Elon Musk: Smartest Guy in The World or Complete Clown?

[Ted Striker]

Half of them could walk anyway.

Half of them should walk away. Unthinking assholes.

[dunfree]

Half of them should walk away. Unthinking assholes.

yeah, they should. but longer walks are a bit like bike commuting, which I've done. If you bike commute with a pedal bike for any decent distance you end up stinky, sweaty, which isn't work appropriate and you need a place to shower/change on the other end, or you need to be "stinky guy". Extra time, extra infrastructure, extra pita. powered transport reduces that problem. There are all kinds of random barriers to alternate more environmentally friendly vehicles - like how owning an EV in an apt or shared dwelling can be a pain, because it might be harder to charge at home vs. if you are a single family home owner where home charging stations are on average much cheaper to install. every choice helps though.

millions of EVs have been sold. Teslas are a minority I believe; they are also the most "conventionally car like" currently sold in terms of range/features/size. But there's lots of different ways to make an EV - the Leaf has sold more than any single Tesla model and it has shit range but more than good enough for lots of purposes. Which is what I'm trying to argue, if poorly, that there's lots of choices to reduce your transportation environmental impact - and just subbing out in a straight swap an EV car of similar size and dimensions and mass and doing the same shit is poor for many people. That one simple thing isn't going to change your life. Just like jerking off because you are wasting less energy driving your car stuck in traffic or parked for 4hrs is pretty low on the list. And I'm sure that's partly because I hate traffic. But good for bobz if he feels smug and happy he's getting better mileage sitting in traffic or if he's parked for 4hrs without moving. really, good on ya mate, that's the mindset that keeps people living in the Bay Area. Me, I'll keep the gasser for a few more years, maybe more - and buy a shit range EV commuter of some type some time soonish.

[Brownski]

Elon the rapper
https://nypost.com/2019/03/31/elon-m...e-the-gorilla/

[iceman]

I can't even begin to try to listen to that.

[Vt-Freeheel]

I know better than to click that link

[Core Shot]

Just a few minutes later, we headed to a small operating room, where I was instructed to remove my shirt and put on a hospital gown. They cleaned the area by my neck up with rubbing alcohol after inserting an IV in my left arm. I laid back on the hospital bed, and looked toward one of the nurses. She said something, but I lost consciousness as she said it, and I can’t remember what she was saying.

When I woke up, I was in a much brighter room with a computer. We’re all set! I felt for my neck, and didn’t feel any bandages, wounds, or anything. Just a small band aid, like you’d get after a shot. “Hey, looks like we’re all ready to go!” one of the technicians said. “Let’s get started!”

“I know Kung Fu!” I joked, but the tech said, “That’s not as funny as you’d think.” and left the room.

As Elon walked back into the room, a big projector started rolling down on the far side of the room. Displayed on it was a big red dot, about 3 inches in diameter. The rest of the screen was white. For the next hour, we went through a series of training exercises (which I can’t describe here), and it got to the point where I could move the red dot at will anywhere on the screen. “Great! You’re learning much faster than normal, but not as fast as I did!” Elon said.

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/04/01...ink-prototype/

[Brownski]

I know better than to click that link

Ha! Don't worry. It's just to the Post article, not the song. It's a short story:
"Erratic Tesla CEO Elon Musk just released a rap song paying tribute to a dead gorilla.
The SpaceX executive dropped the auto-tuned nearly 2-minute track titled “RIP Harambe” Saturday on SoundCloud under the music label “Emo G Records.”
Harambe was a Cincinnati Zoo gorilla killed in 2016 after a 3-year-old boy climbed into its enclosure.
“RIP Harambe, sipping on some Bombay, we on our way to heaven, Amen, Amen,” Musk appears to rap.
“RIP Harambe/ smoking on some strong hay/ in the gorilla zoo and we thinking about you,” he continues.
The song had been listened to over 300,000 times as of Sunday afternoon."

[dunfree]

Ha! Don't worry. It's just

Elon taking credit for someone else's work. Plus ca change, plus que c'est le meme chose.

[Vt-Freeheel]

More Tesla lulz


https://electrek.com/

[MontuckyFried]

More Tesla lulz


https://electrek.com/

Oh sunnuva bitch. First GM kills off the Volt, now this. I was seriously considering the base model 3 for my next car, cloth seats, base range and all. Like this summer I was planning on pulling the trigger. Would've been a perfect DD for my family. Maybe Elon's Harambe rap was a hint that he was going to kill the base model 3, which just like a gorilla, was also black. Coincidence? I think not!

[jono]

Elektrek makes a funny:

We hope that Tesla, moving forward, can be a little more deliberative about their decisionmaking processes, and avoid situations like this in the future.

Hope is the first step towards disappointment.

[Skidog]

More good news.

https://amp.businessinsider.com/pana...chaotic-2019-4

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[Dantheman]

I hope they get their shit together. A friend bought a 3 recently and absolutely loves it. He says it's so quiet he's taken to driving around with no radio or anything and just enjoying the silence.

[The AD]

Oh sunnuva bitch. First GM kills off the Volt, now this. I was seriously considering the base model 3 for my next car, cloth seats, base range and all. Like this summer I was planning on pulling the trigger.

Have you read about the Hyundai Kona EV? Wife is interested in that, but availability quite limited right now.

[Skidog]

I hope they get their shit together. A friend bought a 3 recently and absolutely loves it. He says it's so quiet he's taken to driving around with no radio or anything and just enjoying the silence.

I think they are pretty cars and great tech. Game changer. I just have a problem with the carnival Barker. I've always maintained that stance. The battery factory stuff is disturbing though. Hopefully no batteries fail in bad ways that hurt people.

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[MontuckyFried]

Have you read about the Hyundai Kona EV? Wife is interested in that, but availability quite limited right now.

Yes! They might actually be worth looking at for many. Too bad it's a "crossover." That takes it off my list for sure. Whether my opinion is justified or not, I've come to loathe the entire CUV segment. Haha.

When doing my walk-around and experiencing the Tesla Model 3, I found the dimensions to be darn near perfect. I wouldn't mind it being a bit smaller, though, but the room is ample for sure. I think the best car I've had dimensionally was my old Mazda 3 hatchback. Totally hit the sweet spot of size and practicality in my opinion. Could park that thing anywhere downtown but still had plenty of room. Loved it. I'm sure that Kona isn't far off in reality. I just hate the faux SUV category altogether. I don't want the pointless lift of a CUV. I'll take the inherit improved efficiencies of a lower vehicle, thank you very much!

[The AD]

I guess there's also a similar KIA model coming out that's fairly similar to the Hyundai, just a little bigger called the Niro.

[MontuckyFried]

...just a little bigger....

Ugh. Going the wrong way, Kia! Haha. I wanted smaller. Lower. But then again, I'm the weirdo compared to the rest of the Tahoe driving American public, so Kia obviously shouldn't take MY word for it.

[The AD]

Well, none of them are exactly big.

This is a good video comparing the Bolt and the Kona

[Benny Profane]

Test drove a combustion Kona last week, and the salesman told me the Kona EV will have batteries warrantied for life.

[MontuckyFried]

Test drove a combustion Kona last week, and the salesman told me the Kona EV will have batteries warrantied for life.

Woh! You're right! https://www.hyundaiusa.com/kona-elec...fications.aspx
Under warranty it says: "Lifetime Hybrid/Electric Battery Warranty**

**The Lifetime Electric Battery Warranty applies to all U.S. 2019 model-year Kona Electrics. The Lifetime Electric Battery Warranty ensures that if the lithium polymer battery fails, Hyundai will replace the battery and cover recycling costs for the old battery free of charge to the original owner. The Lifetime Electric Battery Warranty excludes coverage for vehicles placed in commercial use (e.g., taxi, route delivery, rental, etc.)."

It's only true for the original owner, but that's great if you're buying new. This is a really good precedent for the industry. Would be great to see Nissan, Chevy, and Tesla follow suit!

[Benny Profane]

Tesla is not going to be around long enough.

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[grskier]

Tesla is not going to be around long enough.

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I don't feel like clicking around, but... you've said this before, wanna put a date or time frame to that?

[dunfree]

I don't feel like clicking around, but... you've said this before, wanna put a date or time frame to that?

2020. Sales are cratering, exec staff is fleeing, they are capital constrained with a need for lots more $, their CEO is a fucking whackjob bullshitting and pumping all day on twitter, and same CEO continually shell games resources between his corps to his personal benefit.

Cool cars. If you like them and want the corp to succeed you want Musk gone yesterday. The longer he's there the better the odds tesla isn't.

[Vt-Freeheel]

sec-tesla-ceo-elon-musk-seek-one-week-delay-to-resolve-contempt-motion.html

On April 4, a federal judge gave Musk and the SEC two weeks to work out their differences, punting a request from the agency to hold him in contempt of court for allegedly violating an October securities fraud settlement. U.S. Judge Alison Nathan said she had “serious concerns that no matter what I decide here, this issue won’t be resolved.” Nathan ordered both parties to “take a deep breath, put on your reasonableness pants” and work out a solution.

Now the parties are asking for one more week to figure it out.


I don't think states are anywhere close to approving self driving cars.

https://www.latimes.com

In a bind, Musk hopes autonomous Tesla taxis will drive a new, positive narrative

On Monday, Musk will attempt to shift the downbeat narrative from immediate challenges to new prospects for growth. Judging from his recent tweets, Musk will lay out a near-future vision in which money-generating self-driving Teslas compete with the likes of Lyft, Uber and Waymo.
The CEO has not yet offered a timeline for such a service. Although Tesla has been working on automated cars as long as anyone, it would have to start virtually from scratch in the intensely competitive robotaxi business.

The business could prove so lucrative, according to Musk’s tweets, that Tesla cars would appreciate in value year after year. (Tesla critics were dubious on Twitter. According to Edmunds, a new car loses 15% to 25% of its value the moment it leaves the dealer lot, and continues to depreciate every year after.)

At the invitation-only event — called Investor Autonomy Day and set for 11 a.m. Monday at the company’s Palo Alto headquarters — Musk is likely to detail currently sketchy plans to make Tesla the first company to offer widespread deployment of driverless cars on highways and city streets. Within months, Musk said, owners of most Teslas can have their cars refitted with a new computer board to enable full self-driving.

“Tesla will free investors from the tyranny of having to drive their own car,” Musk tweeted this week. (Why “investors” and not “buyers” went unexplained.)

Rapid deployment of self-driving cars would buck current sentiment in the driverless-vehicle industry, which is attempting to tamp down expectations of widespread deployment of driverless cars anytime soon.