574 karma · joined December 22, 2014
I don't think Tesla is as far ahead on range as everyone thinks. Highway miles are what matters and Tesla tends to be optimistic on their numbers.
>In other words, the regulations put in place to get better mileage out of vehicles also led to an increase in truck size. “There was kind of an incentive to maybe stretch the wheelbase a couple of inches and set the tires maybe an inch [farther] apart, because you get a bigger platform and slightly smaller target,” said Edmunds. “Now, the bigger vehicle would be heavier and might use more fuel, so it’s not as easy as just doing that. But certainly there was a feeling that if they did need to make it bigger to accommodate more passengers, the fuel economy target wouldn’t be onerous. They could do it.”
That statement is not very convincing that the regulations lead to bigger trucks.
I think it is less about cost saving and more about getting to the root of the problem. According to Elon's statements, Lidar is a crutch and since the AI will eventually have to be good enough to remove the crutch, remove it an the get go and save learning how to use the crutch. This is similar to his reasoning about EVs. Since we will eventually have to have petroleum free cars, Lets remove them as early as possible.
It sounds like the big fancy telescope will stop conducting science but these huge projects tend to attract ancillary projects.
When I am grounded due to weather, I can continue my trip.
When I arrive at my destination, at a small airport in middle of nowhere, I don't have to figure out transportation.
So it's really not about going back and forth, it is about making your plane usable in a few extra cases.