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Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

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Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#981
post #970

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Model S was the first EV that “happened to be” an EV. You didn’t have to compromise on range, power, comfort, or anything else to own it. That’s why it succeeded. It was a great car, and happened to be an EV. Tesla’s chief designer himself: “We are past the idea of an environmentally friendly vehicle needing to look different. People don't want to sacrifice anything, including style, to own an efficient car.”

You definitely needed to compromise on range power and comfort. The 60kWh version was more expensive than an BMW M4, S5, or A6, all in more powerful, comfortable, etc... You definitely had to compromise to own it, on almost everything aspect. Despite everything else, people were buying it because it was electric.

Every $100k vehicle is different, that’s not what “compromise” means. And the Model S had comparable power and comfort — not for everyone of course — to the cars you mention. Obviously people were buying it because it was electric, that added $30k in battery cost alone, you wouldn’t do that if you didn’t care about it being electric.

But my point is that could do everything an American expects a baseline car, like a Honda Civic, could do - it worked as a car in addition to being electric, which is more than can be said for the Leaf and Zoe, on range and charge time concerns alone.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#982
post #804
post #622

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference between Twitter and Reddit, hacker news, or 4chan, is that on Twitter you ostensibly only see content from people you follow. If you don’t like the content someone is putting out, you just unfollow them. Twitter is more like email than Reddit in that sense, and no one is arguing for email to be moderated.

Reddit is much better at what you're describing. Twitter constantly inserts content you haven't asked for in your feed and when viewing tweets.

Reddit home now shows me repulsive “suggestions” that are very toxic. The popular tab is almost unusable.

The only difference is you don’t see the toxicity in arguments as often, because any dissent is downvoted and effectively squelched. It’s more toxic righteousness, consistently.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#983

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good point. Although, I don't think it's the case: mine's essentially zero. Don't misunderstand: I've seen that stuff on Twitter. I've reported a few people. And political topics and other controversial topics are absolutely rife with it. I do not excuse it in any way. I just find it easy to avoid?

You've just described how you haven't avoided it, but instead have actively engaged with it by availing yourself of moderation tools. It leads me to suppose that you're underestimating how much you're exposed to that you find disquieting.

What kind of hubris would cause you to think you have more insight into my life than I do?

Your comment is extremely bad.

In its own small way, it is one of the most arrogant and incorrect things I've ever read.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#984

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That only works because HN is, mostly, politics-free. I'm not a regular Twitter user but afaik that platform is pretty heavy on politics, more than that, it's pretty heavy when it comes to a certain political spectrum, the other side has been mostly de-platformed by now. I don't consider that as a healthy platform to comment on for the general public (even though, I agree, it might be ok for people who happen to shar…

> but afaik that platform is pretty heavy on politics Twitter is what you want it to be, topic-wise, based on who you follow and what they like to talk about. Further tuning is possible using blocks and muted keywords. However, there is bleed because people you follow and Twitter's recommendation features can't help themselves (and not just about politics; anything "newsy" pops up). What happens when Elon's "anything…

I also think HN survives bc rules are short and clearly set from the beginning, with examples and references. When an argument regarding moderation pops up, dang is quick to communicate, clarify, etc. this beats any “you violated our policies bye” strategy.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#985
post #981

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You definitely needed to compromise on range power and comfort. The 60kWh version was more expensive than an BMW M4, S5, or A6, all in more powerful, comfortable, etc... You definitely had to compromise to own it, on almost everything aspect. Despite everything else, people were buying it because it was electric.

Every $100k vehicle is different, that’s not what “compromise” means. And the Model S had comparable power and comfort — not for everyone of course — to the cars you mention. Obviously people were buying it because it was electric, that added $30k in battery cost alone, you wouldn’t do that if you didn’t care about it being electric. But my point is that could do everything an American expects a baseline car, like a…

The Model S had far inferior comfort, especially the 2012 version. It got better. You had to compromise on everything in exchange of getting an electric car.

> But my point is that could do everything an American expects a baseline car, like a Honda Civic, could do - it worked as a car in addition to being electric, which is more than can be said for the Leaf and Zoe, on range and charge time concerns alone.

Sure, at 100k$, which is too much for what an American expects of a baseline car. I am sure Renault and Nissan could have done it to if they had multiplied the price by 4, but then it would defeat the entire purpose of a practical everyday car. It's like saying that Ferrari makes practical every day cars because of the GTC4Lusso.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#986
post #701

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By the time Tesla had sold 100,000 Model S cars in the US, Nissan had already sold over 110 000 Leafs. Tesla created the market for high-performance EVs. They did not create the overall EV market. The high-end market is only a small part of the numbers.

"The high-end market is only a small part of the numbers" correct, but in a parallel universe where Tesla didn't exist & the typical EV looked & performed like a Leaf, would anyone actually want an electric car? Marketing and psychology are important.

Sure, as evidenced by the fact that more people bought cars that performed like the Leaf and Zoe than Model S's.

Also the Renault Zoe looked just like the Renault Clio, that is, a normal car.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#987

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no revolution to speak of. Tesla is an evolution in the high-end EV market. In the mid-range market Tesla was late to the punch and faces stiff competition, and in the low-end market they aren't an entity to speak of.

There's no competition in the mid/low cost market - there are no mid/low cost EV's. The leaf rides like a bottom end ICE compact and costs as much as a very nice ICE sedan, and not really that much less than a low end tesla. Honda/Ford/Toyota don't have anything in the EV space. They might have something on their web sites, but no dealer will have them in stock.

Of course there are low end EVs. The Wuling Mini EV (which is the worldwide best seller iirc) can be had for 10,000$ with 200km of range. Also, at price of a Leaf or Zoe, you don't get a high end sedan, you get a Honda Civic, which is one of the cheapest sedans.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#988
post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're discounting the very real possibility that Parag is operating as if the deal will not go through, and is making large strategic decisions in anticipation of that being the case. For Parag, I don't see it "burning his reputation" at all, considering either a) he's right and will face the tall task of helming a Twitter that continues to disappoint its investors or b) he's wrong and it won't be his problem when E…

It maximizes his chance of survival either way. The probability that Elon is margin called by year end is roughly 40% according to option prices. - 60% chance you get fired either by Musk or investors if you don't turn the ship. - 40% chance you Musk is margin called and doesn't take over, but still might be fired by investors or acquired by someone else who may in turn can him.

>The probability that Elon is margin called by year end is roughly 40% according to option prices.

How did you deduce this from options prices? IV?

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#989
post #876

Earlier quoted context omitted.

8% is extremely optimistic. 4% is more like it, maybe even 3.5%. I'll use 4% for what follows. That's $200k. Take out 20% LTCG, now you're at $160k. Rent is like $3k/mo, so $36k/yr. Say you have modest living expenses of another $34k/yr. Now you're at $70k/yr to break even. That leaves you with $90k to save/compound. So, ok, you're doing very well as a renter with $5M invested, even in the Bay Area. And, given that y…

9% is the long term annual return of the stock market over the past century.

4% is the historical number you could take out for expenses in the worst case scenario. IMO it’s not pricing in modern existential threats, such as a war that crosses the ocean, or existing regulatory differences that make it more difficult for larger firms.

Re: Twitter CEO fires two top executives, freezes hiring

#990

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla has 14% of the EV market, VW Group has 12% - and closing fast. They also have a much larger dealership network.

dealership network eats their margin, plus vw has to discount all of their own legacy sales they cannibalize

It eats their margin, marginally (typically 5% kickback if a dealership meets sales figures, per car) as they're almost entirely franchises.

But that dealer network means when you need your car serviced, or repaired, you're never more than a short(ish) drive away from one.

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