2nd Gear:

I’m surprised that Boston Dynamics is only valued at $1billion while a scooter company is also valued at a billion. 

I paid $90K for my rather nice little 2bd/2ba house on the Gulf Coast in FL in 2017. More than $75K, but not much more - my mortgage was less than this car costs after my down payment. The income tax savings vs. the northeast makes it effectively free. :-)

Ugh, it’s insane. Like when my Dad says “Why don’t you buy a house?! Our first home in Toledo was $45,000!”

You are the hero we need. So long as the kid doesn’t start getting her own ideas about when to shift...

Totally agree, though I’d add that I’m married with a 5 year old, and my NB Miata is still just fine. the kid’s car seat (now booster seat) fits fine in the passenger seat, you can turn off the passenger airbag, everything is right at her level and lightweight so she can see out the front and sides, buckle herself,…

Roadsters are okay for commuting. Been doing it for years. They are a great way to make mundane trips a bit more entertaining, if you want them to be.

Waitaminit. There are people who pay $75k for a home? I don’t believe it, signed someone in Southern California.

Going from a pipefitter to a sparky is a tough ask. I work for a commercial electrician, and despite the obvious issue everyone has of guys retiring faster than they can be replaced, the apprenticeship turns down a lot of guys every year. Being an electrician pays well because it ain’t easy. 

There’s still a market for pipe fitters. maintenance on current steam systems in existing power facilities, building out steam systems/fire suppression systems for current/future construction projects.

I hope trade schools come back in a BIG way—that’s a major short sight in the US right now. Way more demand than supply for skilled labor, and the laborers can choose to run their own company and work for themselves [and make very good money right out of the gate]

just think if big box stores like walmart and target added a charger to every parking space. I think a lot of people worry about charging and range because they don’t SEE the access points often enough to make the connection that it would be viable for them. There are a ton of Teslas in Fort Wayne, IN and Ibet it can…

Education programs to turn pipe fitters into electricians would go a long way to helping the populations dependent on burning dinosaurs. Also need to teach the youth the benefits of trade programs over universities. I've had multiple programs artificially slowed down because there aren't enough contractors. 

Biden was on Pod Save America a couple weeks ago and he just starts geeking out over renewable energy and electric charging infrastructure. He was all, “They got these batteries the size of my arm here and you can plug them into your solar panels and they can power the house when it’s not sunny” and he just goes on…

1st gear:
I hope the federal government comes up with a program to help offset businesses install chargers. Once they are everywhere you are already going to go or stop and no longer need to make a trip/stop at a location just to refuel, it will change a lot of people’s thoughts on electrics.

The program could be part…

I think Tesla’s response was Tesla Tequila.

Using hydrogen fuel cells instead of batteries in an EV always had a fundamental scalability problem that has never been addressed by any of their cheerleaders. 

1st gear: you just gotta love crusty old farts

1st Gear: I think there is a lot of jealousy happening there. And I think the analogy he gives doesn’t really hold. Really, Tesla has a kitchen and chef too... just a smaller operation compared to Toyota. Tesla does a lot more than selling the recipe... they actually created the recipe to BEV sales success. And…

I wonder if Toyota is kicking themselves yet for blowing a massive amount of money, and worse time, chasing the hydrogen phantasm.