Comments by mark94 (page 28)

And, for those who insist we must reduce our carbon footprint at any cost, I offer a proven, safe, economical solution. Modern nuclear energy. If you reject that, I suggest that climate change is just a rationale for getting power and political control.

Climate change happens Solar activity, volcanic emissions, forest fires all affect climatic cycles To a lesser extent, human economic activity affects climate Not all climate change is bad. When the ice age warmed, that was a good thing If climate warms, or cools, that hurts some regions/species and benefits others If we change our economic activity to affect climate, we must first have an accurate model of whether the resulting climate change justifies the cost of modifying/reducing our economic activity. No such model exists. For example, banning coal would destroy the economy of developing and poor countries, putting millions of lives at risk. Does the benefit justify that loss of life ? Until we know the answer, we shouldn’t take a sledgehammer to the world economy.

I have no first hand knowledge of Mercedes EVs, but I will point out that the Mercedes EQS and Tesla Model X Plaid both sell for $105,000. EQS: 329 horsepower Model X Plaid: 1,000 horsepower

I was strongly against government support and subsidy of the EV industry. I think human caused climate change is just so much hype. These subsidies have killed the auto industry and all related industries like gas stations and mechanics. What should have happened is let EVs prove themselves superior in the market. That would have taken 10 years and allowed the auto industry to transition. But, here we are. Even if EV tax credits are killed ( and they should be ), we now know EVs are superior to ICE vehicles when produced at scale. And, the center of the automotive industry is Austin, not Detroit.

Pre-internet, I stumbled into clip joints on three occasions. I quickly figured out what was going on. It still cost me. I learned from each experience.

Tesla stock is up 4.6% today. Did this thread do that ? Impressive !

The Cybertruck will be out in a few months. Not much has been released about its price or specs. Best guess is it will start in the $70,000 range but eventually drop to $50,000 as supply grows. I don’t know its range or towing but it is rumored to do 0-60 in 2.9 seconds.

Here’s an interesting fact. All those Tesla Superchargers have large batteries buried beneath them. Tesla buys electricity off the grid at super cheap late night rates, then charges cars at peak prices during the day. Tesla makes a shitload of money off the price difference.

The problem with hybrids, and especially plug in hybrids, is they are very complex vehicles. Two different drive trains plus the computer to coordinate them. More expensive to build. Double the chance of a major mechanical issue. While I believe electric vehicles will soon dominate, workhorse vehicles like diesel trucks will still be around for decades. They do the job and won’t be easily replaced.

Another aspect of EVs is China. They are making millions of EVs that sell for $10,000 to $15,000 in China. The quality isn’t bad. They are beginning to export these to Europe ( at higher prices ).

In about a year, Tesla will have a $25,000 compact car/hatchback that costs $300 per year to fuel. It will be faster, quieter, and less costly to maintain ( half as many parts ) than a gas vehicle.. The Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic will also cost $25,000 but will cost $3,000 per year to fuel. That’s why I am buying Tesla stock aggressively.

Until recently, self driving code was written by humans one line at a time. Back then, I thought it would take 20 years to develop. Now, it’s being developed by artificial intelligence, using millions of miles of data from Tesla cars on the road. The progress has been exponential. They are getting close.

In Arizona, it costs $2 to fully charge an EV at home in the winter and $5 in the summer. That allows about 250 miles of driving. For someone who drives 15,000 miles a year, that’s under $300. With gas prices at $5/gallon here, the annual cost of gas is closer to $3,000.

Another aspect of Tesla that will pop up in the next couple years is full self driving. All Teslas have the hardware needed for this. About 100,000 Tesla vehicles are testing FSD right now and they’ve made a lot of progress in the last year using artificial intelligence. There are videos on YouTube if you want to see how close they are. Right now, they operate flawlessly on major highways, pretty well in suburban and rural settings, but struggle in some dense urban locations. Elon says this will be ready for the public by the end of the year, which probably means 2 or 3 years.

They are discovering that car batteries are good for about 3,000 charging cycles. So, if you charge every night, they’ll last about 8-10 years. But, if you are only driving 20 or 30 miles a day, they’ll last much longer. Everything skibum says about winter driving is correct. On the other hand, the Tesla heat pumps can be operated by phone, so you can warm your car before getting in. Or, in my case, cool your car in the summer. That’s a nice feature.

I’ve done a complete 180 on this. I plan to buy a Tesla Model Y. I’ve also purchased a substantial amount of Tesla stock and I’m going to buy more. First, Tesla has a 5 year lead on every other non-Chinese EV manufacturer, in terms of technology, design, and manufacturing. Their charging stations are fast and convenient national wide. Their online purchase process is simple and vastly better than the typical dealer process. The only EV I would consider is a Tesla. Teslas are quiet, fast, and fun to drive. Because they are software based, they have features not available in any other car. The only downside is their higher purchase price though, if you factor in how much you save in gas, they are competitively priced in terms of cost of ownership. The real turning point will be in about a year when the Tesla Mexican plant opens and the $25,000 compact begins selling. That price point will be the end of GM and Ford. They will not be able to compete.

RFK and Trump are evidence that the majority of voters are aware of how deeply corrupt Washington is. Voters are desperate to purge the system and they will support anyone they believe is dedicated to cleaning house, no matter how personally flawed that candidate might be. That’s why attacks on Trump, or Tucker Carlson, only make them more popular. The elite, both Democrat and Republican, think they can play that old game of pretending to be with the people, while enriching themselves. They have been exposed. That old playbook no longer works.

All this attention is being paid to interest rates when the real cause of our economic hell is obscene spending by our government. Until that is under control, monetary policy will accomplish nothing.

It’s tough to judge how many dancers unless you stay for a full cycle of stage dances. Dancers will do a quick walk through of the floor after they are on stage. Other than that, they hide in VIP, behind the bar, or in the dressing room. There could be 30 dancers when you think there are 5.

RFK has his flaws, but he genuinely believes in the policies he espouses. Unlike pretty much every other politician.

It’s not just about dental health. Gum disease and bacteria in the mouth affects overall health. These infections find their way into the bloodstream and can cause serious harm, including a correlation with heart disease.

Government bureaucrats, which is pretty much anyone outside the military who draws a paycheck from the government. Their only skill sets are looking busy and explaining why something isn’t their fault.

I’ve also noticed the floor dance activity has ticked up. It’s no where near the HL golden age, but it’s better than it had been.

There are many parts of the world where tips are not part of the culture. Others where a tip is built into the bill automatically. Others where there are tips but they are much smaller than the US. Others where a tip is really an under the table bribe to assure things go well, especially for government employees. I was in Spain years ago and my friends got angry that I left a tip on the table. Plus, who came up with rule that determines which professions deserve a tip and which don’t ? A doctor saves your life and doesn’t get a tip. A waiter brings you a Diet Coke and expects a tip.

Fox has gone full anti-Trump, pro-Elitist. Tucker tried to get the word out about Jan 6 and Fox management silenced him. Tucker had a week of videos to reveal FBI involvement but he was only allowed to show one day’s worth. I think Fox management wanted Tucker gone, in spite of the piles of cash he brought to Fox. Go woke, go broke.