patrick.net

Do not put bicyclists on the same list as vegans. A bike is an excellent way to do short trips in a small town or suburb. I am talking about pedal only bikes, not electric bikes that are really just another type of Vespa scooter.

My Tesla does nearly 100% of my driving now. Hard to put into words what an amazing feature this is as it adds massive safety and convenience to my life. It was incredible having it drive home from the restaurant last night in the pouring rain after I had a few beers with dinner.

People have no idea what’s coming…..

Now that the EV subsidies are gone, EV adoption will slow down, but Tesla will be the last man standing as they were already able to make EV’s at a sustainable profit - while everyone else is now pulling back. Very few Tesla drivers (who don’t have TDS or EDS) are going back to primitive ICE cars.

socal2 says

"My Tesla does nearly 100% of my driving now."

socal2: I have a lot of experience with automating various processes, systems etc and
my $0.02 in this area is to never automate a system that cannot fail safe."

For example... what if the automatic system on that vehicle fails while you are doing
70 mph on the highway?

Again, my $0.02...

socal2 says

It was incredible having it drive home from the restaurant last night in the pouring rain after I had a few beers with dinner.

DUI with "autopilot" carries the same consequences as DUI without.

RWSGFY says

DUI with "autopilot" carries the same consequences as DUI without.

Interesting if the "autopilot" detects your slurred speech voice commands and take you to the police station.

Tenpoundbass says

Then the companies that are going to accommodate them, can you just imagine the petty rules, and elitist merits, that companies will allow or not allow their employees to use the limited charging stations at the office?

My friend's wife works at a local hospital. They recently installed 1 ev charger for the employees, for their office.
They used to be a tight knit group, considered themselves like family. But since the car charger, the EV drivers have all turned into bitter petty foes, worrying about who was on the charger one minute longer than the allotted time. The emails, interoffice memos, the HR reporting all over EV charging privileges and times. The problem is, the people that drive to work on empty, for the amount of time they get on the charger, it barely puts anything back.

Tenpoundbass says

Tenpoundbass says

Then the companies that are going to accommodate them, can you just imagine the petty rules, and elitist merits, that companies will allow or not allow their employees to use the limited charging stations at the office?

My friend's wife works at a local hospital. They recently installed 1 ev charger for the employees, for their office.
They used to be a tight knit group, considered themselves like family. But since the car charger, the EV drivers have all turned into bitter petty foes, worrying about who was on the charger one minute longer than the allotted time. The emails, interoffice memos, the HR reporting all over EV charging privileges and times. The problem is, the people that drive to work on empty, for the amount of time they get on the charger, it barely puts anything back.

Whoever chosen and manages that thing is a stupid cunt then. Chargepoint makes is very easy to setup a virtual queue, set charge time limits, penalties for overstaying at the spot after reaching the charge limit, etc. And it all is handled in the app and anonimuzed to the point you have no way to know who's in front of you in line unless you sit in the parking lot and watch the charger whole day, so sending emails and interoffice memos is not necessary and accomplishes nothing.

Tenpoundbass says

Tenpoundbass says

Then the companies that are going to accommodate them, can you just imagine the petty rules, and elitist merits, that companies will allow or not allow their employees to use the limited charging stations at the office?

My friend's wife works at a local hospital. They recently installed 1 ev charger for the employees, for their office.
They used to be a tight knit group, considered themselves like family. But since the car charger, the EV drivers have all turned into bitter petty foes, worrying about who was on the charger one minute longer than the allotted time. The emails, interoffice memos, the HR reporting all over EV charging privileges and times. The problem is, the people that drive to work on empty, for the amount of time they get on the charger, it barely puts anything back.

I've always wondered what incetives motivate employers to provide free charging as a perk. I've never heard of employers providing discounted or free fuel vouchers as a perk. Are they getting really cheap subsidized rates to not make a dent in their books?

floki says

I've never heard of employers providing discounted or free fuel vouchers as a perk

Electricity is much cheaper that buying off site gasoline.

HeadSet says

floki says

I've never heard of employers providing discounted or free fuel vouchers as a perk

Electricity is much cheaper that buying off site gasoline.

I know that HeadSet, but my point was what is in it for employers to provide free charging as a perk when other forms of transportation related costs are not (like costs of bikes, scooter, fuel, hov stickers, tolls) etc... I was using gas vouchers as one example.

RWSGFY says

And it all is handled in the app and anonimuzed to the point you have no way to know who's in front of you in line unless you sit in the parking lot and watch the charger whole day, so sending emails and interoffice memos is not necessary and accomplishes nothing.

Yeah well you go down to the parking lot and Sheniqua still has her Lexus charging. Do you wanna go tell Sheniqua she's in the wrong? Because that's a good way to take a pony tail sled ride around the breakroom on your back.

floki says

what is in it for employers to provide free charging as a perk

Employers look for low cost perks to attract employees, as it is cheaper than raises. Free charging may fit that bill just like a credit union membership or free bus passes the company buys in bulk.

RWSGFY says

DUI with "autopilot" carries the same consequences as DUI without.

Yep - that is the case right now, so I am careful not to get drunk. Just nice to have this awesome self driving capability to provide additional safety after a couple beers or bad weather. In the coming year I expect Tesla will take liability and we can literally sleep in the backseat of our cars no different then what the Robotaxi will be doing in Austin without a driver in a few weeks.

socal2 says

In the coming year I expect Tesla will take liability

Seriously? What individual over at Tesla is going to serve time in prison for vehicular manslaughter then?

The world you live in, I swear...

MolotovCocktail says

socal2 says

In the coming year I expect Tesla will take liability

Seriously? What individual over at Tesla is going to serve time in prison for vehicular manslaughter then?

The world you live in, I swear...

I live in a world where my Tesla drives me everywhere I want to go from leaving my garage to parallel parking on busy streets like PCH.

I personally experience this amazing technology every single day. It already drives better than my wife and kids (and even me at times). And it literally gets better every month as the increase training data for edge cases.

To think humanity will still be manually driving cars in the coming years is to think we still would need elevator operators.

Tesla is already accumulating BILLIONS of miles of safe driving on roads including thousands of documented incidents of Teslas avoiding accident for regulators and insurance companies to review. It will end up costing drivers more in insurance if they are manually driving in the coming decade.

I sure hope we don’t get to a point where it is more expensive to drive yourself than have your car drive you. At that point the government/elites have effectively limited personal private transport to “self driving” vehicles…

ForcedTQ says

I sure hope we don’t get to a point where it is more expensive to drive yourself than have your car drive you. At that point the government/elites have effectively limited personal private transport to “self driving” vehicles…

I don’t want that either. I want the option to still drive for fun from time to time. Especially a Tesla which is one of the most powerful and fun cars on the road.

Fifty years from now? Who knows what the auto industry will look like? The average car sits idle about 90% of the day. Does every family need 2-3 cars? Can they have one car and the rest rely on low cost and efficient robotaxis?

ForcedTQ says

At that point the government/elites have effectively limited personal private transport to “self driving” vehicles…

Yup, tracked and controlled from some central location, just like with digital ID.

Maybe worse, because your self-driving car can be driven by them remotely, locking the doors and taking you wherever they want to. Maybe into a brick wall at 100 mph. The Israelis in particular love to use tech for assassinations, like they did with the pagers.

socal2 says

Tesla is already accumulating BILLIONS of miles of safe driving on roads including thousands of documented incidents of Teslas avoiding accident for regulators and insurance companies to review. It will end up costing drivers more in insurance if they are manually driving in the coming decade.

Doesn't answer my question to your Tesla liability bullshit. Who over at Tesla is going to serve hard prison time when a Tesla is at fault for vehicular manslaughter?

Patrick says

Yup, tracked and controlled from some central location

I believe we are now in the golden age of personal driving. In the future, I believe private cars will be prohibitively expensive and the common folk will get around by using an app to summon a shared use vehicle. Too bad if you want to pull a trailer or boat, and no more leisurely country drives.

HeadSet says

Patrick says

Yup, tracked and controlled from some central location

I believe we are now in the golden age of personal driving. In the future, I believe private cars will be prohibitively expensive and the common folk will get around by using an app to summon a shared use vehicle. Too bad if you want to pull a trailer or boat, and no more leisurely country drives.

That will and should definitely be the future in smaller cities, especially in downtowns, in zones where the necessary tech and infrastructure can be rebuilt, retrofitted, and regularly maintained. And like the "last mile" concept, I'd love to be able to drive and park my own car somewhere close by, then be able to get around by completely autonomous tech like buses, trams, cars, etc... Some future looking governments in places like Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai, etc... are planning for this. Some are being tested.

But, it'll be a long long time if at all possible outside of these zones for folks living in rural and secluded places. Even then I really do not think it's feasible at all, biggest issues being low usage, negative ROI, difficulties with maintainance, harsh weather and terrain related issues, etc... There are many more of these folks than city people realize. Try autopilot through a winding forest road to a secluded cabin or camp site. It is an arduous adventure, to say the least, on some roads even in the summer.

MolotovCocktail says

Doesn't answer my question to your Tesla liability bullshit. Who over at Tesla is going to serve hard prison time when a Tesla is at fault for vehicular manslaughter?

The exact same people who served time for the opioid crisis made by Perdue.

floki says

But, it'll be a long long time if at all possible outside of these zones for folks living in rural and secluded places.

I am saying cars will get prohibitively expensive, not that automated travel will be so convenient that people will give up cars. The country folk will just have to limit the times they come to town since they will pay per mile for each shared ride trip. Just like the pre Ford Model T days.