2.2M views · May 17, 2024 · 20:10 · 0 HN recommenders · 15 mentions · discussed 2024–2026
Engineering Explained follows up on Tesla's claim that a Cybertruck towing a Porsche 911 could beat the 911 alone over a quarter mile. He walks through the MotorTrend drag race and explains why the claim did not hold up.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN uses it almost entirely as evidence in criticism of Tesla's marketing claims, repeating that Tesla never ran the quarter mile it advertised.
“Analysis by Engineering Explained”HN comment, 2024
“Analysis by Engineering Explained”
Engineering Explained's analysis of the Cybertruck vs Porsche race.
Jointly done by MotorTrend, Engineering Explained, and Out of Spec Motoring. Analysis by Engineering Explained: this video Out of Spec Motoring's video: link
“Tesla went ahead and lied about it”
> You also have to remember that Tesla doesn't advertise. It's funny how persistent this myth is. Tesla has always advertised. Here's an ad from almost 5 years ago. Tesla's YouTube channel is nothing but ads: link Tesla ads to benefit Twitter: link link Tesla's advertising to try to convince shareholders to approve Musk's pay package: link It's a shame that Tesla has a tendency to lie in its ads, especially about things as trivial as quarter mile times where there's simply no need to lie. But Tesla went ahead and lied about it: link this video
“The Cybertruck didn't outperform a Porsche 911 while towing a 911. Tesla lied to you.”
The Cybertruck didn't outperform a Porsche 911 while towing a 911. Tesla lied to you. Elon lied to you: link this video link You have swallowed Tesla's advertising hook, line, and sinker. There's no point in repeating Tesla's lies.
“Maybe it's because Tesla lies about things as dumb as quarter mile times.”
Or maybe it's because Musk runs around calling people pedophiles: link Maybe it's because his behavior is increasingly erratic and he doesn't seem to care about Tesla anymore: link Maybe it's because Tesla employees describe him as a pigeon CEO because "he comes in, shits all over us, and then leaves.": link Maybe it's because he advocates for the submission of Taiwan to China: link And for the submission of Ukraine to Russia: link Maybe it's because he says "China rocks" while the US is full of "complacency and entitlement": link Maybe it's because he pledged his commitment to China's core socialist values: link Maybe it's because he called California's covid measures "fascist": link But praised China because "Shanghai's COVID-19 measures helped lay the foundation for the city's future development": link Maybe it's because in 2016 Tesla claimed "that, as of today, all Tesla vehicles produced in our factory – including Model 3 – will have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver" . That was a lie: link Maybe it's because Tesla lies about things as dumb as quarter mile times. There's simply no need to lie about it, but lying is just too much a part of the company culture: link this video link And so on and so forth. There's a lot not to like.
“Tesla never even ran the quarter mile.”
The plug is just a plug. The more important part is the charging protocol and standard. That's CCS going forward. CCS now supports three plug types: Type 1 combo, Type 2 combo, and J3400. Older Teslas can't charge on these chargers because they don't have CCS support. Those cars will need to get a CCS retrofit. In general you shouldn't take anything Tesla says at face value. Lying is just too much a part of the company culture at Tesla. Tesla lies about things as dumb as quarter mile stunts. There was absolutely no need to lie about it, yet they just couldn't help themselves and they went ahead and lied about it anyway: link this video link Tesla never even ran the quarter mile. And the worst thing about it is the Cybertruck's lead engineer trying to rationalize the lie: link When your engineers lack commitment to basic honesty then you've got a sick company culture.
“Tesla never ran that quarter mile.”
The problem is Tesla and Musk have been lying about full self-driving for years: link In 2016 Tesla said that "as of today, all Tesla vehicles produced in our factory – including Model 3 – will have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver." That was a lie: link Tesla even lies about things as dumb as Cybertruck quarter mile times: link this video link Tesla never ran that quarter mile. And the worst thing about it was the Cybertruck's lead engineer trying to rationalize the lie: link When your engineers lack commitment to basic honesty then you've got a sick company culture. Lying is just too much a part of the culture at Tesla. Musk clearly doesn't value honesty or credibility.
“Tesla lied about the Cybertruck towing a Porsche over a quarter mile.”
Lying is part of the company culture at Tesla. For example, Tesla lied about the Cybertruck towing a Porsche over a quarter mile. It's a dumb thing to lie about, there was absolutely no need to lie about it, and yet Tesla went ahead and lied: link link this video Tesla never ran that quarter mile. And the worst thing about it was the Cybertruck's lead engineer trying to rationalize the lie: link When your engineers lack commitment to basic honesty then you've got a sick company culture. You can't take anything Musk or Tesla says at face value.
“Tesla never even ran that quarter mile.”
Musk has no commitment to the truth or even reality. He lies constantly. He lies about things there's simply no need to lie about. He can't help himself. He's spent 10 years lying about Tesla's full self-driving: link link He lies about being good at video games: link He lies about Cybertruck quarter mile times: link this video Tesla never even ran that quarter mile. When your engineers don't have commitment to basic honesty then you've got a rotten company. And the fish rots from the head: link He enjoys and promotes conspiracy theories: link He dabbles in antisemitism: link He stokes partisan division over the Los Angeles fires: link And so on and so on. X is an endless swamp of falsehoods with Musk himself spreading as much of it as he can. Without facts America will have no past and no future. America will be stuck in an eternal present, just like Russia. This is Musk's attempt at a Russification of America. America's in trouble.
“Tesla never ran the quarter mile that they claimed to.”
> How can Tesla advertise a “more accurate” number if they are required by regulation to use EPA estimate? By also providing the worst case scenario numbers in addition to the EPA numbers. Tesla could simply do a highway range test at 70mph, ideally in Winter: link They could also show towing range: link There's nothing stopping Tesla showing these things. The one time Tesla did a towing demonstration those numbers turned out to be lies. Tesla never ran the quarter mile that they claimed to. When even your engineers lack basic honesty you've got a sick company culture: link this video link
“There's no value in believing Tesla's lies”
> It can apparently outrace a Porsche 911, while simultaneously towing a Porsche 911. There's no value in believing Tesla's lies: link this video It's such a dumb thing to lie about but lying is just part of the company culture at Tesla. Here's the lead engineer of the Cybertruck trying to rationalize the lies: link When not even your engineers possess basic honesty then you've got a sick company culture.
“like quarter mile times of the Cybertruck”
The work of many talented engineers at Tesla is dismissed by Musk: link Some engineers have become so corrupted by the culture of lying of Tesla that they're willing to lie about things that there's no need to lie about, like quarter mile times of the Cybertruck: link this video The lead engineer on the Cybertruck sadly tried to defend the lie, while admitting that they never even ran that quarter mile: link
“They never even ran that quarter mile.”
Tesla doesn't cultivate an engineering culture. Tesla encourages a culture of lying. Some engineers have become so corrupted by it that they're willing to lie about things that there's no need to lie about, like quarter mile times of the Cybertruck: link this video The lead engineer on the Cybertruck sadly tried to defend the lie: link They never even ran that quarter mile.
“Here are some bad arguments and false claims from Tesla about how fast the Cybertruck is”
> I strongly believe that criticising bad arguments and correcting false claims is especially important You're against bad arguments and false claims? Cool! Here are some bad arguments and false claims from Tesla about how fast the Cybertruck is: link link this video I look forward to your criticisms of Tesla's bad arguments and corrections of Tesla's false claims. But maybe we should just call them what they are: lies.
“That's not evidence, that's advertising.”
Dude. That's not evidence, that's advertising. You're taking at face value a claim made by a company that has lied continuously for over a decade about the self-driving capabilities of their cars: link link Remember how there were supposed to be 1 million robotaxis on the road by 2020: link Lying is part of the company culture at Tesla. They even lie about dumb things there's simply no need to lie about, but they go ahead and lie anyway: link link this video It's not rational to swallow Tesla's lies hook, line, and sinker. If you can't produce independent verification of Tesla's claims then there's nothing to talk about.
“Tesla never ran that quarter mile”
Why do you want the articles to be "positive" or "negative"? Why do you not want them to simply be the fact of the matter? If you want more good news about Tesla then perhaps Tesla should be better run. Perhaps Tesla should abandon their policy of constantly lying. Tesla's been lying continuously about full self-driving for a decade. Tesla lies about dumb things there's no need to lie about like how fast the Cybertruck is: link link this video Tesla never ran that quarter mile, a lie which the lead Cybertruck engineer pathetically tried to defend. When even your engineers can't achieve basic honesty then you've got a sick company culture: link What "positive" spin do you want to see on these lies?
