# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 256
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5104 "2023-06-08T20:35:13Z")
GM is adopting Tesla’s North American charging standard, as Ford did. One standard is a good thing! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5105 "2023-06-08T21:25:45Z")
Yeah, that doesn’t seem like pit material. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5106 "2023-06-09T22:58:32Z")
Technology Connections (on his alt channel “Technology Connextras”) has a nice run down on the differences in connectors [with snarky commentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjny4u5THpU&ab_channel=TechnologyConnextras) (40mins) . ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5107 "2023-06-11T06:55:15Z")
> Twitter has refused to pay its Google Cloud bills as its contract comes up for renewal this month Seems in keeping with the standard Musk playbook and a whole bunch of Trust and Safety moderation tools are going to go offline next month as a result. > **[Twitter stiffs Google](https://www.platformer.news/p/twitter-stiffs-google)** > > Musk won't pay his Google Cloud bill — and the company's trust and safety systems are hanging in the balance ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5108 "2023-06-11T06:59:45Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Seems in keeping with the standard Musk playbook and a whole bunch of Trust and Safety moderation tools are going to go offline next month as a result. Elon doesn’t need any of that shit. [![](https://y.yarn.co/003e6d0e-d279-47ee-b342-f529ed59adba_text.gif) ](https://y.yarn.co/003e6d0e-d279-47ee-b342-f529ed59adba_text.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5109 "2023-06-11T08:31:39Z")
“best businessman in history” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5110 "2023-06-11T08:56:12Z")
[![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52965946994_14501de2b4_o.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52965946994_14501de2b4_o.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5111 "2023-06-11T16:42:04Z")
Speaking of exploding Teslas (gift article): > **[17 fatalities, 736 crashes: The shocking toll of Tesla’s Autopilot](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/06/10/tesla-autopilot-crashes-elon-musk/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjM4MDQ2MzIiLCJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjg2NDU2MDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjg3NzUxOTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2ODY0NTYwMDAsImp0aSI6ImQ1NzcwNDU3LTAyNjgtNGE0ZS04YjBlLTA0MWU0OThkYzQ2NSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5LzIwMjMvMDYvMTAvdGVzbGEtYXV0b3BpbG90LWNyYXNoZXMtZWxvbi1tdXNrLyJ9.dfyrMgLl19NzDqXJ9JmM8PE79nlQL43pjCkyQxiQiWw&itid=gfta)** > > Crashes have surged in the past four years, reflecting the hazards associated with increasingly widespread use of Tesla’s futuristic driver-assistance tech. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5112 "2023-06-11T18:04:59Z")
To be fair, we’d need to see a comparison to human drivers on a per-mile basis. Humans aren’t very good drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5113 "2023-06-11T18:11:50Z")
What ‘fairness’ do you mean? It’s not a true Autopilot. People are supposed to remain fully in control of the vehicle at all times. People aren’t supposed to be overrelying on this tech but due to several factors people treat it as true autonomous driving. To be sure, general human stupidity is part of it. But not the only one. One factor is Musk’s decision to strip down or change some of the sensors, mostly to make things cheaper. And yet another factor is Tesla (or perhaps mostly Musk) overselling how capable the tech really is - leading many people to overconfidence in it. The types of accidents are also revealing. It appears it doesn’t do well near emergency vehicles and motorcycles - where humans would actually do better. Sure, on a flat stretch of 100 miles of straight highway without any accidents or emergency vehicles, this already does better than human beings. Near children in school zones or near ambulances? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5114 "2023-06-11T18:31:28Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Sure, on a flat stretch of 100 miles of straight highway without any accidents or emergency vehicles, this already does better than human beings. Near children in school zones or near ambulances? Not so much. Sounds like people misusing cruise control. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5115 "2023-06-11T18:49:01Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > What ‘fairness’ do you mean? It’s not a true Autopilot. People are supposed to remain fully in control of the vehicle at all times. And people aren’t supposed to drive drunk. But if you put a drunk person in the driver’s seat of a car, there’s going to be a better outcome if there’s an airbag instead of a metal spearhead or nothing at all. You will probably want to ban spearheads and promote the use of airbags, once you look over the actual numbers on the outcomes. (Though, plausibly, the spearhead will have the best outcome in driving safety… I’d happily defer to the actual numbers.) Likewise, if you put an idiot in a Tesla and let him misuse the Autopilot, in a Tesla without an Autopilot - so he can’t misuse it - or in a regular car then there will be some outcomes that you can point to that endorse an option and some which will point against some of those options. But you have to compare the numbers honestly. Just saying that people shouldn’t do something has no bearing on it. We don’t live in the world where people do what they should do. We live in the real world where, often, they don’t. If, in that world, autopilot is safer than conscious driving, then it’s still better even if people are misusing it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5116 "2023-06-11T19:17:08Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Speaking of exploding Teslas (gift article): > [https://wapo.st/3CmhrDt](https://wapo.st/3CmhrDt) That’s impossible. Teslas have had flawless full self-driving capabilities since 2015. At least, according to Elmo’s prediction in 2014. And, incidentally, Elmo’s predictions almost every year since for the miraculous arrival of FSD the following year. 🙄 Yes, full self-driving is a very hard problem. But apparently so is making accurate technology predictions, or at least it’s hard for Elmo, who according to one of his other predictions is currently living on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5117 "2023-06-11T19:38:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Yes, full self-driving is a very hard problem. No it isn’t. We have the capability now to do it, and the units can be mass produced by unskilled labor. Now, it does take 16 years or so to optimize the unit, and they are notoriously buggy for the first few years of operation. But after that, they work just fine. Better than Tesla, at least. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5118 "2023-06-11T19:44:01Z")
Yes but the upfront and continuing expense option seems to be excessive. I’ve heard that you can instead get various add-on options that have independently purchasable self-driving options admittedly with huge differences in skill, availability and cost. You can get per-instance options, or at the high end, a full-time dedicated unit or so I’ve been told! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5119 "2023-06-11T19:48:13Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Yes, full self-driving is a very hard problem. > > No it isn’t. We have the capability now to do it, and the units can be mass produced by unskilled labor. But the units do it using a very complex set of subsystems and we have very little understanding of how they work, so it’s very difficult for us to reverse engineer them! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5120 "2023-06-11T21:02:57Z")
We actually do have fully automated transport systems in practical, everyday use: > **[List of driver-less train systems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_driver-less_train_systems)** > > This is a list of driver-less train systems, which are capable of GoA3 and GoA4 (GoA3+) according to the Grade of Automation classifications specified by the standard IEC 62290‐1. These are explained diagrammatically by the UITP. This list focuses heavily on trains in the classical sense used for large-scale railways for passengers and freight but does include a few people mover systems. For a similar list for GoA2, see list of semi-automated train systems. > These systems are capable of driverles... ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5121 "2023-06-11T21:11:49Z")
Driverless trains are a good example of how difficult this is. You’d think a train would be orders of magnitude easier to automate than a car, given that the train is in a very controlled environment. And yet… > **[At least 23 die as driverless train crashes into maintenance truck](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/23/germany.topstories3)** > > A high-speed driverless magnetic levitation train ploughed into a maintenance truck in northern Germany yesterday, in an accident that casts a shadow over the future of the cutting edge technology. > **[Driverless trains under scrutiny after accident | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/569/)** > > More than a dozen people were injured when a driverless train in the city of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, suddenly started traveling the wrong way before crashing into a station buffer. The accident happened on June 1 on the Kanazawa Seaside Line. All... > **[More than 280 faults reported in technology used in driverless freight train...](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-18/final-report-released-into-driverless-freight-train/101671296)** > > Concerns were raised about the safety of remote control technology in the lead-up to a driverless freight train speeding uncontrolled for more than 20 minutes in Tasmania, ultimately resulting in two people being struck with flying debris when it was... > **[Mining giant investigates driverless vehicle accident](https://www.amsj.com.au/mining-giant-investigates-driverless-vehicle-accident/)** > > A multinational resources producer is examining what caused autonomous machinery to crash. Rio Tinto wants to know exactly how a driverless train became A multinational resources producer is examining what caused autonomous machinery to crash. > **[VIDEO: Three injured as driverless train derails in northern Italy](https://www.thelocal.it/20200819/train-derails-in-northern-italy-but-no-major-injuries-reported)** > > A train derailed on the line between Milan and Lake Como on Wednesday, but fortunately there was only one passenger on board who escaped with minor injuries. > **[2021 Kelana Jaya LRT collision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Kelana_Jaya_LRT_collision)** > > On 24 May 2021, at 20:33 local Malaysia time, a head-on collision occurred between a manually-driven empty train and an automated train carrying passengers, on the Kelana Jaya line between Kampung Baru and KLCC stations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The accident caused 213 injuries, including 166 minor injuries and 47 serious injuries. > A spokesperson for Hospital Kuala Lumpur stated that by midnight of the same day, the hospital was treating 67 patients, six in critical-care, 19 partially critic... That was just on the first Google page. The problem is that the real world is full of unknown unknowns, and a driverless vehicle must handle them safely. That likely requires reasoning and judgment, and not just a set of rules. We’re going to need something close to an Artificial General Intelligence to make autonomous driving truly safer. That’s why I always said it would take ‘decades’ to never before we had driverless cars. Now, with the advent of Large Language Models, I think it’s sooner. But it’s definitely not here yet. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5122 "2023-06-11T21:46:50Z")
ChatGPT isn’t going to drive your car anymore than Photoshop is going to. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5123 "2023-06-11T21:57:50Z")
What about AutoCAD? It has auto right in the name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=255) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=257)