Tesla's Dieselgate
Elon Musk lies a lot. He lies about being a “utopian socialist.” He lies about being a “free speech absolutist.” He lies about which companies he founded:
https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-cofounder-martin-eberhard-interview-history-elon-musk-ev-market-2023-2
He lies about being the “chief engineer” of those companies:
https://www.quora.com/Was-Elon-Musk-the-actual-engineer-behind-SpaceX-and-Tesla
He lies about really stupid stuff, like claiming that comsats that share the same spectrum will deliver steady broadband speeds as they add more users who each get a narrower slice of that spectrum:
https://www.eff.org/wp/case-fiber-home-today-why-fiber-superior-medium-21st-century-broadband
The fundamental laws of physics don’t care about this bullshit, but people do. The comsat lie convinced a bunch of people that pulling fiber to all our homes is literally impossible — as though the electrical and phone lines that come to our homes now were installed by an ancient, lost civilization. Pulling new cabling isn’t a mysterious art, like embalming pharaohs. We do it all the time. One of the poorest places in America installed universal fiber with a mule named “Ole Bub”:
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-one-traffic-light-town-with-some-of-the-fastest-internet-in-the-us
Previous tech barons had “reality distortion fields,” but Musk just blithely contradicts himself and pretends he isn’t doing so, like a budget Steve Jobs. There’s an entire site devoted to cataloging Musk’s public lies:
https://elonmusk.today/
But while Musk lacks the charm of earlier Silicon Valley grifters, he’s much better than they ever were at running a long con. For years, he’s been promising “full self driving…next year.”
https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/09/herbies-revenge/#100-billion-here-100-billion-there-pretty-soon-youre-talking-real-money
He’s hasn’t delivered, but he keeps claiming he has, making Teslas some of the deadliest cars on the road:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/06/10/tesla-autopilot-crashes-elon-musk/
Tesla is a giant shell-game masquerading as a car company. The important thing about Tesla isn’t its cars, it’s Tesla’s business arrangement, the Tesla-Financial Complex:
https://pluralistic.net/2021/11/24/no-puedo-pagar-no-pagara/#Rat
Once you start unpacking Tesla’s balance sheets, you start to realize how much the company depends on government subsidies and tax-breaks, combined with selling carbon credits that make huge, planet-destroying SUVs possible, under the pretense that this is somehow good for the environment:
https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/14/for-sale-green-indulgences/#killer-analogy
But even with all those financial shenanigans, Tesla’s got an absurdly high valuation, soaring at times to 1600x its profitability:
https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/15/hoover-calling/#intangibles
That valuation represents a bet on Tesla’s ability to extract ever-higher rents from its customers. Take Tesla’s batteries: you pay for the battery when you buy your car, but you don’t own that battery. You have to rent the right to use its full capacity, with Tesla reserving the right to reduce how far you go on a charge based on your willingness to pay:
https://memex.craphound.com/2017/09/10/teslas-demon-haunted-cars-in-irmas-path-get-a-temporary-battery-life-boost/
That’s just one of the many rent-a-features that Tesla drivers have to shell out for. You don’t own your car at all: when you sell it as a used vehicle, Tesla strips out these features you paid for and makes the next driver pay again, reducing the value of your used car and transfering it to Tesla’s shareholders:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/6/21127243/tesla-model-s-autopilot-disabled-remotely-used-car-update
To maintain this rent-extraction racket, Tesla uses DRM that makes it a felony to alter your own car’s software without Tesla’s permission. This is the root of all autoenshittification:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon
This is technofeudalism. Whereas capitalists seek profits (income from selling things), feudalists seek rents (income from owning the things other people use). If Telsa were a capitalist enterprise, then entrepreneurs could enter the market and sell mods that let you unlock the functionality in your own car:
https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/11/1-in-3/#boost-50
But because Tesla is a feudal enterprise, capitalists must first secure permission from the fief, Elon Musk, who decides which companies are allowed to compete with him, and how.
Once a company owns the right to decide which software you can run, there’s no limit to the ways it can extract rent from you. Blocking you from changing your device’s software lets a company run overt scams on you. For example, they can block you from getting your car independently repaired with third-party parts.
But they can also screw you in sneaky ways. Once a device has DRM on it, Section 1201 of the DMCA makes it a felony to bypass that DRM, even for legitimate purposes. That means that your DRM-locked device can spy on you, and because no one is allowed to explore how that surveillance works, the manufacturer can be incredibly sloppy with all the personal info they gather:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/29/tesla-model-3-keeps-data-like-crash-videos-location-phone-contacts.html
All kinds of hidden anti-features can lurk in your DRM-locked car, protected from discovery, analysis and criticism by the illegality of bypassing the DRM. For example, Teslas have a hidden feature that lets them lock out their owners and summon a repo man to drive them away if you have a dispute about a late payment:
https://tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tesla-allegedly-remotely-unlocks-model-3-owners-car-uses-smart-summon-to-help-repo-agent/
DRM is a gun on the mantlepiece in Act I, and by Act III, it goes off, revealing some kind of ugly and often dangerous scam. Remember Dieselgate? Volkswagen created a line of demon-haunted cars: if they thought they were being scrutinized (by regulators measuring their emissions), they switched into a mode that traded performance for low emissions. But when they believed themselves to be unobserved, they reversed this, emitting deadly levels of NOX but delivering superior mileage.
The conversion of the VW diesel fleet into mobile gas-chambers wouldn’t have been possible without DRM. DRM adds a layer of serious criminal jeopardy to anyone attempting to reverse-engineer and study any device, from a phone to a car. DRM let Apple claim to be a champion of its users’ privacy even as it spied on them from asshole to appetite:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar
Now, Tesla is having its own Dieselgate scandal. A stunning investigation by Steve Stecklow and Norihiko Shirouzu for Reuters reveals how Tesla was able to create its own demon-haunted car, which systematically deceived drivers about its driving range, and the increasingly desperate measures the company turned to as customers discovered the ruse:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-batteries-range/
The root of the deception is very simple: Tesla mis-sells its cars by falsely claiming ranges that those cars can’t attain. Every person who ever bought a Tesla was defrauded.
But this fraud would be easy to detect. If you bought a Tesla rated for 353 miles on a charge, but the dashboard range predictor told you that your fully charged car could only go 150 miles, you’d immediately figure something was up. So your Telsa tells another lie: the range predictor tells you that you can go 353 miles.
But again, if the car continued to tell you it has 203 miles of range when it was about to run out of charge, you’d figure something was up pretty quick — like, the first time your car ran out of battery while the dashboard cheerily informed you that you had 203 miles of range left.
So Teslas tell a third lie: when the battery charge reached about 50%, the fake range is replaced with the real one. That way, drivers aren’t getting mass-stranded by the roadside, and the scam can continue.
But there’s a new problem: drivers whose cars are rated for 353 miles but can’t go anything like that far on a full charge naturally assume that something is wrong with their cars, so they start calling Tesla service and asking to have the car checked over.
This creates a problem for Tesla: those service calls can cost the company $1,000, and of course, there’s nothing wrong with the car. It’s performing exactly as designed. So Tesla created its boldest fraud yet: a boiler-room full of anti-salespeople charged with convincing people that their cars weren’t broken.
This new unit — the “diversion team” — was headquartered in a Nevada satellite office, which was equipped with a metal xylophone that would be rung in triumph every time a Tesla owner was successfully conned into thinking that their car wasn’t defrauding them.
When a Tesla owner called this boiler room, the diverter would run remote diagnostics on their car, then pronounce it fine, and chide the driver for having energy-hungry driving habits (shades of Steve Jobs’s “You’re holding it wrong”):
https://www.wired.com/2010/06/iphone-4-holding-it-wrong/
The drivers who called the Diversion Team weren’t just lied to, they were also punished. The Tesla app was silently altered so that anyone who filed a complaint about their car’s range was no longer able to book a service appointment for any reason. If their car malfunctioned, they’d have to request a callback, which could take several days.
Meanwhile, the diverters on the diversion team were instructed not to inform drivers if the remote diagnostics they performed detected any other defects in the cars.
The diversion team had a 750 complaint/week quota: to juke this stat, diverters would close the case for any driver who failed to answer the phone when they were eventually called back. The center received 2,000+ calls every week. Diverters were ordered to keep calls to five minutes or less.
Eventually, diverters were ordered to cease performing any remote diagnostics on drivers’ cars: a source told Reuters that “Thousands of customers were told there is nothing wrong with their car” without any diagnostics being performed.
Predicting EV range is an inexact science as many factors can affect battery life, notably whether a journey is uphill or downhill. Every EV automaker has to come up with a figure that represents some kind of best guess under a mix of conditions. But while other manufacturers err on the side of caution, Tesla has the most inaccurate mileage estimates in the industry, double the industry average.
Other countries’ regulators have taken note. In Korea, Tesla was fined millions and Elon Musk was personally required to state that he had deceived Tesla buyers. The Korean regulator found that the true range of Teslas under normal winter conditions was less than half of the claimed range.
Now, many companies have been run by malignant narcissists who lied compulsively — think of Thomas Edison, archnemesis of Nikola Tesla himself. The difference here isn’t merely that Musk is a deeply unfit monster of a human being — but rather, that DRM allows him to defraud his customers behind a state-enforced opaque veil. The digital computers at the heart of a Tesla aren’t just demons haunting the car, changing its performance based on whether it believes it is being observed — they also allow Musk to invoke the power of the US government to felonize anyone who tries to peer into the black box where he commits his frauds.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world
This Sunday (July 30) at 1530h, I’m appearing on a panel at Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, CA, to discuss the wonderful, award-winning “Ghost Post” Haunted Mansion project I worked on for Disney Imagineering.
Image ID [A scene out of an 11th century tome on demon-summoning called 'Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros. Anno 1057. Noli me tangere.' It depicts a demon tormenting two unlucky would-be demon-summoners who have dug up a grave in a graveyard. One summoner is held aloft by his hair, screaming; the other screams from inside the grave he is digging up. The scene has been altered to remove the demon's prominent, urinating penis, to add in a Tesla supercharger, and a red Tesla Model S nosing into the scene.]
Image:
Steve Jurvetson (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tesla_Model_S_Indoors.jpg
CC BY 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
8K notes
·
View notes
• Your special qualities and career •
( according to your Destiny number)
•For entertainment purposes only, enjoy, pls don't repost my work without my permission •
💖 MASTERLIST
💖 DESTINY MATRIX CHART
💖 MIXED PERSONA CHART OBSERVATION
----------------💫-------------------
✨ What is destiny number?
☞ A Destiny Number, also known as an Expression Number, is a numerical value calculated from the letters of an individual's full birth name. It reveals a person's life purpose, personality traits, strengths, and challenges. The Destiny Number is considered a key aspect of numerology, providing insight into an individual's potential and life path.
✨ Calculation link : here
Note : if your destiny Number comes out as 11, 22 or 33 . Don't add them, Cause these are master numbers.
• DESTINY NUMBER 1 •
•Special qualities:
Individuals with a Destiny Number of 1 are natural-born leaders, innovators, and pioneers.
They exude self-assurance and confidence, which helps them take risks and pursue their goals.
They have a strong desire to succeed and make a lasting impact.
Destiny Number 1 individuals often possess a charming and magnetic personality.
They have a natural inclination to start their own ventures and take charge of their destiny.
They are effective communicators, able to articulate their ideas and inspire others.
•Career paths:
Starting their own business or venture is a natural fit for Destiny Number 1 individuals.
They excel in executive positions, management, or leadership roles.
Careers in tech, research, and development suit their innovative nature.
Destiny Number 1 individuals thrive in creative industries like art, design, music, or writing.
Their problem-solving skills make them excellent consultants or strategists.
They are natural orators and motivators, making them great public speakers or coaches.
Their charisma and leadership abilities make them suitable for roles in politics or social activism.
• Often compatible with: Destiny no 3,5,7,9 individuals.
•DESTINY NUMBER 2 •
• Special qualities:
Exceptional listening and communication skills, able to understand and connect with others on a deep level
Strong emotional intelligence, empathy, and compassion, making them excellent counselors and friends
Diplomatic and mediating skills, able to bring people together and resolve conflicts.
Adaptable and flexible, with a ability to adjust to new situations and challenges.
Cooperative and team-oriented, with a strong sense of loyalty and commitment.
Intuitive and sensitive nature, with a strong connection to their emotions and the emotions of others.
•Careers:
Counselors, therapists, or coaches, helping others navigate life's challenges and achieve their goals
Diplomats, mediators, or negotiators, bringing people together and resolving conflicts in personal and professional settings
Human resources or personnel managers, using their emotional intelligence and communication skills to build strong teams
Teachers, trainers, or educators, inspiring and guiding others in academic and personal growth
Artists, designers, or musicians, expressing themselves creatively and bringing joy to others
Writers, poets, or journalists, using their words to inspire, educate, and connect with others
Sales or marketing professionals, using their communication skills and emotional intelligence to build strong relationships with clients and customers
Social workers or non-profit professionals, dedicating themselves to making a positive impact in their communities
•Often compatible with : Destiny number 4,6,8,9 individuals.
•DESTINY NUMBER 3•
•special qualities:
Exceptional creativity and imagination, with a talent for finding innovative solutions to problems .
Strong communication and expression skills, both verbal and written, with a ability to articulate ideas clearly and persuasively
Natural performers and entertainers, with a charisma and stage presence that draws others in
Optimistic and enthusiastic approach to life, with a ability to inspire and motivate others
Versatile and adaptable, with a ability to adjust to new situations and challenges with ease
Quick-witted and humorous, with a ability to think on their feet and come up with clever solutions
Innovative problem-solving skills, with a ability to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions
Leadership and motivational abilities, with a ability to inspire and guide others towards a common goal
• careers :
Graphic designers ie. Creating visual elements for websites, magazines and brands.painters, art exhibition, sculptors, commercial potrait and landscape photography.
Fashion designers
Writer, poet , journalists , writing and publishing books across various genres.
Theatre actors, working in movies , tv shows, commercials , musicians, or performing in various styles ballet/ hip-hop .
Public speaker/ motivational speaker/ life coach/ business coach.
Marketing and advance professionals , public relation specialist.
Teachers/ educators.
Media / entertainment professionals.
• Often compatible with : Destiny number 1,5,6 individuals.
•DESTINY NUMBER 4•
•Special Qualities:
Destiny Number 4 individuals are practical and detail-oriented, with a talent for organization and management.
They value stability and security, and work towards creating a solid foundation in their lives and careers.
Destiny Number 4 individuals are hardworking and diligent, with a willingness to put in the effort necessary to achieve their goals.
They are loyal and dedicated to their loved ones, colleagues, and causes they believe in.
Destiny Number 4 individuals are skilled problem-solvers, able to analyze situations and find practical solutions.
•Career Paths:
Destiny Number 4 individuals excel in designing and building structures, systems, and processes.
They make excellent managers, administrators, and executives, able to organize and lead teams.
Destiny Number 4 individuals are skilled in finance, accounting, and economics, and excel in careers like banking and investing.
They are detail-oriented and analytical, making them excellent scientists, researchers, and laboratory technicians.
Destiny Number 4 individuals excel in information technology, software development, and data analysis.
They make excellent healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and medical administrators.
Destiny Number 4 individuals are drawn to careers in government, public policy, and non-profit organizations.
•often compatible with: Destiny number 1,2,6,8,9 individuals.
•DESTINY NUMBER 5 •
•Special Qualities:
Destiny Number 5 individuals are highly adaptable and flexible, able to adjust to new situations and challenges with ease.
They are curious and love to learn, with a thirst for knowledge and new experiences.
Destiny Number 5 individuals are creative and innovative, with a talent for finding novel solutions to problems.
They possess excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, and are able to articulate their ideas clearly and persuasively.
Destiny Number 5 individuals value freedom and independence, and prefer careers that allow them to work autonomously.
•Career Paths:
Destiny Number 5 individuals excel in creative fields like graphic design, painting, sculpture, photography, and fashion design.
They make excellent writers, journalists, and authors, with a talent for storytelling and communication.
Destiny Number 5 individuals are curious and analytical, making them excellent researchers and scientists.
They are natural entrepreneurs, able to develop innovative products and services and launch successful startups.
Destiny Number 5 individuals excel in consulting and strategy, helping businesses and organizations improve their operations.
They make excellent teachers and educators, able to inspire and guide students in various subjects.
Destiny Number 5 individuals love to travel and explore new places, making them a great fit for careers in the travel and hospitality industry.
• Often compatible with : Destiny number 1,3,7,9 individuals.
• DESTINY NUMBER 6 •
•Special Qualities:
Destiny Number 6 individuals are responsible and reliable, taking their commitments seriously.
They value family and home life, creating a warm and nurturing environment.
Destiny Number 6 individuals have a strong desire to care for and support others.
They are loyal and dedicated to their loved ones and causes they believe in.
Destiny Number 6 individuals are skilled problem-solvers, able to find practical solutions.
They possess creative talents, often expressed through art, music, or other forms of self-expression.
•Career Paths:
Destiny Number 6 individuals make excellent nurses, doctors, and healthcare administrators.
They are caring and supportive teachers, inspiring students and fostering growth.
Destiny Number 6 individuals excel in social work, counseling, and therapy.
They express their creativity through art, music, graphic design, and other artistic pursuits.
Destiny Number 6 individuals love food and nutrition, making them excellent chefs and nutritionists.
They create warm and welcoming spaces, reflecting their love for home and family.
Destiny Number 6 individuals are drawn to careers in non-profit organizations and community service.
• often compatible with:Destiny number 2,4,8,9 individuals.
•DESTINY NUMBER 7•
•Special Qualities:
Destiny Number 7 individuals are analytical and logical, with a talent for problem-solving.
They are independent and self-sufficient, valuing freedom and autonomy.
Destiny Number 7 individuals are drawn to spirituality and philosophical pursuits.
They are curious and love to learn, with a thirst for knowledge and wisdom.
Destiny Number 7 individuals strive for perfection and have high standards.
They are introspective and reflective, with a strong connection to their inner world.
•Career Paths:
Destiny Number 7 individuals excel in scientific research, analysis, and experimentation.
They are drawn to philosophical and theological pursuits, seeking truth and understanding.
Destiny Number 7 individuals make excellent analysts, strategists, and consultants.
They are skilled writers and journalists, communicating complex ideas with clarity.
Destiny Number 7 individuals are inspiring teachers and professors, sharing their knowledge and wisdom.
They excel in software development, programming, and coding.
Destiny Number 7 individuals are skilled investigators and detectives, solving mysteries and uncovering truth.
•Often compatible with: Destiny number 1,3,5 individuals .
• DESTINY NUMBER 8•
•Special Qualities:
Destiny Number 8 individuals are natural leaders, with a strong desire to manage and direct.
They are highly ambitious and driven to succeed.
Destiny Number 8 individuals exude confidence and charisma.
They are skilled strategists, able to plan and execute plans effectively.
Destiny Number 8 individuals have a natural talent for managing finances and resources.
They command respect and authority, with a strong presence.
•Career Paths:
Destiny Number 8 individuals are well-suited for top leadership positions.
They excel in starting and running their own businesses.
Destiny Number 8 individuals are effective managers and directors.
They make excellent financial advisors, accountants, and investors.
Destiny Number 8 individuals are drawn to careers in law and justice.
They are natural politicians and government leaders.
Destiny Number 8 individuals excel in real estate development and management.
• Often compatible with:Destiny number 1,2,4,6 individuals.
• DESTINY NUMBER 9 •
•Special Qualities:
Destiny Number 9 individuals are compassionate and caring, with a strong desire to help others.
They are innovative and forward-thinking, with a vision for a better world.
Destiny Number 9 individuals are highly creative and expressive.
They are empathetic and understanding, with a strong connection to others.
Destiny Number 9 individuals possess wisdom and intuition, often gained through life experiences.
They have a broad perspective and understanding of global issues.
•Career Paths:
Destiny Number 9 individuals excel in careers helping others, such as non-profit work, social services, and charity organizations.
They are drawn to creative fields like art, music, writing, and design.
Destiny Number 9 individuals make excellent leaders, inspiring and motivating others towards a shared vision.
They are passionate about sharing knowledge and guiding others.
Destiny Number 9 individuals are often drawn to careers in sustainability, conservation, and environmental protection.
They may pursue careers in spirituality, counseling, or religious leadership.
• Often compatible with: Destiny number 1,2,4,6,7 individuals.
• MASTER DESTINY NUMBER 11•
•Special Qualities:
Master Number 11 individuals have a strong spiritual connection and intuition.
They are innovative and forward-thinking, with a vision for a better world.
Master Number 11 individuals are highly creative and expressive.
They are empathetic and understanding, with a strong connection to others.
They have the ability to illuminate the path for others and guide them towards their purpose.
Master Number 11 individuals operate at a higher level of consciousness, understanding the mysteries of the universe.
•Career Paths:
Master Number 11 individuals make excellent spiritual leaders, guides, and mentors.
They are drawn to creative fields like art, music, writing, and design, creating innovative and visionary works.
Master Number 11 individuals are natural healers, using their intuition and spiritual connection to help others.
They excel in careers that require innovative thinking and problem-solving.
Master Number 11 individuals are passionate about sharing their knowledge and guiding others towards their purpose.
They are drawn to careers helping others, such as non-profit work, social services, and charity organizations.
• Often compatible with: Master Destiny no. 22 and 33 , Destiny number 7, 9 .
• MASTER DESTINY NUMBER 22 •
•Special Qualities:
Master Number 22 individuals have the ability to turn their visions into reality.
They are natural leaders, with a strong sense of purpose and direction.
Master Number 22 individuals combine creativity with practicality to create innovative solutions.
They have the ability to manifest their desires into reality.
Master Number 22 individuals operate at a higher level of consciousness, understanding the mysteries of the universe.
They possess excellent diplomatic skills, able to balance different perspectives and interests.
• Career Paths:
Master Number 22 individuals make excellent leaders in various fields, inspiring and guiding others towards a shared vision.
They excel in careers that require innovative design and practical problem-solving.
Master Number 22 individuals are natural entrepreneurs, turning their ideas into successful businesses and products.
They are drawn to careers in diplomacy, mediation, and conflict resolution.
Master Number 22 individuals are passionate about sharing their knowledge and guiding others towards their purpose.
They excel in creative fields like art, design, and music, creating innovative and practical works.
• Often compatible with : Master destiny Number 11 and 33, destiny number 4,6,8.
• MASTER DESTINY NUMBER 33 •
• Special Qualities:
Master Number 33 individuals have a strong desire to teach and guide others.
They are deeply compassionate and caring, with a strong sense of social responsibility.
Master Number 33 individuals are highly creative and innovative.
They possess excellent listening skills and empathy, understanding others on a deep level.
Master Number 33 individuals have a strong spiritual connection, understanding the mysteries of the universe.
They are natural leaders, inspiring and guiding others towards a shared vision.
• Career Paths:
Master Number 33 individuals make excellent teachers, guides, and mentors.
They are drawn to careers in social services, non-profit organizations, and charity work.
Master Number 33 individuals excel in creative fields like art, music, writing, and design.
They are natural counselors and therapists, helping others overcome challenges.
Master Number 33 individuals are drawn to careers in spirituality, guiding others towards enlightenment.
They excel in careers that require creativity, innovation, and leadership.
• Often compatible with: Master destiny number 11 ,22 , destiny number 6,9.
-----------------💫------------------
Thanks for reading ✨
- Piko 💫
507 notes
·
View notes