Elon Musk: Officially a fraud and piece of shit. Official or unofficial war criminal?

[atomheartbevo 90673]

40 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I don’t have anything against the current Equinox but I’m surprised they’re sticking with that branding for an electric vehicle. It evokes rental car energy for me.

Unfortunately Models S, 3, X, Y were taken by Tesla, because 12 year-old CEO.  I'm surprised that Cybertruck wasn't named Cybertruck 8008 and then a group of them would be Cybertruck 8008s, but I digress - the Equinox brand is pretty "meh".

With that said, if "Equinox" had never been used before now, it kind of sounds like something the marketing folks would come up with for an EV.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has their "ID.Buzz" which...I don't get the name, but I actually kind of want one for an around-town vehicle for shuttling the kids around and just doing stuff.  And it would hold more in the back than the Cybertruck.  If the price is right, I could see those things doing well if VW has some kind of barebones version for delivery vehicles.

[Neonmoon 38130]

Lol

[atomheartbevo 90673]

Also, I can't believe the Babylon Bee has $250,000 they can dump on advertising.

[Francisco 2.0 32609]

 

 

 

 

 

[Francisco 2.0 32609]

Looks like most of ESPN's accounts have quit (maybe temporarily) Twitter:

 

https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/disney-x-twitter-accounts-went-dark-saturday-advertising-pause.html

 

Quote

Last week, Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), called an antisemitic post “the actual truth,” setting off another round of negative coverage surrounding the once-heralded billionaire. After Media Matters for America published a story on Thursday titled “As Musk endorses antisemitic conspiracy theory, X has been placing ads for Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity next to pro-Nazi content, many of the biggest corporations in America paused their ad spending on X.

By Friday, the list of major players who were no longer advertising on the social media platform included IBM, Amazon, NBCUniversal, Apple, and ESPN’s parent company Disney.

 

Quote

Along with the advertising pause, it appears that Disney and its affiliates have paused posting altogether, at least for Saturday.

As of 9:00 p.m. ET, none of the major X accounts affiliated with ESPN or Disney properties have posted. That includes the main ESPN account, ESPN CFB, and College GameDay. The idea that those three accounts would go silent during a college football Saturday was unthinkable as recently as days ago. Those accounts reach 48.8m followers, 3m followers, and 2.9m followers, respectively. College GameDay’s account, in particular, not posting Lee Corso’s headgear pick or Pat McAfee’s antics seems like something that would never happen.

 

Quote

While one might be able to write off one or two accounts going dark as a miscommunication or human error, it becomes clear that there appears to be a Disney mandate in place once you consider that all of those accounts are posting as normal on other social media platforms. The main ESPN account on Instagram posted 19 times so far and the ESPN account on Facebook has nine posts on Saturday as of the time of this writing.

Other Disney-related X accounts that did not post once on Saturday include Disney+, Marvel, National Geographic, Star Wars, and Pixar. Other ESPN accounts such as NBA on ESPN, NFL on ESPN, and SEC Network are all dark as well.

 

Spoiler

Oddly, the one notable ESPN account that posted all day on Saturday was the ESPN PR account, which posted seven times so far.

The mandate does not appear to have impacted individual accounts, especially those of insiders and newsbreakers. Adam Schefter, Marc Spears, Greg Wyshynski, Pete Thamel, Molly McGrath, and Adrian Wojnarowski have all posted in some form on the platform on Saturday.

Awful Announcing has reached out to ESPN and Disney for comment and to find out if this X posting blackout is Saturday-only or will continue.

UPDATE: At 10:14 p.m. EST, the ESPN College Football account on X shared an article about the injury suffered by Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis.

 

[Chopper 17450]

Musk-Ket sounding a lot like an aggy taking ketamine and living in an echo chamber.

 

Meanwhile everyone is telling the CEO it's time to abandon ship.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnpaczkowski/2023/11/19/linda-yaccarino-x-twitter-elon-musk-antisemitism-urged-to-resign/?sh=14da91c63929

 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Chopper

[Neonmoon 38130]

Argentina just elected a far right “libertarian” Trump fan 

 

I sUpPort bOtH sIdEs

[atomheartbevo 90673]

SpaceX is progressing too slowly, we need to get him to Mars much sooner.

[Francisco 2.0 32609]

And suddenly, things become more clear:

 

 

 

 

[Francisco 2.0 32609]

1 hour ago, longhornmatt said:

Lol wut?  Why would Republicans need to pay big money for ads on Twitter in 2024?  Everything they ever say or do and every clip anyone in the conservative media ecosphere ever records is immediately all over Twitter.  Trump’s whole deal is posting on Truth Social instead of Twitter, and using free media coverage to replace traditional campaigning and advertisements.    

Is the idea supposed to be more like a protection racket, i.e., pay me $100,000,000 or else it’d be a shame if Twitter has to crack down on Republican messaging?  

 

From the article:

Quote

In recent weeks, Madrazo, who previously headed ad sales at the non-political, creator-focused media firm Studio71, has been privately introducing himself to influential figures in the political ad world in Washington, D.C. He’s part of what’s essentially a two-man operation to restart X’s political advertising business with the goal of capitalizing on the massive amounts of money that campaigns are about to spend during the 2024 elections.

 

Quote

According to three people with knowledge of the situation, Madrazo has been tasked with outreach to Republican digital advertising firms and spenders. Jonathan Phelps, a Pandora and Univision veteran who also joined X in recent months, is handling the platform’s (far less promising) outreach to Democrats. Working occasionally out of Tesla’s D.C. offices, the duo are hoping to resuscitate a line of cash at a moment when the company is desperate for new revenue.

 

Quote

X stopped allowing political ads in 2019, amid fears that partisan actors could pay to spread false or misleading information on its platform. But amid a broader advertising decline, the company announced in January that it would ease restrictions on political ads, saying that “cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics.”

While the political ad team often met or overperformed expectations, political advertising wasn’t a major moneymaker for Twitter. In 2018, the company brought in just $3 million for political ads. But Yaccarino and newly appointed lead revenue executive Rob Hayes have lofty goals. X executives have told people they hope the political ad team could bring in around $100 million during a presidential election year, according to one person with knowledge of the company’s plans.

 

Quote

X is just weeks into the relaunch of political ads, and the company is already facing serious headwinds. And like many of its current problems, this one partially stems from the actions of its current owner.

X’s attempts to court Democrats is already proving particularly difficult, according to three people familiar with the moves. On the left, the Madrazo and Phelps have received a lukewarm reception from Democratic digital ad buyers. These sources told Semafor that any potential benefits of advertising with X are offset by the risk of alienating potential Democratic voters and supporters who have been turned off by Musk’s conservative politics and erratic antics.

 

[High Plains Drifter 11192]

 

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213157550/tesla-sweden-union-workers-boycott?ft=nprml&f=1006

 

Spoiler

At the Malmo port in southern Sweden, a cargo ship looms over row after row of shiny new cars — Volkswagens, Volvos, Mercedes.

Notably missing are Teslas. That's because dockworkers are refusing to unload them.

Goran Larsson, a cargo ship inspector, said he's informing the crew on each arriving vessel of the labor action and assessing whether any Teslas are on board.

"We want there to be good regulation in Sweden — law and order all around the workplaces," Larsson said. "And this is the first step that we will do."

Tesla has long fended off efforts to unionize its workforce around the world. But in Sweden, the electric vehicle maker is facing its first formal labor action over its anti-union stance, with potential ripple effects for the company globally.

The Swedish metal and industrial workers union, IF Metall, which represents Tesla's roughly 120 workers, launched a walkout at the company in late October.

And now, Swedish workers of all stripes – dockworkers, electricians, cleaners and others – are banding together to boycott the U.S. company in solidarity.

The strike is a response to the company's refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement for its employees, almost all of them mechanics, because Tesla doesn't have a manufacturing plant in Sweden.

Even postal workers will stop delivering mail to Tesla.

About 90% of the entire Swedish workforce belong to trade unions and they are covered by contracts with their employers, which standardize pay rates, insurance and pensions, among other work conditions, in each sector.
Why workers are resorting to more strikes this year to pressure companies
"This is the way we regulate working conditions in Sweden and has been for a long, long time," said IF Metall spokesperson Jesper Pettersson. "It has been very beneficial for both parties – both for employers and for employees."

The Swedish labor movement is rallying behind the relatively small group of Tesla mechanics, who repair Tesla vehicles at service centers.

Thousands of workers are refusing to touch any Teslas until the company signs a contract. And the boycott keeps expanding. Postal workers have said they will stop delivering mail addressed to the company if there's no deal by Nov. 20.

Trade unions are part of the fabric of the Swedish economy
They see the American EV maker's efforts to circumvent collective bargaining as an affront to the entire Swedish labor system, where trade unions are part of the fabric of the economy.

Dockworkers represented by Sweden's transport workers' union have been blocking all imports of Teslas at Sweden's four main ports since last week. And this Friday, they're set to expand their blockade to the entire country.

Tommy Wreeth, chairman of the transport workers' union, said the Swedish labor system is based on collective bargaining agreements, which Tesla, led by the staunchly anti-union Elon Musk, is reluctant to embrace.

Sky-high CEO pay is in focus as workers everywhere are demanding higher wages
UAW VS. THE DETROIT BIG 3 AUTOMAKERS
Sky-high CEO pay is in focus as workers everywhere are demanding higher wages
"It's very important to protect our model – it's a fight for the model, not just for the Tesla workers," Wreeth said, referring to his union's solidarity boycott.

Tesla did not respond to NPR's requests for comment. A Tesla representative told Sweden's TT News Agency that the company is choosing not to enter into a collective agreement.

"We already offer equivalent or better agreements than those covered by collective bargaining and find no reason to sign any other agreement," Tesla told TT.

A Tesla mechanic in Gothenburg, who requested anonymity due to concern about retaliation by the company, said he thinks a union agreement would provide a financial safety net that "allows us as employees to be able to have security."

"Symbolically important" fight
Despite the broad nature of the protests lodged by the unions, they have an uphill battle on their hands. Sweden is a relatively small market for Tesla – its fifth biggest in Europe this year. And Tesla doesn't manufacture any cars in the Nordic country, meaning it could theoretically decide to leave the country altogether.

UAW members aren't all assembling cars. More and more are unionized grad students
UAW VS. THE DETROIT BIG 3 AUTOMAKERS
UAW members aren't all assembling cars. More and more are unionized grad students
But German Bender, a labor market analyst at Stockholm think tank Arena Idé, said it's unlikely Tesla will leave Sweden. And he doubts the Swedish unions will give up anytime soon – their fight, he said, is "too symbolically important" to abandon.

"And it becomes more symbolically important the longer the strike goes on," Bender said.

Europe's one Tesla factory in Germany also has a union drive
The strike is, at its core, a domestic issue – it's about a foreign company at odds with Sweden's labor norms and values.

But the labor action comes as unions in bigger markets are also challenging Tesla. Musk is facing, for instance, a union drive at its factory in Germany.

It is Tesla's only factory in Europe: the Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory, one of six such plants worldwide.

In the United States, the Texas-based automaker has so far thwarted all attempts to unionize its workforce. But the United Auto Workers union has set its sights on Tesla, after negotiating major deals with the Detroit Three automakers.

"If the Tesla workers in Sweden would manage to sign the first collective agreement ever with Tesla, I think that could have a symbolic importance in other markets," Bender said.

Atle Hoie, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union which represents industrial workers around the world, said large-scale strikes like this one are rare in Sweden. He said the solidarity from Swedish unions across sectors, including from dockworkers, is a "big blow to Tesla" both within and beyond the Nordic country, sending the message that Tesla "is not immune to organizing."

Anders Gustafsson, a former dockworker who now works for the Swedish transport workers' union, said his union has received messages of support from unions in other countries, including in the U.S. and Canada.

"We hope that Tesla workers all around the world actually take that fight," Gustafsson said. "Somebody needs to be first."

 

 

[Armybrat 41437]

Time for Elon to test fly his next rocket.

[Brisketexan 107011]

Time for Elon to test fly his next rocket.

….with him on it.

[Armybrat 41437]

6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

….with him on it.

That’s what was inferred.

[SydneyCarton 49534]

On 11/18/2023 at 5:35 AM, HenryJames said:

Seems legit.

Lol. I'm suing the dark money!

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

 

15 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Argentina just elected a far right “libertarian” Trump fan 

 

I sUpPort bOtH sIdEs

oh, i suspect he's supported argentina for a long time.

[Francisco 2.0 32609]

Old news, but more details

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/20/linda-yaccarino-elon-musk-advertising-resign-x-twitter

 

Quote

Brand chiefs and marketing leaders have reached out to X CEO Linda Yaccarino to push her to resign, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: "The issue is no longer about content adjacencies or content moderation. It's simply that the owner is not someone marketers can do business with," said Lou Paskalis, founder & CEO of marketing consultancy AJL Advisory and former head of global media at Bank of America.

Driving the news: Paskalis said he texted Yaccarino on Sunday afternoon and urged her to leave "before her reputation is damaged."

 

Quote

Another high-level brand source echoed his concerns, and said they have heard of several marketing leaders who have sent Yaccarino similar notes.

"I think the advertising community is now working to save the reputation of a beloved member of our industry who does not share Elon Musk's views and certainly did not know them when she accepted the role of CEO. If she did, she would not have accepted it," Paskalis said.

Prior to joining X, formerly known as Twitter, Yaccarino led NBCUniversal's advertising business for more than a decade. In her time at NBCU, she had developed a reputation as one of the most savvy advertising leaders in the industry and cultivated a large network of brand chief allies.

 

Quote

Sources told Axios that Yaccarino, who assumed the position as CEO of X in July, is not considering stepping down, for now.

Yaccarino was attending her daughter's wedding this past weekend while the drama was unfolding.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Spoiler

Over the past few days, scores of marketers — including Yaccarino's former employer, Comcast/NBCU — have said that they would suspend their ads from X after Musk backed an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

 Musk defended himself Sunday, posting on X, "This past week, there were hundreds of bogus media stories claiming that I am antisemitic. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all."

 For the past few months, marketers have grappled with whether they could trust X as a brand-safe platform, given that the firm under Musk's ownership had pulled back on trust and safety operations.

Yaccarino has introduced a slew of brand safety controls for advertisers, and inked a new partnership with brand safety firm Integral Ad Science to help advertisers make sure their ads don't appear next to questionable content.

Those milestones, marketers told Axios, don't matter if advertisers have to consider whether their ad dollars support the owner of a platform who is endorsing antisemitic posts.

Musk, Paskalis said, "has made it impossible [for Yaccarino] to succeed in her mission to return advertisers to the platform with his rash of retweets of blatantly antisemitic posts."

Another issue for advertisers is X's creator program, which shares ad revenue with users who have a big enough following.

Advertisers have grown wary of ways their ad dollars may be funding creators who post questionable content, sources told Axios.
The big picture: X, while still a dominant platform for global conversations, doesn't have the scale necessary to make it a "must-buy" for most marketers, making the decision to pull their ad dollars much easier in the wake of Musk's comments.

The risk marketers now need to assess when placing ads on X is whether it's worth it to associate themselves with someone who has posted antisemitic rhetoric and may alienate a portion of their customers and create a backlash against the brand.

Musk "doesn't share our values," Paskalis said. "He has proven to the advertising community that he is not someone you can do business with."

 

[NoName 17175]

ANYONE WILL BE SUSPENDED for advocating for genocide*...

*except senior government officials who are recognized by the UN

Edited November 20, 2023 by NoName

[Brisketexan 107011]

8 minutes ago, NoName said:

ANYONE WILL BE SUSPENDED for advocating for genocide*...

*except senior government officials who are recognized by the UN

* And except Elon when he likes/retweets/says "This is the truth" regarding posts advocating genocide.

He's the world's richest man, with power exceeding that of many States.

He's also a giant, evil piece of shit.

That....is a problem.

[DDD Dad 14662]

4 hours ago, Armybrat said:

That’s what was inferred.

Implied.

[Chopper 17450]

I saw a quote tweet the other day of Musk-ket specifically writing "river to the sea" is genocidal and users who say it will be perma-banned. No qualifications or excuses allowed. Weird how elmo lies about even the smallest and most basic matters. He's a fucking psychopath. 

[Captain Ron 13133]

BTW - I am waiting for news on this thermonuclear lawsuit. I'm sure it's just been missed by the MSM, right?

[HornOnTheBayou 9067]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

ANYONE WILL BE SUSPENDED for advocating for genocide*...

*except senior government officials who are recognized by the UN

OK, OK, OK. No more advocating genocide starting ............ now.

[NoName 17175]

 

[Francisco 2.0 32609]

Here we go; the Cybertruck knockoff the world has been waiting for.  For sure, there's more R&D to undergo, but here it is!  Meet the Aitekx Robotruck:

 

https://www.theautopian.com/we-saw-the-tesla-cybertruck-knockoff-and-it-looks-worse-than-you-could-imagine/

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

I love a good bootleg, and the cheaper and crappier and more half-assed the better. Given the choice between an officially-licensed Superman action figure or a Superb-Man Active Figure with real Warm-Vision, I’m going to be drawn to the crappy knockoff.

And that could be why this amazing, misshapen silvery mass drew me in like a moth to a flame, or maybe a crudely drawn flame on a chunk of drywall. Meet the Aitekx Robotruck, the first Tesla Cybertruck knockoff to be introduced to humanity, and, based on the looks of the thing, it’s an absolute pile.

Now I should be clear that I have not yet spoken to the Aitekx representative and gotten all the details about this vehicle; I’ll be doing that tomorrow, at the show, and I will tell you everything I find out; until then, we have these pictures to look at and Aitekx’ website, which features a lot of improbable photos and some really painfully obvious spelling errors:

I make plenty of spelling errors myself, but I think when I have only two words to deal with, I can usually figure it out. This is also fun, and even more baffling:

3-raw seats? 2-raw seats? Are these uncooked seats? Seat tartare? A typo is one thing, but this is repeated. How?

The truck itself, called the Robotruck 1T in truck version and the Robotruck 1V in SUV form (I can’t actually tell the difference in the two based on the website) and seems pretty clearly modeled after the Tesla Cybertruck, but with enough styling differences to, I suppose, keep everything nice and legal.

In person, the Robotruck appears to have been built with a level of focus and care and attention that can only be described as “chimp-grade.” It’s appalling, in an absolutely gleeful way. I mean, just look at this thing:

Wow. I know we’ve all enjoyed a good, wholesome chuckle at the suspect build quality of the pre-production Cybertruck but this is an entirely different level of shittiness. If the Cybertruck’s build quality is somewhat shoddy, with uneven panel gaps, then the Robotruck is deity-level shoddy, with panel gaps that aren’t just large, but also incredibly uneven and wavy, and appears to have been put together with the sort of precision normally associated with a gravel driveway.

Look at how that door doesn’t exactly close! Absolutely no panel here actually fits; look at those strange metal slats that make up the sloping rear of the thing – they look like metal 2x4s haphazardly nailed to the sides.

What’s going on here? Are those rivet heads? Are there fingerprints in that paint?

Dear God, look at that. It’s like a guy with mittens was injected with several shots of Novacaine in the wrists, and handed a rubber mallet and told to “build the car.”

From what I could see, it looks like an absolute pile. Now, again, I haven’t spoken with Aitekx representatives about anything yet, and it’s possible there’s really good reasons for why the Robotruck looks like it was made by smacking parts together with a salami. It’s possible this all somehow makes sense, even if I can’t really see it.

Aitekx (that name seems to come from combining AI and tech and and X, because why the hell not, I suppose, letters are free) claims that the Robotruck will get “up to” 550 miles of range, and it’s worth noting that when you say something that can get “up to” 550 miles, that means that getting one mile is as valid as 200 miles, and the only thing that wouldn’t be possible with that claim is anything 551 miles or more. They also say it will go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 165 mph.

Do you want to order one of these Wish.com Cybertrucks? The Cybertrucks of we have Cybertruck at home? If so, you can plop down $100 for a reservation, and guarantee that you’ll be in line to get ahold of one of these Robotrucks, which will likely be ready for delivery on the 14th of Never, in the year two thousand and are-you-fucking-kidding-me. Or it’ll be next year! Who knows, the Tesla Cybertruck has been promised since 2019, after all.

Do you feel good about sending money to a company whose address appears to be a PO Box, at least according to their trademark registration? Do you feel good about sending money to a company whose X account looks like this?

Unusual activity. I wonder if that includes the unusual activity of building a Cybertruck knockoff out of crap and dreams?

The Robotruck does seem to offer some advantages over the Cybertruck, including a third row of seats and what looks like a folding mid-gate:

I mean, in those renders, that looks pretty good! Unfortunately, reality is a big old jerk.

There does seem to be some sort of electric drivetrain under there, so that much seems true. Everything else I’m really skeptical about, but I’ll try and find out what I can. I’ll also ask them what it means when they say the Robotruck is a “fun midsize EV pickup with robotics and AI capability,” because I have no idea at all what the hell that means. Is it some euphemism for a semi-automated system?

This thing is absurd, but I adore the chutzpah it takes to blatantly knock off one of the most talked-about designs in recent memory, all while building it with a level of attention that suggests everyone involved was half-watching some YouTube videos or in the throes of a full-on ether high.

This thing is fascinating. The difference between the dreams of the builders, as expressed through these many renders, and the brutal reality of the half-ass-seeming physical truck itself, parked there smack dab in the middle of the LA Auto Show, is sobering.

I’ll check it out up close and get all the details tomorrow, but based on what I’ve seen and read so far, this goofy bootleg Cybertruck isn’t giving me a lot of confidence.

I’m thrilled it’s here, though. Best car of show, hands down. 

 

 

[Biff Tannen 46201]

1 hour ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

OK, OK, OK. No more advocating genocide starting ............ now.

[Brisketexan 107011]

I liked the Robotruck the first time around, when Mr. T was slapping shit on a vehicle frame in every fucking episode of the A-team.

[Bozo_Casanova 26906]

18 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Here we go; the Cybertruck knockoff the world has been waiting for.  For sure, there's more R&D to undergo, but here it is!  Meet the Aitekx Robotruck:

 

https://www.theautopian.com/we-saw-the-tesla-cybertruck-knockoff-and-it-looks-worse-than-you-could-imagine/

 

 

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I love a good bootleg, and the cheaper and crappier and more half-assed the better. Given the choice between an officially-licensed Superman action figure or a Superb-Man Active Figure with real Warm-Vision, I’m going to be drawn to the crappy knockoff.

And that could be why this amazing, misshapen silvery mass drew me in like a moth to a flame, or maybe a crudely drawn flame on a chunk of drywall. Meet the Aitekx Robotruck, the first Tesla Cybertruck knockoff to be introduced to humanity, and, based on the looks of the thing, it’s an absolute pile.

Now I should be clear that I have not yet spoken to the Aitekx representative and gotten all the details about this vehicle; I’ll be doing that tomorrow, at the show, and I will tell you everything I find out; until then, we have these pictures to look at and Aitekx’ website, which features a lot of improbable photos and some really painfully obvious spelling errors:

I make plenty of spelling errors myself, but I think when I have only two words to deal with, I can usually figure it out. This is also fun, and even more baffling:

3-raw seats? 2-raw seats? Are these uncooked seats? Seat tartare? A typo is one thing, but this is repeated. How?

The truck itself, called the Robotruck 1T in truck version and the Robotruck 1V in SUV form (I can’t actually tell the difference in the two based on the website) and seems pretty clearly modeled after the Tesla Cybertruck, but with enough styling differences to, I suppose, keep everything nice and legal.

In person, the Robotruck appears to have been built with a level of focus and care and attention that can only be described as “chimp-grade.” It’s appalling, in an absolutely gleeful way. I mean, just look at this thing:

Wow. I know we’ve all enjoyed a good, wholesome chuckle at the suspect build quality of the pre-production Cybertruck but this is an entirely different level of shittiness. If the Cybertruck’s build quality is somewhat shoddy, with uneven panel gaps, then the Robotruck is deity-level shoddy, with panel gaps that aren’t just large, but also incredibly uneven and wavy, and appears to have been put together with the sort of precision normally associated with a gravel driveway.

Look at how that door doesn’t exactly close! Absolutely no panel here actually fits; look at those strange metal slats that make up the sloping rear of the thing – they look like metal 2x4s haphazardly nailed to the sides.

What’s going on here? Are those rivet heads? Are there fingerprints in that paint?

Dear God, look at that. It’s like a guy with mittens was injected with several shots of Novacaine in the wrists, and handed a rubber mallet and told to “build the car.”

From what I could see, it looks like an absolute pile. Now, again, I haven’t spoken with Aitekx representatives about anything yet, and it’s possible there’s really good reasons for why the Robotruck looks like it was made by smacking parts together with a salami. It’s possible this all somehow makes sense, even if I can’t really see it.

Aitekx (that name seems to come from combining AI and tech and and X, because why the hell not, I suppose, letters are free) claims that the Robotruck will get “up to” 550 miles of range, and it’s worth noting that when you say something that can get “up to” 550 miles, that means that getting one mile is as valid as 200 miles, and the only thing that wouldn’t be possible with that claim is anything 551 miles or more. They also say it will go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 165 mph.

Do you want to order one of these Wish.com Cybertrucks? The Cybertrucks of we have Cybertruck at home? If so, you can plop down $100 for a reservation, and guarantee that you’ll be in line to get ahold of one of these Robotrucks, which will likely be ready for delivery on the 14th of Never, in the year two thousand and are-you-fucking-kidding-me. Or it’ll be next year! Who knows, the Tesla Cybertruck has been promised since 2019, after all.

Do you feel good about sending money to a company whose address appears to be a PO Box, at least according to their trademark registration? Do you feel good about sending money to a company whose X account looks like this?

Unusual activity. I wonder if that includes the unusual activity of building a Cybertruck knockoff out of crap and dreams?

The Robotruck does seem to offer some advantages over the Cybertruck, including a third row of seats and what looks like a folding mid-gate:

I mean, in those renders, that looks pretty good! Unfortunately, reality is a big old jerk.

There does seem to be some sort of electric drivetrain under there, so that much seems true. Everything else I’m really skeptical about, but I’ll try and find out what I can. I’ll also ask them what it means when they say the Robotruck is a “fun midsize EV pickup with robotics and AI capability,” because I have no idea at all what the hell that means. Is it some euphemism for a semi-automated system?

This thing is absurd, but I adore the chutzpah it takes to blatantly knock off one of the most talked-about designs in recent memory, all while building it with a level of attention that suggests everyone involved was half-watching some YouTube videos or in the throes of a full-on ether high.

This thing is fascinating. The difference between the dreams of the builders, as expressed through these many renders, and the brutal reality of the half-ass-seeming physical truck itself, parked there smack dab in the middle of the LA Auto Show, is sobering.

I’ll check it out up close and get all the details tomorrow, but based on what I’ve seen and read so far, this goofy bootleg Cybertruck isn’t giving me a lot of confidence.

I’m thrilled it’s here, though. Best car of show, hands down. 

 

 

Bladerunner* would never drive this!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The title character from the film Bladerunner.

[NoName 17175]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2023/11/17/teslas-market-share-plunged-to-new-low-in-q3/?sh=51ee0f2c1f53

Quote

Cox Automotive's Electric Vehicle Sales Report for the third quarter was released last month. The report stated that Tesla's market share has fallen to 50%, which is the lowest on record, and down from nearly 65% in the same quarter last year.

popehat: https://popehat.substack.com/p/my-free-speech-means-you-have-to

on the "split second court opens Monday" comment geg:

Quote

Last Friday night Musk announced that X would sue Media Matters “the split second court opens on Monday.” I’m confident that Musk’s obliging attorney, Alex Spiro, knows that complaints in both San Francisco County Superior Court and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California may be electronically filed 24/7 these days. In fact I’m confident he has e-filing accounts for both courts. It may be Mr. Spiro didn’t see fit to tell that to Elon Musk Friday night. One sympathizes. Mr. Spire’s firm Quinn Emmanuel is as crowded with former federal prosecutors as a judicial convention, and carefully cultivates its reputation for being almost as good as it thinks it is. They’re excellent trial lawyers; just look at their advertisement saying so on the concourse at Burbank Airport.

 

+

and a new article on the Boring Co

There’s trouble below at Elon Musk’s Boring Co.

Shelved projects, slow progress, and politics seem to have dulled Elon Musk's tunneling dreams at the Boring Company.

https://archive.ph/efUY3

Quote

 

Like at other Musk companies, Boring employees, of which PitchBook estimates there are 270, were expected to put in long hours and work on weekends. Another former employee said that he would hear people brag about working 18-hour days. “When I worked my first 16-hour day, it was presented to me like a badge of honor,” the person said, noting that their manager had told them when they joined that lasting six months at the job would be longer than most people. Another person said they saw people quit after just a week—or sometimes even a day. “It was a very unpleasant place to work,” the person said.

But there are a few key reasons why Boring Company has struggled to retain the people it’s hired. At SpaceX, Musk hired on Gwynne Shotwell as president to run day-to-day operations and Mark Juncosa to oversee all the engineering. At Boring Company it is just Davis wearing all the hats. While he is a strong engineer, some employees say he lacked people skills. “He did not understand empathy,” one of the people said.

“Working at Boring Company is like a big fire drill every single day—or something to that extent—because of how Steve manages,” one of the former executives says. They say it stems from a deep-rooted anxiety, an anxiety that comes from the urge to please an ever-demanding Musk. 

The other former executive added that it’s harder to hire people at Boring Company than some of Musk’s other ventures. “Tunnel engineers are different than those hired at Elon’s other companies in that they have a much lower risk profile and are much more conservative in their thinking—so it’s hard to attract people with a moonshot … If you want to work for Elon, Boring Company is your last choice,” they said.

 

+

Quote

Since the Maryland plan fell apart, the Boring Company has walked back plans for self-driving vehicles and larger robo-taxis that could carry around 12 people at a time—meaning that Boring has to hire a part-time driver to chauffeur every one to three people who use the tunnel. Right now, the convention center is paying $4.5 million a year to Boring for operating the system (the equivalent of $7.50 per ride, based on the LVCVA’s fiscal 2023 ridership data and its financial statements). At Resorts World, the Boring Company is charging riders $5 for a day pass to use its Boring tunnels from Resorts World to the convention center (riders can pay using Dogecoin). It’s likely the Boring Company may be subsidizing the costs in order to maintain the low price it is charging per ride.

Last year, Boring raised $675 million—so it probably doesn’t have to worry about subsidizing costs yet. But for how long? “This is part of the problem of public transportation, is that it’s very expensive to operate,” Muller said. “[Pretty much] no public transportation system in the U.S. makes money.”

If Boring Company disbands its project, the LVCVA has hedged risk in its contract, and the system will be handed over to the city, county, or LVCVA depending on the jurisdiction. The problem is that the tunnels are so small they can’t accommodate large vehicles. They’re also made particularly for EVs—not gas-powered cars. Finding a replacement operator may be tricky. 

 

 

 

[NoName 17175]

well, i didn't have this on my bingo card

 

[Ted Lange 16439]

That was actually the top right square.

[Biff Tannen 46201]

So he's gone all the way nuts now?  Like, off the fucking guardrails entirely.

[Francisco 2.0 32609]

23 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

So he's gone all the way nuts now?  Like, off the fucking guardrails entirely.

I'd say he was always nuts, but it was hidden under a relatively polished veneer.

 

 

Once he decided he was no longer going to be constrained on social media, because by God, he had words to say, then that veneer was lost forever.

 

 

 

 

[atomheartbevo 90673]

38 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

That was actually the top right square.

Yep, there's no way the King of the Incels wasn't going to turn out to be a Qanon nut.

[Captain Ron 13133]

47 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

So he's gone all the way nuts now?  Like, off the fucking guardrails entirely.

Now? We're at least 6 months in at this point. If not much MUCH longer.

[atomheartbevo 90673]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

I liked the Robotruck the first time around,

Who wore it better though?

[UpperWestside 6285]

4 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Who wore it better though?

He could stand behind home plate without the protective padding with that layer of goo he’s got in the front.

[wildcat09 29600]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

well, i didn't have this on my bingo card

 

You really should have.

[Doc Sam Beckett 5908]

25 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Who wore it better though?

Just noticed the nipple on the Chestla sketch. That's funny 

[CooterBrown 18289]

I saw a Cybertruck on 183 yesterday. It had an old school black farm truck bumper on the back to make it street legal. Thought that was on brand.

[Armybrat 41437]

2 hours ago, NoName said:

well, i didn't have this on my bingo card

 

You got the Grassy Knoll?

[Chopper 17450]

Who's Next (to piss on Elmo)?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13742]

I don’t see how Tesla stockholders haven’t sued Elon yet. A reasonable person could agree that his Twitter commmets, while unrelated to Tesla, are impacting Tesla sales and stock price. 

[atomheartbevo 90673]

35 minutes ago, Chopper said:

Who's Next (to piss on Elmo)?

The thing that gets me is that a bunch of people are somehow acting shocked that there's racist/anti-semitic stuff being openly posted/promoted on twitter, as if it suddenly happened, and hasn't been propagating over the past year.

[4th&Five 42026]

 

[atomheartbevo 90673]

The Texas Attorney General has opened an investigation into Media Matters because Elmo complained.

[Schulz2.0 29289]

8 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

The Texas Attorney General has opened an investigation into Media Matters because Elmo complained.

Elon says "jump" and Dan Patrick says "how high?"

[Chopper 17450]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I don’t see how Tesla stockholders haven’t sued Elon yet. A reasonable person could agree that his Twitter commmets, while unrelated to Tesla, are impacting Tesla sales and stock price. 

Or how the Board hasn't demanded he -- at a minimum -- take a leave of absence and get serious mental counseling.

[C-Man 27826]

4 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I don’t see how Tesla stockholders haven’t sued Elon yet. A reasonable person could agree that his Twitter commmets, while unrelated to Tesla, are impacting Tesla sales and stock price. 

I absolutely would've considered buying one before he bought Twitter. Not now. Not in a million years.

[Biff Tannen 46201]

4 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I don’t see how Tesla stockholders haven’t sued Elon yet. A reasonable person could agree that his Twitter commmets, while unrelated to Tesla, are impacting Tesla sales and stock price. 

As long as it stays above $66/share, I'm still in the black.  But yes.

3 hours ago, Schulz2.0 said:

Elon says "jump" and Dan Patrick says "how high?"

And Greg Abbott says...