. state is creating wealth at this scale.

This piece from the Economist gets the gist right but the dynamism and understanding of the sheer scale of what’s happening is missed.
https://t.co/Jz454PEpkV

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@pmarca @mattwridley “We need to have a conversation about…”

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

Austin at dusk.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@SkinnyfatTony When are you coming down to austin to hang out? Could use your thoughts on some tricky problems.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@SkinnyfatTony Custom software stack via Stream Motion.

Yes, we are insane.!

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

The Only Thing They Fear Is Ships.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

You think you need rest?

No. You need to slather yourself with honey and run through a bear den.

Here’s a 7-day protocol, step by AUUUUUUGGGH-

[Viora Tech @Viora_Tech_Ai]

You think you need rest?
Actually, no.
You need to drain cortisol.

Here’s a 7-day protocol, step by step:

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@SkinnyfatTony @BenjaminDEKR You’re a bat-faced bug-eyed booger-nosed balogna-brained beetle butt!

;) Kidding, keep posting awesome content!

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

We’re out here trying to make American shipbuilding more competitive with China… $3.6M raised to date.

The 2027 Navy shipbuilding budget is $67B.

[Heritage Foundation @Heritage]

Given the stalled legislative efforts to revive the nation’s strategically important maritime industry, the time is now for the president to propose legislation, using the authority given to him in the Constitution.

@brentdsadler https://t.co/uw97BJrhQg

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

@CSSHLHunley Challenge accepted.

[Dustin Walper @DustinWalper]

Fit-up of bent or warped material is one of the most challenging aspects of autonomous shipbuilding.

This lil’ snippet from an upcoming video shows how we’re solving that problem.

The future of shipbuilding will look very different from the past.