nooooo.... this would be like going to the dealer and them telling you, you need a new engine, transmission and a rear end, all because you had an issue that could be solved for $700...... like your comparison is absolutely absurd 

Then charging $16K is unmitigated bullshit.

The point is you shouldn’t have to replace an entire $16k battery because a plastic nipple for a low pressure cooling system was cracked. This should be a $1 part that can easily be replaced on said battery pack. 

16k for a very large critical item on a car isnt that outrageous

Okay Grandpa Elon, let’s get you to bed.

You buy a lot of $16,000 iPhones?

Making a non-replaceable critical part out of brittle plastic on the leading edge is just an incredible series of bad design decisions that probably saved them like $3 per car.

Brittle plastic parts that snap, crack, or corrode after a few years?

Not sure how a brass piece is going to warp. This is likely stronger than the plastic piece ever was. The only downside I can see is that the plastic housing it went into will likely break before it does, so the potential for the next repair to be much more difficult is higher.

How is this janky? This fix is less likely to break than the original design.

That scenario seems far more likely than any version in which the fish is expected to survive being flushed down a toilet or drain and somehow making it through the plumbing system and filtration until it arrives in a lake.

Fisherman here saying that I would guess the latter is a bigger contributor than someone taking the time to take an unwanted pet goldfish all the way down to a lake and releasing it.

Just releasing pet goldfish is just part of the problem. They are also sold as bait fish. Which can get off of hooks, or all that are left at the end of the day, get dumped into the lake by the fisherman.

“There must have been something about these cars that cause a repairable situation to be deemed too expensive for an insurance company to fix.”

“This was the fully loaded model,” except FWD and 4-cylinder. Are you using the same “fully loaded” concept as the rest of us?

More finicky about that than the health and well-being of their own customers and their children, obviously...

I have to admit the appeal of these is completely lost on me. The fake wood paneling looks stupid and tacky.

Because this particular dipshit was a Lt General in the US Army, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and director of the NSA.  If someone like that supports a fringe group that seems interested in overthrowing the US Government, that’s newsworthy.

CI\             /IC

So I agree that silent packing tape is a cool thing. It is just that there have been silent packing tapes from 3M and other companies for a BUNCH of years now.