Slashdot Mirror
Tesla's Limited-Edition Surfboards Now Selling For $6,450 (mercurynews.com)
An anonymous reader quotes the Mercury News:
Tesla's sleek, $1,500 carbon fiber surfboard sold out in a day, and it's not surprising: The company, in collaboration with a Southern California board maker, said it was producing a limited edition of 200, and Tesla has many die-hard fans. The board "features a mix of the same high-quality matte and gloss finishes used on all our cars," Tesla said in promotional material for the product. "The deck is reinforced with light-weight 'Black Dart' carbon fiber, inspired by the interiors in our cars...."
Now, less than a week after orders were submitted, 21 of the boards -- sized to fit in the Palo Alto electric car maker's Model 3 and Model S sedans, and the Model X SUV -- are up for sale on eBay. Asking prices are steep, as high as $6,450, with most sellers wanting $3,000 to $4,000.
Now, less than a week after orders were submitted, 21 of the boards -- sized to fit in the Palo Alto electric car maker's Model 3 and Model S sedans, and the Model X SUV -- are up for sale on eBay. Asking prices are steep, as high as $6,450, with most sellers wanting $3,000 to $4,000.
There's one born every minute.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
And their junk bonds are selling for 90 cents on the dollar.
I've built composite stuff for years.
Carbon fiber is useful but may not give an advantage such that it is worth using. Sometimes S-glass is the better choice when you consider what sort of properties you need. Carbon does have a number of drawbacks - it is fragile when subjected to point loading, and it tends to hold more resin than is optimal ( unless you use pre-preg ).
Anyway, a Tesla carbon surfboard is something a real surfer is not going to favor. But it's perfect for wankers who are willing to spend more money in an effort to look cool. Oddly enough the Tesla car shares these characteristics.
I do want to ask the editors of Slashdot whether their knees are sore from so much worshipping of that egomaniac Elon Musk. Or maybe the editors use knee pads ?
Fashion statement, sure. Expensive show off thing, sure. Surfboard? Nah.
I surf and there are a couple rains carbon fiber boards aren't a thing, and is not cost. Pros don't use carbon boards. Pros who's entire livelihood is dependent on surfing don't use carbon boards. Here's why:
Some parts of a board need to be stiff, others need to be flexible. This Tesla board claims to have a special kind of carbon, but that's not the point, the best fiberglass boards use different weaves of fiberglass, nowadays generally with some carbon weave in strategic spots.
Also, carbon is brittle and hard. When a fiberglass board hits a rock/head/leg/the ground/your car if can dent. Carbon fiber tends to have no dent, just a shatter.
Finally, the "no dent" in that last sentence might sound good, it's strong! Remember though that "head" and "leg" are the two things the board hits most in the water when bring tossed by a big wave. Or even a little wave!
This board has bad design from the get go. The marketing speaks of "special features" like narrow rails and a full nose, which are not special at all. The boards size had been determined by the car instead of the rider, and the materials are gimmicky instead of useful.
Headline is a click-bait. Even the summary states that sellers are offering it at $3,000, so what sane person is paying $6,450? It could list it for $100,000, it doesn't mean it's selling at that price.
Given the stock spike last week after the Q2 report, "people" are finally starting to believe Tesla when it says that it's going to be sustainably profitable as a major automaker, starting this quarter, after Wall Street having doubted that this would be possible for their entire history
Given that Tesla is attacking/creating multiple, multi-trillion dollar markets with a major first-mover advantage (to the point that they're making more EV batteries than everyone else combined, growing their energy division by an order of magnitude on the scale of a year, etc), far from it.
The short campaign managed to slow them down a bit this year by limiting access to borrowed capital, but that ability comes to an end when dealing with a profitable company. Which it is about to become. This quarter.
Assuming ethanol comes from murdered children and the hydrogen from magic, hydrogen saves 132% more lives than ethanol.
Lower-than-the-industry-average injury rate despite being in the middle of a major production scaleup, over 30% lower injury rate vs. three years ago, a small fraction as much of an injury rate as the facility had before they took it over = "among the 12 worst employers", in your mind?
Assuming ethanol comes from murdered children and the hydrogen from magic, hydrogen saves 132% more lives than ethanol.
I sense a new sport in the making. Surfers slather themselves up in fire-retardant gel and attack each other with flamethrowers while surfing ;)
Assuming ethanol comes from murdered children and the hydrogen from magic, hydrogen saves 132% more lives than ethanol.