Disqus - Latest Comments for djplong

Re: Tesla Hardware 3 owners could be made whole this month

djplong — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 05:26:21 -0000

It was advertised and sold to us early adopters that it would be completely automated.

Among the other things said by the CEO was that anyone with FSD (back when there was ONLY HW3) would be able to allow their car be part of a Robotaxi network. One of his lines was (paraphrasing) "Why not have your car make money for you while you're not using it?"

Re: Tesla Hardware 3 owners could be made whole this month

djplong — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:02:31 -0000

8 years and 143,000 miles after purchase - 18 months after the latest promise of the now-previous-major version....

...I'll believe it when I see it. When it comes to predictions on a calendar, Musk is possibly the worst public presenter ever.

Re: Tesla skeptics will hate what this new reliability study says

djplong — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:21:03 -0000

I'm at 8 years and 143,000 miles. Just did a 2400 mile road trip. My Model 3 is still performing virtually like new. To be fair, yes, I've had some battery degradation - but nothing that wasn't expected.

Re: Tesla Hardware 3 owners could be made whole this month

djplong — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:53:28 -0000

As an INTERIM solution, I don't mind - since everyone else who purchased FSD is waiting. But we have now been promised AI5 Upgrade Mini-Factories. I drive my cars until they make no sense to drive (repairs costing more than replacement). I have 143,000 miles on my 2018 M3. I'll be around, most likely, to make Elon (eventually) hold up to that statement. Or, I suspect, a class-action suit will be in the offing.

Re: SpaceXAI just launched into your kitchen with their new app

djplong — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:24:46 -0000

Oh I know - that and the current events seem to be at odds with each other. As a Model 3 owner since 2018 I'm following this VERY closely.

Re: SpaceXAI just launched into your kitchen with their new app

djplong — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:08:41 -0000

Check the news. Tesla has been changing the contracts of old Purchase Agreements retroactively - to add "Supervised" to the line "Full Self Driving Capability" in cars with HW3 that were sold until early 2024.. I looked at mine from 2018 and it hasn't happened but more than one person is reporting this.

It's illegal to retroactively change a contract.

Re: SpaceXAI just launched into your kitchen with their new app

djplong — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 06:20:27 -0000

Watch out. SpaceXAI might change the terms of your contract without knowing and charge you retroactively for each query. (Read what they're doing at Tesla)

Re: Tesla improves Dashcam playback with awesome addition

djplong — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 05:44:00 -0000

Encrypting my SSD without asking me? Does this mean I can't unplug the drive and load clips on to my systems? Does this mean that, when a clip "ages out" or if I hit some sort of storage limit that I'll lose it forever without a backup? Does this mean it's going to feed AI? I agreed, 8 years ago, to let my Tesla "phone home" and upload clips and data related strictly to the improvement of FSD. This is way more than I signed up for.

Re: Tesla gives HW3 owners another massive update

djplong — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 05:40:29 -0000

My first test will be to see if, on the highway, when passing a "Minimum Speed 40" sign, it doesn't slam on the breaks to get you from 65-40 before the car behind you can react.

Re: Tesla launches solution to end Supercharger fights once and for all

djplong — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 05:39:12 -0000

In our area, the problem isn't as much "full Superchargers"...

It's the number of Supercharger stall taken up by people who are unplugged so as to avoid congestion charges. They could be eating, watching a YouTube video or even sleeping.

It'll be a neat trick for Tesla to get THOSE people out of the stalls.

(Hmm... Maybe automatically detecting a car hasn't moved after the they pull the plug - and use Anti-Summon to get them out of the way for others)

Re: Tesla finalizes AI5 chip design, Elon Musk makes bold claim on capability

djplong — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 06:41:25 -0000

I'm willing to bet that Elon is wrong because the one thing that he has been reliably wrong with has been timelines. He also said HW3 would be enough. AI4 is a LOT closer, from what I've seen - to the point that AI5 might actually get to the metrics that Elon and a LOT of other people (especially insurance companies) want. I've said from the beginning, it's not going to be convincing people about FSD, it'll be the insurance companies forcing people into it - and there'll be 2-tier pricing of premiums based on usage of autonomous features.

Re: Elon Musk's Boring Co. Tunnel Vision Challenge ends with a surprise for Louisiana, Maryland and Dallas

djplong — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:34:53 -0000

And, for now, Boring Company Tunnels are "niche products" that Tesla themselves promoted as they are, of course, owned or controlled by the same person. Will they replace existing metro systems? No. Could them introduce mass transit to cities that don't have it? Absolutely. They need higher capacity vehicles than Model 3s. One of the beauties of the way they're setting things up is that vehicles can be sent to where people are and those vehicles can be sent to different places and not have to stop at any intervening station - like the express tracks in New York, only better. It's not THAT difficult to come up with a system that will dispatch what's needed to where it's needed for different groups of people going to different places.

Re: TESLARATI

djplong — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:55:33 -0000

I know that NASA and others have done the math.. But, just for the heck of it, I'd like to see exactly why it's TEN flights of refueling before Starship can do a TLI (Trans Lunar Injection) burn. If ONE gets it out of the gravity well, and tanker flights don't have cargo other than fuel.. It just seems that you'd need a lot less fuel to go LEO-Moon than Texas-LEO.

I'm sure I'm wrong somewhere. I'd just like to know WHERE! :)

Re: Tesla's Semi truck factory is open with a detail that changes everything

djplong — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:50:21 -0000

I saw that from both sides - especially when Elon started support the Red Team. Before that, you had to be REALLY radical on the left ""But the mining". "But the cobalt!" "But the e-Waste from dead batteries!" - yeah, I heard that LONG ago.

Re: The Boring Company clears final Nashville hurdle: Music City loop is full speed ahead

djplong — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 05:58:58 -0000

It's not going to be successful until they produce a higher-capacity vehicle. Carrying around 2 people at a time isn't a recipe for success. Get something like a "Robovan" in there? Now you're talking some medium-capacity transit.

Re: Elon Musk's Boring Co. Tunnel Vision Challenge ends with a surprise for Louisiana, Maryland and Dallas

djplong — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 07:05:24 -0000

If Tesla ever gets that Robovan coming off an assembly line, there might be just be a case for those tunnels. Not as a solution for places like New York - but those that need transit, but of a more "medium capacity" capability.

But we all know how Tesla's predictions go. I've been waiting for FSD for 8 years. Ever since Musk took his eye off the car company part of Tesla, it's been a frustrating wait with no real word on what's happening with previous promises. He's delivered to others (if late). How about us that helped the company survive when it was losing money?

Re: Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry

djplong — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 05:22:14 -0000

Point taken for the hardware. But the experienced talent? That's another matter. If he thinks he's going to do it with Optimus robots, that'll be either a disaster and result in "Terafab" being a financial sinkhole of Biblical proportion, or one of the most eye-popping ramp-ups the world has ever seen.

Re: Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry

djplong — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 06:38:15 -0000

And just where are they going to get experienced talent and custom-designed machinery as good as TSMC?

Re: Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

djplong — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 05:29:32 -0000

I agree with most of what you said. The only thing I don't agree with is him being a world-class juggler. It's quite clear he isn't. Tesla Energy, the solar part, is almost a complete failure compared to the predictions. The cars? He's forgot ten about them - replacing the S/X line with robots - in California where he's made a lot of derogatory comments instead of Nevada or, better yet Texas (where there are unused Cybertruck lines). Once he gets Starship in his rear-view mirror (and his engineers are just outstanding - and I believe they'll do another "they said it couldn't be done") that'll be handed off to someone to figure out his ludicrous (for now) desire for thousands of launches per year. Boring Company projects are routinely announced and fade away. It's that he demands his people devote themselves to to the job 100% - and sets a god-awful example in that regard. He can't read a room

Re: Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

djplong — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:20:50 -0000

Yes, I can. Using the latest update to the fare structure in Austin as a baseline, a day's commute will cost me about $65. In my Tesla, it costs $4-$7 - and that's not accounting for the percentage of electricity I generate with my solar panels. Tell me how that's "more affordable".

Re: Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

djplong — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:18:32 -0000

He bought into Tesla with that intention, at least publicly. Now? Look for that sentence in their Mission Statement. You won't find it. It's been replaced with one about "amazing abundance". Look, I love my Tesla. But Elon should leave Tesla. Why? Because he demands his employees focus 100% on Tesla when he, himself, doesn't even come close. Ok, that's a little snarky, I grant you. But, in all seriousness, Musk is concentrating on his shiny new AI toys - and Investor-Me doesn't have a problem with that. Consumer-Me, however, doesn't like Tesla treating its customers (present and future) indifferently. They're replacing the S & X assembly lines with Optimus lines. That says something. (To this day I have no idea where Elon thinks the money is going to come from to support his statement about everyone wanting to buy one eventually - since those robots are going to unemploy a HUGE number of people if they execute their plan correctly)

Re: Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

djplong — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:12:31 -0000

Tesla doesn't have to fill every niche. But they haven't had a "hit" since the Model Y and now will only have ONE car on sale, in two forms (3 & Y). When some columnists said that Tesla was no longer a "car company", the were more right than they thought.

Re: Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

djplong — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:36:50 -0000

Yeah, I think some manufacturers are going to have some colossal failures before any REALLY considering licensing. For starters, as Elon once pointed out, it's a job in itself to coordinate the sensors or redesign the vehicle with all new sensors - and that can take over a year - before you adapt any part of the FSD stack.

Re: Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

djplong — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:21:45 -0000

Did you want to replace your car with a Model 2? If not, the promise means nothing to you. To my wife and I, the idea DID factor into our plans. Obviously we've changed them. It's not like I feel personally betrayed by the decision - but I *do* use it as an example of my increasing frustration with Elon and Tesla. And it's to the point that, since other manufacturers are starting to 'catch up' with Tesla, our plans might end up with one of the competitors.

Re: Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

djplong — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:10:29 -0000

Oh, don't get me wrong - it certainly has its use cases. The vast majority, however, are useless to me. It's not going to work for my commute (on cost OR convenience OR dependability - the latest update on the new Robotaxi price structure would have it costing me something over $65/day whereas my Tesla costs me about $4-$7/day and that's not factoring in how much electricity I get from my solar panels). It's not going to work for near, medium or long-distance road trips. On the flip side, it'll work VERY well for my older daughter who doesn't have a car, uses public transportation when she can and Uber/Lyft's the rest.