Disqus - Latest Comments for bryan_larsen

Re: Charging My Electric Car Is MUCH Cheaper Than Most People Think

bryan_larsen — Tue, 19 May 2026 20:02:56 -0000

Now do the calculations with Ontario's ultra-low-overnight rate. 2.4 cents Canadian per kWh, less than 2 American pennies. A fill-up cheaper than a chocolate bar.

We're not actually on the ultra-low-overnight plan -- the increased costs for daytime use outweigh the car charging savings. But if used our car more and/or our air conditioner less...

Re: The Best Smart Smoke Alarm

bryan_larsen — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:05:21 -0000

AFAICT those aren't UL certified.

Re: Waymo Boasts “Exponential Scaling”

bryan_larsen — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 08:30:24 -0000

It's too bad they chose Zeekr just before the big crack down on China. I'm sure they'll get a solution figured out, either a different partner or an import license and start exponentially scaling number of cars too.

Re: The Tesla vs. Waymo Battle Rages on with New Comments

bryan_larsen — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 14:08:32 -0000

Waymo will hit scaling problems once they hit about 70% coverage. (~70% of miles driven are urban).

The actual number is probably substantially higher than 70%, since the demand for taxis and ride-shares in rural areas is fairly low there.

Covering the largest, most profitable 70% of the market is a good place to be.

Re: The Tesla vs. Waymo Battle Rages on with New Comments

bryan_larsen — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 14:01:00 -0000

Defensive driving could get you substantially below 50%, but to get down to 10% - 20% is pretty remarkable.

If you look at their stats, those numbers are for injuries. A good way to reduce injuries is just to reduce your speed. Reduce the amount of energy in a collision and the number of injuries and fatalities goes down.

Re: China To Ban Hidden Door Handles

bryan_larsen — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:34:55 -0000

As someone who has to pull out the de-icer a few times a year to get into my cars, I've had less icing problems with the Tesla than previous cars. Not really sure why. Part of it is that the flush design facilitates fist-banging to break the ice, but there's obviously more happening in the rest of the door design. I think it's that the Tesla door is better designed than my Mazda in terms of ice/water intrusion along the door edge.

Re: Which Automaker Is Going To Surge Most From US EV Tax Credit Rush?

bryan_larsen — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:23:34 -0000

Now multiply the graph of sales volume by price list. The top 8 are all under the average new vehicle sale price of $48,000. The tendency of rich people to option up may skew it somewhat, but based on the data presented, EV's are cheaper than the average new car.

Your other point stands -- new vehicles are for the wealthy. Us normies buy used. But good news -- used EV's are screaming good deals today.

Re: Why Canada Must Align Sequestered Carbon Accounting With Global Markets

bryan_larsen — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:38:37 -0000

Canada really needs to up its international cooperation game. We had a carbon tax, but without being part of an international carbon club a la Nordhaus' Nobel prize winning proposal, it was a dub. We lost the prisoner's dilemma game Trump started -- If everybody would have stood up to Trump we all would have won, but everybody except Canada & China caved, so Canada lost.

Re: The Bluetti Apex 300 & B300K Portable Power Station — CleanTechnica Tested

bryan_larsen — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 15:28:53 -0000

You need to get a new fridge ASAP. A fridge should average 40-60 watts. It'll pull 600W to start the motor, 100W-200W while the motor is running, and 1W while the motor is off, which is most of the time.

Re: Tesla gives a massive update on its affordable model plans

bryan_larsen — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 10:33:25 -0000

IMO, Tesla should lean hard into customizability. Back when Tesla was selling every model they could produce a limited set of choices was a definite advantage.

But Tesla is no longer production constrained. Unlike toothpaste where too many choices is confusing, a car is a major purchase with high consumer awareness that is done with significant research and forethought. More choices are appreciated and will boost sales.

And Tesla has a major advantage here. Tesla doesn't have a dealership network, people order through a website which facilitates a build-to-order model, they're highly vertically integrated, and they're masters of software and logisitics. Yes, diversification has costs, but it should cost Tesla massively less than their competitors, so it's a competitive advantage.

Give us more color choices. Give us more options. Do a GM and sell identical cars with different styling and demographic appeal. Sell those body styles that are relatively unpopular but still sell significant quantities, like minivans and wagons.

People who order unique combinations will have a longer wait time because logistics dictate that similar vehicles be produced in batches. Consumers would be fine with that.

Re: Elon Musk Is The Cause, Not The Solution To Tesla’s Deep Problems

bryan_larsen — Wed, 21 May 2025 07:17:12 -0000

Tesla is two companies in one. A car company and an AI company. Musk doesn't care about the former. He should split off the AI part and take himself with it.

Re: Flaws in the Robotaxi Revolution Dream

bryan_larsen — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:53:08 -0000

Private cars are mostly fixed costs. They'll cost you ~$2 a day whether you use them or not. So it skews the calculation. Many people drive to work because the bus fare is more than the gasoline for the equivalent trip. It's cheaper than the fully loaded cost of the car, but that's irrelevant, you're paying for depreciation and insurance whether you use it or not.

But for those without a car, the bus vs Uber calculation is fair, so the bus wins more often than it does for those who own a car.

Ride share has and will continue to decrease the number of cars owned by young people. It used to be that most 18 year olds had cars. Now few do. The average age people buy their first car is increasing and will continue to increase as ride share becomes cheaper and more convenient.

Re: Geely Group Has Launched 48 New Models Since Tesla Revealed the Cybertruck

bryan_larsen — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 09:31:45 -0000

Yes, it's harder and more expensive to have a wide variety of models, colors and options. But Tesla is a build to order firm with supposed strengths in logistics, software and robotics and newly built modern factories. Variety and customization could be their competitive advantage. Nobody will sell me a green estate wagon because the dealership model makes that difficult. BMW built one of those for us 25 years ago yet you can't get them today from anybody.

Re: Will Tesla’s Pivot To MAGA Crash The Company? Has Musk’s Reach Exceeded His Grasp?

bryan_larsen — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:22:40 -0000

Let's face it, all of us Model Y owners who closely follow the industry knew Musk was crazy when we bought our cars. That has been clear since pedo-guy, and that predates the Y. We can't honestly put an "I bought this before I knew Elon was crazy" sticker on our cars.

My excuse is that I thought it was a crazy that could be harnessed for good. I was buying from the Elon Musk who rage quit Trump's advisory council because Trump dropped out of the Paris climate agreement.

I need a sticker with a similar sentiment, but different wording. Anybody have a good suggestion?

Re: Elon Musk’s Boring Co. unveils bold housing plan tied to Vegas Loop station

bryan_larsen — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 10:41:06 -0000

This sort of approach is quite common in Asia. Subways make a lot more of their money from rent on real estate holdings near the station than they do from fares.

Re: Canadian Know-How: EVs Aren’t Useless In The Cold

bryan_larsen — Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:15:34 -0000

The populated part of Canada is a lot colder than the populated part of Norway, even though it is much further south. This may change if the Gulf Stream inverts.

Re: Space Minds with Peter Beck

bryan_larsen — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:15:34 -0000

Is there an RSS feed so I can subscribe?

Re: If You Have An Electricity Outlet Where You Park, An Electric Car Is More Convenient Than A Gas Car!

bryan_larsen — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 10:18:12 -0000

Here in the land where block heater plugs are available at most parking stalls, 120V plugs are enough to keep topped off, but in the winter it spends all/most of the energy just keeping the battery warm. Starting with a warm battery means much less range loss, so that's nice, but you still need an occasional fast charge on the coldest days.

Re: If You Have An Electricity Outlet Where You Park, An Electric Car Is More Convenient Than A Gas Car!

bryan_larsen — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 10:12:15 -0000

If you're like my family often you have 0 slack in your schedule. Stopping five minutes for gas means being five minutes late.

Re: If You Have An Electricity Outlet Where You Park, An Electric Car Is More Convenient Than A Gas Car!

bryan_larsen — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 10:09:21 -0000

Where does it recommend that? It's a bad recommendation. It's better for your battery to charge from 60-70% four times than to charge from 30-70% once. Both are relatively gentle, but the peace of mind from always starting at 70 is valuable, so it's a shame to sacrifice it for no reason.

Plus it makes it less likely your battery drops below 20%, which is hard on it.

Re: Mars Next and “All of the Above”

bryan_larsen — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 17:46:49 -0000

And the main reason America pushed so hard to fly in 1969 was because Kennedy was assassinated. If Kennedy was still around in 1969 he would have been a hated political opponent of Nixon's, not a legacy to be revered.

Re: Does A Lack Of Spontaneity Make EV Road Trips Less Fun?

bryan_larsen — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:05:08 -0000

A proper EV makes spontaneity easier, not harder. The difference is that big nav screen. Most passengers cannot resist the urge to fiddle with the nav. They'll be searching on it, looking for interesting places to stop, adding and removing waypoints. When a waypoint is added the route the charging stops recalculate. You instantly know how much time the detour adds to your trip and if it's feasible to accomodate vis-a-vis charging.

Anything that makes such detours easier means you'll take more of them.

Re: The One Core Reason Trump Won The Election

bryan_larsen — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 10:07:59 -0000

They did sometimes try. Harris's first answer during the debate talked about Trump's $4000 tax on everything, her framing of the tariffs.

She decisively lost the first part of the debate. Goading Trump into irrationality was much more successful. I'm not surprised they doubled down on what worked.

Re: The One Core Reason Trump Won The Election

bryan_larsen — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:33:36 -0000

Donald Trump did very poorly. Winning by only 2% against a highly unpopular incumbent says something. A Republican without his baggage probably could have pulled off a Reagan like sweep.

Re: Refurbished Three Mile Island Payment Structure Is Not Quite What It Seems

bryan_larsen — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 17:18:37 -0000

The alternative is to build a methane plant to power the data center. That data center is getting built no matter what. This deal prevents the building of a new methane plant.

Far from a neutral impact.