this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2026
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“If oil rigs were profitable, the shipyard wouldn’t sell you one”
I despise Musk as much as the next Group 14-based lifeform, but there is such a thing as specialisation.
That is such a disingenuous comparison lol
Musk is a scam artist there is zero chance the terms are favorable to anyone other than himself.
its a pump and dump scheme, much like is truck and the hyperloop.
He is a scam artist, but this specific argument in the broader reality doesn't really stick. The argument is that no one ever sells something that yields value to anyone else, which is obviously off.
It works better if you highlight that Tesla is less like those companies. They are demonstrably big on vertical integration, including the ride shares, so for them, it is out of character, but as a generic business strategy, it's perfectly routine.
Oil rigs aren't billed as automatable. This is most likely just a way to offload liability
And to make the owners pay for maintenance and electricity.
If they lock the feature behind a higher price tier, a subscription, or a cut of the profits, it's a low-risk income stream with minimal expenses.
Tesla is an electric utility, they could probably make more money providing it to themselves than passing the costs off to their contractors.
Doubt it would be more. Electricity is going up in the US. Selling is more profitable right now
I mean as a utility provider, selling more electricity is usually a good thing...