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13 messages

BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc

08 Mar 25 - 07:08 AM (#4218656)
Subject: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Mr Red

You could have predicted it. Well I didn't, but Trump's tactics are a blitzkrieg so that you don't have time to run the permutations of possibilities on any one element.

But given the damage being caused to cars & chargers this is a first level insurance, particularly for those whose financed car has re-sale value representing negative equity.

Electric Viking video on re-badged Teslas

We are certainly living in interesting times

11 Mar 25 - 06:26 PM (#4218893)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Donuel

I rebadged my car with a chrome peace sign but during Covid I rebadged it again with a toxic waste badge.

11 Mar 25 - 07:15 PM (#4218897)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Stilly River Sage

Stocks have dropped so low that Trump has offered to buy one (to boost sales, or get a fire sale price?)

From the Daily Beast.

11 Mar 25 - 08:09 PM (#4218898)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Donuel

Elon has sold $400 million dollars worth of cybertrucks to the US government.

14 Mar 25 - 03:24 PM (#4219121)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: robomatic

I didn't realize that Rivian
is still in business.

14 Mar 25 - 07:11 PM (#4219137)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Raggytash

"Elon has sold $400 million dollars worth of cybertrucks to the US government."

And your evidence is ........................???????????

16 Mar 25 - 12:15 PM (#4219233)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Stilly River Sage

Sen. Mark Kelly ditching his Tesla: ‘Built and designed by an a--hole’
“Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country. Talking about slashing Social Security, cutting health care benefits for poor people, for seniors. It’s one bad thing after the next,” he said of Musk’s actions as the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Kelly also said Musk is firing veterans.

“I’m a veteran. So I have a really hard time driving around in this thing,” he said of his Tesla. “I think it’s time for an upgrade today.”

While he said there are some things he really liked about his Tesla and some things he didn’t like, “that doesn’t matter.”

“Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an a--hole, and I don’t want to be driving a car built and designed by an a--hole. So, looking forward to my new ride,” he said.

I don't know what vehicle is going to replace this one, but someone will report it one of these days.

16 Mar 25 - 02:44 PM (#4219243)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Helen

I often think of Denis Leary's A$$hole song when I see Trump on TV. I can add F*Elon Musk to the list too.

16 Mar 25 - 05:41 PM (#4219256)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Stilly River Sage

I don't think I know that song.

16 Mar 25 - 10:25 PM (#4219263)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Helen

The original version was a big hit in Oz.

Denis Leary - Asshole (Official Uncensored Version)

Lyrics reworked to fit the Trump era 8 years ago.

I'm hoping a new updated version might appear soon, too to commemorate Trump's second term in office.

18 Mar 25 - 05:33 AM (#4219331)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Mr Red

And your evidence is ........................???????????

Well I hear about it. Which doesn't make it automatically true, but.....

18 Mar 25 - 08:20 AM (#4219344)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: gillymor

Just Google it. Once again Don is spreading misinformation.

18 Mar 25 - 11:59 AM (#4219364)
Subject: RE: BS: Tesla owners rebadging as an Audi etc
From: Stilly River Sage

The $400 million in Tesla trucks story is well known, though the news changes very quickly here.

From Feb. 12:
State Dept. Plans $400 Million Purchase of Armored Tesla Cybertrucks

From Feb. 13
State Department halts plan to buy $400M worth of armored vehicles from Musk’s Tesla

From Feb. 26
Tesla’s $400 million armored EV US gov contract was indeed shady

A discussion that happened during the Biden administration but wasn't the size and scope mentioned. From the third link
Sources familiar with the talks with Tesla under the Biden administration told NPR that there were discussions about armoring electric vehicles, and a budget of less than $500,000 was set for 2025 for it:

The person said the State Department and Tesla had agreed during the Biden administration to conduct research about armoring electric vehicles, but no money had been set aside to purchase armored Teslas for the State Department. A total budget of $483,000 had been approved to buy light-duty EVs as possible State Department vehicles. That plan was moving forward as recently as November 2024.


The NPR story actually says:
But NPR has obtained a State Department document detailing that Biden's State Department planned to spend just $483,000 in the 2025 fiscal year on buying electric vehicles and $3 million for supporting equipment, like charging stations. It represented less than 1% of the hundreds of millions of dollars likely destined for Tesla vehicles after the Trump administration quietly revised a State Department procurement document.