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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

#201
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.)

Using just dead reckoning you would pretty quickly have issues with accumulated error.

Apparently not. There's a pretty fascinating story about Etak, who made a dead reckoning-based car navigation in the mid 1980's: http://www.fastcompany.com/3047828/who-needs-gps-the-forgott...

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#202
post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, auto-braking isn't useful until you need it, and by that point you're about a half second away from smashing into another car so you don't have much time to think about it. That feature alone could reduce total crashes by 10% [1] [1] http://www.autonews.com/article/20160128/OEM06/160129871/aut...

>That feature alone could reduce total crashes by 10% [1] Well, ofcourse. I am talking about ppl become less safety conscious because these features give them (false) sense of security. eg: Anti-Tsunami walls killed more people than they saved during great japanese tsunami because they gave people false sense of security and ppl didn't take evacuation warnings seriously assuming walls would take care of it. And ofcou…

> eg: Anti-Tsunami walls killed more people than they saved during great japanese tsunami [..] And ofcourse studies proved that having Tsunami walls is safer than no walls.

Huh? So walls killed more people than they saved but studies showed that they are safer with the walls..?

I googled this, cannot find any information that the anti-Tsunami walls caused more people to be killed.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A grill on an electric car doesn't serve a purpose. The lack of a grill does serve a purpose: don't cut holes in body panels if you don't need to.

The drive motors must need some sort of air cooling.

Look below the nose for the radiator hole on the Model 3. If you look carefully at the placement of radiators in modern cars, you can see that most of the actual airflow placement is below the "bumper" (depending on the vehicle).

Modern bumpers are actually integrated fascias. [1]

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia_(car)

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not true. I've always driven RWD and have competed in National Amateur racing events with the SCCA (and taught high performance driving techniques at my local club). I setup my cars with a heafty amount of rear toe-in (1/4"). When the weight transfers left/right or one of the rear wheels hits a bump/hole it will push the car in one direction similar to torquing one side of a shopping cart with your hand. A RWD setup…

So, on the subject of whether rear wheel drive electric cars will have trouble in snow, we've now heard from both a shopping cart driver and a performance racing instructor who configures cars to deliberately amplify rear axle steering effects under cornering. I can't help but think that the reality of driving a Tesla Model 3 in traffic in light snow might be somewhat different to both of those experiences.

On that topic: the selection of the driven wheels probably matters less than people think. The most important factor is the tires. Want winter traction? Buy winter tires.

In modern cars Active Stability Control (ASC) is effective in eliminating oversteer, no matter what the drivetrain setup is. Traction at stop lights would favor RWD when a car has near 50/50 weight distribution (I don't know what the Model 3 is but would guess it's close).

RWD makes the car simpler and with modern ASC is no less safe for the average driver than FWD. I'd guess that traction in a Model 3 would slightly favor RWD but tires matter more.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#205

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…

Also, is Apple a supercomputer company that happened to get into AT&T's telephone handset business and Sony's walkman business? The way AT&T used to make rotary phones? Or are they a telephone handset business that happens to make miniature Cray supercomputers with, for some reason, integrated screens? Because an iPad is stronger than a supercomputer of previous decades.

Well, a supercomputer isn't supposed to fit in your backback. And a rotary phone isn't supposed to be wireless and fit in your pocket and play apps.

I don't know what to think anymore! It's almost like the world isn't made of categories.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I've noticed the trend in recent years of more prominent grill on many brands, especially the low end luxury lines. I can't be the only one who hates those, I mean, Trypophobia is one of the most common phobias.

Seeing as trypophobia is not even a recognized phobia, just something people on the Internet say they have, I don't know how you'd determine how common it is. Lots of people are demonstrably OK with luxury car grills, considering they sell well.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it's handy for keeping pace with middle weight bikes when they're trying to show off I guess :)

I pulled onto I-5 behind a Model S once while riding my 750cc Honda and was really impressed by the fact that I simply could not keep pace - it pulled smoothly ahead like it wasn't even trying. I have never seen any other car do that; it's part of the fun of riding, since cars on the freeway typically feel like they're all half asleep.

Get an S1000RR, an RSV4 or an R1 and you can go back to treating any Tesla like a normal sleepy car :)

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#208

Can someone clarify for me- will the existing Model S have any features NOT present in the vastly cheaper Model 3?

Speed (acceleration). Current Model S 0-6 times are from 5.2s to 2.8s, depending on trim. The Model 3 is “under six seconds” and maybe “substantially faster”: it could overlap the slower current Model S trims. Range. Current Model S ranges are from 240m to 270m, depending on trim. Model 3: 215m. Cargo volume. The Model S has 31.6 ft^3. The Model 3 looks much smaller. Free lifetime use of superchargers? I haven't seen…

He stated in the talk that supercharger was included with all Model 3's.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#209
post #49

So I watched the Model 3 unveil. I found it to be pretty awful. I had seen Musk unveil the battery swap, and felt that he looked way more polished than he did in the Model 3 unveil. The reveal kind of stressed me out the way he was stammering over the words. It seemed as though he had either not practiced the script, not written one, or had a bout of stage fright. He really didnt "sell" the car. Just said yes its goi…

It's draining to watch/listen. His speaking is so unsteady that it becomes very distracting. I understand wanting to be the face of the company, but he's simply not a strong presenter.
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