James Locke retweeted
Breaking News: Nvidia opened an investigation into Jensen Huang, its CEO, after he acknowledged to the company’s board that he had been intimate with a business executive who U.S. intelligence determined to be a Chinese spy. nyti.ms/3ViPMAt
James Locke retweeted
I keep seeing people say, “Everyone thought Elon Musk was crazy when he wanted to build electric cars and reusable rockets, too!”
But these are NOT the same thing.
When Elon was pushing electric cars, he was challenging the idea that EVs couldn’t compete with gasoline vehicles.
When he was pushing reusable rockets that could land themselves, he was challenging the idea that rockets had to be disposable.
Both were engineering challenges that could be solved through innovation.
But claiming that autonomous vehicles will eventually eliminate the need for personal car ownership is an entirely different argument.
That’s not just an engineering challenge. That’s a prediction about human behavior.
People don’t own cars simply because they have to drive them.
They own cars for convenience, freedom, privacy, flexibility, personal preference, and the ability to go wherever they want, whenever they want.
Self-driving technology could absolutely revolutionize transportation. I believe it will.
But there’s a MASSIVE difference between making cars that drive themselves and convincing the world that nobody will want to own one.
Just because Elon proved people wrong about EVs and rockets doesn’t mean every prediction he makes about the future is automatically correct.
Driving a Lucid Gravity and so much better vehicle for comfort, range and charging then any Tesla we have ever owned
James Locke retweeted
Yet here is @Waymo operating in all the cities it wants to already. This isn't complicated. There is no vendetta. One technology works - one technology only pretends to work.
James Locke retweeted
Ford can build and sell 11 different models of cars here in the USA - about 2.5 million vehicles in total every single year.
Tesla struggled to sell 5 models at 1/4th the volume and has to cancel 3 of them to focus on the one that doesn't exist?
Questions under oath are going to be 🍿🍿
James Locke retweeted
Musk-run companies like SpaceX and Tesla have flourished in Texas thanks to white-glove treatment from elected officials. But that is about to change, Texas Democrats say. on.wsj.com/4AiJoYR
James Locke retweeted
To the usual suspects calling legitimate criticism of Tesla “whining,” grow up. Blindly applauding every Elon decision doesn’t make you a visionary. It makes you incapable of thinking critically. Supporting Tesla doesn’t mean pretending every decision is brilliant. And here’s another reality check: with shifting political leadership and regulatory headwinds, I expect we’ll see cities move to restrict or outright ban autonomous operations. Technology doesn’t operate in a political vacuum. Bookmark this post. We’ll revisit it when reality catches up with the hype.
I suspect the President choose someone who will help him plot a new coup.
Presidents certainly have the right to pick their Chiefs of Staff, but selecting Stephen Miller shows that Donald Trump has learned nothing from the message Americans sent him in this election. Miller is the architect of some of the worst policies of this presidency, from the cruel and chaotic ICE enforcement to the tariffs jacking up your costs. Promoting him isn’t only bad for this Administration, it’s bad for the American people.
Honestly it will take more than AI5, it requires more sensors to augment the vision only approach. Radar at minimum to make it truly super human.
Tesla's FSD will not work on AI4, as advertised: you will not be able to sleep in your car while in motion outside of geofenced "safe zones".
FSD needs AI5 hardware!
Why?
1) AI4 is 5 years old hardware.
AI4 was taped out in 2021. Samples were made by September 2021, preparing mass production.
This alone would not be enough evidence but Tesla's excruciatingly slow rollout implies FSD is still too dumb.
2) Tesla cannot train for all edge cases.
There are simply too many edge cases within every 100 million miles driven and too much variability per scene.
What's needed is more intelligence. More intelligence requires larger models and faster computation for latency reasons.
Without it, a fast rollout is impossible and Tesla is stuck having to test the heck out of every little community around the world before an unsupervised release is possible.
This means, your current Tesla equipped with hardware 4 (AI4) faces the same fate as hardware 3 (AI3): obsolescence.
There won't be Elon's "the fleet awakens" and therefore no "greatest asset appreciation of all time".
AI5 will likely launch in the first half of 2027.
What's going to happen:
1) Tesla/Elon cannot admit it. If potential buyers knew about it, some would postpone their Tesla purchase to get an AI5 equipped car. If the number of such customers was large enough it could be a disaster for Tesla's cash flow. Management would struggle to explain away the sales collapse.
2) It's possible that after years of testing and tweaking Tesla may be able to unlock FSD that allows sleeping in the car in certain geofenced "safe zones". As you drive outside a safe zone, Tesla will require you to supervise the vehicle (as is currently the case). So, AI4 cars will never become truly everywhere (outside safe zones) self driving cars without supervision.
James Locke retweeted
True of anyone serious about ethics reform - pass a stock and prediction markets trading ban on day one.
We should also get an actual law passed that applies to all government officials, including the Executive Branch. Trump may not sign that given the Administration’s immense level of corruption and insider trading, but he should be forced to veto that likely bipartisan legislation.
At @CrookedMedia Con, @bradlander calls for Dems to immediately pass a rule banning stock trading by members of Congress, to show voters they hear them on corruption.
James Locke retweeted
Tesla broke almost every promise it made about the Cybertruck. The result was unambiguous: A failure of historic proportions.
insideevs.com/features/81470…
Also allows Tesla access to the data as you don't own it
Elon Musk said yesterday that @Tesla will probably rent Optimus robots rather than sell them.
I’m guessing you’d pay a monthly subscription or have it usage-based instead of paying to own the robot.
The payment would cover insurance, maintenance, repairs, etc. The economics make sense for the company, and it creates a lower barrier of entry for consumers instead of something in the $30k+ range, which would be like buying a new car.
Musk answered your question on the Q3 call. He said the vast majority of Cybercabs will be Tesla owned and run as transport as a service. The future he's building is one where Tesla owns the car and you rent the ride.
A few years ago, Tesla looked poised to dominate the automotive market. By next year, its passenger lineup will be down to just two vehicles.
So where does it go from here? @elonmusk has made it clear that autonomy, AI, and robots are the company’s future. But where do new passenger vehicles fit into that vision?
The Model 3 launched in 2017 and the Model Y in 2020, meaning they will be roughly 10 and 7 years old when Cybertruck production ends in 2027.
Both have received substantial refreshes, but relying on those models leaves little room for someone looking for a larger SUV, a luxury sedan, or a pickup.
Will we see another new Tesla with a steering wheel and pedals? I sure hope so. Autonomy, AI, and robots may be the future, but I’d still like to see more choice for the people who want to buy, and drive, a Tesla.
James Locke retweeted
It’s CRAZY to think that many of us Tesla fans might NEVER buy another new Tesla again!
At this rate, it feels like Tesla is moving toward canceling every model and focusing entirely on Robotaxis. And honestly, I’m losing the excitement I once had for the brand.
I love FSD, but I still want to OWN and DRIVE my Tesla! This is NOT the future I was excited about.
All Elon wants now is monthly recurring revenue, it used to be about selling compelling products, now its about having his hand it your pocket forever. 😢
Elon Musk confirms Tesla will rent Optimus robots, not sell them, as build cost falls from about $30,000 toward $20,000
At today's Baron Investment Conference with Ron Baron, Elon said Optimus will initially cost about as much as a car to build, then drop well below that. Asked whether Tesla would rent or sell the robots, he answered: "I think probably rent them."
Renting keeps the fleet and the usage data with Tesla, the same recurring-revenue path Full Self-Driving already follows.
Outside deliveries are still aimed around the end of 2027, so this is the shape of the first customer offer before anyone outside Tesla gets a unit. It also lets Tesla pull robots back and upgrade them as the hardware improves instead of stranding early buyers with an outdated machine.