I'll say this, I preordered both a Rivian and a Cybertruck when they announced and I purchased the Rivian because it was available roughly 2 years before the Cybertruck even started deliveries.
I've had some small teething problems with the truck but it has been the best vehicle I've ever driven. It works perfectly as a regular daily driver but I can load my SCUBA gear and tanks into the back, and go off-road, get a bunch of dives in, and be back to my truck that I've outfitted with fresh water for a shower, a fridge in the frunk for snacks and drinks, and a gear tunnel with dry and warm clothes.
Now that I can charge on the Supercharger network, the truck has just gotten even better since I no longer have to plan out my charging as carefully. The Rivian is built like a tank, it's handled everything I've thrown at it in stride, and the Rivian software folks have been making progress month after month.
I'm so glad that I bought a Rivian but really, I'm even more glad that I didn't buy a Cybertruck given the absolutely disastrous launch that its had. Just off the top of my head, I've heard of wheels falling off, trim falling off, tonneau cover nonfunctional and non removable, 20% less range than marketed, accelerator pedal falling off and sticking, PRNDL falling off, seats that creak and wiggle, poor offroading capabilities, red screen of death, FSD driving the truck into the wrong lanes, and I'm sure there are many other issues that I've not even heard about.
As a long time Tesla owner (I was an early adopter of the first gen Model S), I expected the overpromise and underdelivery of their products, but I'm pretty sure I'm never going back to Tesla if Rivian and other auto companies deliver better value and quality EVs.
> I'm pretty sure I'm never going back to Tesla if Rivian and other auto companies deliver better value and quality EVs
Which is a very sober and reasonable statement. If other companies deliver better value and quality, the only reason to buy a Tesla would be brand-loyalty (which is not a good reason to compromise on value/quality)
As mentioned, I had a few teething issues with the Rivian (mostly car noise and a leaky AC) so I was able to try out some other EVs while the truck was in the shop. I'll say that companies like Hyundai, Ford, and Mercedes have really come a long way in building EVs and all three of those are at least as good as Tesla if not better.
In my area, I can lease an entry-level Mercedes EV (I forget what they're called) something like 20-30% cheaper than I can get a Model 3. The entry-level Mercedes is decidedly worse than the Model 3, but you can't beat the pricing for what is still a very solid car (with more space and better sound quality to boot).
Seems like Rivian has a great product, but it's unclear whether the company is going to make it. If someone believed that the company will ultimately succeed and achieve scale, they should buy stock. It's very cheap.
It's really unfortunate that Rivian hasn't scaled. To me, their struggles really show how difficult of an industry it is and how small mistakes can really ruin an otherwise solid showing.
Gotta give kudos to Elon for dragging Tesla through the same hurdles and coming out on top with a profitable vehicle.
That was true before the software update that enabled the lockers. YouTube channels like TFL did a before/after video and it’s actually pretty good now.
It has lockers and huge ground clearance after all. Of course it is hindered by its huge length compared to a wrangler, but of course it’s not in the same class. It does better than an f150 for example.
Also the stock tires are crap for real off-roading, and hardly anyone knows you need to air down.
(Disclaimer: never owned a Tesla, but I off road 4x4s around the world for a living)
I guess I made that statement partially looking directly at the Cybertruck's actual performance and partially looking at the Cybertruck relative to other offroading vehicles.
The reality of the situation for the Cybertruck is that it's a pretty heavy vehicle (with as you mention) not great stock tires -- but everyone knows that. The absolute biggest issue with it though is that the tie rods for all 4 wheels don't seem to be adequate -- especially if you're coming down pretty hard on a single corner. There are countless videos out there where you see Cybertrucks with floppy wheels -- especially out offroading.
Secondly, the Cybertruck has sub-par departure angles where the hitch just gets dragged along the ground. Combined with the realization that the hitch is only rated for 160lbs of vertical load (and it's structurally attached to the frame with aluminum -- which cracks, not bends). I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable doing much beyond just bumpy roads with the truck.
Finally, the breakover angle is just not good at all either. Ground clearance doesn't mean much when the wheelbase is so long. The Rivian sits at about 15 inches of clearance with stock wheels and the Cybertruck comes in about 5% shorter at 14.4 inches. Not only that, but the Cybertruck also has a 5% longer wheelbase than the Rivian and its suspension does not articulate as much -- especially at full lift.
Real world, this means that the Rivian's departure angle in the truck is 30 degrees (plus a little more). The Cybertruck sits at 24.7 degrees in its drivable mode (it goes up to ~27 degrees if you have it in the crawl "extract" mode). There's also a 3.5ish difference in breakover angle as well.
Relative to other "standard" offroading 4x4s like the Rubicon/Wrangler or Land Cruisers, the Rivian is at best average and the Cybertruck is decidedly worse. Couple that with the R1T being able to independently power each wheel, the Cybertruck is IMO more recreational than proper off-road.
I'm not here to gatekeep so I will point out the obvious and say that the Cybertruck is for sure, a better offroading vehicle compared to most recreational/luxury vehicles out there. I'm just not sure that I'd qualify it as anything better than "okay?".
> Relative to other "standard" offroading 4x4s like the Rubicon/Wrangler or Land Cruisers, the Rivian is at best average and the Cybertruck is decidedly worse
But it's pointless to compare the Cybertruck to a Wrangler or Land Cruiser. It can tow more than 3x as much, payload is more than double, it can seat five people and still have a hug amount of cargo and of course it's way, way, way longer (and wider).
It only makes sense to compare it to an F-150, Ram 1500, Rivian, etc.
In which case it is really not bad off road at all.
> As a long time Tesla owner (I was an early adopter of the first gen Model S), I expected the overpromise and underdelivery of their products, but I'm pretty sure I'm never going back to Tesla if Rivian and other auto companies deliver better value and quality EVs.
Indeed, I own several Teslas and cancelled my Cybertruck reservation after seeing how bad the product was up close (and absolutely not worth what they were asking for it). I ordered an F150 Lightning instead.
It's because the article uses a different source than you for total revenue. If you look at the wiki page titled: "List of largest companies in the United States by revenue" [1], it lists Centene as 22nd with a slightly outdated ~$154B in revenue.
You should know the author was referencing American companies because your second line of your post reads, "One of the 25 largest corporations in America, Centene brings in more revenue...". If you look at your 'Companies Market Cap' site, you'll actually see that it includes a global set of corporations including, but not limited to, Saudi Aramco (KSA), Sinopec (CN), Petro China (CN), Volkswagen (DE), China State Engineering (CN),Toyota (JPN), JBS (BRA) etc. And those were the only ones I saw without scrolling.
I have issues with the way that author wrote her article, but I have even more of an issue with commenters like you who don't actually take the time to read or comprehend the matter at hand. You just come into a comment section with the intention of trying to prove your preconceived perspective.
The point of this article, if it's not clear, is that certain health insurers do not do a good job advocating for their insureds and do not fulfil their end of the contract. In this scenario, it seems like one could make a good argument that this lead to the death of a young man wrestling with alcoholism. It's obvious, if you read the other comments here, that the real story are the sweeping complaints of the private healthcare system in the US in general as many others seem to have had similar issues.
I'm not sure what exactly their NPM has to do with this discussion. Other, seemingly better insurers (both larger in scale and fewer complaints by customers) post margins that are more than double of Centene so it seems like Centene should take your advice and either go out of business or do a better job running their existing business.
I've had to deal with my fair share of frivolous lawsuits (the ADA is a well meaning, poorly implemented set of rules).
However, in this case, I wouldn't classify Sheehan's work as being parasitic. Companies are obviously being misleading and deceitful in order to sell more of their product. It makes sense to me that someone is out there holding their feet to the fire and forces them accurately market what they make.
I don't think it's obvious at all. "Smokehouse" can simply refer to an added smokey flavor. I don't think it's _necessarily_ implied that their product _has_ to be smoked according to any particular method, or it's falsely advertised. 11 lawsuits for that?
If one were to advertise an added smokey flavor, then marketing it as "smokey" or "smoked" (assuming the product was actually smoked) is correct.
Just like how 'organic' has a specific definition, a 'smokehouse' is: "a building where meat or fish is cured by means of dense smoke" [0]. So if the product is not cured in dense smoke in a building, then it cannot be marketed as smokehouse{d}.
It's as easy as using specific terminology to market their product. The fact that food producers don't, indicates to me that they're either stupid (and unaware of what words mean) or it's done maliciously (to mislead people).
Probably in the sense that at a slower speed, op would have been able to avoid the bad driving from the other driver. Assuming that OP was driving at 60kph originally, a 15kph slower speed equates to a roughly 0.75 extra seconds of reaction time (assuming braking acceleration is roughly 7.5m/s2). Given that an average humans reaction time is somewhere between 0.25-0.5 seconds, that means 15kph speed difference would have allowed OP to react and affect the situation. Even at higher initial speeds, 15kph gives your more than half a second extra time.
As some other users have noticed, this particular author's syntax is a bit aggressive. The author of this opinion piece, Edward Ring, is the founder of the California Policy Center; according to Wikipedia, the CPC is a "conservative and libertarian public policy think tank".
In the last two weeks, he's penned and published writing like:
"Few on the American Right are unaware of Anheuser-Busch’s recent foray into woke politics. Taking their regular customers for granted, the once-great American company “partnered” with a transsexual person" [1]
or
"construct low cost, minimum security detention facilities, and classify them as “permanent supportive housing.” Locate them on state owned land in rural areas with mild winters, and set up at least three types. One for criminals, one for drug addicts and alcoholics, and one for the mentally ill" [2]
or
"By adhering to junk science, promulgated by the billionaire-fueled “renewables” lobby and abetted by institutions filled with cowards who dare not touch the third rail of California politics – the “climate emergency.” Phony, futile but draconian measures to mitigate this concocted crisis are the main reason everything is unaffordable in California." [3]
Some of Edward's points ring true -- especially when he writes about certain things like slow bureaucracy that plagues Californian municipal and state governments. But I have a problem with this kind of extremist (and poorly researched+presented) writing. I'm not an expert on watersheds and so on, but based on Edward's prior writings, I'm also pretty sure he's not an expert either. What gives him the authority to be so dismissive against (what I presume) is policy driven by science?
This is also a mild rant against the awful selection of opinion writers for the WSJ Opinion pages as they often are cast from the same mold as Mr. Ring.
Yep, in the last few years, there's been quite a lot of movement in the shipping industry to add wind-assist devices to existing/new ships. Michelin [1] is basically doing what you suggest. Maersk and Cargill [2] are also working on technologies that harness wind to decrease fossil fuel use. Oceanbird [3] is working on wing-style sails that they claim can basically move a cargo ship along at ~10kts.
How does one even attach a sail to a cargo ship that would move it at 10 knots? I'm not an engineer so it might even be obvious, but it seems like the mast would have to exert an incredible amount of force on the ship.
Then again, I guess the same applies to old sailing ship and they figured it out. It just boggles my mind.
Traditionally I believe the masts were held vertical by ropes, I imagine the force transferred through them (by tension) not the stiffness of the mast. But I'm far from an expert.
For those who didn't take the bit of time to read the case study linked on the homepage of the OP, it answers the obvious question of "well isn't latency a problem?". It's well written and lays out some neat ideas.
For those who are too lazy -- TL;DR:
The software allows players to set up servers easily so if a band is geographically close, but remotely dialing in, latency is reduced. The software is intended to be used as the primary method of sound feedback so it's advised that amps are turned off and earplugs/headphones are used to block out "local" sound. And finally, the author of the case study found that their experience with latency was between 30-70ms and that was more than acceptable. The only problem stemming from this latency was that songs with fast drum fills needed some adjustments to slow down the drum fills.
I highly recommend Will Prowse's channel who extensively covers batteries, solar panels, invertors and other home solar stuff: https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProwse
I've ordered twice, and plan to order another 5kw soon
After having 2 unbranded circuit breakers fail on me. Everything else will be Blue Sea, or Victron. They're the most expensive, but they feel as high quality as they are expensive which makes it worth it. Especially considering the alternative is explosions followed by fire.
Victron is bullet proof. I've seen their inverters used aboard working vessels for decade after decade without so much as a glitch. Highly recommended.
Looked them up and for LiFePo4 batteries they seem to charge several times the eBay prices. What could they possibly be offering at that premium, given that it's almost certain they don't make the batteries themselves?
Victron isn't exactly a bargain basement supplier, the people that buy their stuff depend on it for their lives. Their quality control, spares supplies and longevity are second to none, that goes for chargers, inverters and battery systems. If you're not worried about having power, having your inverter fail when you need it most, have your batteries in an outdoor enclosure of their own then you can skimp on all of this, probably cheapest option would then be to use reclaimed batteries and some cheap Chinese sine wave (for some definition of sine wave, most of them are 4 bit modified square wave that are run through a large transformer to smooth out the curve) inverter. That way you get a lot of bang for your buck, and even if the inverter ever dies you can just get a new one.
But when you are putting together a system that simply needs to work and that outputs clean power then you have very few companies that are that well supported. I've used Xantrex, Sunpower, Victron, ABB and a bunch of noname stuff. I'm sure there are plenty of others. The only one that comes close in design quality is ABB, Xantrex used to be good but it has gone down tremendously in the last decade and a half, the remainder I will never use again.
They're already top balanced grade A cells versus grade B cells. They're also the cells used in industrial mining, so they're able to tolerate vibration and movement.
> Why buy something that might explode from a trustworthy business, when it's cheaper out the back of some dudes car.
IIRC one of the main advantages of LiFePo4 batteries is that they can't "explode" under the normal circumstances. And if they buy batteries in China anyway, then why not buy from China as well? I'd understand 20-30% premium, but not 200-300%.
Think 'hospital', certified power, military, off-shore (vessels, platforms, emergency power and so on).
For a system that is bullet proof and where there are very strict requirements it makes sense to spend that money, for your homebrew system it likely doesn't, but you can pick up their inverters for a good discount at the various surplus auction sites with some regularity and that's the best of both worlds: great quality at a reasonable price.
You're opening a whole can of worms in trying to decide what LiFePO4 batteries to buy. There's tons of options, prices have been dropping precipitously this year across the board.
The first question to ask yourself is if you want the comfort of a high quality warranty or would you like the cheapest possible price per kWh?
In my RV, in May, I went with somewhat high-end Battleborn Batteries. They have a great warranty, which has come in handy as one of the batteries I bought experienced an issue and needed to be sent in for repair. They paid for shipping in both directions.
That being said, nowadays even just a few months later, I might decide to "self-insure" given how good the cheaper batteries have gotten.
I've had some small teething problems with the truck but it has been the best vehicle I've ever driven. It works perfectly as a regular daily driver but I can load my SCUBA gear and tanks into the back, and go off-road, get a bunch of dives in, and be back to my truck that I've outfitted with fresh water for a shower, a fridge in the frunk for snacks and drinks, and a gear tunnel with dry and warm clothes.
Now that I can charge on the Supercharger network, the truck has just gotten even better since I no longer have to plan out my charging as carefully. The Rivian is built like a tank, it's handled everything I've thrown at it in stride, and the Rivian software folks have been making progress month after month.
I'm so glad that I bought a Rivian but really, I'm even more glad that I didn't buy a Cybertruck given the absolutely disastrous launch that its had. Just off the top of my head, I've heard of wheels falling off, trim falling off, tonneau cover nonfunctional and non removable, 20% less range than marketed, accelerator pedal falling off and sticking, PRNDL falling off, seats that creak and wiggle, poor offroading capabilities, red screen of death, FSD driving the truck into the wrong lanes, and I'm sure there are many other issues that I've not even heard about.
As a long time Tesla owner (I was an early adopter of the first gen Model S), I expected the overpromise and underdelivery of their products, but I'm pretty sure I'm never going back to Tesla if Rivian and other auto companies deliver better value and quality EVs.