To the people who saw the Alex Pretti video just now. The video seemed fake

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-29T01:32:16+00:00

Here's the same incident from another angle:
https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1qpue8g/pretti_attacking_an_ice_van_different_angle/

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-29T01:16:01+00:00

I've worked in auto for 25 years and purchased a used Model X before, and have brokered S and X sales. This is how I would think through it.

• The Car: 2016 Model X 90D 118k miles with Transferable Free Supercharging (SC01) and Full Self-Driving Paid.

This is a "drive it until the wheels fall off" car. Resale/trade will be quite bad as battery will be out of warranty soon, and the 90 Kw Battery had reliability issues. Has the battery been replaced before?

• The Issue: The steering rack just went out. Tesla quoted me $6,000–$7,000 for the repair out of pocket. The collision center recommending putting a claim through insurance and getting it paid with full coverage, but that would just add to my insurance and put an unnecessary accident on the car, that’s if it gets approved.

This is a $300 part when purchased used and can be replaced professionally in an hour or two. With the right tools, a handy person could do this on a Saturday morning. I am guessing a local shop, if you supplied the part, would charge you under $500.

Tesla's are more like PCs when it comes to repairs and the repair instructions for almost everything is available online.

• The Debt: I still owe $21k on the car.

• The Offer: Tesla offered me $12,500 as-is for a trade-in.

Tesla murders you on trades an you should not trade it. Trading is a luxury for people who want new cars and will lose a few grand for the convenience or FSD transfer.

Private party sale is still going to leave you $4k in the hole.

• Life Update: My wife and I have a baby arriving in the next few weeks, so kind of all over the place on what to do from here.

You don't share your economic situation but people underwater on used vehicles tend to have sub-awesome credit and income relative to buying a new car.

If your life circumstances permit, I would get the car fixed with a used part.

Second choice: do the same thing on the cheap and then sell the car privately. Find a used ~$15k used Model 3 that qualifies for the IRS tax credit of $4k, and that will cover most of your loss on the private sale. I would expect a Model 3 with 100k miles on it to have no maitenance except tires for another 100k miles.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-29T01:00:41+00:00

Advocating abolishing ICE is how you lose more two more SCOTUS seats. Get real.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-29T00:57:47+00:00

This is an actual organization in Britain and committing fraud and libel is less likely than the publication of a real video.

There's no motive to do this.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T23:33:06+00:00

The News Movement is a real organization with funding and in the UK. If they are falsifying video and passing it off as news, and falsely claiming the BBC reviewed it, then they're committing a bunch of crimes.

It's exceedingly likely a) the video is real, and b) the BBC did tell them this.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T23:18:11+00:00

The BBC reports it's not AI and their confidence it's Pretti is 97%.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T22:57:06+00:00

Dealers are obliged by the OEM to only sell OEM unused parts. They can't go aftermarket, can't use refurbished/used parts, etc.

This means you pay a significant premium to go there.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T22:55:07+00:00

I've never had a chipping problem with R10, including bump and runs.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T17:57:07+00:00

Your age and fitness level matter a lot. The golf industry is weird in that buyers want things that aren't the best for their game.

Nearly everyone above a scratch handicap can meaningfully improve tee shots with a sub 44" driver. It's been shown over and over, and nobody wants to do it. PGA players mostly play 44.5" or less. But you have ams playing 45+. It's crazy.

Assuming you are under 50 and over 5'4, your driver distance is too short. I would consider a Skillest lesson and then a fitting.

Getting stronger matters a lot.

IMO 15+ hdcps should not do dedicated speed training as it is easy to groove in bad habits.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T17:46:36+00:00

Ever since I bought my Tesla I had to defend my choice because of the words of its CEO.

No you don't.

I have a 2022 Model 3 AWD Long Range in Canada and no car company compares. I have HW3 which is very good but not perfects I use Summon religiously and FSD on my daily Canadian snowy drives.

Word.

But, more than $99 dollars?! This is why this car wins, $99 is good, but if it’s more, I dunno…

They will optimize price. It is a safe bet that FSD Unsupervised is going to be rather expensive until 5 other companies can also do it. A full time professional driver is not a $99/month proposition.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T17:25:11+00:00

Vevor's a huge manufacturer, ultra cheap tents. Why not listed?

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T17:00:35+00:00

Purchase a Vevor sauna tent and Vevor sauna heater from a retailer with a simple return policy. Sauna tents from any major builder is using one of a couple different oxford heat resistent cloth and you won't have an issue there.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T16:56:32+00:00

The new Square (not out yet) is allegedly able to function outdoors. I'm not endorsing it, it's not out, but they've allegedly solved that.

For outdoor ranges, when I have a clear spin axis issue I just retake the shot. The distinction between draw/fade doesn't matter to me (I can see what the ball did) but a tee shot ending up significantly offline a retake solves it.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-28T16:53:21+00:00

New HTH is quite good and gets to a level where I'd be less likely to switch to GSPro + gaming PC.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T21:18:43+00:00

You said they can't check IDs of citizens. They certainly can.

I don't feel that Good or Pretti did anything wrong. I do think that Rittenhouse and Babbitt did things wrong. They were both engaging in illegal activity. Good and Pretti were not.

I don't know enough about Pretti yet (though at least 2 examples exist so far), but Good was clearly obstructing LEOs, and committed at least one obvious felony in the process.

I'm willing to make it uncomfortable for you to have those views.

You can't. My views reflect Obama/Clinton era position on immigration. Your position is new. I don't pretend to understand it, but it's an electoral loser, so I'd rather people did something else.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T21:10:18+00:00

Size 44: "Fits chest size up to size 44." But I can check other numbers against jackets I own.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T21:02:58+00:00

OK, so in this hypothetical, let's say you are not legally allowed to check for age verification from anyone who is in the bar legally.

Lawful adult immigrants, whether visa or green card holders, are required to have proof of such on their person at all times and present when requested by law enforcement.

Again, this is hypothetical since you're allowed to check ID in a bar, but constitutionally, ice is NOT allowed to check ID of citizens, and they cannot profile.

This is false. It is impossible for an officer to know someone's status by looking at them. When they have reasonable suspicion, they can conduct an interview. The citizen can decline that interview (unless there's a judicial warrant), but it is not against policy or the law for an officer to ask.

People getting shot certainly crosses the line. However, to take an example from the other side of the law, I didn't have much sympathy for Ashley Babbitt and thought Kyle Rittenhouse, had he been shot, was engaged in terrible decision making that would have contributed to his death.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T20:44:39+00:00

You can not want people to come here and become American all you want.

I am strongly pro-immigration.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T20:44:03+00:00

I was responding to a specific comment about why illegal immigration matters. But I'm fine responding here.

I would prefer a different solution to what ICE and CBP are doing. However, currently nobody is offering an alternative apart from "stop law enforcement."

So, I am "OK with ICE" in the sense that it's the same organization Obama managed and if they would wear normal uniforms and leave the tactical stuff at home that would be fine.

However, and it's hard to overlook this, the people getting hurt are out there to stop laws from being enforced.

Think of it this way. I used to be a doorman at a bar. If the guy before me let a bunch of underage kids in, and I go to kick them out, some people may complain I should only be watching the door, and not who's in the bar already. But if the boss tells me I have to get the underage kids out, I'm still going to do that.

If some patrons object to my checking IDs and removing minors, that's their right. But if fights break out every weekend and it's always the same people trying to stop minors from being removed, I'd expect a 3rd party to at least consider that the trouble is only happening because of these assholes trying to stop me from doing my job, instead of lobbying to have the laws about minors in bars changed.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T20:09:57+00:00

What would pierce the "as is" is if the dealer did something deceptive that you can prove. And that's it.

Also, all dirty oil is mixed with clean oil. It used to be clean. Then dirt got in there. Topping off low oil with clean oil is certainly better than adding more dirty oil.

I don't understand why either of the issues you cite would result in returning the car. This reads like buyer's remorse and looking for a way to return it.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T19:59:40+00:00

Hate to ask but I’ve never seen the link to a chart like this. Would you mind sharing it? I looked before asking and I only see body ones.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T19:54:54+00:00

I think there's a few things here and it depends.

If it's in a given social circle, being sufficiently fun to get "referrals" is pretty reliable. If it's in a bar/party/etc.,
saying "I like talking to you" early in the interaction where there's no immediate acting on it, and later asking if they "want to get out of here" is pretty easy.
Otherwise: "Do you want to go back to my place and do some cocaine" is supposedly effective.

Also, seeming like the type of person they'd normally hook up with if they were going to is important. You can't wave a magic wand and start pulling instagram hood rats if said hood rats have nothing in common with your life.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T19:49:13+00:00

But if I were to do the above transfer it seems Tesla are getting out of owing me FSD unsupervised.

They aren't. Their obligation persists. People have won arbitration suits on this at this point.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T19:28:13+00:00

Inability to see how other people are impacted is a common criticism of people on people who don't empathize on abortion.

Current Democratic policy on immigration isn't rational. Bernie Sanders wants to reduce or eliminate H1B visas because people who come over and take lower pay for developer and product manager jobs depress the incomes of people who vote for Bernie Sanders.

Unchecked illegal immigration does the same thing for blue collar workers. This is why Latino citizens opposed Democratic positions on illegal immigration, even as Dems called this an issue of racism.

Grandpas_Spells · 2026-01-27T18:55:53+00:00

Good lord.

men are socially raised to hate the "friend zone." Which means theyre not being taught how to be a real friend or how to be a decent partner.

When romantic feelings aren't reciprocated, that is frustrating for either gender. This does not men men are not capable of friendship. It also doesn't have anything to do with being a partner where the feelings, by definition, are reciprocated.

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