Elon Musk $41B offer for Twitter
Discussion
EddieSteadyGo said:
h0b0 said:
I’m in Scottsdale AZ for work. They have self driving taxi with no human interaction through Waymo. The difference is they look like this
When most people talk about self driving cars though, they assume it is impossible. They don't realise Waymo is already doing it. Of course, the difficulty with Waymo's solution is that they need ultra HD maps, and a huge sensor array on each car as per your image. And that means each car is very expensive to produce and so scaling a solution becomes slow and expensive.However, from what I've read, now Waymo have a working solution, they are looking at what sensors can be removed and consolidated in order to reduce the costs of the car. I suspect the next iteration of a Waymo car will be much, much simpler than the current 'test mule' version.
The sensor package that Waymo uses is getting smaller and smaller though. Remember those old Lexus RX's they used to use? The compute power used to pretty much take up the whole rear of the car, now it fits into the trunk of a Jag or Pacifica with room for luggage. The sensor package is also getting smaller too, but this is where Waymo (and a few others) have thought about this - its about perception and psychology.
Waymo realized that the cars need to be visible and have a sensor package that pedestrians can see - it makes them feel confident that the car can see them. Additionally, riders feel more comfortable with a nice big screen in the back that shows full details of the ride as well as what the car can see, even if its not that relevant for the driving itself! And then there is the easy to use button to press to get in touch with an operator in seconds... its about the human element and while the technology might be close, we need to make sure that people are comfortable with it all. This is where the original Musk announced robotaxi thing was utter garbage.
Now, Tesla seems to have learned from that and have realized that a bespoke design is the way forward. I hope that they learn from what others have already learned and consider what people will feel comfortable with.
Byker28i said:
98elise said:
What makes you think he's not leading the design? Obviously there's a large team involved but he knows his stuff and it's his company.
Tom Mueller is probably the best jet propulsion guy alive and he rates Musk. Mueller gets credited as the brains behind it but he will correct people who say Musk is not leading the engineering.
Tom Mueller on Twitter: “Not true [about Elon not being in charge of engine development], I am an advisor now. Elon and the Propulsion department are leading development of the SpaceX engines, particularly Raptor. I offer my 2 cents to help from time to time“
You bring this up everytime, yet didn't Mueller retire in 2016?Tom Mueller is probably the best jet propulsion guy alive and he rates Musk. Mueller gets credited as the brains behind it but he will correct people who say Musk is not leading the engineering.
Tom Mueller on Twitter: “Not true [about Elon not being in charge of engine development], I am an advisor now. Elon and the Propulsion department are leading development of the SpaceX engines, particularly Raptor. I offer my 2 cents to help from time to time“
Musk made the spaceships more pointy because he thought it would be funny? Rather like his 'fun' in buying and running twitter?
Many of his acolytes claim Musk is a genius for his decisions, lowering costs but thats all from Gwynne Shotwell, who is the company’s president, who makes all the decisions, the only part she doesn't get involved in is the engineering side because thats the only bit Musk is interested in.
He's self taught in engineering, from the companies he bought into, having a BSC in economics and physics. What he has done with Space X is to force others to rethink how space delivery is achieved and costed
The cost reductions are around rapid development, simplification, reusability and turn around time. Those are design/engineering solutions not business solutions.
He's certainly self taught, however it helps when you're working alongside
the likes Tom Mueller and Jim Cantrell for many years actually building rockets.
Edited by 98elise on Tuesday 11th June 17:43
dobbo_ said:
Talksteer said:
he also interviewed the first 2000+ people through the doors specifically to make sure that the culture of the company was in line with his vision.
Did he though? Cos, I don't know if you've ever conducted an interview, but....Even at Musk space speeds, and every single person being on time, and each interview lasting ten minutes and a minute or two either side for housekeeping. And maybe he even glances at the CVs and history of these staff.
Musk working 10 hour days (which I'm sure he does, at least). That's the entirety of his time taken up, for months.
It's a great story to boost the mystique of Musk, but, you know.
The same CEO later gave every employee shares in the company, which for most people would be worth tens of thousands when the company was sold a few years later.
Best employer I ever worked for, not just because of fhe money.
Ian974 said:
The way spacex managed to change direction with the starship construction was pretty surprising while it was happening, and the real time development is still exciting to watch. I just can't think why on earth when having both Tesla and spacex on his plate, Elon then decided that he needed to buy twitter 
He didn't really want to buy it. In fact he tried to get out of it IIRC. His mouth got the better of him.He has no reason to be in the social media business, and should keep his nose out of politics IMO.
98elise said:
Ian974 said:
The way spacex managed to change direction with the starship construction was pretty surprising while it was happening, and the real time development is still exciting to watch. I just can't think why on earth when having both Tesla and spacex on his plate, Elon then decided that he needed to buy twitter
He didn't really want to buy it. In fact he tried to get out of it IIRC. His mouth got the better of him.He has no reason to be in the social media business, and should keep his nose out of politics IMO.
Stick to rockets and cars.
If that's real that's briliant.mko9 said:
For all you nay-sayers about Musk and the Cybertruck, I am just going to post this here:
Check mate, you can all admit you were wrong.
I'm man enough to admit that I was wrong. All I ca do is humbly beg forgiveness from his Holy Muskness, the Reverend Saint Elon. Check mate, you can all admit you were wrong.
Turns out it is possible to make the Cyberstuck uglier.
iphonedyou said:
p1stonhead said:
Apple should take twitter off IOS. Then see how childish he is.
Admittedly it would be vanishingly unlikely to stoop to his level and do so; but that would wipe X out overnight, wouldn't it?Not a risk I'd be taking. But then I'm not Elon / worth squillions / etc.
Hard to know how well space X is doing but we fully see that Twitter is in decline, Boring company is a nothing burger, solar city is a foul tasting joke for those who were crazy enough to pay the extortionate prices and Tesla cars are on a road to nowhere. Only thing that Tesla investors can rely on are rosary beads, lighting candles for AI and hoping the 4th down hail mary passes from the 20 yard line somehow pay off. Still baffles me how people think Elon Musk is one of the worlds best CEO's when his companies are in such poor health.
soupdragon1 said:
Agreed, highly unlikely. Its quite telling the difference of behaviour between CEO's/BOD's of 'trillion dollar' companies vs Elon Musk. Branding/reputation is everything, except for Elon Musk.
Hard to know how well space X is doing but we fully see that Twitter is in decline, Boring company is a nothing burger, solar city is a foul tasting joke for those who were crazy enough to pay the extortionate prices and Tesla cars are on a road to nowhere. Only thing that Tesla investors can rely on are rosary beads, lighting candles for AI and hoping the 4th down hail mary passes from the 20 yard line somehow pay off. Still baffles me how people think Elon Musk is one of the worlds best CEO's when his companies are in such poor health.
No disagreement about his other companies but spacex are doing well (witness the launch last week) and Tesla cars are still (just) the worlds largest selling EV Maker, although the whole market is slowing down.Hard to know how well space X is doing but we fully see that Twitter is in decline, Boring company is a nothing burger, solar city is a foul tasting joke for those who were crazy enough to pay the extortionate prices and Tesla cars are on a road to nowhere. Only thing that Tesla investors can rely on are rosary beads, lighting candles for AI and hoping the 4th down hail mary passes from the 20 yard line somehow pay off. Still baffles me how people think Elon Musk is one of the worlds best CEO's when his companies are in such poor health.
KaraK said:
mko9 said:
For all you nay-sayers about Musk and the Cybertruck, I am just going to post this here:
Check mate, you can all admit you were wrong.
I'm man enough to admit that I was wrong. All I ca do is humbly beg forgiveness from his Holy Muskness, the Reverend Saint Elon. Check mate, you can all admit you were wrong.
Turns out it is possible to make the Cyberstuck uglier.
Still illegal in the EU/UK though...
it doesn't meet current European standards. Its stainless steel body is too thin to withstand impact, its weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes, requiring a category C1 driving license, and its charging system is not compatible with European charging stations.
Last bit is strange, is it only designed for tesla charging stations?
Edited by Byker28i on Wednesday 12th June 13:26
Byker28i said:
Was it wrapped to hide the rust?
Still illegal in the EU/UK though...
it doesn't meet current European standards. Its stainless steel body is too thin to withstand impact, its weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes, requiring a category C1 driving license, and its charging system is not compatible with European charging stations.
Last bit is strange, is it only designed for tesla charging stations?
All Teslas sold in the US have a different charging port design to those sold in Europe. Probably one of the easier design problems to fix though...Still illegal in the EU/UK though...
it doesn't meet current European standards. Its stainless steel body is too thin to withstand impact, its weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes, requiring a category C1 driving license, and its charging system is not compatible with European charging stations.
Last bit is strange, is it only designed for tesla charging stations?
Edited by Byker28i on Wednesday 12th June 13:26
98elise said:
gregs656 said:
Why design something for a market it was never going to.
Agreed. How many American pick up trucks are sold in Europe? Its not really a thing here, but in the US they are everywhere. Would ot be legal to do a personal import into Europe out of curiousity?
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