Test Drove a Tesla Today

As the article points out, the inside of Tesla tires is filled with sound-deadening foam, so when they fail they don't tend to fail catastrophically.

Their statistic that 85% of all cars go to the junkyard with their factory jack untouched, was both surprising and plausible.

You don't hear much anymore about plastic tires that use internal fins instead of air. Just a few years ago that was going to be the next big thing.

61% of the electricity to power EVs comes from fossil fuels.
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/fact-check-team-the-truth-behind-electric-vehicles

Elon Musk's recent activities may put his car company in jeopardy.

I'm all in favor of "free speech" but quite a long time ago there were generally-agreed-upon carve-outs such as yelling fire in a crowded theater and calling for somebody's murder and spreading medical disinformation.  If Musk's intent is the get the ORC back on social media by taking Twitter private, and thus out of reach of federal regulators, he'll have to deal with the fallout from such a heinous decision.

And... it won't be good for Tesla.

Elon Musk sells $8½ billion in Tesla stock as the EV market heads toward collapse.

I wonder if it's too late to pull out of the Twitter deal?

NoCoPilot wrote:

I wonder if it's too late to pull out of the Twitter deal?

Actually, it's not. The deal isn't closed, and likely won't be for months. On the other hand, the damage that's already been done...

I've been waiting for the 2023 Subaru Solterra to come out, it's Subaru's first all-electric vehicle.  

Though largely designed by Toyota (its a joint venture).

It's supposed to hit the showrooms next month, June.  Pictures released last year showed it was gonna be butt ugly.  And now the price has been announced, $45,000, which is about $12,000 too high for what it is.

And now interior pictures show a center console down the middle of the cabin.  WTF?  There's no drivetrain. Whose braindead idea was that???
https://www.subaru.com/solterra-ev

Musk has found his escape hatch from this miserable deal.

The driver was 90% responsible for his fatal Tesla crash, his dad was 9% responsible for buying his reckless 18-year-old son a sports car capable of doing 119 mph in a 35 mph zone, and Tesla was 1% responsible for, what, building a fast car?
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jury-tesla-just-1-to-blame-for-teen-drivers-fiery-crash_n_62d84d8ae4b06e213fba3856

I hope the passenger's parents sue the dad for every penny he has.

Golly.  Twitter is full of bots and Russian trolls.  Who knew?

I'm beginning to wonder if this was Musk's plan all along, his way of getting Twitter to admit their shitty business plan.

Elon's back in on the Twitter deal, because he'd lose the court case 100%, so now he's trying to kill Twitter before the sale by saying he'll cut staff by 75%.

I say, let him. You own it, you can break it.  It'll become a handy tax write-off (because he'll still have to pay the agreed-upon price, even after the stock craters), and we the public won't have to put up with Twatter anymore.

Teslas are becoming subject to road rage because of hatred for Elon Musk
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/28/tesla-drivers-elon-musk-twitter-road-rage

In news of the "No Shit Sherlock" variety:

Apparently Teslas don't charge well in the cold.

Another sign of looming disaster at Tesla.
https://www.engadget.com/tesla-implements-huge-us-price-cuts-across-its-lineup-083211088.html

On my way home this morning I passed a patrol car on the side of the road, lights flashing, with a paying customer.

The patrol car was a Tesla.

A BLACK Tesla, with a shiny black finish except for the matte black finish letters on the side which said "POLICE."  You had to look at it straight on, to get reflections, before the lettering was visible.  The blue & red lights were also hidden in the grill and underneath the car.

Sneaky.  And probably very effective.

The Tesla Cybertruck was finally released today, at 150% of its announced price and four years late.

And the original butt-ugly design has not been corrected. Still three steps beyond hideous.

Quote :

Tesla is just not expected to make very many — at least not at first. The polarizing design is likely to turn off a broad swath of truck customers.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/30/23983683/however-many-it-is-its-so-floppy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxOh12Uhg08

Fit & finish is pretty bad.  Styling is awful.  Rear headroom is crap, rear legroom is crap.  The steering wheel is not connected to the front wheels -- there's a computer that decides how sharp to turn based on your speed..Does anybody see a problem with that?  The rear wheels also steer -- good thing the body panels are dent resistant!  And who needs bulletproof doors? Well, maybe Elon.  Or maybe anyone driving one needs them -- like the cyber-glasses from a few years ago, driving one of these monstrosities brands you as a rich mindless geek who needs to have shit thrown at you. All Cybertrucks will be the same color -- stainless -- so you'd better memorize your license plate number. We learned from Delorean that minor scratches and dents are major hassles in stainless steel.  Fingerprints show every time you touch a body panel. These is, obviously, no rear visibility -- at all.  Cameras and removable side mirrors. 35" tires -- no dropping into Les Schwab when you need a replacement. And the logo sux. Good thing it's only on the truck once, hidden in the frunk.

https://www.unilad.com/news/us-news/cybertruck-made-of-wood-569901-20231224

Huh.

Oh Elon, Elon, Elon...

Whoa.

Tesla Recalls Almost Every Car It's Sold In The US

The range hood in my daughter's condo looks like a Cybertruck.