[Newfie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'S')o here's a hoot.

My daughter just got me to do one of these online personality tests. Seems I'm the same type as Steve Jobs.

And she is the same as Musk.

[Newfie]

Six,

What you described in Jobs above, was a marketing man. Someone who had a good intuitive feel for what people want.

With the admittedly small amount of knowledge I have, that is what Musk is doing also.

Scientific American did a small piece many years ago about how humanity is always driven to that thing which moves us fastest. We just want to go faster and faster. We want to be able to move large distances. It's a human desire, he understands that and is leveraging it.

[Newfie]

High speed rail is built upon over a hundred years of progressive engineering experience. They found to achieve those speeds they needed to build a dedicated ROW with the engineered sub ballast starting several feet down. There is a lot of trial and error learning.

While the structure is engineered it is also plastic and can deform and be brought back relatively cheaply.

Translating that to a new and different type of structure will be difficult. The forces developed are huge. A vehicle going off the track is not good. Going through an (elevated?) structural wall is worse.

Then there is the whole concept that traditional rail has a suite of existing standards and regulations. The hyperloop does not. What works and does not work would all have to be developed in scale, in an R&D environment before committing to a working system. How do you get regulators to sign off on a one off system?

My point here is to illustrate that the gentleman is appealing to our DESIRE. If it's a throwaway idea, he just put out there, then it is just to burnish his rep. It does NOT show any engineering appreciation of the concept.

He may well be a likable fellow and a berth of fresh air.

He DOES put his pants on one leg at a time.

[Newfie]

Final thought.

All of this said, he does seem to have some marketing know how. Then one has to ask, why did he make the comments about AI? That a is generally not a good way to do marketing, scaring people.

My tentative conclusion is that he must believe it. I assume that this is closer to his field of experieste and he can see a market for increasing AI. And an empowered AI.

My thought is that for something to be sufficiently threatening it would need to be self replicating.

I would like to hear more about what he feels the threat is before making a judgement.

[dinopello]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'A')ll of this said, he does seem to have some marketing know how. Then one has to ask, why did he make the comments about AI? That a is generally not a good way to do marketing, scaring people.

[Logic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'G')uys, look -- the man designed a better battery than the Boeing dreamliner for goodness sake. Boeing's batteries were exploding, Musk made his batteries with chambers that allow the heat the dissipate.

[Loki]

[Timo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'I') think Musk is a great American, we need more like him.

[Timo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'L')ook, it's not about hating Musk. But he has some screwball ideas. That whole Vacume tube transport thing. sheesh.

[Timo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Logic', 'T')hat is incorrect. Tesla modified a number of aspects of the automotive grade batteries which Panasonic had.
Their form factor is the standard 18650 form factor to leverage the price savings from a lot of those being made.

[Beery1]

Musk and Ayn Rand have a lot in common: they're both nutcases who made their money by convincing a lot of people to believe in their nutty schemes.

[Newfie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'S')o you seem to agree with me Timo: there is nothing particularly special about the Tesla. Same old penlight batteries, same old EV drive train, same old conventional aerodynamic shell (beautifully updated for the discriminating high-end consumer). What am I missing? How is it different from GM's EV-1 circa 1997?

[dinopello]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', '
')We will all be dead by killer robots within a decade!

Who agrees?

[Timo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'S')o you seem to agree with me Timo: there is nothing particularly special about the Tesla. Same old penlight batteries, same old EV drive train, same old conventional aerodynamic shell (beautifully updated for the discriminating high-end consumer). What am I missing? How is it different from GM's EV-1 circa 1997?

[Timo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'T')imo, GM builds city cars, country trucks, and armoured fighting vehicles. If they saw a market for the EV they'd build it. At one time they did. Now apparently they don't. Nor do I.