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In some cases it seems like pure conspicuous consumption. The sheer impracticality of it is a badge of honor. This is not atypical for American consumerism. In
by JeremyNT 7y ago
In some cases it seems like pure conspicuous consumption. The sheer impracticality of it is a badge of honor. This is not atypical for American consumerism.
In fact, I wonder about the Tesla truck's appeal. I feel like the oversized truck's negative ecological impact is one part of its appeal, do does an electric truck actually end up selling? Here in the South, some pickup drivers modify their exhausts to spew toxic smoke ("rolling coal") which is clearly not an option with the Tesla...
- erikig 7y agoThat’s so true, trucks and SUVs like the Mercedes G Wagon, the Ford Raptor (the F150’s rowdy cousin) and maybe even the Range Rover HSE are typical Veblen Goods. They do really well in urban areas specifically because they are over-engineered and are overkill for the purpose they are used for and are not afraid to show it off. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cybertruck does well for the exact same reason.
- jfk13 7y ago"overkill" may be an unfortunate word choice, if you're the pedestrian who has a close encounter with one of these.
- Fjolsvith 7y agoA pedestrian encounter with any vehicle is likely to have the same result.
- jfk13 7y agoThe design of the vehicle has a significant impact [sorry!] on the pedestrian's chances. All those sharp edges can't be good.
- retbull 7y agoYeah but the glass breaks really easily so it should help disperse the impact.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- notabee 7y agoSomehow I think the mass and speed is far more significant than a pointy bumper.
- Green_man 7y agoThe overall height, especially of the hood is also really important for the pedestrian's chances. if a sedan hits you, ideally you can roll over the top. if a truck or suv with enough size hits you, you go under it.
- Tiktaalik 7y agoNo SUV's and trucks are wildly more dangerous to pedestrians.
- JaRail 7y agoNot that it's a guarantee but at least tesla's emergency breaking detects pedestrians already. We're still a couple years from release. I'd like to think the long-term solution is to just stop hitting pedestrians with cars.
- mensetmanusman 7y agoShould be safer with self-driving versus human-driven pedestrian crushers (SUVs)
- g4d 7y agoTIL what a Veblen Good is. Thanks
- celeritascelery 7y agoTo save others the googling > Veblen goods are types of luxury goods for which the quantity demanded increases as the price increases, an apparent contradiction of the law of demand, resulting in an upward-sloping demand curve.
- ricksharp 7y agoTIL what TIL means (also Veblen Good). So today I learned 2 things.
- Kye 7y agoThink about conspicuous energy waste with Tesla coils. Rolling coils.
- HashThis 7y agoBut clean green energy.
- danw1979 7y agoHaving learnt the term 'rolling coal' just now, I would sincerely hope the morons doing this are in a minority amongst truck drivers. I find it far more likely that conspicuous consumption is to blame for the truck/SUV trend than anti-environmentalism.
- voicedYoda 7y agoDon't come to the Midwest... Rural towns are full of folks who love to mod their trucks so they can be seen/heard/smelled.
- NorthOf33rd 7y agoOr the intermountain west. Utah is the home of the Diesel Brothers. If you want to feel like garbage, go down that hole.
- gibspaulding 7y agoYou should probably avoid ever visiting the Southeastern US...
- celeritascelery 7y agoIt is definitely a minority. If that is any consolation.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- GordonS 7y agoSame here, I went and looked it up on Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_coal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_coal I mean... why the hell would you do such a thing?!
- tripzilch 7y agoI stopped reading at "... as a form of anti-environmentalism", what the actual fuck?! And several people here, as a manner-of-fact, "oh yeah that happens in part of the country where I live". That is not normal.
- TallGuyShort 7y agoI got a speech like that from a co-worker, who has since called me to help him with my truck multiple times. Not so useless, it seems.
- lttlrck 7y agoYour co-worker is trading carbon credits. Keep it up.
- barry-cotter 7y ago> This is not atypical for American consumerism. Conspicuous consumption is an enormous part of consumerism absolutely everywhere. Wearing a $20,000 suit is conspicuous consumption to those who can tell that’s what you’re wearing but we don’t generally call it that because it’s only conspicuous if you’re in the know.
- delecti 7y agoI agree with you on many pickup purchases being conspicuous consumption, but I think you're underestimating how many people would happily display conspicuous green consumption. This has all the "look at my big powerful toy" but acceptable for someone wanting to display how environmentally aware they are.
- twic 7y ago> Here in the South, some pickup drivers modify their exhausts to spew toxic smoke ("rolling coal") which is clearly not an option with the Tesla... They could always shoot a hole in the battery pack to do that.
- coding123 7y agoI hope someone invents a "coal"-roller add-on that emits high pressurized steam (builds it up for 5 minutes, then releases it when the engine is pressed hard). But it's got to be white vapor not black, as it will need to represent the green nature of what Tesla owners are buying into.
- tripzilch 7y ago... and give validity to these assholes' hobby by playing along with their game? yeah that sounds like exactly their attitude, fun but useless.
- mojomark 7y agoI live in a city and have used my pick-up truck for 15yrs constantly to move furniture, haul trash to the dump, and bulk material (mulch, dirt, sand, pavers, etc) for myself and friends. It's a major time and money saver. Yes, parking is a PITA and the gas is horrendous. However, with the population density, the utility need to haul materials is compounded - especially now that you have increasing #'s of DIY renovations and things like urban farms. The thing I find interesting about this truck design is the angled body. It looks like it's designed for minimised radar cross section (RCS) signature, which is a military application benefit.
- keane 7y agoIndeed. It looks to be inspired by the RAH-66 Comanche stealth helicopter [1]. Currently operators are known to use (through Mil-COTS) the Toyota Hilux. Maybe Elon is after an influx of SOCOM/DARPA money for Tesla (increasing his association with Tony Stark in the process). [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing–Sikorsky_RAH-66_Comanche https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing–Sikorsky_RAH-66_Coman...