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On a Tesla: Don't

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11–20 of 96 posts

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#11

Could one argue Tesla's Marketing approach to FSD is almost machiavellian and targeted not at consumers but in actual fact, engineers to come and work for them? If they do eventually be the first then all is forgiven (i.e. Fritz Haber is known for the Haber-Bosch process, and not for inventing mustard gas). If they don't, they'll slowly fade into irrelevancy and they'll end up as an MBA case study in 50 years. If the…

> Could one argue Tesla's Marketing approach to FSD is almost machiavellian and targeted not at consumers but in actual fact, engineers to come and work for them?

I think it's clear that it's targeting investors and is used to (successfully) pump the stock value much higher than what would be reasonable.

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#12

On the "yelling at me" part - I find this an absolutely puzzling design pattern that a number of automakers have adopted. I was driving a Volkswagen ID4 - their mid-size electric car - the other day, and my dog was on the back seat. She triggered the seat belt alarm, but not straight away, only once we were on the German Autobahn. It showed the icon on the dashboard, then it started beeping. Then it started beeping l…

don't dogs need a seat belt too?

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#13
post #4

> But here’s where the CEO becomes relevant. Tesla is, in many ways, Elon Musk. Some parts are astonishing, inspiring, and good — what I’ve called above the car on down. Other parts are little more than lies and gimmicks. From what I understand (and I may be completely wrong), those "astonishing and good" parts, about the design of the vehicle itself, were already mostly in place before Musk managed to place himself…

> From what I understand (and I may be completely wrong), those "astonishing and good" parts, about the design of the vehicle itself, were already mostly in place before Musk managed to place himself as Tesla's CEO (which is an interesting story in itself).

I find it very hard to know what's true about such a polarising figure. Personally I don't think it's likely that Musk has done what he's done without talent and a lot of hard work, especially in an age of constant iconoclasm. But I could be wrong.

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#14
post #8

The problem with a tesla is that it is like a finicky partner. You're in love. It is romantic. smooth, sleep touchscreen for everything feels so modern. It is a better car than ICE, hands down. Everything that was before was terrible. And everything is getting better! But at some point, you realize some things are never going to change, and you are going to have to live with it. - it is dangerously hard to use any co…

> - don't get a flat tire if you care about your time. If you can't change a spare, nvm.

Is it harder to change a spare on a tesla compare to other cars?

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#15

On the "yelling at me" part - I find this an absolutely puzzling design pattern that a number of automakers have adopted. I was driving a Volkswagen ID4 - their mid-size electric car - the other day, and my dog was on the back seat. She triggered the seat belt alarm, but not straight away, only once we were on the German Autobahn. It showed the icon on the dashboard, then it started beeping. Then it started beeping l…

You probably should have your dog belted in to a chest harness.

Check your insurance policy.

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#16
post #8

The problem with a tesla is that it is like a finicky partner. You're in love. It is romantic. smooth, sleep touchscreen for everything feels so modern. It is a better car than ICE, hands down. Everything that was before was terrible. And everything is getting better! But at some point, you realize some things are never going to change, and you are going to have to live with it. - it is dangerously hard to use any co…

> don't get a flat tire if you care about your time.

can you elaborate on this?

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#17
post #8

The problem with a tesla is that it is like a finicky partner. You're in love. It is romantic. smooth, sleep touchscreen for everything feels so modern. It is a better car than ICE, hands down. Everything that was before was terrible. And everything is getting better! But at some point, you realize some things are never going to change, and you are going to have to live with it. - it is dangerously hard to use any co…

> - if you get a newer car, you (basically) won't HAVE any dedicated controls. no turn signal stalk. No gear stalk - PRND - it will guess for you (really)

What? How do you signal a turn then? How do you change the gear?

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#18
post #3

A few legitimate but common complaints marred by a bunch of issues that aren’t common (my phone key works fine, Bluetooth is fine, etc) and completely unsubstantiated prediction that the runaway top seller of EVs, indeed the best selling cars several years running, will somehow “fail to compete” in the EV space

There are some apparently legitimate issues, followed by political grievances against Musk personally, written by a guy who describes himself as "law professor, activist". This kind of partisanship taints the whole article, and lessens its credibility.

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#19
If you read to the end, predictably, his biggest problem is Musk's politics...

The comparison to Apple is not particularly great. I don't know how distracted is Cook and what his politics are, but I am still dealing with major iphone bugs than apple never bothered to fix in years, like all the music artwork being randomly reschuffled. And the experience only gets worse with time with more aggressive nagging for Apple services, my phone feels like the web in the 1990s, pre adblockers.

Re: On a Tesla: Don't

#20
post #17
post #8

The problem with a tesla is that it is like a finicky partner. You're in love. It is romantic. smooth, sleep touchscreen for everything feels so modern. It is a better car than ICE, hands down. Everything that was before was terrible. And everything is getting better! But at some point, you realize some things are never going to change, and you are going to have to live with it. - it is dangerously hard to use any co…

> - if you get a newer car, you (basically) won't HAVE any dedicated controls. no turn signal stalk. No gear stalk - PRND - it will guess for you (really) What? How do you signal a turn then? How do you change the gear?

> How do you signal a turn then?

Buttons on the steering wheel. It's not very usable when you're trying to indicate while turning (like around a roundabout):

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/tesla-steering-wheel-mode...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA2dSHu-hns

> How do you change the gear?

Via the touch screen or buttons in the overhead console:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/h6CgpHMuqC8

They are both dumb design choices.

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