6 ms·
He was reportedly driving a 2013 Chevy Tahoe, which typically has OnStar. DARPA demonstrated the ability to hack GMC's OnStar system to remotely control brake a
by zipwitch 11y ago
He was reportedly driving a 2013 Chevy Tahoe, which typically has OnStar. DARPA demonstrated the ability to hack GMC's OnStar system to remotely control brake and throttle about a year ago. Make of that what you will.
http://jalopnik.com/darpa-hacks-gms-onstar-to-remote-control-a-chevrolet-i-1684593523 http://jalopnik.com/darpa-hacks-gms-onstar-to-remote-control...
- ank_the_elder 11y agoInteresting, but an assertion of this type without evidence only expands the universe of possibilities rather than point to anything being the cause of it.
- rubicon33 11y agoWhy would a billionaire be driving a 2013 Chevy Tahoe? Forgive me if I find that to be the most interesting part of all of this.
- mmanfrin 11y agoIs buying a new car every <2 years a requirement of being excessively wealthy?
- sriram_sun 11y agoIf it's a big SUV you can take write-offs. Here is some data from my accountant. "By way of example: $40k suv. $25k section 179. Then bonus is 50% of the $15k remaining $7500. Then a little bit of standard depreciation. So that vehicle would be a $32,500 deduction if new or $25,000 if used."
- protomyth 11y agoI know people who aren't excessively wealthy that do that. I think its a tax thing for them, plus they put a lot of miles on the car each year.
- RunawayGalaxy 11y agoI'd guess that he didn't want to ruin the Mercedes.
- nordsieck 11y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door#Car_shopping_habits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_Next_Door#Car_... Basically, one of the traits of the kind of person who accumulates a lot of wealth, is that they don't tend to spend much of it.
- JosephHatfield 11y agoMcClendon is actually an exception here; He was known for being an extravagant spender.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- gimmeabreakpal 11y agoThree things: 1. This is trivially disproved by observing people who have accumulated a lot of wealth. They spend it on dumb shit all the time. 2. Buying a Tahoe is not "spending much" if you are a billionaire. 3. Most wealthy people do not become wealthy by sticking to formulas in garbage self-help books: they inherit it, they become famous entertainers, they become successful professional athletes, they're former politicians who make insane amounts of money on speaking fees, books, and sweetheart access-based jobs. They're people who've created singular inventions or companies that produce dramatic payoffs. Sure, Warren Buffet (a wealthy, connected child who was able to access enough money to bother investing with thanks to birth advantages) had not plowed all of his earnings back into the fund, he'd be poor now. Good thing he drives shitty pickups. Bill Gates drove a Porsche when he was in his 20s. Larry Ellison owns most of the beach in Malibu and the biggest, tackiest, dumbest yacht the seas have ever had to bear. The Koch brothers are heirs. The Waltons are heirs. Michael Bloomberg has two jets and a double double townhouse in the most expensive part of Manhattan. Walton, Walton. Zuckerberg bought all the houses around his for extra privacy. Sheldon Adelson built a 50k square foot house in the wastes of Nevada. Larry Page and Sergey Brin built a fuck plane full of california king-equipped suites. I'm just going down the wikipedia list of wealthiest americans in order. Good luck becoming a billionaire by skipping out on the guac at chipotle though boss.
- jkempe11 11y agoWell, one of the most interesting features (in this case) of any Tahoe Aubrey McClendon would have been driving would be that it was very likely a CNG-converted Tahoe.
- cossatot 11y agoI was thinking the same thing, and that it was part of the reason it was 'engulfed in flames'.
- fnordfnordfnord 11y agoMy only billionaire acquaintance/friend has about a dozen cars at any time including a McClaren and all sorts of other fancy cars, but his/their everyday cars are as normal as anyone else's. They don't want to attract attention all the time, and why would they?
- superuser2 11y agoA Tahoe is a $46,000 vehicle. Would you be surprised to see a billionaire in a BMW 4-series? Roughly the same price.
- noblethrasher 11y agoSteve Ballmer famously only drives Ford vehicles out of some sense of loyalty (his dad worked for Ford).
- Nihilartikel 11y agoDriving a nice American truck could be a fairly economical way to cast a working-class identifiable public persona if that is something that he would have found valuable in his ventures.
- mywittyname 11y agoThe Tahoe is a $50-70k luxury SUV. You can get it's sister car, the Escalade for a few grand more, but the difference is mostly a half dozen screens for passengers.
- maxerickson 11y agoDo you think they remotely popped the seat belt?
- tptacek 11y agoIt's hard to think of a way in which someone could die suddenly and tragically where you can't come up with a plausible message board conspiracy theory to "explain" it.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]