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Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

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Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#91

Post by forgetsusername »

grecy wrote: post #3

Unveil part 2 is "super next-level". And the "steering controls and system feels like a spaceship" And Musk tweeted a little while ago about getting a special team of Software Engineers reporting directly to him for self-driving that was "top priority" within the company. And there are no gauges directly in front of the driver at all, which has been confirmed to be like that for production. At this point, can it be a…

>And there are no gauges directly in front of the driver at all, which has been confirmed to be like that for production

Is that how you read it?

Because I read it as Tesla feeling the pressure to get something tangible out there for people to see, so they demonstrated a car that wasn't finished (just like the battery swap tech, or "off the hook" Powerwall demand). It got huge hype, now it'll be two more years of "wait and see what we have planned!" Smart, I guess.

I wish everyone would stop framing this as Tesla vs everyone else, instead of rooting on the EV industry as whole. There'd be less pressure on Tesla to take over the world, which ain't gonna happen.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#92

Post by talmand »

TillE wrote: post #31
rpedela wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At all? How would it drive to the mall on the other side of town without GPS?

A map, plus the assumption that it never moves without being powered on. (I'm sure it does use GPS for navigation. But it's hypothetically possible to do without.)

Seems like it might need GPS at times, or some other means to know where it is at certain moments. Once it establishes where it is then I could see it no longer needing GPS, as it should be bright enough to keep track of location by itself using a map.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#93

Post by madaxe_again »

grecy wrote: post #3

Unveil part 2 is "super next-level". And the "steering controls and system feels like a spaceship" And Musk tweeted a little while ago about getting a special team of Software Engineers reporting directly to him for self-driving that was "top priority" within the company. And there are no gauges directly in front of the driver at all, which has been confirmed to be like that for production. At this point, can it be a…

"Feels like a spaceship" sounds weird to me. piloting a spacecraft isn't all that easy.

In fact, when we're criticising UX we say it's like the controls in the space shuttle.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#94

Post by electrograv »

jusben1369 wrote: post #84

One of the things I find fascinating, and that Tesla has to grapple with at some point with real ramifications, is: are they a self driving car company that just happens to be an electric car company? Or the other way around? I would argue that electric car companies are appealing to a much smaller subset of potential customers than are self driving cars. But the mission behind each is very different and that flows i…

Why do you need to define a car company in a single adjective like "[self driving] car company" or "[electric] car company"?

Both are clearly the future. So what's wrong with doing both?

You say "pivot" as though these are incompatible goals, when in fact they're perfectly complementary paths to a future ideal of ground transportation.

To me, your point is like asking "Is Google a search company, or an advertising company?" They're both, in a fully symbiotic sense. You cannot describe it as one of these accurately, without the other.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#96

Post by encoderer »

elorant wrote: post #74
lttlrck wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

6 seconds at that price point is pretty normal for a car portending to be a sporty. For example a CLA is in its price range and does 0-60 a tad over 6 seconds.

A CLA doesn’t have six seconds acceleration. The CLA 200 which in Europe is priced around €30k does 1-100 (or 0-60 miles) at 8,4 seconds. Unless you’re referring to the AMG version which does it at 4,6 seconds but costs north of €50k.

The version in the US is a 2.5 liter.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#97

Post by electrograv »

djloche wrote: post #95

I wonder, when Tesla unveils something that doesn't fit within the parameters that those people think of as a 'car', how many will drop their reservation? Since we don't know the details yet, we don't know how much of a departure it will be.

I doubt that the demographic that pre-orders a Tesla Model 3 (years before shipping), is a demographic that is unwilling to embrace change.

I also doubt that it will have no manual control mode, so it shouldn't an issue regardless. Tesla is clearly going the route of being a strict super-set of the capabilities of other cars, until the market decides what features are obsolete many years down the road (e.g. steering wheels).

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#98

Post by partiallypro »

djloche wrote: post #95

I wonder, when Tesla unveils something that doesn't fit within the parameters that those people think of as a 'car', how many will drop their reservation? Since we don't know the details yet, we don't know how much of a departure it will be.

Yeah, most of the "reservations" are not going to be real customers. It's just something to tout to shareholders to justify their massive multiple. Tesla is in a race against the clock, they are practically corporate welfare queens with their subsidies and they continue to take on more debt.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#99

Post by forgetsusername »

elorant wrote: post #6
arcanus wrote: post #2

'The rear-wheel drive cars will be able to go zero to 60 in less than 4 seconds. ' I don't believe that.

It’s a known fact that electric cars have superb acceleration mainly because they deliver all power from the beginning, in contrast to internal combustion engines that need to reach certain rpms to achieve the same thing. Even if it’s 6 seconds instead of 4 it still is an impressive number for a car at that price range.

>Even if it’s 6 seconds instead of 4 it still is an impressive number for a car at that price range.

Not really. There are multiple Ford and Suburau models (off the top of my head) that will run sub-6.0, some models $10k cheaper than the Model 3.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#100

Post by ilikepi »

SkyMarshal wrote: post #79
wimagguc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That mask started to grow on me: it makes the car look like a spaceship, and even more importantly, it sets it apart from all other cars out there. It's like the hatchback-shape of the Prius. I don't think anyone does actually find that attractive, but it's a great design to tell everyone from a distance that you're a better person than them.

Except a hatchback actually has a functional purpose, the Model 3's grill-less grill not so much.

The function of the grille on a car with a combustion engine is to protect the radiator from debris while still allowing airflow to it. The need for airflow comes at a cost of aerodynamics, so if the Model 3 lacks a radiator, would it not be more "functional" to sacrifice the traditional grille in favor of improved aerodynamics?

The current design looks transitional to me...it has the general nose shape everyone is used to without the pointless nooks and crannies. If they were really trying to fully favor aerodynamics it would look like an F1 nose.

Edit: stupid autocorrect

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