G. David Felt

RIGHT! The Semi will change, but that is very long term, to quote @balthazar changing the trucking industry to pure electric will probably take till 2275 while new sales might end by 2050 based on countries that want auto's phased out by 2035/40 and commercial trucks by 2050 if it stands.

Taco Time

Very different than us Germans!

It seems they also need to get Texas to let them sell the auto without having to ship it out of state and back in via a very convoluted sales process that just adds to the money losing process. With China online, California online, Nevada online and Germany supposedly close to coming online as well as Texas, one would think they could get all those going now, but it would seem money might be an issue for financing those auto options. Let us also not forget that Tesla let go all of their PR department and it seems cut back to just about zero any marketing. Then you have service problems globally. Tesla might have stretched themselves way too thin. Eventually customers are gonna say screw Tesla, just go and buy from the Ford Dealer a Mach-e. I can get full service, warranty, etc. at my local dealership. Makes ya go Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ?

Interesting observation is that Mercedes-Benzes went on sale with their EQC and after two months of sales in the top 10 list, they dropped off for May. Makes one wonder about their tag line of Best or nothing at all! ?

WOW, thanks for posting this, amazing that so many people watch these annoying guys. I had to skip through the video as it came across as a look at me I am peacocking and have a better life than you. Agree, no need for me to watch any of the other videos.

Norway has been in the news lately and not just a little but across a wide range of news organizations. Norway has been very embracing of the move to EVs supporting just about every version that has come out from small EVs that would remind one of a Golf cart and illegal on the roads in the US to the luxury level of Tesla with the X and S auto's. Norway has even been leading the world in the change over of their countries taxi fleet to EVs. One benefit to the taxi owner is the ability to write off half of the auto cost in the first year and the rest in the second year as long as the taxi travels over 100,000 kilometers per year. This allows private taxi drivers to purchase their own luxury ride to use as their work tool every day. Tesla was the first to build out a very extensive network of charging infrastructure to support their auto's allowing owners to drive their EVs in any type of weather even very cold snowy winter. As anyone in sales would know and to help everyone else understand, single month sales, and quarterly sales sales cannot always clearly show a trend about the success of a company. Even bi-yearly sales numbers while getting close to be considered a trend by some is not enough to state that a company has been a long term success. Tesla ever since they started to sell auto's in Norway back in 2009 with just 13 sold has pretty much had a captured market to themselves especially since Norway has been trying various ways to push a clean green agenda going back into the 1990's. Tesla sales spiked in 2019 at 18,798 EVs sold before plummeting as VW introduced the much more affordable ID.4 and other luxury makers such as Audi with their e-tron came on the market in 2020. As per the jalopnik story, Tesla did not sell many auto's in association with other auto choices till recently making the sample size very small in auto markets around the world. Norway then becomes an even more important picture on EV sales as a country that was in many ways the first to embrace EVs, will be the first to phase out all new ICE auto sales starting January 1st 2025. Currently contrast Diesel auto's that sold in 2011 with a 75.7% market share to only 8.6% market share in 2020. A market where there are more EV options at various price points than any other market has transformed their auto market. Lately, Tesla sales have not been that great and Ford Motor Company is off to a hot start with their Mustang Mach-e. Yes one can contribute this to the Ford EV being a new model but keep in mind that a year ago new auto sales had BEVs make up 43.1% of sales, this year, BEVs are averaging 60.4% of new auto sales with Ford having sold 1,384 Mach-e in May for a 10% share of Norways auto market. Toyota RAV4 hybrid is in second place and Skoda's electric Enyaq is in third. Currently in the top ten EVs sold in Norway, Tesla is coming in at 6th place. Let's let the monthly numbers speak for what is being sold in Norway: May 2021 top 10 best-selling auto's in Norway. April 2021 top 10 best-selling auto's in Norway. March 2021 top 10 best-selling auto's in Norway. We then have no numbers, but a list was produced of the top 10 auto sales and unlike March, Tesla was in 8th place for auto sales in February: The clear observation is that Tesla is NOT the dominant auto company in Norway and a concern for the CEO and company one would think. Clearly now that real competition is showing up, Tesla is going to have to address concerns about fit n finish, service, warranty issues, etc. In 2019 Tesla dominated the market for BEVs: Per Norways largest news covering the auto industry, December pretty much saved the year, but even then shows some very interesting changes from 2019. This on top of the full 2020 year showing that Tesla is only #6 in auto sales in Norway. At this point, Tesla needs to deliver on a low end solution of BEVs for Norway and the world if they are to remain competitive and survive it would seem. This would be the time for a Model 2 and even maybe 1 to come out of Tesla giving low end solutions for auto buyers that currently cannot afford higher priced auto's. Ford Is Beating Tesla In One Of The Most EV-Saturated Markets In The World (jalopnik.com) • Norway: Tesla car sales 2009-2020 | Statista Ford's electric Mustang tops Norway car sales in May | Reuters Ford's electric Mustang tops Norway car sales in May | Nasdaq Historic December saved car sales | Dn View full article

You had me wonder what the pay out is and according to the various listings about how YouTube pays based on subscribers and the ads, it comes out to about $5 per 1,000 views. This is one of the clearest layouts on how this works if you want to get to the details. How much youtube pay per views - the best guide for 2021 - AudienceGain Ltd So if all 1.14 million subscribers watch at least once per episode, you would have 1,140,000 divided by 1,000 = 1,140 *5 = $5,700 per video they post. Not sure how often they post videos but lets go with once per month would equal $68,400 per year. Not enough to pay for the huge house, land and fancy auto's in the video. Even if we go to 4 videos per month, that would still be $273,600 gross per year and taxes have to be paid on that income. I could be wrong, but I still think money is coming from other sources as I just do not see they affording a luxury life off a YouTube channel. Yes some social media stars have become millionaires and they have million of subscribers, but I think that is far rarer than the norm. IMHO

Interesting read on the Petro industry. Vultures' Picnic: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates, and High-Finance Carnivores: Palast, Greg: 8601400956120: Amazon.com: Books

Interesting battle of a customer Diesel 6x6 Jeep Gladiator versus the 4x4 MB G550. Jeep Gladiator 6x6 vs. Mercedes-Benz G550 4x4 Squared Tug of War Ends in Failure - autoevolution Kids with way too much of Daddies money!

Better than the bland SE, but still a very weird styling for a hatchback. Over all a sporty looking commuter car with no real get up and go it would seem

9am in a lite cloud cover gives a really even lighting with solid color without the cool light spectrum. Agree, would love to see it in a more even light.

Great to see the numbers going up, better safe than sorry! Washington is also doing well for Vaccination. COVID-19 Vaccination Progress Dashboard and Data :: Washington State Department of Health

This car is Dreamy!!!! ?

Tesla current owners are wanting change in the state of Texas and especially Elon Musk wants this change to happen as well. Musk became aware of the issue when a local owner posted this on twitter and tagged Elon Musk. According to a beginners guide to the Texas legislature, at the end of the civil war, Texans were rewriting the state constitution and it was made very clear they hated government. The old joke goes that they wanted to have the state legislature meet for 2 days every 140 years. they had to settle for 140 days meeting every two years. As such the state house and senate members get paid their yearly salary, but only work 140 years every two years for this salary. The house is made up of 150 members serving a 2 year term. The Senate is made up of 31 members serving a 4 year term. Texas also still has what is called the Blue laws, a set of laws that came into existence during prohibition and has been added to over the years so that the state has every other county dry, you can only buy auto's, meat, liquor on specific days, etc. All this adds to a confusion for people who come to the state of Texas to live and or work and need to buy items such as an Auto. Now that you have a basic understanding of the political structure in Texas. No this is not a political discuss, but one focused on the challenges Tesla will have selling auto's. Gigafactory Texas is in Austin Texas and as such the local house and senate members presented this working bi-annual 140 day session bill H.B. #4379. These representatives of the area that Tesla is building a new manufacturing site that will build semi trucks, trucks and suvs on electrical battery platforms wanted to add the following to state law: (2) is a manufacturer or distributor described by Section 2301.476(i-1) or is a bona fide employee of the manufacturer or distributor. SECTION 2. Section 2301.476, Occupations Code, is amended by adding Subsection (i-1) to read as follows: (i-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a manufacturer or distributor may own or operate a dealership, may own, operate, or otherwise act in the capacity of a dealer, and may obtain a dealer general distinguishing number if: (1) the manufacturer or distributor manufactures or distributes motor vehicles powered only by electricity or battery; and (2) the manufacturer's line-make has never been sold in this state through an independent franchised new motor vehicle dealership. H) manufacturer or distributor described by Section 2301.476(i-1), Occupations Code. Tesla's company-owned outlets cannot legally sell and or deliver an auto in Texas if bought by a state citizen. The so called galleries are open to the public where one can go to review the auto's Tesla makes and discuss questions with staff about Tesla auto's, but no pricing is allowed to be discussed or how one would go about buying a Tesla auto. On the other hand, any citizen of Texas can go online and order a tesla from their web site. The process is a very convoluted process as no order is allowed to be processed within Texas or any Texas facility owned by Tesla. So how does one purchase a Tesla in the state of Texas? Per multiple postings from Tesla owners in Texas, their paperwork was FedExed to them from Tesla Gallery stores in other states such as Nevada, Colorado, etc. Once they received their paper work, they had to sign everything and send it back to the gallery store that is processing their order. The buyer then has to pay for the auto online, which must be done outside of the facility grounds in advance. The newly purchased vehicle is then shipped to one of Tesla's eight Texas Service Centers where the owner can then pick up their auto as an existing owner. At this point, Texas is very happy to then collect Sales Tax and register the auto that the owner will have to do themselves either at the local DMV or online. Tesla has moved ahead since they anounced in July 2020 that they had choosen Austin Texas for their newest assembly plant and will be employing an estimated 5,000 people. According to the details per thedrive.com story, representatives introduced H.B. 4379 on March 12th 2021, two months later it was reviewed by the house transportation committee on May 11th 2021 being a win for the Austin representatives. Yet this is where it turns sad for Tesla as a company dropping Billions into the state had no handshake, no deal, etc. about allowing them to sell direct. The seven step process of presenting a bill, reviewing a bill, voting on the bill, negotiating the changes between house and senate and all the other steps must be done within the 140 day session. As such, the 2021 legislation session came to a close with the bill not getting out of the committee and moving forward and as such, must be taken up again in 2023 legislation session. Stalled before it could even get off the start line. For Decades the Dealer association has been very protective of their turf and spent considerable time and money lobbying the politicians and won this round. Cody Harris the local representative who presented the bill says that he still considers it a win due to the fact that it was presented before the members and as such, will help to open the eyes of the politicians about needed changes to the way auto's are sold. President of the Dealer association says it is all about protecting the buyers as to why it is illegal for Tesla to sell direct. QUOTE: Illegal for Tesla to sell vehicles to them: Tesla owners would be left helpless if the company failed, closing its service centers—whereas dealerships service cars even if they’re no longer made; Tesla has better things on which to spend its capital than brick-and-mortar stores and service centers (an interesting assessment for a state dealer lobby, but whatever); and The good reputation of all auto dealers would be deeply damaged if Tesla were to fail, leaving their owners high and dry. So one can make their own assessment if you agree with or disagree with the Dealer Association about Tesla selling direct. So how will Tesla which has stated they plan to start production of the Tesla Y and Cybertruck in 2021 sell their auto's in Texas home of their production? End result is that Tesla will have to build their auto's and ship them out of state to other states where the gallery store will take possession of the auto. Sell the auto online to the Texas citizen, handle all the paperwork via FedEx or UPS and payment online, then reship the auto to Texas gallery store for pickup. So what do you think about this and is it fair to Tesla, the citizens of Texas and the future of direct auto sales? Texas House of Representatives - About Us A Beginner’s Guide To The Texas Legislature – Houston Public Media Do 'blue laws' still exist in the Lone Star State? Curious Texas investigates (dallasnews.com) 87(R) HB 4379 - Introduced version - Bill Text (texas.gov) Tesla Will Have to Ship Its Texas-Built Cars Out of State to Sell Back to Residents (thedrive.com) View full article

Burger King

I love the Mocha brown interiors, warm, inviting and just over all relaxing. Escalade Mocha with Tan interior is very nice.

Yes, you are right, we will never see interiors like this again except on these auto's if restored. I personally respect your like / attraction to them. Personally, I hope we never do as they were terrible for driving especially road trips. No body support, way too cushy as I believe they were actually TOO FOCUS on the LAZY BOY chair. To me, this is the kind of luxury comfort those chairs should have been. Leather, solid in supporting your body, but still very cushy comfort. Right now even the 2021 Escalade chairs suck as they are thin slabs, not supportive to your body or comfortable. To me, GM nailed it with these chairs IMHO. I also think the seatbelt built into the chair is way better than in the B and C pillar which tends to cut into the throat more due to how high they are.

Mr. Rogers

Captain Kangaroo

We know who wears the pants in that family!

Stay strong my friend, I saw where the average CEO got an 8.7% increase in earnings to an average of $12.2 million paid last year as boards decided the pandemic was not a normal thing and removed all pandemic related expenses in configuring their bonus and final payout. Crazy when so many lost jobs and those of us that had full or part time jobs got no raises, they increase the pay for these over paid CEO's. CEO Pay Surges In 2020 Despite Pandemic Suffering | HuffPost Dozens of large companies "rigged" CEO pay during pandemic, study claims - CBS News Just a few of the stories hitting the web today, but crazy. I do have respect for companies that did put employees first. While I did not get a pay raise in 2020 and am hoping for one in 2021, at least DELL Technologies CEO and Chairman Michael Dell and the board and from VP on up took no pay checks at all. They committed to not laying off anyone so even our facilities people down to the hourly janitors kept their jobs and cleaned over and over the same empty buildings world wide. One Reason I love working for Dell. Respect for Multi-Cultural workforce and every job be it salary or hourly. Dell's work force has moved to 70% being 100% work from home and the next 20% with some office time and then 10% being those that have to always be on site. Take a look as we are hiring: Jobs and Careers at Dell Careers If you find something you would like to apply for, DM me with resume and let me submit you internally, it goes much faster than submitting it yourself externally. Just need to know the job number. I am also working this weekend except Monday. Take care,

Hula Girls