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Comment by uncoder0 | Hacker News Reader

Those don't look too safe. I can't imagine you'd survive being hit by anything bigger than a mini in any of those boxes. Of course people are buying unsafe alternatives for a fraction of a price...

disclaimer: not a tesla fanboy... I don't think they have the right hardware for FSD and that Musk is a bit too wrongheaded to admit that.

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Think of these as replacement for Motorcycle and cycle. As safe with some added convenience.

But safety is legitimately why I don't own motorized two wheel vehicles. This is a real impediment to widespread adoption.

Interesting how people are so quick to judge whether something is safe by whether someone else driving something less safe (for everyone but themselves of course) were to hit you.

The alternative is usually a motorcycle, and they look a bit safer, though not as fun.

I think these are just the electric versions of tuktuks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_rickshaw

The next innovation would be to bring down the cost of lithium ion batteries. Most of these are powered by lead acid batteries because they are cheaper.

,,Most of these are powered by lead acid batteries''

That's sad, I was shocked to see how much more often people change batteries in their cars in latin America, but I guess this is normal in countries with high cost of credit :(

Cheap light slow vehicles that aren't intended for even 100 mile trips are primed for LFP chemistry, and especially removable ones.

Very long cycle endurance, very good temperature range, pretty good density (and getting better), no cobalt or nickel.

They don't go that fast. If auto manufacturers designed cars that would go max ~25 mph, the safety concerns are completely different and much less. A Tesla is WAY overbuilt for going 25 mph.

Elon Musk said that Tesla would never build these because they aren’t safe but I do think it would be an interesting exercise to design one that is even cheaper yet also safer.

Anyone who’s been in any poorer-than-median Asian countries knows the status quo of traffic is mostly very unsafe.

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