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Comment by smsm42 | Hacker News Reader

So you've got a car that costs $70-100K, and then you can't get a headlight for it for a year? And I understand it's illegal to drive with a non-functional headlight, so you can't use the car for the whole time, or at least part of the time? And the headlight costs $2K - I could buy a working used car for that price (I did). I just checked and my car's headlight assembly costs around $100 and I could order it from Amazon. I guess it must be a heavenly pleasure to drive a Tesla to put up with stuff like that.

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And I understand it's illegal to drive with a non-functional headlight, so you can't use the car for the whole time, or at least part of the time?

In many (all?) U. S. states, your headlights must be functional at all times. IOW, if you have an obviously non-functioning headlight, you can be pulled over at noon on the summer solstice. Don't plan on being out after dark? Many states require you have lights on in the rain. Or that matter, can you guarantee you won't be caught out after dark?

So, in summary, by the law of many states the Tesla would be unusable for that year.

In California no white person has ever been pulled over for having one non-working headlight.

I have never had headlight malfunctioning but both myself and my wife have been warned by the police about malfunctioning tail lights (it wasn't exactly pulled over as it was on a plazas so it may not count as driving). We both are white (though there was no way for the policeman to know that upfront before approaching the vehicle, as it was dark) and live in California. I think you are confusing your ideological biases with facts.

This is untrue by counter-example: I'm white and back in the 80s got pulled over on US 80 headed down from Donner Pass to Reno in blowing snowstorm for having a non-working headlight. The CHP officer looked at my license, looked at me, and said, "Hey, I went to high school with you, I'm Steve" and after a few minutes reminiscing sent me on my way with a friendly "make sure you get that light fixed".

See, the system works! /s

Is the implication that black people don't drive Teslas? Because I know that's not true.

Black people get pulled over for being black.

Headlights are only required in dark and rain, times when police aren't out trawling for violations to meet quota.

No, headlights are only required to be turned on in dark and rain. In the state of WA, your car is to have two forward-facing front headlights. Though the law does not specify that they must work, I assume it is implied that word "headlight" means it will produce light at any given time.

Even aside from confusing the requirement for activated headlights with that for operable ones:

> Headlights are only required in dark and rain

...and in tunnels and in designated “daylight headlight areas” (often forested areas that are typically overshadowed); there are lots of places that cannot be accessed conveniently without crossing such a stretch.

> times when police aren't out trawling for violations to meet quota.

Even aside from th mistaken idea that times other than heightened enforcement (whether quota driven or otherwise) are safe from ticketing, there are lots of heightened enforcement times that can happen in dark and rain; and they are often times that people are likely to wait to to drive—particular holiday periods, for instance.

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