The calculation was for steady state fuel consumption.

Please I would like it if you were a bit more clear on what you mean with "single most important factor". I will assume you meant takeoff/landing. This was mentioned a few pages later.



I think a part of why it was not put such a large emphasis on is that it is not clear if that will be done by the vehicle or the take off site. Like with the Hyperloop where the rail gun is accelerating the vehicle rather than the vehicle using its portable energy source.

I hope I won't get roped into reading the paper now. But in response to our earlier conversation TS:

Military jets are huge. But what the paper makes a fair point, at what speeds do they travel and what is their range / full tank of fuel? Obviously you need a certain speed for lift, but if you reduce range and top speed size and costs go down quite a bit.

Further, I disagree that fuel costs have risen. That is, I don't think you are thinking about the problem fairly. Acceleration is / top speed are very important factors.

What was the cost of steam, or more accurately coal, when we first had steam engines, to travel 1000 km? Now it is unfair to compare the cost of jet fuel to that cost because you get there much faster, which has a higher utility.

But what I would expect, which is probably consistent w/ a TSLA master plan, are solar powered battery cells for quick city hopper types of vehicles. Of course batteries are heavy, and energy density, blah blah blah.

I am not trying to play devils advocate. But I do think the certainty and extremity of your position are both overdone.

It will happen. I think maybe 50/50 in the next 100 years? But it will happen.

This is a joke, right?

First time I heard it was in this thread.

It seems logical to me though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wC4rLguuYI

Regarding flying cars, Dubai will debut person carrying drones this summer:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/13/...-drones-dubai/

Just wanted to pos this here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featu...-really-boring

Its a good article by Bloomberg and certainly makes whoever posted the idea of flying cars as TSLA master plan 2.0 (and myself for referencing them) look incorrect.

Fwiw I didn't say that Tesla intends to do flying cars. Here is my quote:
And just because tunnels is a good option for many trips, doesn't mean that flying is not an option for other. Very different infrastructure costs vs vehicle costs. I see a future with a combination of different ways of travelling, hyperloop, flying, tunnels and roads.

Then I dont think it was you that I was referring to. Someone's post literally had the words "master plan" in it.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics.../uber-scandal/

Uhuh:
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/23/14...len-technology

There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat.

Uber is really good at the last one.

How would Uber know that it was stolen? I think you're blaming the wrong party in this. I have no idea how they could possibly be culpable.

Let's see. Their core guy:

- Works at Google as a key part of their autonomous driving
- Leaves and starts a company with a few employees
- 9 months later has advanced world-leading hardware and software which he sells for half a billion.

Such a thing is impossible without theft. They should have known. It's like buying The Girl with the Pearl Earing and saying "sorry your honor, I didn't know it was stolen!" Hope Google bankrupts them.

Good thing you totally pointed out that it was clear theft well before the news broke.

Well now they're culpable because they're using the stolen information.

This is what due diligence is for.

For sure. But how exactly could you tell in due diligence that the information is stolen? I'm eager to hear a non-insane explanation of this.

Do you think Baidu suffers from the same worries? Or literally any of the dozens of other places that have peeled high level Google talent in the last decade?

I appreciate that your point on this situation, but it 100% doesn't matter. Just like if I buy a stolen car fully expecting that it's legit I don't get to keep it when the police show up.

Ya. I totally agree that legally they are responsible for this. But the prior comment saying they're cheats is what rang hollow with me.

I don't even know how you'd go about finding out if this is stolen unless you simply blacklist all employees from competitors and resign yourself to utter n00blords. I think we're somewhat talking past each other on something I poorly formed. (I meant morally, not legally.)

Of course Uber cheats, it's what their business is based on. I thought this was a given.

Just so kids reading this thread don't get the wrong idea, the title of Vermeer's iconic work in English is Girl with a Pearl Earring. Also, the painting has never been stolen. For ToothSayer's analogy, I would have recommended The Concert, another Vermeer work, whose current whereabouts are unknown after it was stolen 27 years ago in a museum heist in Boston.

Expert level dodging of the topic

ny times

ars technica

Uber self-driving cars plowed through 6 red lights during their short test period in San Francisco.

Can't even respect your employees. How he argues with the driver and not try to bury the hatchet in the end shows you just how out of touch this CEO is.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-falling-fares

http://jalopnik.com/uber-is-doomed-1792634203