Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

[jk]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

https://www.profgalloway.com/mdma

kashoggi, saudi money, softbank and the silicon valley bubble

the universe in a grain of sand

https://twitter.com/jsmian/status/1178999584737107968

[Mega]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

Saudi bet on Tesla.............that's so funny on so many levels!
Mike

[GRG55]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

kashoggi, saudi money, softbank and the silicon valley bubble

the universe in a grain of sand

https://twitter.com/jsmian/status/1178999584737107968

Thanks for the post. There's much more to Silicon Valley VC than just Saudi money, but point taken it's too large an effect not to have influence.

I got to watch v.1 of this type of Arab centered insanity up close. The combination of 9/11 and rapidly rising oil prices, in the period between the turn of the century and the gfc, resulted in an enormous concentration of "wealth" (read 'cash') in the then most stable part of the Middle East, the Gulf.

It vented into some of the greatest misallocations of capital I've ever witnessed. At one point it was said one half of all the high rise construction cranes in the world were concentrated in the tiny city-state of Dubai (apparently the other half were busy building ghost cities in China). They made a fortune selling apartments and villas to gullible expatriates. Airbus was being showered with money to deliver widebody jets as fast as it could to the fast expanding state-owned airlines of some of the smallest, lowest population "nations" on the planet. Every little former fishing village on the Trucial Coast was going to become the world's largest airline hub. Formula One tracks popped up in most unlikely locations of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi (non-alcoholic champagne only to celebrate at the podium, please). And on it went. Until the post-gfc oil price collapse reset.

What goes around, comes around...

[GRG55]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

don't fuel cells make a lot more sense as a longer term solution? i know there's a distribution system lacking, but that's also almost as true for ev's. and batteries have the problem of high weight, degredation from the heat they generate, sensitivity to cold, and slow recharge.

Thats an interesting question.
We are seeing a steady uptick in H2 fuel cell industrial vehicles...for example mega-warehouse fork lifts.
But it's a more complex propulsion system than battery-electric, so perhaps not as supportive of zero human intervention autonomous driving aspirations?

[Chomsky]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

kashoggi, saudi money, softbank and the silicon valley bubble

the universe in a grain of sand

https://twitter.com/jsmian/status/1178999584737107968

What an amazing thread.

[jk]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

Thats an interesting question.
We are seeing a steady uptick in H2 fuel cell industrial vehicles...for example mega-warehouse fork lifts.
But it's a more complex propulsion system than battery-electric, so perhaps not as supportive of zero human intervention autonomous driving aspirations?

doesn't the fuel cell generate electricity and use the same propulsion system? or am i not understanding something?

also, i know i've read somewhere about fuel cell designs that can use gasoline as fuel. then all the h2 problems disappear.

[GRG55]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

doesn't the fuel cell generate electricity and use the same propulsion system? or am i not understanding something?

also, i know i've read somewhere about fuel cell designs that can use gasoline as fuel. then all the h2 problems disappear.

The most common fuel cells for vehicle applications are proton exchange membrane cells. They use hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electricity (+ water + heat). They have the advantage of operating at comparatively low temperatures and therefor require less warm up time. They also tend to have high power output for the size and weight of the fuel cell, important in mobile applications.

The hydrogen can be supplied directly from an on board fuel tank (usually compressed H2 gas) or from an integral reformer that generates the hydrogen from a hydrocarbon source such as methane natural gas (CH4), which has more hydrogen per carbon atom than any other hydrocarbon. Theoretically any hydrocarbon can be used as the hydrogen supply for a reformer, but "pure" fuels such as methane, methanol or ethanol are preferred for consistent reformer operation. I've never heard of anyone using a complex, multi-hydrocarbon mixture such as gasoline, although there's no technical reason it could not be done.

Unlike battery EVs, fuel cell EVs don't store any electricity. The fuel cell has to make the power as it is needed. The whole process is more complex than drawing the stored energy from an externally charged battery. Whether direct hydrogen storage or equipped with a reformer, a fuel cell vehicle is more complex to refuel, start and operate compared to simply plugging in a cable on an EV, or pushing the start button and immediately driving away.

If the future is fully autonomous vehicles (I've been sceptical of that) then plug-in EVs will be a simpler solution set than fuel cell vehicles.

And fuel cells also seem to suffer from the stigma the hydrogen almost always comes from a hydrocarbon (horrors!) reformer source. The fact 85% of the electricity in the USA is from coal or natural gas sources seems not to carry the same burden when the green movement and politicians promote and subsidize battery EVs.

[jk]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

The fact 85% of the electricity in the USA is from coal or natural gas sources seems not to carry the same burden when the green movement and politicians promote and subsidize battery EVs.

the electrons are spiritually purified when they pass through the copper wires.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

the electrons are spiritually purified when they pass through the copper wires.

[GRG55]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

the electrons are spiritually purified when they pass through the copper wires.

[Mega]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

VW & ALL the others need Tesla DEAD............
If I where them I take away Tesla's trump card, massive torque @ zero rpm............give the Gas cars 48 v mild hybrid. They too can then rocket at very low speeds.

Meantime take away his market share, he can't bitch about selling at a loss because that is what he is doing

Line up lots of anti-Tesla tales on line as well.........

[GRG55]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

VW & ALL the others need Tesla DEAD............
If I where them I take away Tesla's trump card, massive torque @ zero rpm............give the Gas cars 48 v mild hybrid. They too can then rocket at very low speeds.

Meantime take away his market share, he can't bitch about selling at a loss because that is what he is doing

Line up lots of anti-Tesla tales on line as well.........

Mike: I seriously doubt any of the mainstream car companies are threatened by Tesla. It serves a useful purpose for them by being out in front; they get consumer information, feedback on various government regulatory and EV policies, pricing benchmarks, market volume and preference data, all that sort of extremely valuable information. If Tesla had not gone public it would be able to keep more of that confidential.

Every current and future competitor will want to keep Tesla alive as long as practical.

And I'm sure they view Tesla as the chaotically led company that it is - a low volume manufacturer with higher than average levels of manual labour input and thus expensive production costs, a steady outflow of executive talent, underfunded customer support, trying to flog too many models of sedans that are not different enough in a market that prefers pickup trucks and SUVs.

Even the upcoming so-called Model Y "crossover" looks suspiciously like a slightly truncated Model 3 with a lift kit added. Model 3 on top, Model Y underneath in the picture below. Gawd knows how they plan to stuff 7 people into that thing with any headroom in back.

[Mega]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

They can't make money on EV's..........they sell at a loss.
They would not have bothered but "Elon" showed it could be done!

Thus they got the diesel rug pulled from under them.....& now forced to make them.

Mike

[GRG55]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos

They can't make money on EV's..........they sell at a loss.
They would not have bothered but "Elon" showed it could be done!

Thus they got the diesel rug pulled from under them.....& now forced to make them.

Mike

If Elon had stuck with the Roadster he could have built an entire company on the "Ferrari" of EVs. Hand built in small numbers, exceptional style and technology, high margins, endless order backlog, brand status, money to advance the development of the car technology and periodically invest in new exterior bodywork and interiors.

If Elon had stuck with the Model S he could have built an entire company on the "Rolls Royce" of EVs. Hand built in small numbers, exceptional style and technology, high margins, endless order backlog, brand status, money to advance the development of the car technology and periodically invest in new exterior bodywork and interiors.

He had two chances and missed them both. And now wants to make money in EVs selling a "mass market" vehicle when there isn't a mass market of sufficient size that can actually afford the damn things. There still isn't a "$35,000" Model 3. The starting price of the cheapest model on the Tesla website ("standard range", whatever that is, and rear wheel drive) is $38,990. That is more than I have ever spent on any vehicle I have ever purchased in my entire life. And I doubt you can get one in a lifetime of waiting. The lowest cost AWD (the next model up) is $47,990. And a "Performance" version starts at $55,990.

[Mega]

Re: Reality-Distortion Field Fails for Theranos