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Disclaimer: I don't own a Tesla or $TSLA or otherwise engage with Musk or his business ventures. My observation is apolitical. --- I stopped reading here: >

Disclaimer: I don't own a Tesla or $TSLA or otherwise engage with Musk or his business ventures. My observation is apolitical. --- I stopped reading here: > Fictional concepts such as Mad Max’s tanker-based War Rig are often the inspiration for real-world creations like Ford’s custom-built F650 Supertruck, a tractor-trailer sized monstrosity that can carry 120 gallons of fuel, tow 30,000lbs, and be reinforced with bulletproof armor. The truck is how insurgent fighters get around war zones and what storm chasers use to run down tornadoes. The linked articles make no mention of the F-650 Supertruck. All I could find with a quick Google search regarding these use cases are Hiluxes/imported F-150s and domestic customized F-350s respectively. There's also nary a mention of said trucks being inspired by latter-day Mad Max films. Inquiries via Kagi's LLM facilities confirm my conclusions. Why bother writing any of this if it simply isn't true? Such glaring falsities don't inspire confidence in the more substantial parts of the article... there's more than enough wrong with the Cybertruck to write about without resorting to whole-cloth fabrications to make the point.

_9za9 1y ago
I read your disclaimer and that is where I stopped.
- Zigurd 1y ago
  Bets his dating profile also says "apolitical."
owenversteeg 1y ago
Yeah, the Guardian has had several articles lately with obvious non-facts that are likely LLM fabrications. Good to see more people call them out on it here. In real life, Ford has made large F-series trucks since 1948 (a bit before Mad Max.) They are nowhere near the size of a tractor-trailer, which are 70-80 feet long vs the 20-30' of F-650s. In recent decades the F-250/350/450/550/600 are heavier-duty trucks for mostly commercial applications, and the F-650/750 are a different series with fewer creature comforts, almost entirely for commercial use. Even in the reddest part of Unnecessarily Large Truck America you will mostly see these trucks in use for commercial purposes (small dump trucks, bucket trucks, airport use, water hauling, etc.) Also, "how insurgents get around war zones"? That's hilarious. I mean, I'm sure someone somewhere in all the wars on Earth has gone around a war zone in a custom F-650, but it sure isn't one with armor and a 120 gallon fuel tank. Any kind of useful armor on a vehicle THAT large and the thing would weigh well north of 40,000 lbs. It would weigh as much as a light tank with a far worse weight distribution. It would completely destroy roads and the fuel capacity would be uselessly small. And as a cherry on top, the claimed operators of this logistical nightmare: "insurgents." Nobody with as much as one functioning brain cell was involved in the writing or editing of this article.
- alexjplant 1y ago
  > Yeah, the Guardian has had several articles lately with obvious non-facts that are likely LLM fabrications. Good to see more people call them out on it here. It's not the first time I've seen it. I briefly had a recurring donation going to The Guardian but switched it over to ProPublica for this very reason. They seem to do harder-hitting "boots on the ground" investigative journalism and are more factual in their reporting. I suppose my first point is a matter of opinion but one or two independent sources that I consulted agreed that the Guardian is hit-or-miss if you fact check them.

_9za9 1y ago

I read your disclaimer and that is where I stopped.

Zigurd 1y ago
Bets his dating profile also says "apolitical."

owenversteeg 1y ago

Yeah, the Guardian has had several articles lately with obvious non-facts that are likely LLM fabrications. Good to see more people call them out on it here. In real life, Ford has made large F-series trucks since 1948 (a bit before Mad Max.) They are nowhere near the size of a tractor-trailer, which are 70-80 feet long vs the 20-30' of F-650s. In recent decades the F-250/350/450/550/600 are heavier-duty trucks for mostly commercial applications, and the F-650/750 are a different series with fewer creature comforts, almost entirely for commercial use. Even in the reddest part of Unnecessarily Large Truck America you will mostly see these trucks in use for commercial purposes (small dump trucks, bucket trucks, airport use, water hauling, etc.) Also, "how insurgents get around war zones"? That's hilarious. I mean, I'm sure someone somewhere in all the wars on Earth has gone around a war zone in a custom F-650, but it sure isn't one with armor and a 120 gallon fuel tank. Any kind of useful armor on a vehicle THAT large and the thing would weigh well north of 40,000 lbs. It would weigh as much as a light tank with a far worse weight distribution. It would completely destroy roads and the fuel capacity would be uselessly small. And as a cherry on top, the claimed operators of this logistical nightmare: "insurgents." Nobody with as much as one functioning brain cell was involved in the writing or editing of this article.

alexjplant 1y ago
> Yeah, the Guardian has had several articles lately with obvious non-facts that are likely LLM fabrications. Good to see more people call them out on it here. It's not the first time I've seen it. I briefly had a recurring donation going to The Guardian but switched it over to ProPublica for this very reason. They seem to do harder-hitting "boots on the ground" investigative journalism and are more factual in their reporting. I suppose my first point is a matter of opinion but one or two independent sources that I consulted agreed that the Guardian is hit-or-miss if you fact check them.