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This isn’t an exercise in rescuing children or building a submersible for Musk, it’s an exercise in PR. The best that can be said is at least he’s not doing any

This isn’t an exercise in rescuing children or building a submersible for Musk, it’s an exercise in PR. The best that can be said is at least he’s not doing any harm. Designing, building, and deploying a sub for such a challenging environment, to be used by kids who don’t even drive a car is a bad joke designed to create media buzz like this article. Even if they run the O2 line in, and that’s proving difficult, one more good rainstorm and this is over, and reports talk about a brewing storm. It’s going to be risky, but their only realistic chance barring lots of luck, is SCUBA. That will not be easy, but at least it’s a chance. A highly technical dive with three tank swaps for a bunch of weak, terrified kids who have never dived before is a nightmare. I really hope they make it, but it’s hard to be optimistic here.

maxbond 8y ago
I'm also wary of Musk's involvement. Lately I've seen a lot of stories about him over promising and cutting corners on safety to meet the goals, such as the recent story about removing a break test from the Model 3 [1] (presumably to meet the 5k/mo production goal) or the accidents directly attributable to Autopilot (slamming into a concrete divider while merging, hitting stationary cars while parking, etc - all of which may have been prevented by LIDAR. I'm logging off soon & don't have time to cite these, apologies.). [1] http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-orders-engineers-to-stop-brake-and-roll-testing-2018-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-orders-engine... Edit: More than Musk's involvement I think we share trepidation about how he is perceived by the media and even by people on HN (though I won't name names). I'm tired of seeing Musk portrayed as a superhero, and anyone who wants his companies to succeed should be, too. There is a popular narrative that the whole company is on his shoulders - as if he wasn't employing a team of engineers - and that he is going to personally deliver our species from peril. Those massive expectations can only precede massive disappointment, and such a careful cultivation of a superhero persona makes me wonder if he's trying to distract us from something rotten.
stretchwithme 8y ago
Who says the kids will have to operate the sub? They can probably just pull it through.

maxbond 8y ago

I'm also wary of Musk's involvement. Lately I've seen a lot of stories about him over promising and cutting corners on safety to meet the goals, such as the recent story about removing a break test from the Model 3 [1] (presumably to meet the 5k/mo production goal) or the accidents directly attributable to Autopilot (slamming into a concrete divider while merging, hitting stationary cars while parking, etc - all of which may have been prevented by LIDAR. I'm logging off soon & don't have time to cite these, apologies.). [1] http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-orders-engineers-to-stop-brake-and-roll-testing-2018-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-orders-engine... Edit: More than Musk's involvement I think we share trepidation about how he is perceived by the media and even by people on HN (though I won't name names). I'm tired of seeing Musk portrayed as a superhero, and anyone who wants his companies to succeed should be, too. There is a popular narrative that the whole company is on his shoulders - as if he wasn't employing a team of engineers - and that he is going to personally deliver our species from peril. Those massive expectations can only precede massive disappointment, and such a careful cultivation of a superhero persona makes me wonder if he's trying to distract us from something rotten.

stretchwithme 8y ago

Who says the kids will have to operate the sub? They can probably just pull it through.