Jeff Atwoodhow you know your brand is in serious trouble: a single friend of mine told a potential date he drove a Tesla and she said "ew"
Charlie Stross@codinghorror I would have *liked* a Tesla until about 2-3 years ago. But touchscreen-only controls are a no-no, the "full self-driving autopilot" bullshit was obvious and stinky at 500 metres, the horror stories about racism/sexism on the factory floor are appalling, and the CEO going full red-pilled alt-right was the final kiss of death. (Like VW's Nazi cooties in the 1945-65 era.)
Bai Shen@cstross @codinghorror Sadly, every company jumped on the big touchscreen bandwagon.
Jon@baishen @cstross @codinghorror
That's why I like my Bolt EUV. There's physical controls for all the most used settings!
That's why I like my Bolt EUV. There's physical controls for all the most used settings!
@jmerchen @baishen @codinghorror It's still a car. There's nowhere to park them around here, and virtually no public charging points (private garages are so expensive that a couple of streets over a Lambo and a couple of Bentleys are parked on the street at all hours).
Rich@cstross @codinghorror There's also the thing where Elon and others at Tesla can at least plausibly listen to any conversation you have in a Tesla cabin. Varying levels of alarming depending on who you are and what you do with your life, but regardless, just...no.
dxzdb@rich @cstross @codinghorror Wow - I didn’t hear about THAT!
I might have bought one someday - but not now.
@dxzdb Yep, it was pretty widely covered not long back (the ACLU seems like one of the more trustworthy sources): https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/tesla-camera-scandal-is-the-latest-lesson-in-dangers-of-letting-companies-record-you
To be clear, there are a *lot* of questions about the reports, but can I imagine senior Tesla execs having unchecked, routine access to customer video? Yes, yes I can. And as numerous examples of "oh, no-one would misuse this" backdoors have demonstrated, if it's there, it'll 100% be misused for the purposes of shits, giggles and paranoid CEOs.
@cstross wow! love your work Mr. Stross 🤩
❓ucblockhead@cstross @codinghorror I bought a model 3 back in 2018 when it was first released, and as a car, I almost entirely like it. I wasn't dumb enough to buy the autopilot, but it was the first reasonable electric, and it's been mostly reliable. The touch screen isn't perfect, but not as bad as people say.
It will be my last Tesla, though. I had no idea what a shitshow of a human being Musk was when I bought it. Frankly it's getting embarrassing to drive.
@ucblockhead @cstross I'm putting white duct tape over the tesla powerwall logos in our garage
Jaime Visser@cstross @codinghorror The touchscreen-only controls are even less of an issue as most stuff just works fine without user input. It's still one of the easiest EVs to travel long distances with in the EU.
RAK@cstross @codinghorror: I've always felt that the interiors of Teslas look particularly tacky and cheap; plastering a massive tablet onto the dashboard is not my idea of elegance.
Tane Piper ⁂@cstross @codinghorror For me it's pretty standard to say "Tesla Wanker" when, as usual, some wanker in a Tesla thinks they are king of the road.