Tesla semi

[MossRoad]

It is not only truckers. Just look at automobile assembly line on youtube. Or in fact any assemly line.

Heck.... at my last job over 30 years I automated 60-70 operations that humans used to do for $20-40K per year with $1200 PCs.... the people all went away through attrition and buy-outs, but its a givin in business, that if something can be automated, it should be automated, just for the predictability of repetition in quality and the cost savings of payroll and benefits. And... I pretty much automated myself out of a job, too! Had to start new career.

That's why I don't understand why people want to put humans on Mars so fast. The life support systems are the most expensive part. Just send machines up there and remote control them from here.

Anyhow, I've been reading some articles on automation, and the predictions are dire for human workers. Really, there's going to be fewer and fewer things for people to do other than eat, poop and sleep.

 

[Redneck in training]

The greenies are quick to imagine all manner of 都ubsidies even though cash does not change hands . The long list of 田osts and the financial value is ludicrous. The greenies get away with it as most people hate oil companies and hope it is true in order to vilify the industry .
How much does the fosssil industry pay in fees, royalties , taxes and licenses into state/province and federal coffers ? How much income tax is paid on wages ? The typical greenie is a socialist and would be disappointed to watch finding disappear from their pet causes. IMF痴 imagined $34-billion: Silly stats are behind claims that Canada subsidizes oil industry | Financial Post

Accusing government being inefficient and wasteful is easy. Government is easy target. My opinion is that big corporation are as guilty. About 80-90% of my work, as a contractor, is for Oil & Gas and related industries. I am in this business about 40 years. I remember only few projects delivered on time and on budget. Typical cost overrun on big projects is more than 50% and year late. Specifically Oil & Gas are flush with money so they care less. They have you all by the balls guys. I make very good living working for them. The longer it takes to finish a project the more money I make. Thank you for the support.

 

[4570Man]

If I was betting I'd say that the patent to any practical electric vehicle will be owned by the petroleum industry.

 

[buickanddeere]

I've got a job title with senior engineer in it but I would never presume to think that one's education determines all that they are capable of understanding. Shoot, some of the best engineers I've worked with don't even have a college degree.

The thing about the law of physics is that they represent our best understanding of the world right now at this point in time. They've been broken many times in the past and we'll see them broken again in our lifetime. The core scientific ideal is to always be gaining a better understanding of the world.

Even staying within our known understanding of the periodic table Lithium-Air/Oxygen batteries have 2(!) orders of magnitude(that's 100x) better energy capacity than Li-Po. Lithium紡ir battery - Wikipedia They approach the same energy density of gasoline but don't have the downside of dumping half the energy as waste heat. Most of the things holding them back are material science in the anode/cathode.

Either way it's easy to naysay because it doesn't involve getting out there and actually doing anything. The companies that change the world have a tendency of proving naysayers wrong on a large scale. So I say bring it on .

Rechargeable batteries. What use are one time use batteries in an EV ?

 

[vvanders]

Rechargeable batteries. What use are one time use batteries in an EV ?

You may want to read a bit closer, Lithium-Air/Oxygen batteries are specifically targeted as rechargeable otherwise there wouldn't be much interest in research for them.

 

[dragoneggs]

Anyhow, I've been reading some articles on automation, and the predictions are dire for human workers. Really, there's going to be fewer and fewer things for people to do other than eat, poop and sleep.

You left out procreation... was that intentional?

 

[Redneck in training]

There is one problem with automation though. The robots will never buy the stuff they make. You need buyers. It is obvious the buyers are people with money and only working people will have them.

 

[Redneck in training]

Back to the topic. Fuel is single largest expense in trucking. So if the truckers calculate that electric vehicle makes more money over its life then green or not will use battery powered trucks. The process of switching might be faster in trucking than in personal vehicles because the trucks age faster. I don't know the numbers but my guess is that average truck gets replaced every 4 to 5 years. My estimate is based 150k miles year when the big operators sell the trucks to small operators with 400 to 600k miles.
Additional savings might be the brakes that could last forever on the EV, no oil changes, low maintenance, much quieter operation, possibly better road handling because of low center of gravity and electronic stability control.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

I've got a job title with senior engineer in it but I would never presume to think that one's education determines all that they are capable of understanding. Shoot, some of the best engineers I've worked with don't even have a college degree.

Conversely, some of the worst I work with have Masters and PhDs. I can't tell how many meetings I have been in where people spend 20 minutes arguing about a few points to the right of the decimal on a measurement that varies by a factor of 10 units from day to day. I wind up being the bad guy because I point out that XX.8 vs. XX.4 is nothing when XX fluctuates anywhere from 10 to 20 every single day, and has a 30 day history that spans from 5 to 40.

That's why I don't understand why people want to put humans on Mars so fast. The life support systems are the most expensive part. Just send machines up there and remote control them from here.

It comes from reading too much science fiction. It's an emotional response, not a rational position.

Anyhow, I've been reading some articles on automation, and the predictions are dire for human workers. Really, there's going to be fewer and fewer things for people to do other than eat, poop and sleep.

Yep, and $15 per hour minimum wages will only hasten the day.

 

[Snobdds]

Tesla analysts have had enough of Musk's funky forecasts

Tesla is making wall street nervous. If wall street turns off the money spickets, the EV industry will be dead. Even with all the money that is being given to them, the industry is not responding like musk would like.

Now I read they want to start their own insurance company to offer insurance to their customers.
Tesla Offering Car Insurance | Tesla

Basically they're forming a captive insurance company. I can only see them doing this to hedge against their massive loss's. Their burning through money, but wall street is also sending it in by the truck load. They're going to spread their losses out, which help their earnings numbers for awhile. In about two years claims will catch up to premiums, then loss's can be exacerbated if not managed correctly.

This tells me their having to use financial engineering to keep the ship afloat. This isn't about Tesla giving their customers insurance, as any insurance company will cover an electric vehicle. This is about keeping the wall street money coming in.