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1/ A thread about $TSLA's release of Smart Summon. Which will conclude by answering this question: Why would Elon Musk unleash on the world a product that is so patently dangerous? $TSLAQ
2/ The web is now flooded with videos & written accounts demonstrating how stunningly dangerous Smart Summon is. I will offer a tiny sample in just a moment. But first this observation...
3/ Smart Summon is a stupid toy. The cars under its spell make their way across parking lots slowly, haltingly, much like, as some wag recently wrote, my 94-year-old grandfather before we took his car keys away...
4/ In every single video or account I've seen (and I've now watched or read upwards of 20), it would have saved the Tesla owner a great deal of time simply to walk to his or her car, get in it, and operate it, with human eyes, ears, and brain.
5/ We have instances showing that, but for the alertness of the driver in the other car, the Tesla would have caused an accident:
6/ We have instances in which the Tesla, operating under the spell of Smart Summon, like the broom in the Fantasia - Mickey Mouse imagining of The Sorceror's Apprentice, terrifies a human being.
7/ We have instances in which the Tesla, under the spell of Smart Summon, causes an accident which a human driver, 999 times out of 1,000, would have avoided (this one with some insurance fraud sprinkled on top):
8/ We have instances in which the half-baked & highly dangerous nature of Smart Summon is achingly obvious:
9/ We have instances in which this monstrosity causes damage to the owner's Tesla:
10/ We have instances that combine the idiocy of Smart Summon with a gravel driveway to void the Model 3 warranty:
11/ There are so many more. But I'll stop here. And ask some questions. First, is it any wonder that insurance premiums on $TSLA cars are sky high, and climbing?
12/ Second, how long before auto insurance writers begin warning their $TSLA owner policyholders that any use of Smart Summon will result in non-renewal at best, or cancellation at worst, of their policies?
14/ Finally, the question I said I would answer: Why would @elonmusk unleash upon the world a product that is so patently dangerous?
15/ Greed. And desperation. Q3 2019 is on course to feature markedly lower revenues than Q3 2018, despite 15k or so more deliveries. And, Q3 2019 is on course to feature a massive loss instead of the microscopic profit of Q3 2018.
16/ So, among the many solutions $TSLA's accounting department will be tasked to implement is a recognition of hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred revenue for "FSD".
17/ This is not cash in the door. The cash was paid by $TSLA customers who purchased FSD even though it was as yet vaporware. But under accounting principles, Tesla can recognize the cash as revenue only as & when it begins delivering the product.
18/ Mark my words. Between recognition of deferred revenue, the continuing warranty reserve fraud (classifying obvious warranty work as "goodwill"), fleet sales, financial deliveries, and characteristic opacity, Q3 2019 will be the most frauded-up quarter ever.
19/ Desperate times beget desperate measures. The safety of customers be damned. The safety of the non-$TSLA drivers, and pedestrians, be damned. Worries about saddling Tesla owners with higher insurance premiums be damned.
20/ The egomaniacal narcissist running this show will do things his way. He cares about one thing: himself. businessinsider.com/elon-musk-does…
21/ How much longer will investors, car buyers, insurers, and regulators put up with this insanity? TBD
