Twitter users mocked Tesla CEO Elon Musk this week after he attempted to criticize Porsche’s new electric sports car. After Musk criticized Porsche’s usage of the term “turbo” with electric vehicles, users were quick to point out Musk’s own loose usage of language both in tweets and Tesla’s business, such as the infamous “funding secured” tweet.
Business Insider reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to criticize Porsche’s new electric sports car, the Taycan Turbo. The $153,510 sports car has 670 horsepower and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds. Elon Musk poked fun at the car, tweeting: “Um Porsche, this word Turbo does not mean what you think it does.” Musk’s comment is a reference to the fact that it’s impossible to turbocharge an electric vehicle, which is a method of making a combustion engine more powerful.
Um @Porsche, this word Turbo does not mean what you think it does
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2019
Twitter users were immediately quick to point out that Musk himself has played fast and loose with traditional definitions in the past:
Um @elonmusk, the words “funding secured” did not mean what you hoped they did https://t.co/A3y0RdoHNr
— Dennis (@ClarkDennisM) September 5, 2019
Some even pointed out that Musk’s own Tesla product names often don’t make sense, such as the supercharger, another term from combustion engines:
Um @elonmusk this word supercharger does not mean what you think it does. https://t.co/Nr9sjCltMN https://t.co/XdhfgefknC
— Jonathan Gitlin (@drgitlin) September 5, 2019
Neither do some of Tesla’s vehicle features such as “autopilot” which is closer to an advanced cruise control system than actual self-driving car capabilities:
They should have used supercharger or maybe autopilot. https://t.co/3yv2ak3Qg7
— Bozi Tatarevic (@hoonable) September 5, 2019
Autopilot https://t.co/1JLt3qc4ZW
— Peter Campbell (@Petercampbell1) September 5, 2019
Um @elonmusk, this word Autopilot does not mean what you think it does
— Jalopnik (@Jalopnik) September 5, 2019
Some noted that Musk’s own comments about profitability and production timelines have often not made sense:
Kinda like, "…profitable every quarter going forward."$TSLA https://t.co/Y6s4LkPoPU
— HOARY MARMOT, STOCK TRADER EXTRAORDINAIRE (@mydoghasagun) September 5, 2019
'Later this year' https://t.co/z6JQkwST2O
— Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) September 5, 2019
Users even mocked Musk’s description of himself as Tesla’s co-founder, a title he adopted long after the company existed.
Um @elonmusk, this word Founder does not mean what you think it does https://t.co/IXnRTsXN9h
— JB (@JonBTrade) September 6, 2019
Tesla’s use of terms such as “autopilot” may actually cause legal trouble for the company; just this week the NTSB found that Tesla’s Autopilot feature played a major role in a car crash. The NTSB criticized Tesla’s Autopilot system following a California crash in 2018 saying that the system’s design “permitted the driver to disengage from the driving task.”The Center For Auto Safety has also previously called for investigations into Tesla’s “deceptive” autopilot claims and published a press release discussing the issues with Tesla’s autopilot system. Read more about the investigation here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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