Ford made a $1.3 billion profit on $44 billion in sales in the last quarter, ending a year in which they lost money overall. They also just announced that their EV business is going to result in $3 billion of losses in the coming year. It’s very hard to make money on EV sales at this point, even with the large price…

Is there really very rapid progress? Batteries are a pretty mature technology, and there have not been many step changes, if any, in cost and energy density since the Model S was launched. There are plenty of advancements being discussed in areas such as solid state batteries, but much of this seems a long, long way…

Do they really get it? I actually want a hatchback that’s easy to get the kids into the back - a practical vehicle that is also good to drive. As much as there is so much hate around here for SUVs, there are actually some good reasons why people like them and have moved away from sedans. I would prefer a wagon or…

I’m not sure if non-car people are as upset about the yoke as car people. A friend got a Model S Plaid and I asked him what he thought of the yoke. He had no idea what I was talking about. When I explained I was talking about the weird steering wheel, his response was that he hadn’t really thought about it. Maybe he’s…

Whatever anyone thinks of Clarkson, I think the idea that old Top Gear with Tiff Needell was a better show is a pretty fringe view.

This 100%. When I had my 2017 100D, it was incredible how practical the car could be. I regularly threw a couple of road bikes in the hatch. At no point did I ever think it needed more power. I think the “regular” Model S is the sweet spot in the current range. It’s already faster than almost anything on the road, not…

Balance sheets don’t reflect P&L - that’s on the income statement. Income statements don’t reflect capital investments or liabilities, except in the form of depreciation, interest expense, gain from investment, etc.

This conflates cash flows and profits. Tesla had cumulative negative cash flow of (I think) about $12 billion prior to profitability, but cumulative net losses of $6.6 billion. Money that gets ploughed into factories and other capital investments is not losses, it’s negative cash flow - and yes, investment on the…

Tesla Model Y - the ride quality is abysmal. Obviously it’s not actually the most uncomfortable car on the road (and the seats are pretty good), but within its category of mid-size crossovers and hatchbacks, I can’t imagine there is any car with poorer ride quality. I say this as someone who’s owned an R53 Cooper S.

Then presumably they would also want the cooled seats to be equally accessible?

Obviously I know that the Warmer button brings up this screen, but equally obviously my point was that if Hyundai is so passionate about having physical buttons, why not have buttons for the heated seats and steering wheel, two of the most frequently used features in the car?

So let me get this straight, Hyundai wants to use physical buttons, but in my Ioniq 5 they decide to bury the heated seats and steering wheel controls two menus deep on the screen, even though I need to access these every day? But I get two physical buttons for “Map” and “Nav” which I have yet to use in a year of…

My point is that Apple’s UI is much better than Tesla’s (which is a horrible mess of menus and sub-menus, because ALL the functions are dependent on the screen). Apple (and Android) gives you a clean, elegant interface for the things you change most in the car - navigation and entertainment. This makes sense because…

CarPlay only controls infotainment stuff, not the car functions. But why anyone would want to use a sub-menu in a touchscreen to open the sunroof or adjust the wipers is beyond me. Dispensing with separate buttons is simply a way of cutting costs at the expense of usability and safety.

I’m just so used to CarPlay that it’s my reference point for how to access music, phone, podcasts, etc. Tesla’s UI is a horrible mess compared to CarPlay or Android Auto, but no more of a horrible mess than some auto manufacturers’ native interfaces, and definitely slightly less of a horrible mess than many.

I had a Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV and since then have had a Model S, Nissan Leaf (second gen), Kia Soul EV (the 64 kWh version that I don’t think was ever sold in the US, but did make it to Canada), Ioniq 5 (current daily driver) Taycan Turbo and Taycan GTS Sport Turismo (wife’s current daily driver). Once you get used to…

I recommend reading this piece about the Thai cave rescue story: https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-full-story-behind-Elon-Musks-involvement-with-the-Thai-cave-rescue-effort. Look, I’m not a fan of a lot of what Musk says, but we also live in an era in which the media decides not what’s true, but which narrative will…

Almost all of Tesla’s success is because of Elon. I don’t dispute that he’s a pathological liar and fantasist, but without him, equity investors would not have subsidized years or multi-billion losses that allowed Tesla to get EVs to the mainstream. Just imagine how long a Ford or GM or VAG CEO would have lasted if…

The Fast Lane Truck had one for 10,000 miles, and in their towing test with a 7,500 lb trailer, range was under 100 miles.

High risk of being flagged down because people think the lidar bump is a taxi sign.