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While I definitely don't want to come across as unsympathetic or uncaring towards those with disabilities, I am quite frustrated by tone of this article. Yes,

While I definitely don't want to come across as unsympathetic or uncaring towards those with disabilities, I am quite frustrated by tone of this article. Yes, putting the battery in the floor makes the current ways that disabled people modify their vehicles to be more friendly easier, however, the need to modify the vehicle is not unique to EVs - they were already taking non friendly vehicles and making them friendlier. > "We shouldn’t just be behind the wheel of electric cars, we should also be calling the shots on how to build them." I'm also all for more diversity and representation in engineering (what percentage of companies have people with mobility needs on their engineering teams?) however it fundamentally doesn't make sense to take any group brought together by a particular need and have them design something for mass consumption. It kind of feels like a "hit piece", as the author paints this specifically about how "big EV" doesn't care about disabled people instead of suggesting ways that the situation can be improved.

elliekelly 5y ago
> however it fundamentally doesn't make sense to take any group brought together by a particular need and have them design something for mass consumption I see this line of thinking a lot when disability discussions come up and I think it’s fundamentally flawed. People with disabilities aren’t a homogeneous “group of people brought together by a particular need” - quite the opposite. They have many different and varied needs. The accommodations they seek are often the same I see developers griping about on HN every day: interoperability, hardware standards, and enough flexibility for the owner to decide what works best for them rather than the manufacturer. Why is it perfectly acceptable for us to have these complaints about MacBook hard drives and batteries but a “hit piece” when people in need of accommodation have similar complaints about Tesla batteries?
- Chris2048 5y ago
  It's fine to complain about both things. The difference is how it's represented: as discriminatory. It's also of note that for all the complaints, right to repair isn't unanimously supported on HN either. Finally, one of the big issues of interoperability / hardware standards is not accommodation, but outright hostility (purposefully changing things often, making them hard to modify by design or law).
wolverine876 5y ago
> It kind of feels like a "hit piece" Is your comment a hit piece? The comment is mostly about the article; it doesn't much add to our knowledge of disabled people using electric cars. Every article posted on HN receives similar responses. They seem like hit pieces to me. What can we learn from those motivations?
AtlasBarfed 5y ago
A flat skateboard design, which is Tesla's current approach, VW's approach, and virtually everyone else making dedicated EV platforms, should enable ramps just fine I would think. EVs because of this skateboard and the lack of need of an engine compartment and numerous other ICE systems will offer MORE interior room and body design possibilities. I'm really chomping at the bit for a EV Minivan, which should just offer a ridiculous amount of storage and flexibility. Certainly such a platform will be able to accommodate wheelchairs. Finally, SOME kind of self-driving is coming. Even if last-mile local street self-driving is delayed for quite a while, the ability to have a "remote driver service" is certainly possible, so even if the wheelchair can't go in the driver's seat, the wheelchair person can drive from a glorified game console, supervise the self-driving program, or have a remote person navigate for them via cameras. The notion that we'll be unable to make some way for wheelchairs to use skateboard design EVs is really stretching reality.

elliekelly 5y ago

> however it fundamentally doesn't make sense to take any group brought together by a particular need and have them design something for mass consumption I see this line of thinking a lot when disability discussions come up and I think it’s fundamentally flawed. People with disabilities aren’t a homogeneous “group of people brought together by a particular need” - quite the opposite. They have many different and varied needs. The accommodations they seek are often the same I see developers griping about on HN every day: interoperability, hardware standards, and enough flexibility for the owner to decide what works best for them rather than the manufacturer. Why is it perfectly acceptable for us to have these complaints about MacBook hard drives and batteries but a “hit piece” when people in need of accommodation have similar complaints about Tesla batteries?

Chris2048 5y ago
It's fine to complain about both things. The difference is how it's represented: as discriminatory. It's also of note that for all the complaints, right to repair isn't unanimously supported on HN either. Finally, one of the big issues of interoperability / hardware standards is not accommodation, but outright hostility (purposefully changing things often, making them hard to modify by design or law).

wolverine876 5y ago

> It kind of feels like a "hit piece" Is your comment a hit piece? The comment is mostly about the article; it doesn't much add to our knowledge of disabled people using electric cars. Every article posted on HN receives similar responses. They seem like hit pieces to me. What can we learn from those motivations?

AtlasBarfed 5y ago

A flat skateboard design, which is Tesla's current approach, VW's approach, and virtually everyone else making dedicated EV platforms, should enable ramps just fine I would think. EVs because of this skateboard and the lack of need of an engine compartment and numerous other ICE systems will offer MORE interior room and body design possibilities. I'm really chomping at the bit for a EV Minivan, which should just offer a ridiculous amount of storage and flexibility. Certainly such a platform will be able to accommodate wheelchairs. Finally, SOME kind of self-driving is coming. Even if last-mile local street self-driving is delayed for quite a while, the ability to have a "remote driver service" is certainly possible, so even if the wheelchair can't go in the driver's seat, the wheelchair person can drive from a glorified game console, supervise the self-driving program, or have a remote person navigate for them via cameras. The notion that we'll be unable to make some way for wheelchairs to use skateboard design EVs is really stretching reality.