It saddens me to inform you of the passing of my brother-in-law, who went by the screen name of Novox and the username nvx1977 on TMC.
Bruce was an active member here, and like some of you, I consider him an incredible friend as well as a true brother. He had been battling colon cancer for over three years, that he continued to fight for so long is totally Bruce.
I can remember being with Bruce in New England with our first sighting of a Tesla Model S in 2012. We were both dazzled by the large iPad-like screen, their cool color choices (man, this is one aspect where Tesla has sadly been fairly stale) and we dreamed of the day we'd have Teslas of our own.
Knowing us back then, we likely ended that day playing hours of Rock Band or one of its many sequels.
After moving to the West coast in 2013 following the birth of my firstborn and then seeing the rapid adoption of the Model S in California, I started buying a few shares. Bruce and I would share stock movements to find advantageous entry points and he'd always manage to dig up these gems like Tim Urban's discussion of Elon Musk, or the Hyperloop design document. He was always plugged in to what I like to call, "Cool *sugar*."
For our brokerage accounts, I'd feed him in kind. "Hey, it's down under $250 for no apparent reason at all!! I'm buying!" (Interesting that a decade later, today's the same story.)
By 2016, the Model X had been out for a little while, and Bruce and my Tesla story really kicked into gear. The Model 3 had been revealed, and during a family reunion, he suggested we take test drives at my local Tesla store. "Sure, why not, there's no obligation here," I thought.
He demoed a Model S, I fully floored a Model X, and after recovering from that giant beast handing my ass to me--in that moment, I felt excited yet sad as that would likely be as close I'd ever be to owning a Tesla.
Soon after, he told me he was in line for a Model 3 preorder, and with the hundreds of thousands of people in line, I laughed--figured he'd be waiting For. Ever. Yet within a couple of months of the Model 3 release, Bruce had proven me wrong again--his order was in queue, AND he also pulled the trigger on a used Model S for his wife (my sister).
"Bruce, you're crazy. How can you afford two Teslas??" Like many people still TO. THIS. DAY...I thought a Tesla was too expensive and out of our price range.
He got his car in 2018, and with rising costs to repair an out-of-warranty P.O.S. gas car, I was ready to boot our aging Prius to the curb. I was looking at Chevy Bolt, but at Bruce was there to intercept--
"The screen is in a weird place, there's no dials in front of the driver. Does the center screen really work?" My doubts were strong, but I had learned to listen to Bruce's opinions on things. He was always thorough, even-keeled, well-researched, and knows Good *sugar* when he sees it. He very often made great decisions, and there was wisdom in following the trails that he blazed.
Within a week, I had an order for a 2018 Model 3.
After finally realizing the Tesla ownership dream, in the following years, we were swept away on the Tesla whirlwind. Experiencing first hand the Tesla difference-- and back in those days, it was difficult to really pinpoint The One Thing that made Teslas really special, because well, it's so many things. It's everything.
For me, Bruce was like that. It wasn't just our shared enthusiasm for Tesla that made him a brother, a friend, it was so many things. It was everything about him.
Rest in peace, my friend. His memory will be carried on by his wife and two children, and all the people who knew him. If that is you, I am grateful to you.
If you considered him a friend here, I hope you'll take a moment to reflect on your own loved ones, and appreciate them in the moment and many moments to come. He'd appreciate that.
As I'm not active on TMC, if you knew Novox and want to reach out, please feel welcome to DM me on X, where my user name is @rodamn. Would love to hear from you.
Take care.
Bruce was an active member here, and like some of you, I consider him an incredible friend as well as a true brother. He had been battling colon cancer for over three years, that he continued to fight for so long is totally Bruce.
I can remember being with Bruce in New England with our first sighting of a Tesla Model S in 2012. We were both dazzled by the large iPad-like screen, their cool color choices (man, this is one aspect where Tesla has sadly been fairly stale) and we dreamed of the day we'd have Teslas of our own.
Knowing us back then, we likely ended that day playing hours of Rock Band or one of its many sequels.
After moving to the West coast in 2013 following the birth of my firstborn and then seeing the rapid adoption of the Model S in California, I started buying a few shares. Bruce and I would share stock movements to find advantageous entry points and he'd always manage to dig up these gems like Tim Urban's discussion of Elon Musk, or the Hyperloop design document. He was always plugged in to what I like to call, "Cool *sugar*."
For our brokerage accounts, I'd feed him in kind. "Hey, it's down under $250 for no apparent reason at all!! I'm buying!" (Interesting that a decade later, today's the same story.)
By 2016, the Model X had been out for a little while, and Bruce and my Tesla story really kicked into gear. The Model 3 had been revealed, and during a family reunion, he suggested we take test drives at my local Tesla store. "Sure, why not, there's no obligation here," I thought.
He demoed a Model S, I fully floored a Model X, and after recovering from that giant beast handing my ass to me--in that moment, I felt excited yet sad as that would likely be as close I'd ever be to owning a Tesla.
Soon after, he told me he was in line for a Model 3 preorder, and with the hundreds of thousands of people in line, I laughed--figured he'd be waiting For. Ever. Yet within a couple of months of the Model 3 release, Bruce had proven me wrong again--his order was in queue, AND he also pulled the trigger on a used Model S for his wife (my sister).
"Bruce, you're crazy. How can you afford two Teslas??" Like many people still TO. THIS. DAY...I thought a Tesla was too expensive and out of our price range.
He got his car in 2018, and with rising costs to repair an out-of-warranty P.O.S. gas car, I was ready to boot our aging Prius to the curb. I was looking at Chevy Bolt, but at Bruce was there to intercept--
"The screen is in a weird place, there's no dials in front of the driver. Does the center screen really work?" My doubts were strong, but I had learned to listen to Bruce's opinions on things. He was always thorough, even-keeled, well-researched, and knows Good *sugar* when he sees it. He very often made great decisions, and there was wisdom in following the trails that he blazed.
Within a week, I had an order for a 2018 Model 3.
After finally realizing the Tesla ownership dream, in the following years, we were swept away on the Tesla whirlwind. Experiencing first hand the Tesla difference-- and back in those days, it was difficult to really pinpoint The One Thing that made Teslas really special, because well, it's so many things. It's everything.
For me, Bruce was like that. It wasn't just our shared enthusiasm for Tesla that made him a brother, a friend, it was so many things. It was everything about him.
Rest in peace, my friend. His memory will be carried on by his wife and two children, and all the people who knew him. If that is you, I am grateful to you.
If you considered him a friend here, I hope you'll take a moment to reflect on your own loved ones, and appreciate them in the moment and many moments to come. He'd appreciate that.
As I'm not active on TMC, if you knew Novox and want to reach out, please feel welcome to DM me on X, where my user name is @rodamn. Would love to hear from you.
Take care.
