Octopus Overlords

I'm reference to Porche designating their top performing EVs "Turbo".

Says the guy who called his driver assist "Autopilot".

Still stuck on that one? Tesla Autopilot is literally an autopilot system, by the actual definition of autopilot in the aviation industry. It's a 'bad name' because people who aren't familiar with the product assume the name means something it doesn't, not because the name misleads. Autopilot systems are literally pilot/driver assist systems.

"An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft without constant 'hands-on' control by an operator being required. Autopilots do not replace human operators, but instead they assist them in controlling the aircraft. This allows them to focus on broader aspects of operations such as monitoring the trajectory, weather and systems."

There are plenty of valid opportunities to bash Musk for using words loosely (funding secured; 3 months maybe, 6 months definitely; etc). Autopilot is not and has never been one of them. Despite the narrative that it is, even by places like IIHS. As in their tweet that you quoted--aviation autopilot systems are also not robust replacements for attentive human pilots.

This could not be any clearer.

A Tesla is not an airplane. So, outside avionics, what is the common usage for "autopilot?"


One random example (first Google hit):

au·to·pi·lot
/ˈôdōˌpīlət/

noun
noun: autopilot; plural noun: autopilots; noun: auto-pilot; plural noun: auto-pilots
noun

noun: automatic pilot; plural noun: automatic pilots
a device for keeping an aircraft on a set course without the intervention of the pilot.

Phrases
on automatic pilot — acting or functioning without conscious thought, as a result of routine or habit.
"I leapt out of bed and dressed on automatic pilot"

Is it misunderstood by the average consumer when related to Teslas? Sure. Would a reasonable person expect it could easily be misunderstood? Of course. Is it intentionally misleading? No idea. It's a marketing term, not an official designation.

Am I still "stuck" on that? Not really. It just came to mind when Musk tried to get all pedant police on Twitter. I guess the real point here is that he needs to spend less time posting on Twitter.

Just weird, since it's an invalid retort to pedant policing.

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 10:12 am Just weird, since it's an invalid retort to pedant policing.

It is weird. It's like Popeyes complaining that McDonalds has the nerve to call their nuggets "chicken" instead of focusing on the fact that chicken nuggets suck.

By this I don't mean to imply that the Porsche e-vehicles will suck. I just mean that Musk should focus on the relative differences in quality of his vehicles vs. Porsches. And if it's too early to comment on quality then for gods' sake man! Don't comment at all!

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 10:12 am Just weird, since it's an invalid retort to pedant policing.

He gets all pedantic about a marketing term used by a competitor. I mention one of his well acknowledged misleading marketing terms. Weird and invalid.


I can live with that.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:00 pm He gets all pedantic about a marketing term used by a competitor.

It's not just a marketing term. Turbo has been more than a turbine increasing power to an ICE engine for over 30 years, while still being associated with Auto.

I get the ironic pedantic thing Musk is doing but I also get that Musk is a Trump with vision. it shows in his social media along with his intent to manipulate trust to fund his business. For joe blow it's cute. For Musk it serves little purpose but to stroke his.... ego.

Like how do you call your call a battery company Tesla when batteries discharge DC and you champion wind and solar which usually charge in DC? Shouldn't your company be called Edison?

LordMortis wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:34 pm Like how do you call your call a battery company Tesla when batteries discharge DC and you champion wind and solar which usually charge in DC? Shouldn't your company be called Edison?

Tesla is cooler and Con Edison might object.

LordMortis wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:34 pm Like how do you call your call a battery company Tesla when batteries discharge DC and you champion wind and solar which usually charge in DC? Shouldn't your company be called Edison?

For serious? The company is named after Tesla because Nikola Tesla developed the AC induction motor, which was Tesla's first motor.

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:54 pm

LordMortis wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:34 pm Like how do you call your call a battery company Tesla when batteries discharge DC and you champion wind and solar which usually charge in DC? Shouldn't your company be called Edison?

For serious? The company is named after Tesla because Nikola Tesla developed the AC induction motor, which was Tesla's first motor.

For serious? LOL insult at Porsche calling an EV model Turbo? I'm only taking ironic pedantic and extending it.

LordMortis wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 1:32 pm

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:54 pm

LordMortis wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:34 pm Like how do you call your call a battery company Tesla when batteries discharge DC and you champion wind and solar which usually charge in DC? Shouldn't your company be called Edison?

For serious? The company is named after Tesla because Nikola Tesla developed the AC induction motor, which was Tesla's first motor.

For serious? LOL insult at Porsche calling an EV model Turbo? I'm only taking ironic pedantic and extending it.

The first 'et tu, Musk?' retort that I'd have given is the Tesla Supercharger network. That's the most obvious Tesla misuse of a term with an established meaning, IMO.

But now I just want to come up with a solid joke about an extended ironic pedant. I'm failing, though.

It's not the joke that gives me pause, it's the joke teller's relationship to the joke. Not all norms Musk is changing are for the better. I'm not even in the know enough to have yucks about Supercharger. But I would say perhaps "Funding Secured" does not mean what you think it does or perhaps "Profitable every quarter moving forward" or "The Model 3 and Model Y will go into production at 1,000,000 units a year" or more recently "500,000 total cars this year." (which honestly, may be a silly thing to say on my part. I have no idea how many total units Tesla will produce this year, he might actually be near )

It might not strike you as a bad look to make plays at insult comic and make outrageous plays from Musk's social media seat but really the first person that comes to mind is not someone you want to be compared to.

Oh, agreed. Musk's ability to visualize how his tweets will be received is... lacking.

As is his ability to make estimates relating to the passage of time.

I really miss the Turbo buttons on computers. It was the perfect placebo, and I want to provide some of my users today with that option.

I actually remember a time when there were games that you had to slow down by not using the turbo button.

Jaymann wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 3:11 pm I actually remember a time when there were games that you had to slow down by not using the turbo button.

Mechwarrior. I was destroyed when the family's brand new 486DX could no longer play my favorite game because game speed = clock speed.

LordMortis wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 3:43 pm

Jaymann wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 3:11 pm I actually remember a time when there were games that you had to slow down by not using the turbo button.

Mechwarrior. I was destroyed when the family's brand new 486DX could no longer play my favorite game because game speed = clock speed.

There was a Leisure Suit Larry adventure game that I played on my 486. There was a scene where Larry had to dive to the bottom of the pool, get some clothing, and swim back up. For the life of me I could not figure out why Larry kept running out of air and dying. Turns out it was an issue w/ the CPU speed. The faster CPU was affecting the timing for Larry holding his breath but his swimming speed was not being adjusted accordingly. I recall doing something to slow the CPU speed down or emulating a 386 and I was able to complete the puzzle.

Since Bill Gates came up, here is a neat video from the Microsoft interns (with a lot of help from other MSers).

Also not Tesla directly, but the Porsche Taycan's run through Nurburgring is fun to watch.



Kudos to Porsche for making an EV that a lot of folks are going to lust over.

To bring it back on topic... Tesla says they're taking an S there next week, Nurburgring says 'huh?'

So a screw embedded itself in the left rear wheel of my Tesla on Thursday. I only discovered this after the Model 3 warned of low tire pressure on Friday, which I initially thought was just normal air loss so I filled it with air at a gas station. Saturday morning I saw that the PSI went from 41 to 34 overnight so I knew something was up. Filled it with air again and saw that it went back down to 34 on Sunday.

Filled it up a final time Sunday night and took it to Beltway Discount Tires Monday morning. The technician initially said he couldn't work on Tesla tires because they had a special foam lining. I told him "I don't think mine has that, we didn't get the premium model." We had a friendly chat as he was taking off my tire, he said he would love to own a Tesla but he was worried about the range and the time it takes to recharge.

When he took the tire off the rim he showed me that my tire had the foam lining on the inside. "But", he said, " I think I can still patch it up."
"Great," I said, " let's do that."

Then the manager came over and started arguing with the technician. I moved away but caught a few snippets of it. Basically the manager scolded him for working on a Tesla tire and the technician showed him it was a simple patch job and wouldn't screw up the foam lining.

Finally, the technician had patched up the hole and put the tire back. Bill came to $35 which I was very happy to pay. When I went to pay I asked the manager if I could recommend other Tesla owners come here to repair their tires. He said "Thank you but no. Tesla tires are very hard to fix. Thank you anyway."

This exchange makes me wonder - does this mean my only recourse if I get a flat that requires a new tire is to go to the Tesla Service Center and get a new tire with foam lining?

That guy's nuts. I ran over a nail, took it to a Discount Tire, and it was nbd at all. And yeah, all the OEM tires come with noise-reducing foam.

Out here in CO we have a 1,000+ person club and Discount Tire is highly recommended. They also swapped out my winter tires for me.

All a tire place needs is to use the jack points detailed in the manual. Other than that it's just a car.

Zaxxon wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:12 pm That guy's nuts. I ran over a nail, took it to a Discount Tire, and it was nbd at all. And yeah, all the OEM tires come with noise-reducing foam.

Out here in CO we have a 1,000+ person club and Discount Tire is highly recommended. They also swapped out my winter tires for me.

All a tire place needs is to use the jack points detailed in the manual. Other than that it's just a car.

Okay. So what you're saying is that while the OEM tires have the foam, I don't need to have replacement tires have the foam. Cool!

Correct. I think the worry is that when they patch it, the part that's missing foam could make some noise as the tire spins. But I haven't noticed that on my repaired tire.

One would imagine it could also cause a balance issue.

Isgrimnur wrote:One would imagine it could also cause a balance issue.

I don't think so. It's literally tiny strips of foam, and the amount lost with a repair would be minimal. It's not like the weight would be appreciably different on one side vs the other.

More info: https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/t ... techid=336

*checks phone*

*waits*

*checks phone*

coopasonic wrote: Thu Sep 26, 2019 4:20 pm *checks phone*

*waits*

*checks phone*

These things generally start to hit in the evening, so my guess is by 'rolling out now' they currently mean 'being staged and preparified.' I don't see much activity via TeslaFi just yet.

Which is fine, because my wife has my car today.

I want it nowwwwww.

OK it makes almost no difference to my daily life, but still i want to play!

Actually Googled "What is spotify" ... I'm not into music and while I had heard the name before, I couldn't recall what it did, so I couldn't figure out why it'd be such a big deal.

Paingod wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:10 am Actually Googled "What is spotify" ... I'm not into music and while I had heard the name before, I couldn't recall what it did, so I couldn't figure out why it'd be such a big deal.

WRT Tesla specifically, the existing streaming service is based on Slacker, and uses an account specific to your car. So it's nice and all, but it's not *your* custom library. Spotify is something like 100x more popular than Slacker, and has a better interface (eg you can have artists/albums in your library, not just stations with 'likes'). So folks have been clamoring for a Spotify option in their cars for awhile.

That explains the surprised owl and shocked cat.

In my mind it is just another streaming music service. Slacker has been fine for me. I'm not sure I am interested in paying $10/mo for Spotify Premium. I'd probably just switch to an mp3 source before going there. There is a wifi/SSD/USB setup to auto-synch music and backup dashcam and sentry videos that I will implement one day. It will take some effort which is why I haven't done it already.

The update showed up at 11:50pm last night and I installed it this morning. I haven't had a chance to try anything out. My wife is going to look at me funny when I take the xbox controller out to the car to play Cuphead.

coopasonic wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:21 am In my mind it is just another streaming music service. Slacker has been fine for me. I'm not sure I am interested in paying $10/mo for Spotify Premium. I'd probably just switch to an mp3 source before going there. There is a wifi/SSD/USB setup to auto-synch music and backup dashcam and sentry videos that I will implement one day. It will take some effort which is why I haven't done it already.

The update showed up at 11:50pm last night and I installed it this morning. I haven't had a chance to try anything out. My wife is going to look at me funny when I take the xbox controller out to the car to play Cuphead.

Curse you! I haven't gotten it yet.

I'm with you on Spotify vs Slacker, as I like Slacker's stations (though they're a little repetitive) and I have my phone and a USB drive hooked in, as well. But Spotify got me with their old $9.99 Hulu + Spotify deal, so I have the required account and will enjoy being able to play anything I want.

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:27 am Curse you! I haven't gotten it yet.

I can't remember, did you end up buying FSD? FSD is getting it first.

coopasonic wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:39 am

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:27 am Curse you! I haven't gotten it yet.

I can't remember, did you end up buying FSD? FSD is getting it first.

Yes, the 3 has FSD and was on Wifi set to Advanced update pref all night. And I may have woken it up more than once.

I guess they haven't worked their way up to your altitude yet.

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:47 am

coopasonic wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:39 am

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:27 am Curse you! I haven't gotten it yet.

I can't remember, did you end up buying FSD? FSD is getting it first.

Yes, the 3 has FSD and was on Wifi set to Advanced update pref all night. And I may have woken it up more than once.

Female Sexual Dysfunction?