Tesla

[Payman]

I rented a Model S through National and had an absolute blast with it. I waited until the roads were ~empty at 11pm and then did full-throttle acceleration on offramps all along the South Bay until midnight.

My brother rented the Model Y when he attending my son's wedding in August, and I drove it maybe 10 miles, but I did get to hoon it a bit. Fastest acceleration I ever experienced, by far. I can't imagine a Model S Plaid.

[NomisR]

I rented a Model S through National and had an absolute blast with it. I waited until the roads were ~empty at 11pm and then did full-throttle acceleration on offramps all along the South Bay until midnight.

How did you like it?  I don't know if it's just me but even though this car accelerates stupid fast, and with the suspension upgrades, it handles really well, this car just doesn't feel that fun.  I can go a lot faster around the corner with it but I don't feel that confident to push it.. and it at the same time, it feels too easy to do so.. like playing a video game.  I'm actually a bit disappointed after 2+ months of ownership..

[Laconian]

I had it for five days, so it never got old By the end, I was mastering the single pedal mode.

It's a heavy car so I felt some of my G37's "fast but porky" feel in the handling and lateral weight shifts.

[Morris Minor]

I guess the deal is it was Hertz's announcement. There is no contract & Tesla had never announced anything - other than Hertz is paying full freight. Tesla has far more demand than it can meet.

[Laconian]

Hertz is in financial doo doo. Maybe announcing a big trendy Tesla buy is like saying that your company is investing in blockchain.

[MrH]

Tesla didn't announce anything?

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1454115829193261062?s=20
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1452794619410927625?s=20


No 8k filed either.  Then their board sells hundreds of millions of dollars of shares after it rallied on this news, only for there to be no contract.

This is fraud.  You can't have the CEO tweeting shit, and then walking it back after taking advantage of the news.

I guess the deal is it was Hertz's announcement. There is no contract & Tesla had never announced anything - other than Hertz is paying full freight. Tesla has far more demand than it can meet.

No, it doesn't.

[MrH]

Annnnnnd Hertz sells equity into the market.

This is such a joke

[Laconian]

Annnnnnd Hertz sells equity into the market.

This is such a joke

It's totally a blockchain pump and dump! Is there a Hertzcoin? WHEN MOON?

[Morris Minor]

This size of this many-layered conspiracy is as vast as it is elaborate. Every fund manager and investment bank and every government is involved.
Hug your children. It's only just beginning.

[MrH]

It's not a conspiracy when there's a federal law that prohibits the omission of material facts in statements made in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.

Oh. And Robyn Denholm sold $25M after this latest pump. Still chump change compared to the $350M Gracias unloaded on Oct 27th.

[Laconian]

https://electrek.co/2021/06/15/tesla-yoke-steering-wheel-awkward-first-drives/

I thought the yoke was definitely going to have a variable ratio steering rack to prevent hand over hand turns.. nope. Imagine the unwanted button presses you'll make on the steering wheel controls.

[MrH]

Capacitive buttons too!

Both turn signals are on the left side.  The horn is a capacitive button too   I think they're trolling at this point.  There's no way someone used that and said, "yep, that feels good, ship it!"

[Morris Minor]

It looks like they're shooting for cloud profiles: preferences following you from vehicle to vehicle.

[r0tor]

The Giulia would probably be OK with a yoke... But it has a massively quick steering rack compared to the model s

[Eye of the Tiger]

The Giulia would probably be OK with a yoke... But it has a massively quick steering rack compared to the model s

I would want a tiller.

[Morris Minor]

Musk... after a lame Twitter poll is selling 10% of his TSLA holding. The stock will take a dump for a bit but it won't change the fundamentals.
"Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock," Musk said on Saturday, adding that he does not take cash salary or bonus "from anywhere", and only has stock."

He's got a huge tax bill coming anyway so this will pay for that. But if he thinks this will stop progressives coming after him, he's 100% wrong. Give them your finger, they cut off your hand.

He'll do something useful with the money, or at least interesting. We'll never know the opportunity cost of what went to the government, to burn 1/2 day's-worth of the Dems' spending bonfire.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/musk-should-sell-10-his-tesla-stock-twitter-users-say-2021-11-07/

[MrH]

The fundamentals? 

[NomisR]

We'll never know the opportunity cost of what went to the government, to burn 1/2 day's-worth of the Dems' spending bonfire.

This?

https://taxfoundation.org/deadweight-loss-effects-high-tax-rates/

[CaminoRacer]

This?

https://taxfoundation.org/deadweight-loss-effects-high-tax-rates/

If that deadweight loss funds new infrastructure or other net-gain programs, it's not so deadweight is it?
That's too simplistic of a model; it doesn't look at any benefits of government spending.

[NomisR]

If that deadweight loss funds new infrastructure or other net-gain programs, it's not so deadweight is it?
That's too simplistic of a model; it doesn't look at any benefits of government spending.

I would say the same money can do more to improve things like infrastructure via private businesses than actual government running these programs.  There's inherent lack of efficiencies based on how  the government is run, such as the nature of ever growing budget due to the self preserving nature of various agencies. 

[Laconian]

Your view of large companies feels much too charitable. It's all of the budget infighting and politicking, with VPs that exemplify the Peter Principle, psychopath CEOs that are fixated on short term value creation and are always busy sewing their golden parachutes, with the "value for shareholders" cream skimmed off every step of the way.

[NomisR]

Your view of large companies feels much too charitable. It's all of the budget infighting and politicking, with VPs that exemplify the Peter Principle, psychopath CEOs that are fixated on short term value creation and are always busy sewing their golden parachutes, with the "value for shareholders" cream skimmed off every step of the way.

Not at all, large companies can be almost as dysfunctional as government.. almost.. but not quite there yet because there's other forces that would help keep it in line that does not exist under governement.

[Eye of the Tiger]

A friend of mine just ordered a Model Y. Delivery in June. That's a long wait.

[ChrisV]

As a government employee tasked with keeping costs low, I completely disagree with that sentiment. Infrastructure has long been a benefit of government spending, rather than robber barons running the roads and rails. Same with for-profit fire departments and police departments. Our prison system is an example of failure of a for-profit system. Our for-profit health care system has been an utter societal failure making people bankrupt for getting sick (as well as the idiocy of things like the pricing of insulin, the COST of which was borne by government grants and are actually really low).

The real issue is military spending. But what SHOULD things cost? Like fighter aircraft? What's the commercial off the shelf equivalent? Still, we spend too much. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour keeping 5th gen fighters patrolling over guys in Hiluxes. And then quibble over the costs of roads and bridges and free school lunches. It's insane.

[GoCougs]

Not at all, large companies can be almost as dysfunctional as government.. almost.. but not quite there yet because there's other forces that would help keep it in line that does not exist under governement.

Exactly correct. Private corporations are little different in their unseemly tendencies vs. government - fraud, corruption, theft, waste, incompetence, etc. Where they diverge is checks and balances and monopoly of force. Government has relatively little of the former and a whole of the latter, ergo, the classical capitalism vs. socialism shtick.

[Morris Minor]

Yes it's flawed and there is corrupt shenanigans but, in general, companies face bankruptcy if they make too many poor decisions and misread the markets. Bankruptcy & personal ruin are a vital part of free market societies, keeping capital & resources allocated to where value is created. Government decision makers do not have the same cold winds blowing down their necks.
Government has janitorial duties: keeping the playing field level, keeping the lights on and the potholes fixed. When they start talking about "investment" & "initiatives" you have to start reining them back.

[AutobahnSHO]

Great last three ^^^ posts!

[Morris Minor]

Meanwhile Musk's stock dump was a shitshow. And it was preceded by his brother selling a bunch...
Horrible optics at best.

[MrH]

Meanwhile Musk's stock dump was a shitshow. And it was preceded by his brother selling a bunch...
Horrible optics at best.

Yep.  Bad optics are the least of their issues.  Elon filed to sell all the way back in September.  Kimbal selling right before Elon makes a fake twitter poll about selling.

[Morris Minor]

Ford forgot to copy the important bit: hanging the cable on the underside of the hole in the middle.