sflagel

MplsP said:

sflagel said:

greginprague said:

ihatescreennames said:

greginprague said:

We finally got our Model Y in August after waiting 11 months from order date.  It’s the first new car we’ve ever owned. It’s amazing, but would like to have CarPlay on it.  If Rivian is a better car then buy it, but to me it’s idiotic to make (or cancel) a car purchase because of any person at the company.  

To be fair, Musk isn’t just “any person at the company”, he is the face of the company. From what I can tell he seems to be a fairly loud-voiced and opinionated face of the company.  He also seems to rub a lot of people the wrong way.

To me it’s similar to that person that cuts me off in traffic while driving a vehicle that has their company name on it.  I’ll remember that Chris’ Custom Closets guy cut me off and when it’s time to redo my closet I won’t be calling them.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to hear that Musk said something in an interview or on Twitter that really annoyed a potential customer and then that potential customer decided to go with another brand. 

My point was that regardless of the person, even the CEO, if the product is worth buying then buy it. Otherwise you’re just putting the stick in your own eye. I didn’t avoid Disney because Chapek is an idiot. 

 I drove 430 miles yesterday afternoon to night in the Model Y. It took about 8.5 hours with all charging and bathroom stops, averaging about 74mph while on the road. What other electric vehicle can you do that with today (or likely even in 2 years)? The Lucid Air certainly can’t do that on one charge at interstate highway speeds.

The Tesla Model Y can't do that on one charge, its range is about 300 miles, the same as a VW ID4, Audi Q4 etron, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq. Mercedes EQS and BMW iX have far superior ranges.

Ranges:
VW ID4 range: 275 miles (https://www.vw.com/en/models/id-4.html)
Audi Q4 etron range: 265 miles (https://www.audiusa.com/us/web/en/models/q4/q4-e-tron/2023/overview.html)
Hyundai Ioniq range: 266 miles (https://www.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/vehicles/ioniq-5/limited)
Mercedes EQS range: 305 miles (Starts at > $105k, https://www.mbusa.com/en/vehicles/model/eqs/suv/eqs450x#specifications)
BMW iX range: 305 - 324 miles (https://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/all-electric/ix/sports-activity-vehicle/build-your-own.html, note it accomplishes this by using a 105 kwh battery, about 50% larger than Teslas meaning charging will take proportionally longer)

There are many companies entering the EV market which is a good thing. From what I have read and seen, Tesla is still significantly ahead with it’s drivetrain and battery technology. 

Interesting that on EPA standards, the ID4 has so much less range than the Model Y. Using European WLTP measures, that is not the case:

ID4 - 328 miles (https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/electric-and-hybrid/electric-cars/id4.html)
MY LR - 331 miles (https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/modely/design#overview)

WLTP is inaccurate, but that would apply equally to both cars; I am not familiar with EPA.

IRL, I got 300 miles out of a Q4 etron in the height of summer (sub-zero C range seems to be about 200 miles).

greginprague said:

ihatescreennames said:

greginprague said:

We finally got our Model Y in August after waiting 11 months from order date.  It’s the first new car we’ve ever owned. It’s amazing, but would like to have CarPlay on it.  If Rivian is a better car then buy it, but to me it’s idiotic to make (or cancel) a car purchase because of any person at the company.  

To be fair, Musk isn’t just “any person at the company”, he is the face of the company. From what I can tell he seems to be a fairly loud-voiced and opinionated face of the company.  He also seems to rub a lot of people the wrong way.

To me it’s similar to that person that cuts me off in traffic while driving a vehicle that has their company name on it.  I’ll remember that Chris’ Custom Closets guy cut me off and when it’s time to redo my closet I won’t be calling them.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to hear that Musk said something in an interview or on Twitter that really annoyed a potential customer and then that potential customer decided to go with another brand. 

My point was that regardless of the person, even the CEO, if the product is worth buying then buy it. Otherwise you’re just putting the stick in your own eye. I didn’t avoid Disney because Chapek is an idiot. 

 I drove 430 miles yesterday afternoon to night in the Model Y. It took about 8.5 hours with all charging and bathroom stops, averaging about 74mph while on the road. What other electric vehicle can you do that with today (or likely even in 2 years)? The Lucid Air certainly can’t do that on one charge at interstate highway speeds.

The Tesla Model Y can't do that on one charge, its range is about 300 miles, the same as a VW ID4, Audi Q4 etron, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq. Mercedes EQS and BMW iX have far superior ranges.

mystigo said:

• Also not clear is why Twitter didn't retain the blue checkmark for verified accounts, and implement a different color or shape for the paid subscriptions.

Right? Dead simple solution but Elon's crazed fever mind couldn't come up with it.

He originally wanted to monetise the verification, he thought high profile people would pay to be have the blue tick mark. That back-fired - after all, these are the content creators most of us join Twitter for. These people provide valuable thought leadership, even if you disagree with them. That's why they have millions of followers, and everyone else has hundreds or thousands.

Then he thought common folks would pay to be verified, but not that many common people are interested enough to have their account verified: no one besides friends and family and business acquaintances would care, and they already know! Not to mention that a purchased Blue Tick diminishes the value of the real, coveted, Blue Tick. But if he had left the Blue Tick as is, and just introduced a new, say, green tick that is available for purchase, no one would buy that green tick - would you?

AF_Hitt said:

Skeptical said:

Fred257 said:

For a watch. Let that sink in… 

I paid much more than that for my Rolex Explorer II but I think Apple has jumped the shark here with $900. The TAG Connected wasn’t much more than this and TAG is a watch company but Apple knows there are people out there to buy it. 

Agreed, watch prices can be quite insane at the “high” end, let alone the truly luxury category. Your Rolex will probably still be working when/if you decide to pass it down to grandkids one day. $900 for a wrist computer that will be obsolete in a few years is an entirely different pill to swallow.

The idea of passing down watches is overstated. No one wears their grandparents’ Omegas. But these high end Swiss watches are jewelry, to be worn to show one’s ability to generate disposable income, especially to other people that are “in the know”. No Apple Watch will ever be able to do it the same way. On the other hand, if you upgrade your Apple Watch every two years and sell your old one, even a $900 Watch probably ends up costing less than $30 per month. That’s not a lot. 

This comparison leaves out the most important aspect, the curated and algorithmic playlists. They are much better on Spotify. Also, Apple messes up my bought and my streaming tracks, regularly playing a streaming version that I did not want to hear instead of my owned track. Weird and annoying.