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Re:Tesla unveils its new ‘sleek and low-profile’ solar panel... by makomk on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @04:31AM (#14085857)
You may also recall that Tesla had immense problems making car door handles that actually work reliably (and the same with the doors themselves), largely because they prioritized fancy aesthetics over sound engineering. If they've taken the same approach with their solar panels, this would be completely unsuprising.
Re:Tesla unveils its new ‘sleek and low-profile’ solar panel... by zackbloom on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @05:37AM (#14086151)
They prioritized fancy aesthetics over simplicity, not over sound engineering. Unless you believe sound engineering is just never doing hard things.

The doors were new, they were complicated, they took time. I don't think they revealed any fundamental engineering weaknesses of the company, just a reminder that anything new is hard.

Re:Tesla unveils its new ‘sleek and low-profile’ solar panel... by clock_tower on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @11:38AM (#14088975)
Were the seatbelt bolts new and complicated?
Re:Tesla unveils its new ‘sleek and low-profile’ solar panel... by manicdee on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @11:19PM (#14094470)
Is having the diff not rupture the fuel tank and set the car on fire new and complicated?

Is having the engine block not spontaneously catch fire new and complicated?

I love this game!

Re:Tesla unveils its new ‘sleek and low-profile’ solar panel... by clock_tower on Wednesday April 12, 2017 @09:42PM (#14103413)
Your choice of analogy is revealing: these were problems at Ford, as near as I can tell. (The first sounds like the Pinto.) Show me Tesla-scale problems at BMW or Audi, and I might take Musk's hilarious claim that he'll bankrupt those companies a little more seriously.

You remind me of how Americans talk about how the US is the best country in the world, and then compare themselves to Nicuragua or Afghanistan or Somalia or thereabouts. Sure, you can beat the astonishingly dysfunctional, but how do you compare against your real peers?

(Disclaimer: Musk knows what he's doing in space, to say the least, even though his car company is astonishingly dysfunctional. I hope he has the sense to keep SpaceX and Tesla independent!)