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Some time back, Martin talked about EV's walking wounded, those people who built up EV hopes over and over, only to see them dashed yet again. I seem to recall it was one of the early impediments to hiring some of the best technicians in the field -- they didn't want to be disappointed anew.
There's glory in being on the cutting edge of history, but often ignominy in being too early. Tony Belding pointed out that Dan Neil's "50 Worst Cars" included some whose only mistake was being too advanced for their time. It's a little cruel to ridicule such abortive attempts, as they more properly should be celebrated for their ingenuity and vision.
Criticism and backlash are too easy and (unfortunately) too often on the right side of history. More projects fail than succeed. But whatever comes of Tesla Motors, I think they will have blazed a path into the likely future of autos.
Damn the critics, full electrons ahead.
There's glory in being on the cutting edge of history, but often ignominy in being too early. Tony Belding pointed out that Dan Neil's "50 Worst Cars" included some whose only mistake was being too advanced for their time. It's a little cruel to ridicule such abortive attempts, as they more properly should be celebrated for their ingenuity and vision.
Criticism and backlash are too easy and (unfortunately) too often on the right side of history. More projects fail than succeed. But whatever comes of Tesla Motors, I think they will have blazed a path into the likely future of autos.
Damn the critics, full electrons ahead.
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mt2
Member
The Wright Brothers weren't the first guys to fly, they just made it efficient. Henry Ford wasn't the first guy to invent the automobile, he just made it popular. Both had their detractors and the detractors always pointed out with folk-lore wisdom the failures of the attempts before.
Note that there's always an element of the "Al Gore invented the Internet" un-researched cynicism. Dean Kamen is perhaps a little full of himself, but he never set out to hyperbole the Segway. That was mostly a couple of guys whom I believe are also Tesla Signature buyers, so I will respectfully leave their names out of here. And one marked difference is that after the Roadster was introduced there was no "is this all there is?" let down. Quite the opposite.
So I'm just going to kick back, save my pennies for the WhiteStar, and let history make a mockery of the nay-sayers.
(BTW, Al Gore also "invented" the high-orbit weather satellite, which got nixed in NASA budget cuts).
Note that there's always an element of the "Al Gore invented the Internet" un-researched cynicism. Dean Kamen is perhaps a little full of himself, but he never set out to hyperbole the Segway. That was mostly a couple of guys whom I believe are also Tesla Signature buyers, so I will respectfully leave their names out of here. And one marked difference is that after the Roadster was introduced there was no "is this all there is?" let down. Quite the opposite.
So I'm just going to kick back, save my pennies for the WhiteStar, and let history make a mockery of the nay-sayers.
(BTW, Al Gore also "invented" the high-orbit weather satellite, which got nixed in NASA budget cuts).
Minor nit.
The Wright Brothers were the first to fly a "controllable heavier than air craft". Their innovations
were in a lightweight engine which they built themselves and a method of warping the wings that
allowed controllable and stable flight for the first time.
They let their creation speak for itself, as I'm sure the Roadster will do also.
The Wright Brothers were the first to fly a "controllable heavier than air craft". Their innovations
were in a lightweight engine which they built themselves and a method of warping the wings that
allowed controllable and stable flight for the first time.
They let their creation speak for itself, as I'm sure the Roadster will do also.
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