Musk has told us in no uncertain terms who he is and what he supports. Do you think there is a single bit of wisdom in having one of his robots do your dishes?
Elon Musk’s latest announcement, that Tesla is shutting down Model S and Model X production at their factory in Fremont, California, is actually not surprising when you consider a number of factors. The first being that companies in China, particularly BYD, are eating his EV market everywhere. Tesla is no longer the top of the heap in terms of electric vehicle innovation, performance and certainly not price point.
The second factor is that Musk himself is directly responsible for the loss of his formerly liberal market base in the US and Europe with his Ketamine-addled backing of far-right causes and personalities—especially Trump. Buying Twitter and turning it into a Nazi megaphone didn’t help either. Nor did spending almost $300 million getting Trump re-elected.
There went more than half his market. Add to these points another side of the Tesla business, solar panels and batteries. Solar panels and batteries are the future of energy generation, certainly. But Elon’s alliance with the loudest most obnoxious voice claiming global warming is a hoax can’t be doing Tesla’s marketing in this sector any good at all. This is ironic considering some of the massive success stories where Tesla (Solar City) panels and batteries came to the rescue of the grid in Australian and how an island in American Somoa went from spending millions per year on diesel to going completely solar. I’ve just added solar panels to my house. Batteries will be next, but they will not be coming from Tesla—neither did the panels.
Now Musk wants to sell us AI powered robots. And he’s going to spend $20 billion converting Fremont to do this. Maybe he knows something we don’t. Or maybe it is the Ketamine talking. Either way, the two operative words on the project are “coming soon.” Just like “full self driving” is with Tesla, now with an extra monthly fee to put your life in the hands of his software.
Commentary From the Cheap Seats is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The long and short of it is that Tesla is in trouble and is also the foundation of Musk’s status as the richest man in the world. His rubber stamp board has voted to give him a comp package that will make him the first trillionaire. But the company and the stock this idea is based on have to hold up. Investors seem to be shrugging off the conundrum but that may not work out for the long term.
Let’s look at some of the ramifications of having an AI robot at your beck and call and some what ifs.
These things will not be cheap. Like any other Tesla product, rest assured you will be paying a premium for it and then will come the add-ons. What if your internet bandwidth is not sufficient for the constant contact your robot—let’s call him Bob—will need with his mothership AI data center? Will you also have to buy a Starlink connection?
How far into the future will the hardware be useful given that the software will constantly be updating to add features that no one can imagine yet. How often will you have to replace Bob?
Who is going to pay for the insurance claims to cover the inevitable breakage that will result from Bob’s misestimation of the effort necessary to dust your Staffordshire figures or the Rodin in the parlor? It is highly probably that the word “oops” will be a frequent part of Bob’s vocabulary.
These are relatively mundane points based on imagined uses. But in truth there are only imagined uses for these robots. Musk has admitted that current prototypes are doing no useful work at all. The bigger concerns we might want to consider are the un-imagined uses.
Let’s think about what will go into one of these puppies. They will have sensors for activity in the environment they will be placed in. They will be able to sense your presence and the presence of any other people or animals. They will be able to record video and audio. What will happen to all this data gathered from your environment by your servant, Bob? Well it will be uploaded to the mothership AI owned by Elon.
Imagine having Musk’s AI platform plugged into your environment 24/7/365. Imagine now how much information you will be sending about your desires, preferences, unguarded conversations, political opinions, future plans, who you’re going to vote for, what kind of shampoo you’re using, on and on and on and on. You think we’re in a surveillance state now? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Let’s not forget that Elon Musk has shown the world quite clearly that he has not moved forward one bit from his Apartheid upbringing. The image at the top of this post says it all. With Musk, we are looking at an unvarnished Ketamine-addicted white supremacist. Is that who you want to give Big-Brother level access to your home and environment? Not only will he be sitting on an unmatched trove of personal information that can be sold to marketers for an additional fortune, but it will be an unmatched political weapon.
Musk has told us in no uncertain terms who he is and what he supports. Do you think there is a single bit of wisdom in having one of his robots do your dishes?
Marty Kassowitz is co-founder of Factkeepers. As founder of Interest Factory and View360, he brings more than 30 years experience in effective online communications, social media management, and platform development to the site. He is a writer, designer, editor and long time observer of the ill-logic demonstrated by too many members of the species known as Mankind. After a long history of somewhat private commentary on a subject he totally hates: politics, Marty was encouraged to build this site and put up his own analyses as well as curate relevant content from other sources.
Help Support Factkeepers!
{"id":null,"mode":"form","open_style":"in_place","currency_code":"USD","currency_symbol":"$","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/factkeepers.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/factkeepers.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":500,"top_media_type":"none","featured_image_url":false,"featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Leave a tip","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"Factkeepers.com","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"Help Support Factkeepers","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for being a supporter!","payment_confirmation_title":"Factkeepers.com","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to donate? You can change this amount to anything you would like.","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to donate? You can change this amount to anything you would like."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to donate? You can change this amount to anything you would like."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to donate? You can change this amount to anything you would like."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to donate this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to donate this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to donate this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
{"date_format":"F j, Y","time_format":"g:i a","wordpress_permalink_only":"https:\/\/factkeepers.com\/would-you-buy-an-ai-robot-from-elon-musk\/","all_default_visual_states":"inherit","modal_visual_state":false,"user_is_logged_in":false,"stripe_api_key":"pk_live_40P3DgGDAHEP1QtJ0nOU4nms5JYHI8GbQ05dYiB1S8OPP5oMSIpOCCeeIawOyeW6bWDkDMWdUeggbhxOQTSA6aedu00ROAbhXBd","stripe_account_country_code":"US","setup_link":"https:\/\/factkeepers.com\/wp-admin\/admin.php?page=tip-jar-wp&mpwpadmin1=welcome&mpwpadmin_lightbox=do_wizard_health_check","close_button_url":"https:\/\/factkeepers.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/closebtn.png"}
