This.Yay . . . . ? ? ? ? Everything I never wanted in a vehicle, coupled with a partner I hold in lower regard than dog poop . . .
Might be time to abandon the brand, depending on where this goes.
Mercedes is already doing their own electric Sprinter. I believe production for the European market has already started.I can't foresee a Ford/VW partnership going anywhere. I'm more interested in the prospect of a renewed partnership between Mercedes and Tesla. A long range electric Sprinter van would be awesome, imo. Mercedes supplying a glider chassis, and Tesla the drivetrain & electronics.
You're probably right. Though Tesla does have the best batteries and electronics in the industry. Daimler has recently made some noises that they'd be interested in another partnership. And Elon just tweeted yesterday that he'd be interested in an E-Sprinter collaboration.Mercedes is already doing their own electric Sprinter. I believe production for the European market has already started.
Mercedes has no need of involving Tesla for this. Tesla does not do any magic that isn't known elsewhere.
You're probably right. Though Tesla does have the best batteries and electronics in the industry. Daimler has recently made some noises that they'd be interested in another partnership. And Elon just tweeted yesterday that he'd be interested in an E-Sprinter collaboration.
Both. Tesla is to the automotive industry what Spacex is to the aerospace industry. Both companies are leaps and bounds ahead of the competition at present. Tesla has probably single handedly advanced the adoption of EV's by a decade or more. With some help from Daimler and Toyota along the way.Also the highest price, which makes me ask the question: Is Tesla really better at technology, or just have a fanatic customer base that is willing to pay more for better stuff? I suspect that anyone has access to these parts, but is trying to hit a price point, so doesn't . . .
- Tim
It is going to be a transition to EVs and, not necessarily, as we feel a revolution in the electronic gadget way. Much, much slower but in the electric direction for the long term view (decades).Just saw This.
Tell that to Jaguar. Somehow they managed to make the I Pace suck down so much power going down the road it's rage stinks, even with its large battery. And because it uses so much power, and chargers slower than a Tesla, a long trim would take foreverThe technical aspects of a Tesla vehicle don't include anything that nobody else knows how to do.
Given the VW mindset, I think they would insist on an unequal partnership. I don't want the VW corporate culture to infect an American business as iconic as Ford. It's bad enough that Fiat calls the shots at Chrysler these days.
No, it isn't. Tesla just put it on the market before it was ready for prime time, and marketed it in a way that implies that it does things that it actually doesn't.Tesla’s self driving stuff is light years ahead of anyone else
My ELR will crash just the same way when on radar cruise control as an AP1 car when coming on stopped traffic. AP is just very fancy cruise control.Frankly, I don't understand the free pass that Tesla has been given on this issue. Anyone else would have been ordered to recall and fix, or disable the system.
Time to put your thinking cap on for a moment.There will always be accidents no matter who or what is driving the cars. Despite the system being called autopilot, Tesla makes it abundantly clear that driver attention is required at all times. Someday there will be completely automated driving, but we aren't there yet. The statistics show that miles logged using autopilot result in far fewer accidents(per mile) than those where no driver's aids like autopilot are used. Many lives have been saved by these systems already.
Meh. That second link is absolute garbage- clearly written by someone with extreme bias. He basically invents statistics to fit his narrative. The Solar City rant at the beginning of his blog is a dead giveaway. Just another hedge fund manager who almost certainly held a short position on Tesla trying to spread FUD.Time to put your thinking cap on for a moment.
Tesla officially states that autopilot is only meant for certain limited circumstances and that the driver has to retain control (which means, is the autopilot system really responsible??). It's not for use in bad weather, heavy traffic, it's incapable of responding to traffic signals or road signs so it's not for use when there are traffic control devices, etc.
What all that amounts to, is that it is only good for motorways in free flowing traffic conditions and not in construction zones, and in good weather. (Yet they don't restrict it to those situations - as GM does with Cadillac "Super Cruise" - even though the car has enough information on board that it could!)
What is the collision rate for human drivers in those situations? Motorways are the safest roads. Good weather conditions are the safest conditions.
The autopilot reported collision rates are therefore skewed by the conditions that the system is only viable to be used in.
The overall real world driver fatality rate for Tesla cars is HIGHER than that of its peers. (It's unclear why.)
Articles with backup information:
https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-autopilot-safety-statistics/
https://medium.com/@MidwesternHedgi...xury-cars-and-likely-even-higher-433670ddde17