Teslas and Cybertrucks…random thoughts

[Indigo Blue]

So some acquaintances were kind enough to show off their Tesla and give me a short ride in theirs. I had never been in one or even paid attention to the inside of one. I was impressed with it, actually. 
 

Ds was talking about the cybertrucks and how flimsy they are. We were talking how they would fare in an accident. 
 

So, not knowing much about Tesla myself, I’ve only heard that the quality and safety level just isn’t there yet. I was talking to Dh about it. I’m sure they will eventually get more affordable and probably safer as time goes on. I know the batteries are an issue. They don’t last long enough. Too expensive and they are an environmental problem. 
 

Still, I’m intrigued by them, and I can see a certain demographic of people for whom they make sense. 
 

I have been seeing more of the cybertrucks out on the roads. They just don’t look sturdy to me at all. 

No offense to anyone who owns a Tesla. I’m just thinking out loud about them. 

 

Edited August 29 by Indigo Blue
I meant cybertrucks not super trucks

[HomeAgain]

Tesla cut corners and is anti-union.  They're the only auto manufacturer in the U.S. that does not have a workers' union and it shows.  The company is heavily into trying to do things as cheaply as possible and getting you to pay as much as you can, sacrificing safety in doing so.  Repairs are insanely priced, certain features require monthly subscriptions, and what you do get is always up for debate at the company level.

I've known 6 families with Teslas over the past few years and they've all moved on to more reliable autos and either stuck with EV or moved on to hybrids. 

 

I will not get an EV yet.  The battery fires are absolutely terrifying to me, with it taking a swimming pool of water to put it out.  We don't have fire hydrants anywhere near our home and I'm not ready to lose everything because of a faulty EV battery or a hurricane/storm adding saltwater to the mix and increasing the risk of fire.  No thank you.  And when we do get an EV, it certainly won't be a Tesla.  It'll be by a company I trust, not one run by a drug fueled narcissist.

[TheReader]

Not a fan personally. 

We're seeing the cyber trucks a lot, and not only do they look flimsy, they are enormous and so impractical. They remind me of when the Hummer was *the* thing to buy - another semi-functional, super impractical, totally unnecessary status symbol of a vehicle. 

As far as the regular Teslas, I know people who have and love them. One family used theirs in camping mode to escape the heat during the power outages after Beryl (they could sleep in the car w/the AC). So, I mean, that's handy.  But just having a new car at all myself, with all the "lane assist" and "brake assist" and all of that -- no thank you, I would not ever want a car that drives for me. We have construction going on, and it involves lane shifts. My car is constantly trying to tell me I'm having "lane departure" (and tries to correct me), when I'm following the new lanes (but going over the not-fully-removed old lane lines).  I cannot imagine having a car that was even more aggressive about that stuff. 

As far as EV, also no thank you. I drive too much for that; there are not enough charging areas around me, even in a very metro area, and there's no ability (yet) to make a long trip w/o multiple stops. Yes, I have to stop to gas up, but that takes 10 mins, tops. I'm not stopping to charge up every few hours. 

[Catwoman]

Aside from the fact that I think the Cybertrucks are hideously ugly, I would never buy anything that would support Elon Musk in any way, shape, or form.

 

[Arcadia]

Plenty of tesla cars locally and quite a few cybertrucks as well. The inability for rescuers to open the Tesla car door when it is without power puts us off as a design feature. It makes it a death trap in worse case scenarios (drowning, accidents). My husband’s colleagues own Tesla cars but can’t remember how to manually open their car doors. My friend’s husband’s car did cause a house fire, luckily only the garage and kitchen were badly affected. Now he parks his Tesla outside.
e.g. https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_jo/GUID-EA692A77-9F5B-44C4-B291-444263199337.html

[knitgrl]

They can turn your car into a brick if they decide they don't like what you've posted about them on social media. Nope-ity, nope, nope, nope.

[Katy]

DH announced that we will not buy an EV in this house… he says we’re in a cold enough location they need to be parked inside, but it is not safe to park them in an attached garage, especially not with children’s bedrooms over the garage. 

The batteries are a human rights and environmental issue. 

I’ve also read several disturbing reports from former Tesla employees about privacy concerns. The cars are apparently recording all audio and video going on around them. Employees have heard multiple crimes being committed, mostly domestic and child abuse, but also possibly one murder. They’ve also heard a lot of private medical and banking information when people assumed they were safely in a private location. 

I’m also concerned with reports that you don’t buy a Tesla, you license the use of one. And one of my kids follows a Youtuber who had an extremely scammy experience with buying one. When they couldn’t produce the car he ordered they refused to give him his multiple thousand dollar deposit back until he got legal help involved. 

[gardenmom5]

dsil had a tesla as a rental.  He thought it was fun to drive.  I know people who own them.  Definitely appeals to a certain demographic.  I'm also seeing more cybertrucks - (it's the result of a cross between a tesla and a dumpster)  They're uglier than the porsche SUVs . . (which I think are ridiculous!, though the lambo one I saw in a showroom was absurd.)
I'm not impressed with EVs, I won't buy one, and I think if you must - a hybrid where your gas motor charges the batteries is the only way to go (My sil is on her second prius, and is complaining about it compared to her first one. among other things, it's smaller inside..)
At least 1ds is losing interest in them, saying the battery isn't ready yet.  The mall in my city had a *tesla showroom*! THE MALL!  Next to Nordstrom, of course.  It's gone now . . .

[KSera]

11 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

Aside from the fact that I think the Cybertrucks are hideously ugly, I would never buy anything that would support Elon Musk in any way, shape, or form.

 

Agree with this! I do keep in mind that a large percentage of Teslas on the road or purchased before Elon showed his stripes. And for a long time they were the best combination of affordability and long range capability. Fortunately there are more and more options now. Cyber trucks are a different story since they weren’t out until the issues with Elon were well known. They do actually have some aspects that make them good functionally, but boy are they ever hideous looking! They could’ve had all the function in a more normal design. (Also, just as a note to the comment about self driving above, that’s something not even all Teslas offer and the ones that do, it’s something you have to choose to turn on. Most people aren’t driving around in self driving mode.)
 

 

1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

Too expensive and they are an environmental problem. 

The (very real) problems with battery production are an anti-EV talking point, but they pale in comparison to carbon emissions of driving a gas powered car around. Fortunately, the mining issues are in the spotlight and so are something that keeps being worked on to improve and less than the impact. mines are getting smaller and using less damaging practices, and some companies have moved away from cobalt in their batteries at all, since cobalt is one of the most problematic to mine. Ironically, Tesla is one of the companies that’s not using cobalt.  So there’s good with the bad. The Ford Mach has a no cobalt battery as well, and that’s a great EV they gets about 320 miles per charge. 
There’s a recent NPR article that briefly summarizes the environmental impacts of an EB versus a gas powered vehicle throughout the lifespan. Calling attention to one point that I think might not be generally known, which is that when an EV battery reaches the end of its lifespan, it can actually be recycled and all those minerals mined can be reused again, unlike gasoline which is burned once and gone forever. There’s a tipping point for when all batteries actually start being recycled though because it won’t be until much larger volume of EV cars have been on the road for long enough that enoigh batteries needing recycling that they build more plants to do so. Now, there just aren’t that many electric vehicles that have yet reached the end of their lifespan to be ready for recycling yet.

 Their batteries hurt the environment, but EVs still beat gas cars. Here's why

And the gas emissions problem is a literal, immediate planet on fire type problem that we can’t afford to kick down the road 10 years. The battery production problems I have confidence will continue being improved and addressed.

[KSera]

I just remembered about this calculator that will compare total greenhouse gas emissions, beginning with vehicle production, for various electric and plug in hybrid models, based on the zip code you charge, so that it takes the source of energy production into account. 
 

Beyond Tailpipe Emissions Calculator

 

[Indigo Blue]

27 minutes ago, knitgrl said:

They can turn your car into a brick if they decide they don't like what you've posted about them on social media. Nope-ity, nope, nope, nope.

Gah. Is that really true? That’s like the printer companies turning your printer into a brick if you don’t use their ink cartridges. 😕

That’s crazy. 
 

 

[KSera]

33 minutes ago, knitgrl said:

They can turn your car into a brick if they decide they don't like what you've posted about them on social media. Nope-ity, nope, nope, nope.

Do you have any links to stories of this happening to anyone? 

[SanDiegoMom]

From what I've read, the chances of a gasoline powered car igniting are much greater than an EV.  I've seen something like 80 times greater than EV's.  

Teslas are so common here we joke they are the fleet cars of San Diego, and everyone is issued one when they move here, lol.

We have a Toyota hybrid, will live and die a Toyota family, and won't get an EV anytime in the near (or far tbh) future.  I love the hybrid model.  I get 500 miles to one tank of gas, 40 mpg in a comfy SUV, but on my last trip up to Santa Barbara (4 hours there, 5 hours back) I only got gas once,  right before the trip.  I would not have wanted to stop and charge the car every 200 or so miles. 

 

[SKL]

I think cybertrucks are ugly.  Other than that, I suspect the bad press is largely motivated by emotions rather than facts.  I mean, I doubt they are less safe than other vehicles on the road generally.  But since I would never buy a vehicle that looked like that, I'm not going to spend time researching.  😛

I have a friend with a Tesla sedan.  She seems to be content with it.  I never asked for details.  They are still out of my price range, but I'm not opposed to the idea.

[KSera]

15 minutes ago, SKL said:

Other than that, I suspect the bad press is largely motivated by emotions rather than facts.  I mean, I doubt they are less safe than other vehicles on the road generally.

I think the bad press is mostly due the truck looking dumb and the actions and words of the company’s owner. But, other Tesla models have all done very well in crash testing. The cyber truck hasn’t been tested yet, but my biggest concern about it will be the damage it will do to whatever it crashes into. Its profile and extreme weight seem particularly damaging. Certainly with that really high angular front bumper, I fear a pedestrian or cyclist doesn’t stand a chance 😢. Musk even said something to the effect that in a crash with another vehicle, the cyber truck would win. Which is just a gross thing to say anyway.

[SKL]

Interesting thought though ... we don't know much about the humans at the helms of the other car companies.  Maybe they're gross too.  Who knows?  😛

Edited August 29 by SKL

[knitgrl]

56 minutes ago, KSera said:

Do you have any links to stories of this happening to anyone? 

I wasn't able to find anything, but I remember dh talking about it a long time ago, when they first came out. If your car is reliant on a phone app, it's not secure, and anybody can hack it. Especially the company providing the app.

[Katy]

I think I’ve read that Teslas have suddenly not worked when a recall issue came up. But that was more than a year ago and I don’t remember details. I think it was around the time there were a few autopilot accidents, that woman drowned in one, and there were a few sudden fires in parked cars. When was that? Two years ago? 

[KSera]

14 minutes ago, knitgrl said:

I wasn't able to find anything, but I remember dh talking about it a long time ago, when they first came out. If your car is reliant on a phone app, it's not secure, and anybody can hack it. Especially the company providing the app.

Which is different than it actually happening. Teslas have been out for a long time now and like you say, there’s no report of this happening. While it would be theoretically possible, it would be a death blow to Tesla as a company if they did this. Not that Elon isn’t doing everything he can to take the company down himself, for what bizarre reason I do not know. I don’t remember if the Tesla absolutely requires the Phone app or not. I know there is a digital key you can use instead of the phone, that looks like a credit card. Does anyone’s non-electric car have a phone app? I feel like that wouldn’t be a functionality that was tied in any way to whether the vehicle was electric or ice.

Whatever the case, I’m not buying a Tesla myself, but I can appreciate why others do. It’s a safe, long range EV at a pretty good cost for its class of vehicle, and its supercharger network is still superior for road tripping. Hopefully we’re not far off the rest of the charging infrastructure catching up. It’s not like there were gas stations on every corner when people first started driving gas powered cars either. 

[Indigo Blue]

7 minutes ago, KSera said:

Hopefully we’re not far off the rest of the charging infrastructure catching up. It’s not like there were gas stations on every corner when people first started driving gas powered cars either. 

This is true. 

[rebcoola]

Yeah they are both a no for me. Several people at DHs work.have teslas and love them.and DH enjoyed the trip ue took in a tesla.  Supporting Elon is  big no, cybertrucks are hideous!  We will.drive our vw diesels until the wheels fall off and than see what has developed.

Edited August 29 by rebcoola

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, knitgrl said:

They can turn your car into a brick if they decide they don't like what you've posted about them on social media. Nope-ity, nope, nope, nope.

People have been pulling dealer/manufacturer trackers etc out of other brand cars for awhile.  They're found because they affect functioning of car.

[Miss Tick]

For those worried about having to stop and recharge, I saw 2 encouraging articles recently. I'm the first, there is initial testing being done with in-road charging. Second, there is pilot testing being done for an electric semi truck  that can charge in 15 minutes and then operate for 20 hours. Sadly they did not specify what "operate" included. Both give some hope for the not too distant future!

[catz]

We were at an event this week where they had a cyber truck on display you could sit in, try the features, etc.  I was shocked how chintzy and tight the interior felt, the cargo bed felt small.  And they are just ugly IMO.  I wouldn't support Musk's business anyway.  I know a young adult who dreamt fondly of working for one of Musk's orgs.  Pays under market, with less benefits, etc and is working there but I doubt will last too long.  

We have a relative that just visited here that drove cross country in their tesla.  They mapped out their charges and they said it was fine.  

We'd consider an electric at some point.  But we travel too much and still need cargo space to consider it soon.  Happy not to be a first adopter to new tech like this.  I do have a couple friends that drive a Prius for day to day urban driving and have been very happy with those vehicles.  

Edited August 29 by catz

[Indigo Blue]

6 minutes ago, Miss Tick said:

Second, there is pilot testing being done for an electric semi truck  that can charge in 15 minutes and then operate for 20 hours. Sadly they did not specify what "operate" included. Both give some hope for the not too distant future!

I can’t say more, but one of my sons is in this industry. He’s involved in testing of the big trucks. I think there is hope. I just wonder how far things will get in my lifetime. 

[KSera]

9 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

I can’t say more, but one of my sons is in this industry. He’s involved in testing of the big trucks. I think there is hope. I just wonder how far things will get in my lifetime. 

I hope it moves fast, because the planet can’t take much longer of most people opting to drive ICE vehicles. We have a limited time to turn it around to make things tolerable for our kids’ lives. There are already lots of electric buses and Amazon delivery vehicles on the roads, so it’s definitely feasible, I just hope we get there faster. It’s the semi trucks puffing out plumes of disgusting black smoke that we can’t get off the road fast enough.  (Though actually, I just looked it up and passenger vehicles contribute more total greenhouse emissions than freight vehicles do currently. Obviously each freight truck contributes to far far more than each car, there are just so many more passenger vehicles than freight vehicles.)

[Miss Tick]

44 minutes ago, KSera said:

Obviously each freight truck contributes to far far more than each car

I've also heard about semi trailers in testing with rechargeable batteries that can be charged, but also harvest charge from breaking like more familiar hybrid vehicles. This is trailers rather than the cabs. I'm hopeful.

[mommyoffive]

5 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Tesla cut corners and is anti-union.  They're the only auto manufacturer in the U.S. that does not have a workers' union and it shows.  The company is heavily into trying to do things as cheaply as possible and getting you to pay as much as you can, sacrificing safety in doing so.  Repairs are insanely priced, certain features require monthly subscriptions, and what you do get is always up for debate at the company level.

I've known 6 families with Teslas over the past few years and they've all moved on to more reliable autos and either stuck with EV or moved on to hybrids. 

 

I will not get an EV yet.  The battery fires are absolutely terrifying to me, with it taking a swimming pool of water to put it out.  We don't have fire hydrants anywhere near our home and I'm not ready to lose everything because of a faulty EV battery or a hurricane/storm adding saltwater to the mix and increasing the risk of fire.  No thank you.  And when we do get an EV, it certainly won't be a Tesla.  It'll be by a company I trust, not one run by a drug fueled narcissist.

Same. 

Do Hybrid batteries not have the same fire risk?

[mommyoffive]

4 hours ago, knitgrl said:

They can turn your car into a brick if they decide they don't like what you've posted about them on social media. Nope-ity, nope, nope, nope.

Really?

[Shelydon]

Cyber Trucks are ugly. We own two not Tesla EVs and love them. They get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon. We have had one for 5 year (it's a 2016 model) with no issues. We spent $18 to fix one small mechanical part that broke in that time. By contrast our 2019 Ford has had $$$$ in repairs to the engine. It will be out last ICE car. 

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

It’s a safe, long range EV at a pretty good cost for its class of vehicle, and its supercharger network is still superior for road tripping. Hopefully we’re not far off the rest of the charging infrastructure catching up. 

Many EV manufacturers recently switched to the same charging standard as Tesla (North American Charging Standard) and their 2025 models will come with NACS ports as standard, plus there are NACS adapters available now to allow other EVs to use the Tesla superchargers.

Unfortunately, Musk recently managed to screw up the one Tesla department that was actually very efficiently run and quite profitable, by firing the entire Supercharger team in a fit of pique when the director dared to push back against his demand to make additional cuts.  After having just laid off up to 20% of her team a few weeks earlier, she said she could not make further cuts and still meet their targets for expanding the network, so he fired her and the entire team — more than 500 people — on the spot, throwing the whole program into chaos. The program was transferred to the department that sells home solar panels and battery storage, but no one there knows anything about the supercharger network, and there were tons of projects that were suddenly cancelled just before, or even in the middle of, installation, leaving private companies and utility companies holding the bag. As a result of the shake up, investment in new charging stations is expected to be almost 80% lower this year compared to last year, and other companies are stepping up to expand their charging networks. Access to the Tesla network used to be one of the biggest selling points for Tesla EVs over other brands, but that advantage is disappearing.

[knitgrl]

42 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Really?

As I mentioned upthread, this happened probably over ten years ago. There are so many search results with other issues bricking Teslas, I don't have the time or inclination to wade back ten years trying to cite the source dh read. In the course of searching, it seems that Tesla has been known to ask people to remove negative reviews on social media, so it's in keeping with that, anyway.

Edited August 29 by knitgrl

[KSera]

34 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Do Hybrid batteries not have the same fire risk?

All rechargeable batteries do, though obviously, the bigger the battery, the the more fuel for a bigger fire. It's the same with laptop batteries, motorized scooters, e-bikes, all those things. An ICE car is much more likely to catch on fire than an EV, but the problem being that fire departments need to catch up in being prepared to put EV type fires out more quickly. Definitely they are a more challenging type of fire.

[knitgrl]

2 hours ago, KSera said:

Which is different than it actually happening. Teslas have been out for a long time now and like you say, there’s no report of this happening. While it would be theoretically possible, it would be a death blow to Tesla as a company if they did this. Not that Elon isn’t doing everything he can to take the company down himself, for what bizarre reason I do not know. I don’t remember if the Tesla absolutely requires the Phone app or not. I know there is a digital key you can use instead of the phone, that looks like a credit card. Does anyone’s non-electric car have a phone app? I feel like that wouldn’t be a functionality that was tied in any way to whether the vehicle was electric or ice.

Whatever the case, I’m not buying a Tesla myself, but I can appreciate why others do. It’s a safe, long range EV at a pretty good cost for its class of vehicle, and its supercharger network is still superior for road tripping. Hopefully we’re not far off the rest of the charging infrastructure catching up. It’s not like there were gas stations on every corner when people first started driving gas powered cars either. 

True. But there were so few at the time, maybe they could afford to be bullies. You do it to the first few who complain, and then no one else dares to -- for awhile, anyway. 🤷‍♀️ 

At any rate, there are other companies that have toyed with offering subscription services for what consumers used to just pay extra for. And if you don't pay the subscription, you no longer have heated seats, for instance. If a company can just shut off your heated seats remotely, it would not surprise me if they can just brick your car if they feel like it. They already have your money. You're not allowed to sell it on your own, if I understand correctly. Maybe in the future, legislation will allow them to brick your car if you're late on a payment.

I am just really not happy about how much control car manufacturers have over new cars now, whether they are EV or gasoline powered.

[Corraleno]

I suspect the reason people may think their Teslas have been bricked in retaliation for negative comments comes from the fact that Teslas are prone to suddenly bricking for no apparent reason + Musk being notorious for retaliating against people who criticize him (or even just don't tell him what he wants to hear), from banning Xitter accounts to firing entire departments. So someone who was commenting online about their Tesla and suddenly found it was bricked could conclude that it was retaliation when it was likely just coincidence — although if it was in retaliation, there would be no way to prove that, so who knows. The sales contract for the cybertruck has a clause forbidding the buyer from selling the truck within the first year of purchase, including a $50K fine and a ban from ever owning another Tesla. I highly doubt that's legal, but it shows the extent to which Musk tries to control the behavior of Tesla owners even after the vehicle is sold.

[Bambam]

If anyone I knew was planning to buy a Tesla, I'd strongly encourage them to do even a little research first. I don't think many would buy them if they did any research first. So many issues so many owners face with these cars, it just isn't worth it unless you have loads of spare cash. 

And if you do have that kind of spare cash, I'm available for adoption. 

[SanDiegoMom]

Cybertrucks can tow 11k pounds.  I have to wonder whether that would ever be required, considering who could afford to buy them? What would they be towing? 

[TravelingChris]

6 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Tesla cut corners and is anti-union.  They're the only auto manufacturer in the U.S. that does not have a workers' union and it shows.  The company is heavily into trying to do things as cheaply as possible and getting you to pay as much as you can, sacrificing safety in doing so.  Repairs are insanely priced, certain features require monthly subscriptions, and what you do get is always up for debate at the company level.

I've known 6 families with Teslas over the past few years and they've all moved on to more reliable autos and either stuck with EV or moved on to hybrids. 

 

I will not get an EV yet.  The battery fires are absolutely terrifying to me, with it taking a swimming pool of water to put it out.  We don't have fire hydrants anywhere near our home and I'm not ready to lose everything because of a faulty EV battery or a hurricane/storm adding saltwater to the mix and increasing the risk of fire.  No thank you.  And when we do get an EV, it certainly won't be a Tesla.  It'll be by a company I trust, not one run by a drug fueled narcissist.

Number 1- a number of auto plants don't have unions. I know that recently in my state, 2 Mercedes plants voted no.  The Mazda-Toyota plant also has no union.  I  think it is very common in the South not to have unionized auto plants.

I am not a fan of ev's. But I am super grateful to Elon Musk's buying of twitter, now X. It is changing the world mostly for the better. Basically it has led to resignations of very offensive people.  It has helped identify criminals, terrorists, etc.  It has helped get the news out about dictators like Maduro and the and the horrors in Iran. Starlink is making internet available to many who don't have it otherwise, Space X has transformed space delivery and missions.  His bionic project brought speech back to one severely disabled person and hopefullly it will save the second, an ALS patient.  

And yes, the cybertruck is ugly. All EV'S are giant fire hazards.

Plus our current electrical grid can't support any mandatory EV law. I think technology will give us more options in time.  We will be shopping for a used car soon. It will be a gas powered vehicle,

 

 

[TravelingChris]

6 hours ago, Katy said:

DH announced that we will not buy an EV in this house… he says we’re in a cold enough location they need to be parked inside, but it is not safe to park them in an attached garage, especially not with children’s bedrooms over the garage. 

The batteries are a human rights and environmental issue. 

I’ve also read several disturbing reports from former Tesla employees about privacy concerns. The cars are apparently recording all audio and video going on around them. Employees have heard multiple crimes being committed, mostly domestic and child abuse, but also possibly one murder. They’ve also heard a lot of private medical and banking information when people assumed they were safely in a private location. 

I’m also concerned with reports that you don’t buy a Tesla, you license the use of one. And one of my kids follows a Youtuber who had an extremely scammy experience with buying one. When they couldn’t produce the car he ordered they refused to give him his multiple thousand dollar deposit back until he got legal help involved. 

Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc listen too.

[fairfarmhand]

Strange thing…I saw a Tesla truck in my little town this morning. Never seen one before today in person.

[Katy]

8 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc listen too.

Yes, this is why we don’t have smart home devices and Siri is turned off on our apple devices. We aren’t criminals in any way, but it freaks DH out.

I do have a washer and dryer that connect to wifi & the app pops up an alert when the washer & dryer are done. If LG is spying on me, it’s worth never hearing laundry appliances buzzing again. 

[Arcadia]

20 minutes ago, Katy said:

I do have a washer and dryer that connect to wifi & the app pops up an alert when the washer & dryer are done. If LG is spying on me, it’s worth never hearing laundry appliances buzzing again.

At my DS19’s college, the laundry app that his campus provider use was the only way to pay for the washer and dryer on campus. Data is definitely mined to optimize for number of washers and dryers but I doubt anyone is “spying” on what college students are up to. 

[Pawz4me]

58 minutes ago, SanDiegoMom said:

Cybertrucks can tow 11k pounds.  I have to wonder whether that would ever be required, considering who could afford to buy them? What would they be towing? 

A travel trailer, boat, or horse trailer? Those are all rather expensive hobbies.

I wonder what towing that much weight would do to the range? 

[HomeAgain]

59 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

Number 1- a number of auto plants don't have unions. I know that recently in my state, 2 Mercedes plants voted no.  The Mazda-Toyota plant also has no union.  I  think it is very common in the South not to have unionized auto plants.

 

 

 

You misunderstood what I said.  They are the only auto manufacturers that do not have a worker's union.  Not auto plant.  Manufacturer.  Even if some plants are not unionized in other companies, some are, and the negotiations do trickle down.

Tesla is openly anti-union, to the point of breaking the law to keep their people from unionizing.  There are no negotiations or worker rights.  Elon Musk bragged about firing striking workers and is struggling with his factories in the EU wanting to unionize.  This isn't a plant thing, it's a company thing.  They shouldn't be confused with the fact that Mercedes in the state doesn't have unions in two plants, when their factories around the globe do. 

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, TravelingChris said:

I am super grateful to Elon Musk's buying of twitter, now X. It is changing the world mostly for the better.

TIL that amplifying Nazi propaganda = "changing the world for the better..."

"Elon Musk’s X is a thriving hub for Nazi support and propaganda, with paid subscribers sharing speeches by Adolf Hitler or content praising his genocidal regime. NBC News found that at least 150 paid “Premium” subscriber X accounts and thousands of unpaid accounts have posted or amplified pro-Nazi content on X in recent months, often in apparent violation of X’s rules. The paid accounts posting the content all consistently posted antisemitic or pro-Nazi material. Examples included praise of Nazi soldiers, sharing of Nazi symbols and denials of the Holocaust. 

The pro-Nazi content is not confined to the fringes of the platform. During one seven-day period in March, seven of the most widely shared pro-Nazi posts on X accrued 4.5 million views in total. One post with 1.9 million views promoted a false and long-debunked conspiracy theory that 6 million Jews did not die in the Holocaust. More than 5,300 verified and unverified accounts reshared that post, and other popular posts were reshared hundreds of times apiece. 
.....
The verified users sharing the pro-Nazi content have entered into a mutually beneficial relationship with Musk’s X, paying $8 a month or more for premium services that are available to all premium subscribers. In exchange, they get “prioritization” when they reply to posts and the opportunity to monetize their content through ads, according to the subscription terms. The result is that X is bringing Nazi sympathizers in from the dark corners of the internet to a massive platform where they can pay to amplify their content. X had 174 million daily active users worldwide on its mobile app in February, according to the research firm Sensor Tower. X claims to have many more than that."

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/x-twitter-elon-musk-nazi-extremist-white-nationalist-accounts-rcna145020

Musk has also admitted that he purposely turned off Starlink while Ukrainian forces were in the middle of an attack, cutting off their communications and saving Russian ships. 

[KSera]

10 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

The sales contract for the cybertruck has a clause forbidding the buyer from selling the truck within the first year of purchase, including a $50K fine and a ban from ever owning another Tesla.

Serious?! I had missed this one. Nutty.

 

 

[HomeAgain]

4 minutes ago, KSera said:

Serious?! I had missed this one. Nutty.

 

 

Yep.  And some insurance companies refuse to insure cybertrucks because they are poorly made death traps, which means that owners are stuck with a car they can't sell, can't drive, and can't make street legal.

[Frances]

7 hours ago, SKL said:

Interesting thought though ... we don't know much about the humans at the helms of the other car companies.  Maybe they're gross too.  Who knows?  😛

True. But at least they are smart enough to not broadcast their poor character, values, and morals to the world. 

[Frances]

2 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

I am not a fan of ev's. But I am super grateful to Elon Musk's buying of twitter, now X. It is changing the world mostly for the better. Basically it has led to resignations of very offensive people.  It has helped identify criminals, terrorists, etc.  It has helped get the news out about dictators like Maduro and the and the horrors in Iran. 

 

 

I’m confused. We knew about Maduro and the horrors in Iran long before Musk took over Twitter or before Twitter even existed. What resignations of very offensive people directly came about because he took over Twitter? How is it helping to identify criminals and terrorists in ways that wasn’t possible before his takeover?

[frogger]

7 hours ago, KSera said:

I hope it moves fast, because the planet can’t take much longer of most people opting to drive ICE vehicles. We have a limited time to turn it around to make things tolerable for our kids’ lives. There are already lots of electric buses and Amazon delivery vehicles on the roads, so it’s definitely feasible, I just hope we get there faster. It’s the semi trucks puffing out plumes of disgusting black smoke that we can’t get off the road fast enough.  (Though actually, I just looked it up and passenger vehicles contribute more total greenhouse emissions than freight vehicles do currently. Obviously each freight truck contributes to far far more than each car, there are just so many more passenger vehicles than freight vehicles.)

Other options for commuting would be the fastest easiest way to reduce carbon. Making multi modal transportation options and adding in public transport would do loads more for the enviroment than EV's. Depending on the local power source EVs can be somewhat helpful or even worse for the enviroment plus stress the energy grid. In areas with nuclear they do better but in areas where coal is the electricity source, especially if the coal must be transported then EVs start losing their carbon footprint advantage.

Cars contribute not just fumes (though fumes literally stink for walkers, bikers, and homes near roads), but also tire wear, washer fluid, leaks, noise pollution, and the need for more asphalt which soaks up heat. Because EVs weigh more they cause more road damage and it takes running equipment etc to fix roads. It also means more tire wear. Cars driven for personal use destroy the local enviroment not just the atmosphere and often simply kill others besides taking up valuable real estate.

Edited August 30 by frogger