John H Patton

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@MCarson35448 @BBCWorld bad news, you don't even need to go to Yellowstone if that volcano decides to blow.. it's a game over event.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@AgenticJonesy @farzyness @RobinhoodApp @NousResearch @claudeai Yeah, I get that.. i'm curious what the taxable events do, tho. Microtransactions can add up.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

OP is the kinda person that sees someone doing something impressive and comments how it's not really that impressive, he could totally do <insert impressive thing here> better if he wanted. This kind of intollerable person knows better, could have acted faster, performed better, etc...

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@CosmicOverburn @BBCWorld You are exemplifying one of the reasons I'm no longer a Democrat. How inhuman to wish someone was dead because you disagree.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@FlameofeEAST @alojoh Now mass produce it.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@JoseGoes04 @ArcRaiderAlerts Fight the turbine.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@IlyaHolt @stevenmarkryan So, they don't even try? How dumb.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@BernieSanders Starting to feel a bit fascist in addition to socialist, wow... how things have turned.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@SoakedKarma @igus_ai Although the information in the posted article is factually accurate, the tone of the article is out of line with reality:
https://t.co/OuXYRWYQHs

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@Magdaview12 @verge well, the Verge seems to be encouraging hate, otherwise I agree..

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@MannyCohen13 @eloy445 @SawyerMerritt Orders of magnitude of difference between the two things.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@reporp2175 @wholemars Sell it and get another brand that has an FSD that works exactly like you want. Go ahead, I'll wait.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@CombatSystems29 @elonmusk https://t.co/DZrIOzHQvr

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

Starlink exists because Elon - and his team - took massive risks and built it from scratch. No government or competitor has matched what they've built at this scale. That's not 'too much control', that's how innovation works. We shouldn't seize or fear the inventor of a breakthrough, we should either compete or just appreciate the option it gives people.

On Ukraine: Your facts are inaccurate. Starlink was never activated over Crimea. Ukraine asked Musk to turn it on there specifically to enable a drone strike on the Russian fleet in Sevastopol. He refused, saying it would make SpaceX complicit in a major escalation and possibly move towards a nuclear conflict. He didn't "cut off" existing service, he declined to expand it for offensive use. That's responsible stewardship, not arbitrary tyranny.

Every internet provider, cable company, or government telecom has a terms of service and complies with laws/sanctions. And all of them can restrict usage. Traditional carriers and state-run systems routinely shut down access during protests, elections, or wars - often for political reasons. Starlink has provided free terminals and service in disasters, conflicts, and remote areas worldwide precisely because it's not fully government-controlled. If a country disagrees with Musk's decisions, options exist to negotiate contracts with guardrails, use competitors, or regulate like other infrastructure.

Fearing "what if he disagrees with my politics" simply ignores that governments have far more of a history weaponizing connectivity against their own citizens. Private ownership with market incentives has delivered connectivity to Antarctica, rural Africa, and disaster zones faster than bureaucracies ever could. @MrBeast
's endorsement highlights this real-world value. The concern isn't baseless in theory, but in practice, Starlink's track record shows net huge upside while alternatives like full government control have worse censorship risks.

Who would you prefer to be in control of a system like Starlink? How would you envision it operate more in line with your concerns?

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@jaykay3006213 @Rothmus @elonmusk I don't love Elon. I appreciate what he's done for humanity.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@XFreeze it's not fake empathy.. it's suicidal empathy.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

@garyblack00 @9F1q7VEy69EtWfi Debating Gary is a waste of time. You can't convince someone with facts when facts aren't part of their equation.

[John H Patton @johnhpatton]

The primary reason is in the first half of your response to your own question: it would lessen the payload. To clarify this, however, it would -severely- lessen the payload. The long-range semi has a curb weight of 23,000 pounds, with estimates of there being 9,000-11,000 pounds of battery weight. The majority of long haul sleeper cabs range between 18,000 and 21,000 pounds. As a result, the Tesla Semi is on the high-end of the weight which already impacts the amount of payload that can be moved by a couple thousand pounds -- adding more battery weight reduces the payload even more. You're using a lot of resources to carry less payload a longer distance for very little additional benefit.

Additionally, the economics for the trucking industry are brutally sensitive to payload capacity. Reducing the weight of the payload would cause the Tesla Semi to not lower parity with an equivalent diesel semi. These need to be as close to a drop-in replacement for a diesel semi as possible to handle the same payload needs.

The other reasons are tied to standardization, the trailer would only work with tesla cabs, but the trailers aren't always tied to the cab. They would be single vendor trailers, only work with the Tesla Semi or would require some interchange to work with other future electric trucks. These would also add significant cost to the trailer and any time the trailer has an issue the battery isn't available for future payloads.

There's also the weight distribution aspect of this where the center of gravity, braking, stability, is different. There are also limits on axle weight and any weight exemptions for EVs only apply to the cab, not the trailer. Trailers can take a lot of abuse, protecting the battery on a trailer would be nontrivial. Charging this would be nontrivial, as well as moving energy between the cab and trailer battery packs effectively and efficiently.

Etc, etc... there are a lot of reasons, basically.