Recent content by Spalding

How do you put guardrails around Elon without stifling the innovation? How do you put guardrails around Elon without stifling the innovation? Answer: a corporate board not made up of cronies and bros, and a management system that doesn't live in fear of immediate mass firings if anyone dares...

And to the basic question of why would I might want to do business with a company that doesn't want me (which brings back memories of my dating days), the short answer is money. Tesla's solar panels were substantially less expensive than the other companies from which I've gotten quotes - in...

I had a second solar installer tell me the same thing, so I assume it's a standard industry practice and not just Tesla. Having a licensed structural engineer sign off on the roof is plainly for the installer's protection, and provides someone else to sue if there is a problem. Not completely...

Was primed to purchase Tesla solar panels for my 1913 craftsman style home, but after inspection Tesla cancelled. Aggravatingly, Tesla was very reluctant to say why - after much effort, a supervisor explained that there were concerns that the roof wouldn't be sturdy enough to support them. I...

Won't be a new car at all. They'll probably frame it as an advancement in FSD, slapped in a Model 3 (or whatever model they're making in 10+ years, when whatever it is finally gets released). All the talk of it being the Model 2, or some kind of a 2-seater, seems wrong. A true announcement...

I downloaded 2023.44.30.25 a few days ago, which gave me FSD v12.3 - my first experience with any iteration of FSD v 12. To my mild surprise, while parallel parking last night the "Autopark" button lit up for the first time in many months. It was an unimpressive first outing, and far worse...

Something has gone seriously off the rails whenever the (in)appropriate response is provided by Austin Powers. You should all be very, very ashamed.

New article on Notateslaapp.com ( Tesla FSD Beta v12 Auto Parks, Completes U-Turns, But Removes Traffic-Aware Cruise Control Ability ) says that TACC won't be available on FSD v12 - or at least not initially. Article explains that you'll be able to use TACC only by going into a submenu to...

I disagree with the anti-sunroof crowd (but to each his own). On my prior sunroof-equipped car I used it all the time. Open to fresh air, or even tilting it up a bit for venting, is nice - and helps avoid using A/C. No matter what the Tesla salespeople say, the glass roofs on Teslas are not a...

Macan will probably be fabulous. But keep in mind it's a Porsche and it'll be priced accordingly. Tesla could and probably will "do" something to keep the Y competitive, but in the end market forces will probably constrain Tesla a bit. Especially at the highest "Turbo" trim level, the new...

Are we sure this accusation isn't being made by the dog?

I don't doubt that's often the case. But here, in the NHTSA link provided above, the NHTSA reports that it discovered this as part of its "routine compliance audit" of a Model Y. I would still like to hear an explanation why the NHTSA didn't discover this as part of "routine compliance audits"...

I've seen some other web sites showing that the font on Tesla screen warnings is the same size or larger than the warning lights on some other cars. No word about recalls directed at them. But the thing that surprises me the most is that the NHTSA only discovered this after about 12 years of...

It's hard to imagine what the algorithm would've made of such an unusual situation - and best not to find out. Ultimately, the computer are you were both left to guess at how to respond to something so far out of the norm. Swerving back to the right was the correct choice - you had an open...

How did the damage happen? If the insurer is satisfied that the cause falls within its comprehensive coverage, and not due to some at-fault incident, you shouldn't get a rate increate - or not much of one. If it was due to an at-fault claim, the insurer will invariably get its money back from...