patrick.net

WookieMan says

I don't want two cars. I don't want 8 tires.

Would think you have at least 2 cars if you are married with kids. One fun car and one utility car.

My wife drives the Hyundai SUV gas car that we use to lug surfboards and people to the beach and the car we will take to Utah this January for our ski trip.

While I get to drive the ridiculously fast and FUN Tesla for my day to day needs for work and around town.

Sounds like your wife makes bank. You should get her a Model S or X plaid so she has one of the world's most amazing sports cars and the safest car in the world for your normal around town driving.

socal2 says

Sounds like your wife makes bank. You should get her a Model S or X plaid so she has one of the world's most amazing sports cars and the safest car in the world for your normal around town driving.

She does. Teslas are sedans basically. She won't touch one. She won't touch a mini van. It's full size SUV or bust. Smallest car we've rented on vacation is a Jeep Wrangler in the USVI. I barely fit in a Tesla because of height.

Fact is that a bigger car is the safer car. Tesla makes the claim by "class" of car. My car could easily kill a Tesla driver if I blew a stop sign going 60mph which is possible in the cornfields where I live. Trust me, you'd die in a T-bone accident with my Armada hitting you at 60mph 9 out of 10 times.

Best case you'd die right away. Otherwise the car would start burning uncontrollably and you couldn't get out and burn to death. Fact is Teslas haven't been on the road in numbers enough to actually prove they're safer. Safety crash tests are planned for.

I also don't care for speed as I mentioned. Fast acceleration is an easy way to get pulled over for reckless driving. And yes that is an offense that cops can pull you over for. I'll take the big slow car that will kill anything that gets in my way and survive at a 90% rate.

https://nitter.poast.org/VigilantFox/status/1850373439153963311#m

A Trump hater infiltrated Elon Musk's rally, but Musk gracefully schooled him with an epic mic drop moment.

TRUMP HATER: “Trump did not and has not accepted the results of the 2020 election, one which has been called the most secure in the nation's history by the former president's own Department of Homeland Security. Similarly, I saw the violent disruption of the electoral vote count on the news during January 6th.

“So, I ask this as a first-time voter who wants to discern the truth. What would you say to comfort the concerns of young voters like me who are worried that voting for a second Trump presidency will lead to democratic backsliding?

@ElonMusk: “The media tries to characterize January 6th as some sort of violent insurrection, which is simply not the case. That is false ... There have to be a lot of guns for it to be a violent insurrection.”

“It's not as though the January 6th protesters had no merit. They had some merit. I disagree with the magnitude of what they did. But it's not as though there were no issues [with the election].”

“Almost every country on Earth has voter ID requirements, but we don't. Why? And why do the same people who demanded vaccine IDs for you to do anything say no ID for voting? Something doesn't add up. It doesn't add up. My firm opinion is that those who say Trump is a threat to democracy are themselves the threat to democracy.”

(Mic Drop)

WookieMan says

She does. Teslas are sedans basically. She won't touch one. She won't touch a mini van. It's full size SUV or bust.

You should test drive an X. Perfect mix to haul people, pets, groceries and a great road tripper.

socal2 says

WookieMan says

She does. Teslas are sedans basically. She won't touch one. She won't touch a mini van. It's full size SUV or bust.

You should test drive an X. Perfect mix to haul people, pets, groceries and a great road tripper.

Don't mind suggestions and don't mind Tesla. That ain't fitting my family. I'm going to have 3 monsters on my hands. They ain't fitting in that back seat. I'm talking 6'5" kids before they can get their own car.

That thing wouldn't even fit 5 camping chairs in the trunk. Plus a wagon just for outdoor sporting events with the kids. Ignore the range topic. Ain't no camping with that thing either. As I've said, my current and former cars would destroy that car, where the sensors would do jack shit if I t-boned it. You're dead.

I won't be sold on it. I am putting in a charging port for the future on the new build to be safe in the garage. I'm not anti EV, I'm anti EV for me currently. Someone needs to make a full sized SUV and you'd get my attention. Until then, enjoy. I'm not buying mid-sized quasi SUV's that can't tow.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/elon-musk-claims-cut-federal-150115514.html

Elon Musk claims he can cut the federal budget for Trump by 'at least' $2 trillion

ERECTION INTENSIFYING

zzyzzx says

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/elon-musk-claims-cut-federal-150115514.html

Elon Musk claims he can cut the federal budget for Trump by 'at least' $2 trillion

ERECTION INTENSIFYING

What load of shit.

Only Congress can cut the spending. Sure, Trump submits the budget. But Congress passes it (or not). Most likely, they will add shit back into it.

And the RINOs will totally get in bed with the Dems to override a Trump veto.

Maybe Elon and Trump will use their bully pulpits to call out the spenders by name and sink their re-election chances.

DemocratsAreTotallyFucked says

What load of shit.

Only Congress can cut the spending. Sure, Trump submits the budget. But Congress passes it (or not). Most likely, they will add shit back into it.

And the RINOs will totally get in bed with the Dems to override a Trump veto.

No wars is a savings. Trump I know will leverage Ukrainian funding and veto anymore money.

Israel, not so much with Jared and his daughter, but I think he cuts back.

There's billions on the border to be saved as well. Besides the MIC these moves don't mess up job numbers too much. The border would be a net gain with construction jobs.

Love him or hate him, Musk has sold more vehicles that 50% of the population doesn't want. I could see him finding ways to cut costs. He know the subsidies he gets. We have a guy that would give no fucks about any industry. He's made his money and he knows what works that the government pays for.

$2 trillion is likely a stretch. Not elected yet, but Trump is a lame duck if elected. All bets are off. He can get away with what he can. There will be cuts in the IRS, FBI, CIA, NSA most likely. We have the best Navy and Airforce on the planet. Keep funding that. There's little need for the employee count in just the 4 I mention. There's likely more 3 letter organizations that could be cut. Department of education for starters. DEA. We have so much waste and do nothing jobs.

WookieMan says

veto anymore money.

What part of this did you somehow miss?

And the RINOs will totally get in bed with the Dems to override a Trump veto.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1852807444541431903

DOGE now!

Where's the Hamas-Hezbollah-Wagner Lovin' Musk Doubter these days?

Trump + Team = Vance, Musk, Vivek, Gabbard, RFK, etc., have already been busy planning the transition. Today, they ramp up the planning. I expect Trump's first day will be very, very, very busy. He's going to have a sore hand from signing executive orders nonstop. I assume the team is queueing up a very long list of resignation requests from every part of the bureaucracy that will be sent out on day 1.

Remember how Elon fired 90% of Twitter employees - and now X is thriving more strongly than Twitter? This could work for the government!

How will Trump unwind the Dept. of Ed? (This will be the first Department to go, IMHO.) Since it was created by Carter, can he just wave it away similarly?

rocketjoe79 says

Since it was created by Carter, can he just wave it away similarly?

Yep, but there will be a judge who will overstep his authority and rule against it until a higher court overturns the partisan decision.

rocketjoe79 says

Remember how Elon fired 90% of Twitter employees - and now X is thriving more strongly than Twitter

By what metric? Revenue has declined 19.2% year-over-year in Q1 2024 and number of active users is 15% less than before rebranding to X.

Eric Holder says

By what metric? Revenue has declined 19.2% year-over-year in Q1 2024 and number of active users is 15% less than before rebranding to X.

Revenue is down because Liberals and hacks like Media Matters pressured advertisers to boycott X. Elon famously told advertisers to "Fuck Off" for trying to pressure him to censor Conservative speech before the 2024 election. Thank GOD Elon has enough FU money to absorb the financial hit. I expect revenue will turn around a bit now the election is over.

By all accounts, X is running better with more features despite Elon firing over 80% of the staff.

socal2 says

Revenue is down because Liberals and hacks like Media Matters pressured advertisers to boycott X.

OK, plausible.

socal2 says

By all accounts, X is running better with more features despite Elon firing over 80% of the staff.

So why is # of users down then?

Eric Holder says

socal2 says

Revenue is down because Liberals and hacks like Media Matters pressured advertisers to boycott X.

OK, plausible.

socal2 says

By all accounts, X is running better with more features despite Elon firing over 80% of the staff.

So why is # of users down then?

I thought a lot of them were bots that he removed.

Eric Holder says

rocketjoe79 says

Remember how Elon fired 90% of Twitter employees - and now X is thriving more strongly than Twitter

By what metric? Revenue has declined 19.2% year-over-year in Q1 2024 and number of active users is 15% less than before rebranding to X.

Gross revenue.... Cut costs with salaries and it's not a loss on the net end of the numbers. 15% on the users is not a big deal either. Most were probably dead weight and protest quit X because they don't like Musk. Likely couldn't afford the stuff in ads.

Also I don't think Musk gives a flying fuck about money for himself. He has more than he even knows what to do with it. Put 1 million in your bank. Musk has 100,000 times more than that and that's a low estimate. He has a multiple of what most people make a year on his money. He can collect 1-2% interest to cover living expenses for his family. He can borrow tax free income on his stock holdings.

Whatever happens with twitter is a huge nothing burger.

Eric Holder says

By what metric? Revenue has declined 19.2% year-over-year in Q1 2024 and number of active users is 15% less than before rebranding to X.

Woke Ad Agency bans. It will recover. Active Users? Mass bot purges.

https://notthebee.com/article/disney-and-other-advertisers-are-returning-to-x-after-ditching-the-platform-earlier-this-year

Monday Afternoon is the next launch. The successful one a few weeks ago wasn't the latest version, they just launched it for data; the landing and capture was gravy.

AmericanKulak says

Monday Afternoon is the next launch. The successful one a few weeks ago wasn't the latest version, they just launched it for data; the landing and capture was gravy.

I think it's moved to Tuesday, Launch window 2:00-2:30 PST

Ah shit, I'll be on the road to the airport to pick up relatives.

If anyone recalls Elon Musk rose from the ashes of the 2000's banking crisis. Investors wanted a new safe way to invest in the collapse of the traditional investment options that were collapsing under the toxic loans scandal.

Elon stepped in and he had his finger in every handout and subsidy pie that was available. He was making tunnel boring machines for the green choo choo trains, Green Choo Choo trains, then he entered the Electric car con job. Not only was he getting grants to explode and crash rockets, he was given old NASA surplus to get him started. He was the Renaissance man of subsidy business models. he even got into the solar over sell con job. It chapped my ass, I bemoaned and bitched about him, and loathed the Tesla name. Everyone thought he was smart, I thought he was an opportunist. He was Neil deGrasse Tyson with a business plan.

But you know he persevered and kept going at it. He just didn't take the money, fail then walk away, like Solyndra did, But not only did he succeed in bringing the Tesla to market, he also brought a whole slew of models and options. He's more of a bonefide car company with a legit product line than many other car makers. He's managed to actually produce an impressive reusable space platform. Everything he touches produces beneficial results.
Dare I say he's the first Left Subsidized endeavor to ever produce results, rather than taking the money and running to never be heard from again.

I owe Elon Musk his proper respect, and we can all say any admiration for him, should be based on more than who he supports or how leans politically.
The fact that he is now working with Trump to restore America is just part of his greatness.

He was used up, chewed up and spat out by the Left we're damn lucky to have him. If he's just half as successful at making MAGA closer to a reality, as he has been at making some of the Green Agendas biggest Unicorns a solid reality. Like Electric Cars that people would actually want, Tesla battery walls and solar power, efficient tunnel boring to make highspeed rail feasible in country and terrain where it is practical to do so. Just look at what he did with Twitter.

If he can tackle MAGA as effectively as that, we're in for one hell of ride in the next 4 years.

It's as if we're getting the Super Hero Justice League for a President, and not just Donald Trump.

I think they hate Musk more than they hate Trump now:

Purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk was a historic moment not just for the US but for the world


"A lot of what people say, they say it because they don’t want people to attack them. They say it because they think that if they say it, it will clear them, they’ll be OK," Rogan said. "If you say you support ‘x’ — you might not even support ‘x’ — but if you say you support ‘x,’ you’re not going to get attacked and the right people will leave you alone or agree with you and appreciate you or praise you. There’s a lot of that out there. There’s a lot of people that don’t speak their mind. Do you know many artists that have reached out to me that are like f---ing hippies, man, like artists, like musicians, comedians that thanked me for endorsing Trump because they can’t do it?" he said. They said they want to but they don’t want to be attacked. They can’t say it. They think the country’s going in the wrong direction. They think that this control of social media by the government, which we would have had pretty much fully if it wasn’t for Elon buying Twitter. The majority of the media being dominated by one ideology is a "dangerous precedent to set, whether it’s a right-wing government or a left-wing government and that what you see that’s happening in the U.K. where people are being imprisoned for tweets and Facebook posts. It’s fucking crazy. Mind bending. The whole thing is nuts. And it’s a dangerous path that we were on. We were on that path. Trump has vowed to have free speech become a very important part of what he’s standing for, and that this censoring of information needs to stop and that we need to stop all government influence in what people have to say. - Joe Rogan