zlacker

>>g-mork+(OP)
SpaceX is too big to fail. It's important for national security.

I wonder if Elon wants to tangle all his businesses into SpaceX so they are all kept afloat by SpaceX's importance.

>>Button+C4
Starship has a large number of critical milestones coming: Can it land and quickly reuse the upper stage? If not, it can't make refueling flights without building a dozen or two starships. Can it carry the full specified payload? If not, it can't even try to refuel in orbit. If it can't refuel in orbit, it can't go beyond earth orbit. Etc.

Everything has to go right or it will be irrelevant before it works.

>>Zigurd+57
> Everything has to go right or it will be irrelevant before it works.

Starship is not all of SpaceX. Saying, maybe because one hates Musk, that SpaceX is going to become irrelevant is wishful thinking.

In 2025 SpaceX launched more rockets into space than the entire world ever sent in a year up to 2022, something crazy like that.

Then out of, what, 14 000 active satellites in space more than half have been launched by SpaceX.

SpaceX is, so far, the biggest space success story of the history of the human race (and GP is right in saying that SpaceX is now a national security matter for the US).

>>Tactic+nh
Model S was the most successful EV. If you think cybercab is the vehicle of the future, look at the timeline of the only robo taxi in commerce in the US.

Everything has to go right with that, or cybercab will be irrelevant before it works. Same deal. Same bullshitter.

>>Zigurd+Ni
Model S was successful until Model 3/Y blew it out of the water. Waymo’s timeline is not relevant because they lose money on every car and every deployment. Tesla’s the only financially successful developer of self driving. They can scale it up much faster.In fact, instead of making $5k per car produced, cybercab will net them $50k per car per year.

>>iknows+xo
The world doesn't consist of just Waymo and Tesla, and even if it did there's no guarantee either succeeds.

> cybercab will net them $50k per car per year.

Assuming no mass boycotts, nor targeted vandalism. We've already seen both in the last 12 months.

>>ben_w+br
It’ll be fine. Especially when people compare the price of ownership/uber to robotaxis.

>>iknows+Ns
When people actually compare prices, they note that Chinese cars also have autopilot and cost less than half of a Tesla, new.

What's keeping Chinese brands out of the USA, isn't keeping them out of Europe or much of anywhere else.

>>ben_w+Nw
Yeah and it’s going to bankrupt VW/Stellantis. Surprised Europeans just don’t seem to give a damn about that.

>>ta9000+5T
Quite a few do care about the potential for job losses. On the other hand, a lot of people want cheap cars.

This dichotomy has always been in place for a huge range of specifics, both for imports and technology that makes workers less relevant. The "we want cheap stuff" argument is the one that has done best historically, though the track record of handling this badly also led to the invention of actual literal communism.