this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2025
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At the current rate of horrible fiery deaths, FuelArc projects the Cybertruck will have 14.52 fatalities per 100,000 units — far eclipsing the Pinto's 0.85. (In absolute terms, FuelArc found, 27 Pinto drivers died in fires, while five Cybertruck drivers have suffered the same fate, at least so far.)

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I was driving out of a parking lot yesterday just as a Cybertruck started to pull in off the street from the left. The driver was white-knuckling the wheel and was frantically looking around as I assume he could barely see out of the goddamn thing as he swung so wide he nearly clipped my car. He needed almost the entire driveway to make his turn.

I cannot imagine dropping so much money on something so useless and so hideous.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

well i hate to say this (really i do), turning is actually one of the only strong points about the CT. It can do a u-turn in the same-ish radius as a model 3, much better than most vehicles in its class.

that driver was just a fucking moron

[–] [email protected] 19 points 17 hours ago

that driver was just a fucking moron

I mean, he bought a cybertruck lol

[–] [email protected] 28 points 19 hours ago

The thing is a very obvious death trap to anyone that knows simple physics. There are videos testing what happens when a Cybertruck hits a hard wall at certain speeds. That thing didn't crumple at all until speeds greater than 35 mph. And even then it only barely crumples at all. The damage it could produce hitting another vehicle would be catastrophic and fatal.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 14 hours ago

Why are we talkaing about this? Who needs this sheet?

[–] brygphilomena 4 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Do they have emergency releases on the outside? I know a locked door of a car with traditional latching mechanisms won't open. But an unlocked vehicle where a bystander cannot render aid in an emergency seems so.... Short sighted.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 19 hours ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O2fUhCCuTto

Not in the outside, but the rear releases are hidden in the door well under a vanity mat

[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago

It is on purposes. He wants a cyberpunk fantasy car. You know what you can do in many cyberpunk games? Blow up cars with the slightest of ease. They're made of explodium in some games, and in Cyberpunk 2077 there is a quickhack (like a magic spell, but cyberpunk) that can cause the car to literally explode.

Can you imagine for one second if someone managed to find a way to consistently connect to Tesla vehicles AND found a way to cause the battery to overheat and burn? The door autolock will cause the passengers to be trapped and be burned alive.

I don't think this is an accident. No one can be that stupid to make something like that by accident.

[–] [email protected] 91 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm guessing that some people at the National Transportation Safety Board are about to get fired by Elon Musk.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Safety belts are a waste of precious money!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 22 hours ago

Won't someone think of the shareholders!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 hours ago

Safe at any speed!

[–] [email protected] 207 points 1 day ago (9 children)

I love Elon Bad posts, but I think it's worthwhile to examine why Elon bad in this case.

Like many reactionaries, Elon's business philosophy is pure tech-bro-libertarianism. And like all libertarians, he's stuck in the neoliberal mindset of less regulation (don't scrutinize) and more efficiency (let me be cheap), in order to create the safe space that industrialists need to ~~extract~~, er create.

He's literally said things like (paraphrasing)

When I see a specification for three bolts I ask: why can't we do it with two?

His transparent reasoning is that if he's allowed to cut corners, he'll save money today and consequences can be dealt with when they arise.

He's following the software model of release a minimally viable product and patch it later. Only instead of user frustration at being beta testers, you fucking die maybe.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago

oh god that quote. he's so lame and fucking stupid.

I'm sure corner cutting is a concern but also he's so insecure he probably read things about Steve Jobs or something, and tried to ape him. I remember something about Jobs supposedly telling employees to reduce steps in some processes or whatever. this idiot doesn't understand anything so he thinks asking for fewer bolts is the same thing.

why can't we do it in two? cause that's how you secure things you fucking dumbass. your proud fascination for "fewer bolts" is why your hypercuck tried to kill a driver.

[–] [email protected] 86 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (10 children)

Him and his libertarian friends fuck up left and right. Crashing startups and just getting more money for another. Constant recalls. Blowing up rockets until it works.

Yet they hold the government to a standard of being perfect and high performing with no room for failure. NASA can’t be blowing up rockets. As soon as they do the world comes down on them.

And Trump is the biggest fuckup of all these guys.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 day ago

I think it's also worth noting that Elon Musk is a scammer. Every other word out of his mouth is likely a lie. He's been claiming to already have technologies available for his Tesla cars, his SpaceX rockets, etc, all ready to go and.. it never happened. Tesla full self driving? The Tesla taxis? SpaceX on Mars? The Tesla laughably stupid robots? Even those were faked.

Claims after claims for decades and literally no results

The guy is a full on bait and switch yet everyone seems to lap up everything this scammer says.

[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 day ago (6 children)

You can't use "literally" and "paraphrasing" like that.

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[–] [email protected] 215 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (32 children)

...and unlike the Pinto, because we are so deep into fucked-reality-ville, it won't get recalled.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 20 hours ago

Nah, he will just get more government grants to "fix" it. (Aren't they up to like 30% grants at this point?)

[–] [email protected] 132 points 1 day ago (18 children)

Ford's reasoning was that it was cheaper to pay out for the injuries and deaths than to change the car. Cybertruck has a much better plot armor, a fanbase that refuses to believe it's crap.

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Cybertruck will have 14.52 fatalities per 100,000 units — far eclipsing the Pinto’s 0.85.

Holy shit, that means the Cybertruck fatality rate is around 17 times higher than the Pinto's!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Do you realize how fucking insane that is? From 1921 to 1951 the rate of auto deaths dropped by around 50%, and from 1921 to 2011 the rate dropped by 90%. This is not just due to regulations on cars and pedestrian travel, but also in very large part due to crash safety in cars that steadily improved. With crash safety becoming a science, and crash test dummies being invented, and crumple zones, and air bags and seatbelts and the laws thereof.

Musk, asshole motherfucker that he is, is trying to destroy all of that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 13 hours ago

Absolutely! What's weird is that Teslas have been top-rated for crash-worthiness in the past, so there are a few possibilities I can think of:

  • They need to be top crash-worthy, because of the stupid autopilot trying its best to kill the occupants
  • They need to be top crash-worthy, because otherwise any crash at all would result in a fiery death
  • The Cybertruck is an outlier and is not as crash-worthy as the previous Teslas
  • All of the above

What was that rule of thumb for taking multiple choice tests? If you don't know the answer, always select "all of the above"?

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I was thinking “What’s that red stu—oh…” Yikes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 22 hours ago

Melted plastic... right? Yup imma say it's melted platic

[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 day ago (12 children)

The Pinto got well known for a couple of reasons.

One, the classic "exploding in a rear end collision." The design flaw here was that in certain rear collisions, the fuel tank would be pushed into the rear differential. Not only could this rupture the fuel tank, it could also produce a spark. Boom. Lots of cars had this same design in the 70s, with the fuel tank low in the rear, right behind the rear differential.

Two, the infamous Pinto Memo, which did a cost benefit analysis that determined it would be cheaper for Ford to not fix the problem, and just settle whatever cases came up. This very clearly inspired the Fight Club recall formula scene. Take note that the car used in that scene is a Lincoln Town Car, produced by Ford Motor Company.

The kicker for the Pinto recall? What they did to fix it:

  • Two sheets of 1/8" plastic, each about 18" square
  • Some long zip ties
  • Layer the two sheets over the rear diff, zip tie them to the axle

That's it. My dad pointed this out to me in his shop some time in the late 80s or early 90s. He had a Pinto in for an oil change or something, "Hey, let me show you this." It was such a hacky "repair."

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

I believe 4 of the 5 Cybertruck fatalities were from a single crash. While the truck may indeed be dangerous, there is hardly enough data yet to draw conclusions.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

yeah certainly not enough to have statistical significance

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