6 ms·

He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut

97 points by malshe 4mo ago

malshe 4mo ago
https://archive.is/zY2Eb https://archive.is/zY2Eb
- blakesterz 4mo ago
  That link it throwing me: "Scan this QR code with your mobile device to verify you are human. reCAPTCHA protects your privacy and does not share your details with this website or app." Is that a new recaptcha thing? I've never seen that before.
  - alex_duf 4mo ago
    Yeah there's been some debate about it in the news, because only a certified device can approve it, meaning this takes away any open-source platform to prove you're a human
  - breakingcups 4mo ago
    Yeah, it's Google's second attempt at device attestation (ie. the widely panned web integrity tech they're trying to push through)
    - JohnTHaller 4mo ago
      It's why I switched PortableApps.com to hCaptcha
Bender 4mo ago
This is odd since most cars require stepping down on the brake pedal to start the car. Even my UTV (side-by-side) requires this. I can't even remember the last vehicle I owned that did not require this. If my foot starts sinking down it will be obvious my brakes are failing. Cutting just enough into the last part of the brake line that is flexible hydraulic line to burst after a few miles would require quite some skill and a lot of practice. These lines have anywhere from 800 to 2000 pounds per square inch of pressure. Detailed high resolution pictures of the cut would be useful. For what it's worth if you lose your brakes, downshift repeatedly until you are slow enough to find a softer landing zone. Rubbing tires up against the curb if there are no cars, bushes, rubbing up against the side of a hill, soft soil if available. If your car does not have an option to do this trade it in. [Edit] I am not defending Elon or his orbiter zealots. Crazy evil stuff happens all the time but I think we are due some pictures and videos of the evidence. So far all we have is a story and things someone could have done to their own car. There are also a high prevalence of ring cameras that could capture his visitors. Cutting brake lines or wires of air bags is so oddly specific and prone to error that it could be an episode of Murder She Wrote about a botched assassination and the Sheriff is skeptical. Usually whistleblowers die from "self inflicted" GSW's to remove any loose ends or unknowns FWIW.
- amluto 4mo ago
  Many cars (especially ICE cars) may not have operational brake boost when you first get in to them — the vacuum that the power brakes rely on can easily be gone. So you step on the brakes without assist, then you start the engine, and then you have power brakes after a second or so. I can easily imagine that stepping on a brake pedal with cut lines and no assist doesn’t feel that weird. Also, plenty of people are not really tuned in to how their cars feel.
  - Bender 4mo ago
    Many cars (especially ICE cars) may not have operational brake boost when you first get in to them I warm up my engine, to the point of annoying armchair quarterbacks on HN. If my brake line was cut it would be very obvious within seconds. Exception would be a partial cut that leave a millimeter of line not cut but that would take some serious skill and practice.
    - nemomarx 4mo ago
      Okay, good on you, but do you think every other person does this as well? I wasn't even aware warming up the engine would change my brakes until this thread. Honestly I thought the brake pedal was electronically connected to the actual brakes too so I didn't expect you could feel a cut line either.
      - cucumber3732842 4mo ago
        You would absolutely notice if the system did not hold pressure. Normal "foot at rest to disable the interlock" pressure would result in pedal straight to floor.
        snozolli 4mo ago
        Does his car even have an automatic transmission?
        nemomarx 4mo ago
cucumber3732842 4mo ago
It's pretty hard (probably nigh on impossible in the urban greater DC area) to make it out of your driveway/street without pressing the brake pedal enough to know you have an at least somewhat functional system. The airbag system mods are pretty standard shitbox stuff. System goes off for whatever reason. Car is repaired. Sensors get tricked/fudged along the way because the owner doesn't want to put the money in (probably not worth it). Newer systems are more in depth and obnoxious to deal with so reading between the lines this is an older car which kinda also explains the brake thing. Not that the government wouldn't do this but come on, they're not stealing your car to disassemble the front clip and monkey with the crash sensors and your brakes, they'll do something better than that.
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
bananamogul 4mo ago
This sounds more like 1970s TV drama than reality. Cutting someone’s brake line has to be one of the least reliable ways to injure or kill them. If you cut my brake line, you might bust up my garage door or my neighbor’s yard, but they’re not going to fail on cue as I go around a mountain curve…(dramatic music)
RankingMember 4mo ago
As others have noted, this article seems light on details/hand-wavy to draw clicks. Vehicles have had dual-circuit brake systems since 1967 (mandated), so cutting one line wouldn't do the job, plus you'd be getting a light on the dash. The image in the article is of a stripped electric wire as though implying to the unfamiliar that this is a cut brake line.
Ancapistani 4mo ago
I'd like to see _some_ evidence for this story.
silexia 4mo ago
Sounds all made up to try to scam Elon.

97 points by malshe 4mo ago

malshe 4mo ago

https://archive.is/zY2Eb https://archive.is/zY2Eb

blakesterz 4mo ago
That link it throwing me: "Scan this QR code with your mobile device to verify you are human. reCAPTCHA protects your privacy and does not share your details with this website or app." Is that a new recaptcha thing? I've never seen that before.
- alex_duf 4mo ago
  Yeah there's been some debate about it in the news, because only a certified device can approve it, meaning this takes away any open-source platform to prove you're a human
- breakingcups 4mo ago
  Yeah, it's Google's second attempt at device attestation (ie. the widely panned web integrity tech they're trying to push through)
  - JohnTHaller 4mo ago
    It's why I switched PortableApps.com to hCaptcha

Bender 4mo ago

This is odd since most cars require stepping down on the brake pedal to start the car. Even my UTV (side-by-side) requires this. I can't even remember the last vehicle I owned that did not require this. If my foot starts sinking down it will be obvious my brakes are failing. Cutting just enough into the last part of the brake line that is flexible hydraulic line to burst after a few miles would require quite some skill and a lot of practice. These lines have anywhere from 800 to 2000 pounds per square inch of pressure. Detailed high resolution pictures of the cut would be useful. For what it's worth if you lose your brakes, downshift repeatedly until you are slow enough to find a softer landing zone. Rubbing tires up against the curb if there are no cars, bushes, rubbing up against the side of a hill, soft soil if available. If your car does not have an option to do this trade it in. [Edit] I am not defending Elon or his orbiter zealots. Crazy evil stuff happens all the time but I think we are due some pictures and videos of the evidence. So far all we have is a story and things someone could have done to their own car. There are also a high prevalence of ring cameras that could capture his visitors. Cutting brake lines or wires of air bags is so oddly specific and prone to error that it could be an episode of Murder She Wrote about a botched assassination and the Sheriff is skeptical. Usually whistleblowers die from "self inflicted" GSW's to remove any loose ends or unknowns FWIW.

amluto 4mo ago
Many cars (especially ICE cars) may not have operational brake boost when you first get in to them — the vacuum that the power brakes rely on can easily be gone. So you step on the brakes without assist, then you start the engine, and then you have power brakes after a second or so. I can easily imagine that stepping on a brake pedal with cut lines and no assist doesn’t feel that weird. Also, plenty of people are not really tuned in to how their cars feel.
- Bender 4mo ago
  Many cars (especially ICE cars) may not have operational brake boost when you first get in to them I warm up my engine, to the point of annoying armchair quarterbacks on HN. If my brake line was cut it would be very obvious within seconds. Exception would be a partial cut that leave a millimeter of line not cut but that would take some serious skill and practice.
  - nemomarx 4mo ago
    Okay, good on you, but do you think every other person does this as well? I wasn't even aware warming up the engine would change my brakes until this thread. Honestly I thought the brake pedal was electronically connected to the actual brakes too so I didn't expect you could feel a cut line either.
    - cucumber3732842 4mo ago
      You would absolutely notice if the system did not hold pressure. Normal "foot at rest to disable the interlock" pressure would result in pedal straight to floor.
      - snozolli 4mo ago
        Does his car even have an automatic transmission?
      - nemomarx 4mo ago

cucumber3732842 4mo ago

It's pretty hard (probably nigh on impossible in the urban greater DC area) to make it out of your driveway/street without pressing the brake pedal enough to know you have an at least somewhat functional system. The airbag system mods are pretty standard shitbox stuff. System goes off for whatever reason. Car is repaired. Sensors get tricked/fudged along the way because the owner doesn't want to put the money in (probably not worth it). Newer systems are more in depth and obnoxious to deal with so reading between the lines this is an older car which kinda also explains the brake thing. Not that the government wouldn't do this but come on, they're not stealing your car to disassemble the front clip and monkey with the crash sensors and your brakes, they'll do something better than that.

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]

bananamogul 4mo ago

This sounds more like 1970s TV drama than reality. Cutting someone’s brake line has to be one of the least reliable ways to injure or kill them. If you cut my brake line, you might bust up my garage door or my neighbor’s yard, but they’re not going to fail on cue as I go around a mountain curve…(dramatic music)

RankingMember 4mo ago

As others have noted, this article seems light on details/hand-wavy to draw clicks. Vehicles have had dual-circuit brake systems since 1967 (mandated), so cutting one line wouldn't do the job, plus you'd be getting a light on the dash. The image in the article is of a stripped electric wire as though implying to the unfamiliar that this is a cut brake line.

Ancapistani 4mo ago

I'd like to see _some_ evidence for this story.

silexia 4mo ago

Sounds all made up to try to scam Elon.